EU, U.S. urge Ukraine leader to change restrictions on protesters

KIEV, Ukraine, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- The European Union has urged Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to amend legislation restricting demonstrations that has sparked fears of a crackdown.

The legislation, approved by a show of hands of lawmakers in Yanukovych's Party of Regions and his allies Thursday, would ban protesters from wearing helmets or covering their faces, as well as prohibit protesters from pitching tents and setting up sound systems at demonstrations, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The laws also would criminalize libel, currently an administrative offense, so it would be punishable by jail time not just a fine, and would force non-governmental organizations receiving funding from abroad to register as "foreign agents," similar to a law in effect in Russia.

It was unclear Friday whether Yanukovych signed the legislation because nothing has been posted on his website, the Journal said.

Catherine Ashton, the European Union's foreign policy chief, called on Yanukovych to revise the legislation to align it with Ukraine's international commitments.

"I am particularly concerned by the changes to the judicial code which impose worrying restrictions on the rights of assembly and on the freedom of speech and media, and are contrary to Ukraine's international obligations," she said in a statement.

The U.S. State Department criticized the Ukrainian lawmakers' vote for not adhering to "proper procedures."

"Some of these measures will restrict the right to peacefully protest and exercise the freedom of speech, constrain independent media, and inhibit the operation of NGOs," the State Department said in a statement issued Thursday. "If Ukraine truly aspires to a European future, it must defend and advance universal democratic principles and values that underpin a Europe whole, free, and at peace, and not allow them to be systematically dismantled."

The statement said the "process and substance" of lawmakers actions "cast serious doubt on Ukraine's commitment to democratic norms."

Ukrainians have been protesting for nearly two months after Yanukovych didn't sign political and trade agreements with the European Union, opting instead to accept a multibillion-dollar bailout package from Russia. Hundreds of protesters seeking the government's ouster have camped in Kiev's central square behind barricades.