Poroshenko says imposing martial law would hurt Ukraine’s democracy

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko addressed the Supreme Rada on June 4 saying he refused to impose martial law as it would lead to numerous restrictions and affect the democratic institutes in the country.

“Just imagine that the martial law implies censorship, a ban on the activity of political parties and restriction of the movement in the country, curfew, general mobilization with confiscation property and money for the needs of the defense,” the president said.

“During the war, we have preserved democracy in Ukraine, though we had a moral right to restrict the rights and freedoms, and even the law on the martial,” he said. “Nevertheless, despite the political pressure from everywhere, and despite the fact that the martial would give me more power, I could not resort to it.”

Poroshenko said he was well aware that the martial will become a big shock and testing for Ukrainians. 

Meanwhile, the population in Ukraine is already in shock. The economic collapse has led to large-scale impoverishment of the people, amid victims of the fratricidal war in Donbass, restriction of democratic rights, and adoption of ultra-national laws in Ukraine. The authorities in Ukraine have glorified UPA – the organization that cooperated with Hitler’s forces in the occupied Ukraine and organized genocide (as Poland’s Ambassador to Armenia Jerzy Nowakowski said - EADaily’s note) of the population in the West of Ukraine. Kiev passed bills outlawing communist symbols and ideology: the veterans of the Great Patriotic War are not allowed to wear their military decorations in public in Ukraine. 

Ukraine bans broadcasting of Russian TV channels and Russian films on the Ukrainian television. Russian media are banned from Ukraine, and the citizens of Ukraine may face imprisonment for cooperation with them.