Appeal-warning for foreign states, international financial institutions and investment companies

On November 20 in the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine NGO Suspilna Systema gave a press conference. The purpose of the press conference was to bring to foreign states, international financial institutions and investment companies the Appeal-warnings about catastrophic risk, which causes the start of sales an agricultural land in Ukraine, what breaks the Constitution of state.

Speakers:

Stepan Khmara

Viktor Shishkin

Viktor Zherdytskyi

Nazar Mukhachov

Oleh Banashko

Participants of the press conference informed that the planned land tradіng is breaking the General principles of the Constitution of Ukraine under pressure from World Bank, IMF and other entities.

A warning has been announced that all agreements of purchase of Ukrainian land are unconstitutional and criminal and will be canceled without compensation of investments. Therefore, they are at highest risk and will have negative consequences.

Any operation, on the purchase or sale of agricultural land is illegal and contrary to the Constitution of the State of Ukraine. The Ukrainian people will replace this president, this parliament, this government and all acts with land will be declared illegal without a return on investment.

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To foreign embassies in Ukraine

To foreign financial institutions

To international human rights organizations

To foreign media

Ladies and Gentlemen!

Ukraine is on the brink of the most dangerous cataclysm, which threatens the loss of Ukrainian statehood, and this will have great negative consequences for many countries.

The reason for such a threat is coercion regarding the implementation of an illegal and anti-constitutional, unprecedented for most countries of the world today, free market of agricultural land in Ukraine. We know the real value of Ukrainian land, which cannot be expressed in monetary terms, in the face of growing food shortages in the world. We understand the intentions of those who stand behind this criminal anti-Ukrainian initiative and its consequences for the Ukrainian people.

Under pressure from the World Bank, the IMF, and other organizations, our inexperienced President V. Zelensky, along with the domestic oligarchy, are forcing the country to the destructive sale of farmland. Starting an uncontrolled land market, and even more so - selling it to foreign residents - is a break with the General Principles of our Constitution, and involves the destruction of our nation's many thousand years of social order, which is inextricably, organically linked to land and agriculture.

According to Articles 13 and 14 of the Constitution of Ukraine, land is a major national treasure and can be owned only by the Ukrainian people. It is the duty of the President and of the Verkhovna Rada to defend this right, not to seek ways to change the foundations of legal philosophy. The President, the Verkhovna Rada and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine have no right to change the Fundamental Philosophical Principles of the Constitution and open a land market. According to Article 5 of the Constitution, the sovereign power in Ukraine belong the people. And only the people can change these provisions,

That is why the start of the so-called free land market in Ukraine is regarded as an attempt to make a wrongful constitutional coup. Three-quarters of Ukrainians oppose the sale of agricultural land and even more are against the sale of it to foreign residents in any form.

It is important that the people under the Constitution can govern not only through the authorities, but also directly if the authorities themselves violate the fundamental laws of Ukraine.

Professional, public, volunteer, political, scientific and other organizations, free of funding from lobbyists, have warned the Ukrainian authorities that they will not allow them to break the Constitution of Ukraine and the introduction of landgrabbing in the country.

And the beginning of the planned sale of our lands in a country already fighting against Russian aggression, will lead to forceful confrontations and more losses. It’s important to know that in the context of the martial law that de facto Ukraine has been under since February 2014, such legislative reforms are generally forbidden by the Constitution of Ukraine.

We draw the attention of the interested parties that all acts of purchase of agricultural land in Ukraine, made directly or indirectly by foreign residents, will be rendered inappropriate and canceled without compensation with the removal of the government officials who demolish the law. We warn potential buyers of Ukrainian land from participating in illegal, criminal sale of it by the Ukrainian authorities!

We demand that governments of foreign countries and international financial organizations respect the will of the Ukrainian people, which denies the opening of the land market in Ukraine.

The conduct of the activities of your organizations in Ukraine must be strictly in accordance with our Constitution.

Please inform the relevant financial institutions in your country about the high risks involved with participation by them or their clients in trade and financial transactions related to illegal land transactions in Ukraine.

Together, we must prevent a major catastrophe that threatens enormous losses for our country and the world community.

Attachment: The letter to Ms. Satu Kahkonen, Director of the World Bank in Ukraine (read here).

Suspilna Systema

Stepan Khmara

Viktor Shyshkin

Viktor Zherdytskyi

Nazar Muhachov

Oleh Banashko

Pavlo Dzyamko