Around one hundred former Chornobyl clean-up workers in Kharkiv are continuing their indefinite protest on Freedom Square. They call the recent Constitutional Court judgement on social payments a violation of human rights. The Court stated that cases involving social payments can refer not only to Ukraine’s social legislation, but also to Cabinet of Ministers normative acts regulating the amounts of these payments.

According to spokesperson for the new organization of Kharkiv Chornobyl clean-up workers, the All-Ukrainian Association of Chornobyl Veterans, Petro Prokopenko:

“It will now be harder to take the government to court however I’m convinced that there will come a time when the actions of the Constitutional Court judges will receive the proper legal assessment. This is the second time that we are seeing a judgement which contradicts the Constitution. … What the Cabinet of Ministers is doing is a violation of human rights, of all citizens, but in the first instance of the socially unprotected – former Chornobyl clean-up workers, Afghanistan War veterans, children of the War, teachers and doctors, military servicemen, police officers, etc”

Mr Prokopenko points out that the former Chornobyl clean-up workers have court rulings regarding payment of pensions handed down before the Constitutional Court judgement.

This is the third day that the former Chornobyl clean-up workers are coming out onto the square for several hours to remind the authorities of their rights. They are demanding enforcement of court rulings; stops of checks of medical cards aimed at reducing the number of people receiving “Chornobyl pensions”, and also the dismissal of Ihor Shuma, the Deputy Governor whom they accuse of organizing these checks.

The former Chornobyl clean-up workers say that they will not give up their protests until these demands are met.