2014-02-27Mathias Haufiku "WINDHOEK - Government has condemned the deadly unrest in Ukraine, describing the unrest in the country as a coup. Government however said all of the 67 Namibian students studying in that country are safe and attending classes. “As things stand now, a coup has taken place in Ukraine. Namibia, guided by our constitution which underscores the value of democracy and the rule of law, does not support the forceful change of governments,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, adding that the situation has reached a level of uncertainty. Following clashes between protesters and the police in Ukraine, the country’s president, Viktor Yanukovych, was dismissed by members of parliament of his own party. Parliament speaker Oleksandr Turchynov was appointed as interim president following Yanukovych’s dismissal. Yanukovych and his allies are widely believed to have since gone into hiding in the Russian-speaking southern peninsula of Crimea, that is now threatening to secede from Ukraine. “I am happy to inform Namibians that the latest information from our mission in Moscow, Russia, that covers Ukraine tells us that all 67 Namibian students who have registered with the mission are safe and attending classes, and that the mission is in constant contact with them,” Nandi-Ndaitwa said in parliament on Tuesday. The 67 students are studying in Ukraine with government assistance. The minister urged families who have student relatives in Ukraine who did not register with the Namibian Embassy in Russia, to contact the embassy. She called on all roleplayers to ensure that mechanisms are put in place to bring back democratic normalcy in Ukraine. Yesterday NATO said it would continue to help Ukraine, which has close ties with the military alliance, to push ahead with democratic reforms. “Ukraine is a close and long-standing partner to NATO. And NATO is a sincere friend of Ukraine,” alliance head Anders Fogh Rasmussen said. “We stand ready to continue assisting Ukraine in its democratic reforms,” he said as he went into a regular NATO defence ministers’ meeting. Rasmussen said recent developments in Ukraine, once a communist Moscow satellite, will be discussed at the two-day meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels. By Mathias Haufiku" 2014-02-27Mathias Haufiku
