Information from the public committee ‘For truth!’
12.12.2001
The students of Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, suffering from the pressure connected with their activities in the public committee ‘For truth!’, turned to rector. The reason of this appeal was the actions of militia and rector’s office, who demanded from a group of students to leave the territory of the institute and not to spread the informative materials prepared by the committee. They explained their demand referring to the statute of the institute. Yet, the statute prohibits only organizing political parties and their representations on the territory of the institute. In this way the activists of the committee (which is legally defined as a non-party union) expressed their protests against the activities of the law-enforcers and the institute administration.
In what follows we quote the complete text of the appeal:
To Dr Mykhaylo Zgurovskiy
Rector of the National Technical University of Ukraine (NTUU) ‘Kyiv Polytechnic Institute’
Respected Mykhaylo Zakharovich!
We must express our protest against the pressure, which is exerted upon us in the connection with our civil position and realizing our rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
On 23 March 2001 some militiamen and clerks from rector’s office demanded from a group of students of the institute – members of the public committee ‘For truth!’ -- to leave the territory of the institute and not to spread the informative materials prepared by the committee. The militia and rector’s office did not stop their illegal demands even after we showed them the corresponding text of the Ukrainian Constitution.
In the connection with this incident we declare that the Constitution and legislation guarantee us, as citizens, the right for the free expression of our opinions. Article 34 of the Constitution unambiguously reads: ‘Everybody is guaranteed the freedom of thought and speech, for free expression of opinions and views. Everybody has the right to gather, store, use and spread freely information in the oral, written and any other forms’.
Articles 21 and 22 of the Constitution indicate that ‘rights and freedoms of citizens are inalienable and inviolable’, ‘are guaranteed’ and ‘may not be cancelled’. The only restriction of rights, which the Constitution does for students and teachers of higher schools is the prohibition of creating organizational structures of political parties in higher schools.
The public committee ‘For truth!’ is not a political party, and we, as law-abiding citizens, do not create any party structures in the university. So, any restrictions of our constitutional rights with the reference to sublegal acts and especially on the oral orders are illegal.
We hope that the events of 23 March were an irritating misunderstanding, and we shall not need to protect our rights by way of adequate actions of students solidarity.
Respectfully yours,
NTUU students
In what follows we quote the complete text of the appeal:
To Dr Mykhaylo Zgurovskiy
Rector of the National Technical University of Ukraine (NTUU) ‘Kyiv Polytechnic Institute’
Respected Mykhaylo Zakharovich!
We must express our protest against the pressure, which is exerted upon us in the connection with our civil position and realizing our rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
On 23 March 2001 some militiamen and clerks from rector’s office demanded from a group of students of the institute – members of the public committee ‘For truth!’ -- to leave the territory of the institute and not to spread the informative materials prepared by the committee. The militia and rector’s office did not stop their illegal demands even after we showed them the corresponding text of the Ukrainian Constitution.
In the connection with this incident we declare that the Constitution and legislation guarantee us, as citizens, the right for the free expression of our opinions. Article 34 of the Constitution unambiguously reads: ‘Everybody is guaranteed the freedom of thought and speech, for free expression of opinions and views. Everybody has the right to gather, store, use and spread freely information in the oral, written and any other forms’.
Articles 21 and 22 of the Constitution indicate that ‘rights and freedoms of citizens are inalienable and inviolable’, ‘are guaranteed’ and ‘may not be cancelled’. The only restriction of rights, which the Constitution does for students and teachers of higher schools is the prohibition of creating organizational structures of political parties in higher schools.
The public committee ‘For truth!’ is not a political party, and we, as law-abiding citizens, do not create any party structures in the university. So, any restrictions of our constitutional rights with the reference to sublegal acts and especially on the oral orders are illegal.
We hope that the events of 23 March were an irritating misunderstanding, and we shall not need to protect our rights by way of adequate actions of students solidarity.
Respectfully yours,
NTUU students