Nentsian News

[Nentsia]

Nentsian News

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President Vynnychuk supports proposal for Ban on Extremism


1578

Mstsislavsk -- Nentsian president Aliaksei Vynnychuk has expressed his support for the proposal to introduce a bill that will ''ban extremism''. The ban was proposed by a fellow party member of the ruling Hramada Party, Kostya Lukyanenko. With the bill, it would be possible for Nentsian criminal courts to sentence people to 10 years imprisonment for extremism. Critics however are worried that the vague definition of ''extremism'' in this bill will give the Nentsian government a tool to silence its opponents and suppress freedom of speech.

Vynnychuk returned to the presidency in 1577 after a four-year absence during which he was supposedly retired from politics. Mounting internal and external pressures on the political system he left behind prompted him to make his comeback. The ensuing election campaign was heavily criticized by the opposition as being unfair and rigged. Independent journalists were being intimidated, and the former chairman of the Association of Journalism, Piotr Kohut, was found dead in his apartment. The authorities also undermined the independent Election Commission, accused its members of corruption, and blatantly proceeded to set up a new one with pro-government agents. The Election Commission subsequently rejected the candidacy of the leader of the opposition, Mikita Marcinkiewic on administrative grounds. Several days later his candidacy was approved after nationwide unrest.

Independent media and journalists were obstructed in their work in every possible way. The election campaigns of rivals were sabotaged, and the government went as far as to prop up fake opposition candidates to weaken the opposition. Vynnychuk eventually won the elections with 69% of the votes. A spontaneous demonstration against the outcome was violently crushed by the Nentsian police. Opposition candidate Marcinkiewic who was also present at the demonstration was singled out by police troops and beaten into a coma. Vynnychuk later declared the demonstrations were the work of ''foreign agents'' inciting ''outbursts of extremism''. Since then, a ''ban on extremism'' has been on the agenda of his political party.

The ban is therefore feared by critics of the government that it will be abused to silence the opposition and to strengthen Vynnychuk's hold over the nation. The bill has not officially been proposed yet, but that seems a matter of time now the president has publically given his support for it. The bill will likely be approved by the parliament.