POLAND HAS urged Ukraine, its co-host for the Euro 2012 football championship, to resolve a growing dispute over jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko before the start of the tournament five weeks from today.
Several European Union leaders are threatening to boycott the event unless Ms Tymoshenko is allowed to receive treatment abroad for a serious back problem. She is on hunger strike after refusing local treatment, and claims she was punched in the stomach recently by prison guards.
Ms Tymoshenko (51) was jailed last October for seven years for abusing her power while prime minister, in a case that the EU and US say is politically motivated.
Ms Tymoshenko accuses Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich of using the courts to attack her and several allies in a bid to neutralise his most dangerous rivals ahead of autumn’s general election.
“I have left Ukraine’s prime minister and president in no doubt that the case . . . is a test of credibility for the present Ukrainian authorities and that the reputation of Ukraine would suffer dramatically if it does not find a solution that we deem civilised before the European championship,” said Polish prime minister Donald Tusk.
He insisted that he was against a boycott of the event, however.
Ukrainian cities are hosting games involving Germany, England, France, the Netherlands and Portugal, among others. Ireland will play in Poland.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry last night railed against “destructive attempts to politicise sporting events, which since ancient times have played a paramount role in improving understanding and agreement between nations”.
All EU commissioners and European Commission president José Manuel Barroso have said they will not attend Euro 2012, while German chancellor Angela Merkel has not yet decided on the issue.
“Much more important than my travel plans is that we must now do everything possible to see that Yulia Tymoshenko gets the proper treatment for her medical problems as soon as possible,” she was quoted as saying yesterday. “The German government has been working on this for weeks and our offer stands for her to receive this medical treatment in Germany.”
Russian president-elect Vladimir Putin criticised talk of a boycott but said his country would happily offer Ms Tymoshenko treatment.
Ukraine has previously stressed that its laws do not allow prisoners to leave the country for medical assistance. Officials also deny that Ms Tymoshenko has suffered any mistreatment.
Ms Tymoshenko’s daughter said yesterday that her mother’s life was “in danger” but she would not end her hunger strike.
“She thinks that she cannot simply give up and stop the protest, because extreme measures are needed now to draw attention to what is happening in Ukraine, so that the world knows,” Yevgenia Tymoshenko said.
