admin
Embattled Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich has told opposition leaders they have “crossed the limits”, after a night of violence in the capital Kiev left at least 25 people dead and many more injured, according to the health ministry. In a letter published on his website yesterday, Yanukovich accused opposition leaders of ignoring “the basic principle of democracy”.
He said: “They crossed the limits when they called people to arms. And it is a blatant violation of the law. I have some advisors who try to persuade me to the use of force. But I always thought the use of force as a wrong approach.”
The European Union’s Catherine Ashton has convened an extraordinary meeting of EU foreign ministers today.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said yesterday: “We have . . . made it clear that the EU will respond to any deterioration on the ground. We therefore expect that targeted measures against those responsible for violence and use of excessive force can be agreed by our member states as a matter of urgency.”
Clashes with riot police started in Kiev early on Tuesday morning, after thousands of protesters marched towards parliament, where opposition leaders accused pro-government factions of dragging their feet on a constitutional reform that would limit presidential powers — a key opposition demand.
The confrontation grew deadly as police stormed barricades set up by anti-government protesters at the capital’s Independence Square, where they were met by Molotov cocktails. After shutting down nearby underground metro stations and restricting traffic, police armed with stun grenades and water cannons moved into Independence Square, which has been the centre of nearly three months of protests, and dismantled some of the barricades.
Yanukovich said that people who broke the law must go to court, which would determine their punishment.
“Therefore, I once again urge the leaders of the opposition, who argue that they too seek a peaceful settlement immediately disassociate themselves from the radical forces that provoke bloodshed and clashes with law enforcement. Or admit that they support the radicals.
Then it will be another story.”
About 20,000 demonstrators fought back, armed with rocks, bats and fire bombs, and singing the Ukrainian national anthem as the main protest camp was engulfed in flames. Trade union buildings that served as a base for the protesters during the past two months also caught fire.
“This Satanic government will be destroyed. Death to these scoundrels,” Oleh Tyagnibok, one of the three main opposition leaders, told protesters from the stage at Independence Square.
Unrest broke out in Ukraine last year when Yanukovich rejected a free-trade agreement with the European Union and opted for a $15bn package of Russian credits and cheaper gas to support Ukraine’s ailing economy in November.
Speaking to Al Jazeera on Tuesday, Valentin Yakushik, a political science professor at the University of Kiev, said: “Now the official opposition cannot control the people protesting in the streets. They came to the tactics of vandalism, burning down some buildings, destroying cars, throwing stones, molotov cocktails. Very dangerous situation.”
As reports emerged of protesters taking over government buildings in other Ukrainian cities, a meeting at the presidential residence between Yanukovich and opposition leaders Vitaly Klitschko and Arseny Yatsenuk broke down, according to opposition sources.
Klitschko said in a statement: “Yanukovich is reacting to the situation absolutely inadequately. All he was talking about was that the opposition leaders call on people at the Maidan to stop resisting and lay down arms.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Tuesday’s violence was a “direct result of connivance by Western politicians and European structures that have shut their eyes . . . on the aggressive actions of radical forces”.
Denouncing the “grave new escalation” in Kiev, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton condemned “all use of violence, including against public or party buildings”.
“I urge the leadership of Ukraine to address the root causes of the crisis,” she said, calling for an urgent return to a parliamentary process.
Echoing Ashton’s sentiments, a number of Western countries, including the US and France, called for an end to the violence in Kiev and restraint by security forces. — AP
Online Reporter