Ukraine parliament debate turns into brawl
ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)
Parliament was briefly suspended in Ukraine on Tuesday (March 19) after fists flew in a row over Russian between the president's party and a far-right opposition faction, threatening to extend a legislative stalemate.
Opposition parties Svoboda, Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) and UDAR (Punch) have blocked proceedings in the 450-member chamber since parliament reopened after a winter break in early February, allowing only one brief session to take place.
In the first session since Feb. 22 Olexander Yefremov, the parliamentary leader of President Viktor Yanukovich's Party of the Regions, labelled deputies from Svoboda as "neo-fascists" after they booed a speech he made in Russian.
The speaker's rostrum was then besieged by lawmakers from both Svoboda and the Regions, sparking a brief fistfight that prompted Speaker Volodymyr Rybak to suspend the session.
The chamber reopened a few hours later after the opposing factions agreed t
Parliament was briefly suspended in Ukraine on Tuesday (March 19) after fists flew in a row over Russian between the president's party and a far-right opposition faction, threatening to extend a legislative stalemate.
Opposition parties Svoboda, Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) and UDAR (Punch) have blocked proceedings in the 450-member chamber since parliament reopened after a winter break in early February, allowing only one brief session to take place.
In the first session since Feb. 22 Olexander Yefremov, the parliamentary leader of President Viktor Yanukovich's Party of the Regions, labelled deputies from Svoboda as "neo-fascists" after they booed a speech he made in Russian.
The speaker's rostrum was then besieged by lawmakers from both Svoboda and the Regions, sparking a brief fistfight that prompted Speaker Volodymyr Rybak to suspend the session.
The chamber reopened a few hours later after the opposing factions agreed t
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