VIENNA
Human Rights Organizations have warned human rights have deteriorated in eastern Ukraine and problems in Crimea are persisting.
At a meeting in the Austrian capital of Vienna on Monday, organizations including the United Nations and Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe said reports suggested both police and local authorities in eastern Ukraine were involved in illegal activities and participating in the violent seizure of towns.
UN Assistant Secretary General for Human Rights, Ivan Simonovic, said armed gangs had increased tensions in the eastern and southeastern regions amid increasing protests and detentions.
A total of 250 people have died in Ukraine's nationwide crisis since November of last year, according to the UN’s Assistant Secretary General for Human Rights.
Stating that the Crimean Tatars were being forced into Russian citizenship, Simanovic said: "The Tatars have difficulty in educational and health issues."
Beatriz Balbin, first deputy director for Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights for the OSCE, said OSCE teams were having to work under hard conditions.
"OSCE monitors expressed specific concerns about the treatment of sexual, religious and ethnic minorities, journalists and citizens who had not applied for Russian citizenship, who faced harassment and intimidation in Ukraine," said Balbin.
'Increasingly dangerous'
In a separate UN press release, the security situation in eastern Ukraine was defined as "increasingly dangerous" with the potential of peaceful demonstrations turning into violent protests with the involvement of armed groups.
The city of Slovyansk, in the Donetsk region, was described as a place of particular unrest.
The report also documented attacks on supporters of Ukrainian unity and noted an absence of local police protection.
In eastern Ukraine, journalists, bloggers and other media professionals were being abducted and unlawfully detained by armed groups, according to the report.
Many radio and TV stations in eastern Ukraine and Crimea have ceased to broadcast altogether, the UN said.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the latest developments with his Finn counterpart Sauli Niinisto and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in phone calls, the Kremlin press center said.
Discussing the OSCE's "roadmap", Putin said he wished the roadmap would ease the crisis in Ukraine.
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