Appeal to Members of Legislative Assemblies, Governments, and Heads of State of the World, and to International Organizations, on the need to facilitate lifting the blockade and ending hostilities in the Donbass
By participants at the Donbass International Forum, Alchevsk, Lugansk, May 8, 2015. Translation by Greg Butterfield on ‘Red Star Over Donbass’.
We, the participants of the Donbass International Solidarity Forum “Antifascism, Internationalism, Solidarity,” expressing our support for the residents of the Lugansk and Donetsk regions, appeal to the governments of the European Union, the United States, members of the European Parliament, and representatives of the countries of the United Nations to take all possible measures, including economic and political sanctions, against the State of Ukraine, in order to make the Government of Ukraine fulfill all the provisions of international agreements, including Minsk, aimed at ending the war and restoring peaceful life to the Donbass:
- complete ceasefire in the Donbass
- withdrawal of heavy weapons
- admittance, delivery, storage and distribution of humanitarian aid
- restoration of social and economic relations, including payment of pensions and other benefits.
We believe that the members of legislative assemblies, governments and heads of state of the world should resolutely condemn all violations by the Ukrainian side of the provisions of international agreements on the establishment of peace: killings, torture and intimidation of civilians, looting, the economic blockade of the region, and obstacles to the free movement of people in the Lugansk and Donetsk regions.
We are confident that pressure from the international community will force the Ukrainian authorities to end the blockade of the region, which inflicted severe blows on the economy of Donbass, and give the region an opportunity to rebuild its economy, aid the lives of innocent people, and contribute to an early recovery from the consequences of the humanitarian catastrophe. Residents of Donbass should be able to receive the necessary medicines, foods, and construction materials to rebuild infrastructure.
We draw the attention of the international community to the fact that the vast majority of soldiers forcibly mobilized into the ranks of the Ukrainian army do not want to participate in a fratricidal war. However, Ukrainian legislation provides for the imprisonment of those who refuse to go and kill civilians in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions. We believe this practice is unacceptable and inadmissible.
We appeal to the international community to take all measures to ensure that peace and stability return to the Donbass. For the sake of stability and to overcome the consequences of humanitarian disasters in Eastern Europe, in order to prevent any attempts to violate civil rights and freedoms, all countries of the world should unite their efforts in a common pursuit — to help the Donbass.
