The Banning of

the Communist

Party of Ukraine

CP International

Briefing

January 2016

The ban

On 16 December 2015 the

Kiev District Administrative

Court formally banned the

Communist Party of Ukraine.

This followed the passing of the

De-Communisation Law in

April 2015 which made it a

criminal offence to promote

Marxism, sell the works of

Marx or to use any symbol

associated with Communism.

The Communist Party of

Ukraine

In the 2012 elections the CPU

emerged as the third biggest

party with the support of 14

per cent of the electorate (2.6

million votes). In 2014 it had

100,000 members.

The Communist Party of

Ukraine is the one party in the

Ukraine that has for two

decades called for a

parliamentary republic, the

ending of presidential

government and its associated

corruption, the consistent

adoption of federalism within

Ukraine and the defence of civil

and language rights of all

national groups. Since the

February 2014 coup it has

called for the peaceful

resolution of the conflict in the

eastern provinces, the

implementation of the Minsk

agreement and defended the

full territorial integrity of

Ukraine.

The De-Communisation

Law

This was passed by parliament

on 9 April 2015 and signed by

President Poroshenko on 15

May 2015. The law imposes a

five year prison sentence for

violations. It requires the

removal of all physical

memorials of Communism and

the renaming of several

hundred villages and towns. It

makes it an offence both to

promote Marxism or

Communism. The law also

requires ‘respect’ for the

‘fighters for Ukraine’s

independence’ in World War

II: that is, those who fought

together with the Nazis as

members of the Organisation

of Ukrainian Nationalists.

On the basis of this law the

Interior Ministry issued a

decree on 24 July 2015 banning

the Communist Party of

Ukraine from standing in

elections. Legal proceedings

were also begun in July 2015 to

ban the party itself. The judges

in the court hearing the case

resigned on the grounds that

the case was ‘politically

motivated’ and were

subsequently subject to

criminal proceedings

themselves.

Criticisms of the 16

December decision

On the morning of 16

December the Kiev District

Court rejected four appeal

motions submitted by the CPU

against the legal action pending

since July. On the evening of

16 December the Court

endorsed the legal application

for a ban. On neither occasion

were the proceedings open to

the public. The CPU and its

lawyers were not permitted to

be present.

On 18 December 2015 the

Venice Commission of the

Council of Europe issued the

following statement jointly with

the Organization for Security

and Co-operation in

Europe (OSCE) on the De-

Communisation Law: ‘The law

is too broad in scope and

introduces sanctions that are

disproportionate to the

legitimate aim pursued. Any

association that does not

comply with Law No. 317-VIII

may be banned, which is

problematic with regard to

every individual’s freedom of

association. This is particularly

the case when it comes to

political parties, which play a

crucial role in ensuring

pluralism and the proper

functioning of democracy. The

banning of political parties from

participation in elections or

their dissolution should be a

measure of last resort in

exceptional cases.’ This opinion

was in the context of an earlier

condemnation of the ban on

Communist symbols and

ideology by the Republic of

Moldova in 2013 and by the

European Court of Human

Rights on the ban on

Communist symbols by the

government of Hungary

(Hazhnay v. Hungary case

33629/06) in 2008.

Amnesty International has

condemned the Ukraine ban in

the sharpest terms, as 'a

flagrant violation of freedom of

expression and association'

which should be immediately

overturned. The full statement

can be seen at:

https://www.amnesty.org/en/

latest/news/2015/12/ukraine-

communist-party-ban-decisive-

blow-for-freedom-of-speech-in-

the-country/

Political context

Subsequent to the February

2014 coup Yatsenyuk, leader of

the Fatherland Party, became

prime minister. The Fatherland

Party honours the memory of

Stepan Bandera, leader of the

pro-Nazi Organisation of

Ukrainian Nationalists, and had

fought the 2012 election in

alliance with the more openly

fascist Svoboda Party. Svoboda

secured four cabinet posts in

the Yatsenyuk government

including that of Deputy Prime

Minister. More worryingly still,

the extreme right gained

control of the key Defence and

Security Committee: Chair

from the Social National Party

and Secretary from Svoboda.

This support at government

level has enabled

fascist militias to

operate with

freedom across

Ukraine and to

have recognition

within the

structure of the

Ukrainian military.

May 2, 2014, saw

the massacre of

several dozen

civilian protestors

by the Right

Sektor militia in

Odessa. On 14

May 2014 the

Right Sektor

militia were

involved in a

smaller scale

massacre in Mariupol.

Subsequent months have seen

many attacks on Communist

party offices, the injury of

officers and the burning of

materials. These attacks have

included unprovoked violent

assaults on the leader of the

party even as he was

addressing the parliament, in

full view of television cameras.

No action has been taken

against his right-wing assailants,

whereas the Communist Party

deputies were subsequently

banned from the chamber.

Printed & published by the Communist Party. B/01-16

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