Regions party people’s deputies bock a tribune

Lawmakers from the Party of Regions blocking the rostrum, where there is a bottle of vodka during the session of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine , in Kyiv, on Tuesday, May 12, 2009. First deputy leader of the Party of Regions faction Oleksandr Efremov said that representatives of the Party of Regions will block the rostrum of the parliament until lawmakers vote for dismissal of Yuri Lutsenko from the post of the Interior Ministry of Ukraine. According to the words of O. Efremov, in accordance with the results of the work of provisional investigatory commission of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the draft resolution from July 10, 2008, where it is proposed to dismiss Yuri Lutsenko, is registered in the parliament. Oleksandr Efremov underlined that Yuri Lutsenko “disgraces our state not for the first time being at the post of the Interior Ministry”. At the same time he reminded about an incident in the Secretariat of the President of Ukraine between Kyiv Mayor Leonid Chernovetskyi and Interior Minister Yuri Lutsenko. As it was reported earlier, on May 5, 2009, “Bild” German newspaper reported that on May 4 Yuri Lutsenko spent half a day in the police department of airport of Frankfort on the Main. According to the data of the edition, the Interior Minister in condition of strong alcoholic intoxication was detained after a collision with policemen. On May 12 Yuri Lutsenko sent an application addressed to Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko and Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Volodymyr Lytvyn with a request to consider an issue concerning his resignation. Photo by Sergey Svetlitsky/UNIAN