UINR says renaming Chernihiv square in honor of Trump is illegal – media
Renaming Fairytale Square in the Sherstianka microdistrict in Chernihiv in honor of US President Donald Trump is "an extremely gross violation of the law," said Serhiy Butko, a representative of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance (UINR).
"Anything can be named in honor of an individual only after his death. This is stated in the law "On the assignment of legal entities and objects of ownership of names (pseudonyms) of individuals, anniversary and holiday dates, names and dates of historical events" Part 2, Article 3," he said in a comment to "Social".
Butko also considers another violation to be "the failure to hold a commission on toponymy and public discussions" on the renaming of this square.
"The decision was immediately made in the session hall. The law is unambiguous, and its norms must be followed. I don't understand why 22 city council members violated the law?", he noted.
The decision to rename was supported on October 16 at the 46th extraordinary session of the Chernihiv City Council. The proposal was made by the head of the European Solidarity faction, Maryna Semenenko. She noted that she was aware of the law prohibiting renaming after the names of living people, but stated that the square was not renamed in honor of the current US president.
"That's why we didn't rename it after Donald Trump. This is Trump's square. The surname is simple. It was the initiative of our faction. The Chernihiv City Council can establish whatever names it wants in the city. This is not a question for the Institute of National Remembrance," Semenenko said.
However, on her Facebook page she wrote: "There is now a Trump square in Chernihiv. The next step is to appeal to the US President and his family. We will invite him to the hero city for a visit!"