KIEV, April 30. /TASS/. Ukraine’s Social Policy Minister Andrei Reva must resign after calling Donbass residents "scum" and them correcting himself to use the word "miscreants," former Ukrainian Prime Minister and leader of the Batkivshchina (or Fatherland) party Yulia Timoshenko wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.
"I demand that Minister Reva step down immediately. The government must provide official apologies to all Ukrainians, and law enforcement officials must provide an appropriate response to such remarks," she pointed out.
Timoshenko believes that Reva’s behavior jeopardizes Ukraine’s state interests and tarnishes the entire cabinet’s image. "This sort of tongued-tied and ignorant pro-government speech under certain conditions morphs into a threat against state interests. This is the case here because a minister’s statement points not to his personal idiocy but to the position of a state agency - an agency that is meant to protect Ukrainian citizens and advance their interests," the ex-PM noted.
According to her, it is because of such stances that the current government lost the presidential election. "Instead of keeping silent and repenting, they keep up efforts to split the country, polarizing people and sowing hatred. It’s not just a slip of the tongue but a crime against the Ukrainian people that must be punished," Timoshenko emphasized.
Reva issued a statement on Facebook later saying that several weeks ago, BBC reporters had asked him to comment on the payment of pensions in the areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions that Kiev did not control. According to him, the interview lasted over half an hour but the final report only featured one phrase that the reporter used to illustrate his alleged personal attitude towards all Ukrainian nationals living "in the occupied areas." The minister claimed that his words had been misinterpreted.