Ukraine's communists condemn IMF loan

Ukraine`s Communist Party accused the government on Monday of burdening the nation with debt and filling the pockets of oligarchs by obtaining a $16.5 billion IMF loan, and announced plans for mass protests, RIA Novosti reported.

On Friday, Ukraine`s parliament passed a set of laws needed to receive the loan from the International Monetary Fund, as the country struggles to cope amid the global credit crisis.

Communist Party leader Pyotr Simonenko told a news conference that the loan was "for the benefit of oligarch circles, the leadership of the International Monetary Fund, and multinational corporations."

He warned that the debt would harm the economy, particularly ordinary citizens.

"On November 7, we will start mass protests throughout Ukraine under the slogan: `against Yushchenko and the oligarchs. Give the workers a respectable life`."

The parties led by President Viktor Yushchenko and his former ally Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko backed the legislation for the IMF loan, while the Party of Regions, led by pro-Kremlin ex-premier Viktor Yanukovych, abstained from the vote.

Under the new laws, a national stabilization fund will be set up to help struggling banks repay their foreign debt. The government will also provide more extensive guarantees for deposits in banks.

RIA Novosti