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International observers condemn violence in Ukraine elections
KIEV 5 October 1999
KIEV, 5 October 1999 - An Election Observation Mission in Ukraine strongly condemns the violent attack on presidential candidate Natalya Vitrenko and her supporters on Saturday, 2 October 1999. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR), is deeply distressed that so many people have suffered in this attack and expresses its deepest sympathies to those injured and their families.
There is no place for violence in election campaigns, and it is totally unacceptable that any candidate or their supporters should be confronted with violence or the threat of violence. Such actions are completely contrary to both the letter and the spirit of OSCE commitments on free elections.
The Election Observation Mission has dispatched a team of observers to gain first-hand knowledge of what happened last Saturday night. It is not the job of the Observation Mission to determine who is at fault. This is rightly a matter for the authorities, who should undertake a full and complete investigation of the events in accordance with internationally recognized principles of due process of law.
Upon invitation from the Delegation of Ukraine to the OSCE in Vienna), OSCE/ODIHR established an Election Observation Mission in Ukraine for the forthcoming presidential election.
MEDIA CONTACT: Simon Osborn, head, ODIHR Election Observation Mission to Ukraine, tel.: (+380 44) 220 1469, 220 10 36, 227 1141, or Elsa Fenet, ODIHR Election Advisor, Warsaw, tel.: (+48 22) 520 06 00, fax: (+48 22) 628 6967.
There is no place for violence in election campaigns, and it is totally unacceptable that any candidate or their supporters should be confronted with violence or the threat of violence. Such actions are completely contrary to both the letter and the spirit of OSCE commitments on free elections.
The Election Observation Mission has dispatched a team of observers to gain first-hand knowledge of what happened last Saturday night. It is not the job of the Observation Mission to determine who is at fault. This is rightly a matter for the authorities, who should undertake a full and complete investigation of the events in accordance with internationally recognized principles of due process of law.
Upon invitation from the Delegation of Ukraine to the OSCE in Vienna), OSCE/ODIHR established an Election Observation Mission in Ukraine for the forthcoming presidential election.
MEDIA CONTACT: Simon Osborn, head, ODIHR Election Observation Mission to Ukraine, tel.: (+380 44) 220 1469, 220 10 36, 227 1141, or Elsa Fenet, ODIHR Election Advisor, Warsaw, tel.: (+48 22) 520 06 00, fax: (+48 22) 628 6967.