KIEV, April 17. /ITAR-TASS/. Deputies of the Party of Regions at the Ukrainian Rada have refused to take part in voting at Rada unless their demands, voiced at yesterday's party congress in Donetsk, were met.

"People, rather than 'criminals', as Mr. Turchynov (Rada Speaker) put it, have been perishing in the east of Ukraine. People, citizens of Ukraine," said head of the Donetsk regional organization of the Party of Regions Mykola Levchenko. "The current administration of Ukraine came into power by force to act as 'gauleiters', but in return, they got a mutiny in the east of Ukraine," Levchenko said.

"The stabilization of the situation is possible only if the central administration of Ukraine heeds the voice of the people. We have raised a question of amending the Constitution so as to delimitate powers between the center and regions once and for all and give the Russian language a status of the second state language spoken in Ukraine," Levchenko said.

"The Party of Regions will not vote in parliament until our demands are met," Levchenko said. "The people are demanding a referendum," he emphasized.