Parliament approves regretting Pavlo Sadokha voting against the CFP

Ain addition to the PCP, the member of the Left Block, Andreia Galvão, abstained from the vote of regret presented by the PSD bench, to which the government associated. The parliamentary leader of the CFP, Paula Santos, and the MP of the Left Block announced that they will be presenting explanations of vote.

The position of the Communist bench, voting against, and the BE, abstaining, then motivated a protest reaction by several members of the parliamentary right-wing benches.

In the vote presented by the PSD, it is decided that the Assembly of the Republic expresses its deep regret at the death of Pavlo Sadokha, presenting “his most heartfelt condolences to the grieving family, the Ukrainian Association in Portugal and the entire Ukrainian community residing in Portugal”.

It is said that Pavlo Sadokha died on 13th, at the age of 56, and was an “unrepentable figure in the representation and defense of the Ukrainian community residing in our country”.

“ Radified in Portugal more than two decades ago, Pavlo Sadokha devoted himself tirelessly to the Ukrainian cause, promoting the march for peace in Lisbon annually and defending the international recognition of the Holodomor as genocide of the Ukrainian people. Since the Russian Federation’s military aggression against Ukraine started in February 2022, Pavlo Sadokha has taken a central role in the articulation between the Ukrainian community and the Portuguese institutions, giving a voice to the thousands of Ukrainian citizens who, fleeing the war, have found refuge in Portugal, solidarity and conditions to rebuild their lives”, stands out in the vote of the Social Democratic bench.

Also according to the PSD vote, under the leadership of Pavlo Sadokha, the Ukrainian Association in Portugal “has played a key role in supporting, informing and integrating Ukrainian refugees, as well as raising awareness of Portuguese society to the reality of the war and the need to keep solidarity with the Ukrainian people alive”.

“The death of Pavlo Sadokha deserved the immediate recognition of Ukrainian authorities. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stressed that, by his actions, Ukraine’s voice was heard clearly, consistently and uncompromisingly in Portugal, while Ukrainian World Congress president Pavlo Grod stressed that Sadokha dedicated his life to serving Ukraine and its people,” he added.

In its explanation of vote, the CFP justified its decision to vote against by refusing to whiten and value “the path of a figure characterized by a stance of exaltation of collaborators with Nazi-fascism in World War II, responsible for numerous atrocities; of support to extreme right-wing and fascist forces and to a belligerent, xenophobic, persecutory and antidemocratic power, supported by groups claiming the Nazi legacy”.

The CFP also refers to “positionings and appeals in Portugal of anti-democratic and persecutory content aimed at those who are sympathetic to the Ukrainian people, who reject it being sacrificed as cannon meat in a war that has nothing to do with their interests and aspirations, who defend the construction of a path of peace”.

“ Rejecting the policy of confrontation, of arms escalation, of war, which they want to impose on the peoples of Europe, with all the dramatic consequences and serious threats it entails, the CFP will continue to be committed to defending the path of peace, the political resolution of conflicts, collective security and cooperation, friendship between peoples, the only path that can guarantee the future of humanity”, adds to the statement of vote of the Communist bench.