Kiev’s amnesty offer dismissed by pro-Russians
Print Edition
ARMED pro-Russia separatists in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk rejected Kiev’s offer of amnesty for those who seized government buildings this week and called on others to defy the pro-European government in Kiev.
Protesters wearing bullet-proof vests and armed with guns inside the security building said they would only lay down their weapons if Kiev agreed to hold a referendum on the future of the region.
“We demand concretely a referendum on federalization so that the will of the people is heard,” said Aleksei Kolekin, one of the protest leaders barricaded into the five-story building in Luhansk.
The demands, which echo the steps the Ukrainian territory of Crimea took before it declared independence and voted to join Russia, have been rejected by Kiev, which says the occupations are part of a Russian-led plan to dismember the country.
Tensions have risen in the mainly Russian-speaking east since the overthrow of Ukraine’s Russian-backed president, the installation of a new pro-European government and Moscow’s annexation of Crimea.
In Kiev, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry repeated the threat of force to clear the state buildings.
“We are trying to find a compromise, but the demands put forward by the occupiers are unacceptable. Our aim is to avoid the use of force, but that option remains in place,” Deputy Interior Minister Serhiy Yarovy told journalists.
Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov said he hoped to avoid bloodshed and proposed that protesters holding buildings in Luhansk and Donetsk would not be prosecuted if they left and surrendered their arms.
Activists at both buildings said they would continue talks with the government, but said the current offer was not enough.
Protesters seized the Luhansk state security building on Sunday along with its weapons arsenal.
Outside, up to 200 people stood in solidarity with protesters, who called on compatriots elsewhere in eastern Ukraine to join their cause.
“Brothers of southeast, let’s work together. Please help us,” said protest leader Kolekin.
In Donetsk, protesters have occupied the regional administrative building. Some 1,500 protesters were outside yesterday, in solidarity with the separatists.
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