Lively Parliamentary Debate in Ukraine

Interesting film of political debate Ukranian style on the news today.  We might think that our politicians make good television with those stage-managed debates – But Ukraine trumped that with a spectacular fist fight and bombarded their speaker with eggs.

So how come Ukraine’s Parliament descended into chaos today as smoke bombs were set off and eggs thrown at the Speaker in opposition protests against a new treaty with Russia.

Clouds of smoke filled the chamber and deputies fought each other in the aisles ahead of a critical vote to ratify an agreement allowing Russia’s Black Sea Fleet to remain in Ukraine until the middle of the century.

The Speaker, Volodymr Lytvyn, was forced to hide under two black umbrellas held up by aides as opposition deputies hurled eggs at him in a bid to disrupt the proceedings. Alarms went off when two smoke bombs were thrown, but deputies continued to debate the treaty even as the chamber filled with fumes.

Despite the protests, 236 deputies in the 450-seat Rada voted to ratify the treaty, allowing Russia to retain its naval base at Sevastopol in Crimea for up to 30 years after its current lease expires in 2017. The deal was signed by Ukraine’s pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych during a visit by his Kremlin counterpart Dmitri Medvedev to Kharkiv last week.

Opposition parties led by the defeated presidential candidate Yuliya Tymoshenko denounced the agreement as a sell-out of Ukraine’s sovereignty. They unfurled a huge Ukrainian flag in the chamber and some deputies screamed “shame, shame!” as the treaty was passed.

“Today will go down as a black page in the history of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Parliament,” Mrs Tymoshenko, the former Prime Minister said. That might be true – but it will certainly go down as a great day for political comedy that brought the eccentric goings on in Ukraine to a wider audience.