simplify procedures for revocation of mandates of members of parliament are equally worrying". And she added "I call on the President of Ukraine to ensure that these decisions are revised and brought in line with Ukraine's international commitments". German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier reaction on the laws was "The limitation of civil rights will lead Ukraine only further away from Europe". The United States Department of State expressed deep concern: "Both the process and the substance of the Rada's actions today cast serious doubt on Ukraine's commitment to democratic norms". In response to foreign criticism Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara urged foreign diplomats "to avoid making unilateral statements and remarks that do not reflect the real state of affairs". He also noted that the laws adopted by the Ukrainian parliament on 16 January already exist in the laws of most European countries and meet generally accepted democratic standards and international practices. The following day, president Yanukovych signed the bills into law and dismissed Hennadiy Vorobiev as commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces. Presidential chief of staff Serhiy Lyovochkin resigned from his post in protest of the laws, as well as presidential spokeswoman Daria Chepak. In accordance with enforcing the new anti-social laws, Interior Minister Zakharchenko pledged that "each offence will be met by our side harshly." 19–27 January 2014 On 19 January, Sunday mass protest, the ninth in a row, took place gathering up to 200,000 in central Kyiv to protest the new anti-protest laws, dubbed the "Dictatorship laws". The rally was attended by opposition leaders, but was also the first public appearance of Tetiana Chornovol since her alleged attack by the authorities. Many protesters defied the face concealment ban by donning party masks, while others wore hard hats and gas masks. AutoMaidan leader Dmytro Bulatov demanded a single oppositional candidate be named, and the crowd also chanted against leaders to comply with this action. Batkivshchyna leaders Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Oleksandr Turchynov declared that a new, alternative parliament would be created. Euromaidan activists, including former Ukrainian Navy chief, Rear Admiral Ihor Tenyukh, appealed to the military for its "solemn allegiance to the Ukrainian people" rather than the "criminal regime", and for members of the military and police to not carry out criminal orders, namely in the use of force against civilians; they assured those who would be fired for refusing orders of violence would be reinstated once a new government