The outgoing Czech foreign minister, Jan Kohout, has expressed shock over
the escalation of street violence in Kiev, Ukraine, urging President
Yanukovych to end the bloodshed, release the detained activists and engage
in genuine dialogue with the opposition in order to resolve the crisis.
Mr.
Kohout also called on the authorities to cancel the validity of laws
passed
last week which restrict freedom of speech and assembly and which
intensified public protests in the streets of the Ukrainian capital. In a
statement released on Thursday the Czech Foreign Ministry said the Czech
Republic supported the transformation processes in Ukraine and would
continue to do so. According to official reports three activists are
reported to have been killed in the street violence on Wednesday,
anti-government protesters say as many as seven people may have died in
the
clashes.