Herashchenko with the help of public organizations tries to sell Bill 8371

Iryna Herashchenko. Photo: t.me/irynagerashchenko

Iryna Herashchenko, a Member of Parliament from the European Solidarity party, continues to lobby for bill No. 8371 aimed at banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. On May 28, she posted on her social media an "appeal from public organizations to the Verkhovna Rada demanding the immediate adoption of a law banning the Russian Orthodox Church and a resolution on the decolonization of the names of populated places."

According to the authors of the statement, Ukrainians are being weakened from within by "the Russian language and Russian church, Russian names and symbols, music, and films."

Activists repeat the European Solidarity's thesis that the mono-majority is sabotaging and blocking bill No. 8371.

The document lists the "advantages" expected after the adoption of this law in the second reading. "It provides for the prohibition of the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church, deprives religious organizations that do not sever their ties with Moscow of the right to use state and communal property, and simplifies the transition of Orthodox communities from the Moscow church to the Ukrainian one," the authors write.

Quoting the statement, Herashchenko reports that "various reasons are invented to delay the consideration of the bill – from calls to wait for one event or another to proposals to send the project for a third reading (a procedure that the Verkhovna Rada almost never applies and that will surely bury the bill)."

In conclusion, the MP lists the demands of public organizations and movements, including: to the leadership of the parliament and the ruling majority: "to bring to the next plenary week and adopt in its entirety bill No. 8173" (obviously referring to 8371); to the members of parliament: "to vote in favor of bill 8371 banning the Russian Orthodox Church in the version prepared by the profile committee for the second reading"; and to the media and opinion leaders: "to contribute to maximum coverage of the situation, conveying information to the Ukrainian people about the position of each faction and each deputy."

As reported by the UOJ, on May 21, MPs blocked the Rada, demanding the vote the bill on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

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