National Assembly members arrested (02/20/94)

National Assembly members arrested

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyyiv Press Bureau

KYYIV - At least 23 members of the Ukrainian National Assembly (UNA) were arrested on February 12 while at a park in the Bald Mountain district of Kyyiv, and charged with leading an unlawful military gathering. Later that day and the next, police searched the political party's headquarters and the home of one of its leaders in Kyyiv. Among those arrested were the assembly's three candidates in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Militia spokesperson Mykola Sunitsa said the group was illegally practicing drill formations in the park and that it was not simply the Ukrainian National Assembly that was involved, but also its military arm, the Ukrainian National Self-Defense (UNSO). "Only five of the individuals were registered as members of the organization," said Mr. Sunitsa. He said only they had the right to march. UNSO is a legally registered organization in Kyyiv.

The arrested were taken to the jail in the Pecherska district militia headquarters, where 15 still remained as of February 17.

Assembly leaders said the police action was an effort to undermine the organization and throw it into disarray before elections. "We believe it is political repression," said assembly spokesperson Vasyl Bilorus.

The organization's headquarters and at least one leader's apartment were also searched. Dmytro Korchynsky, assistant director of the party, said he returned from the park to headquarters after the arrests, where within 10 minutes a force of 33 militia appeared. "They refused to show their identification. They simply asked us where the weapons were and proceeded to tear the place up."

Members showed reporters one room they said they had not cleaned up as proof of the militia's strong-armed method. In that office various documents, books and boxes lay strewn about below a picture of Stepan Bandera, a leader of Ukraine's underground movement during World War II and the immediate post-war years. A safe lay open; its contents spilled on the floor. In a corner of the room, a copy machine stood ripped apart.

Mr. Korchynsky said no weapons were on the premises. "We are not armed. We have agreed to set aside weapons during the election campaign." He said the militia took election documents, "personal money, computer diskettes and rubber stamps."

Militia spokesperson Mr. Sunitsa said they confiscated non-lethal training weapons and target mock-ups, as well as what they determined to be "material applicable to the charges filed against the arrested."

Viktor Melnyk, head of the executive council of the Ukrainian National Assembly, called the police action a pogrom. "This is not a simple search. Just look at that room. They were looking for UNSO documents, but what they got were our election documents."

Mr. Korchynsky's apartment was also searched on Sunday, as were two other UNA members' homes.

The three assembly candidates to the Parliament that were arrested are: Valeriy Bobrovych, Volodymyr Solovey and Oleh Kuba.

The Ukrainian National Assembly is a nationalistic organization created in 1990 as the Ukrainian Inter-Party Assembly. It is headed by Yuriy Shukhevych, a political prisoner under the Soviet regime and son of UPA General Roman Shukhevych. Its military wing, UNSO, was established in early 1992 and has sent troops to Moldova to fight against Moldovan nationalist forces and to Abkhazia, where they have fought on the Georgian side.

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