UKRAINE BANS ULTRANATIONALIST GROUP.

The Ukrainian ministry of justice has announced that it has annulled the legal registration of the Ukrainian National Assembly (UNA) and its paramilitary wing, Ukrainian National Self-Defense (UNSO) on the grounds that they advocate and practice violence. The authorities had long hesitated to move against UNA/UNSO but finally acted after its members organized massive disturbances in Kiev during the funeral of the Patriarch of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. But the measure may raise legal problems. In the ministry’s view, the annulment of the national registration invalidates UNA/UNSO’s legal registration in three western Ukrainian regions. Spokesmen in western Ukraine disagree and say that they plan to continue activities there, besides challenging the ministerial decision in the courts. UNA/UNSO also has three parliamentary deputies who, because they were elected, can hardly be deprived of their mandates. 10

Impasse at Interparliamentary Meeting.