Ukraine leader’s opposition offer sows uncertainties amid clashes
Print Edition
Police clashed with protesters who blockaded a building in central Kiev yesterday and the fate of Ukraine’s government was uncertain after embattled President Viktor Yanukovich offered opposition leaders key posts.
One of the president’s main foes called his offer as a “poisoned” bid to kill off a protest movement in a country plunged into unrest by Yanukovich’s U-turn from the European Union toward Russia.
Emboldened opposition leaders said they would press for more concessions, warning that they would not let Yanukovich call the shots, setting the stage for a tough political battle at a special session of parliament scheduled for tomorrow.
In the latest violence, a few thousand protesters tried to storm an ornate cultural center where hundreds of security forces personnel were gathered in central Kiev, a few hundred meters from the hub of weeks of opposition protests on Independence Square.
Demonstrators threw stones and smoke bombs while police fired stun grenades and sprayed water into the crowd.
Police and security forces later left the building, its windows shattered, and streamed out through a corridor created by the crowd after an opposition leader, Vitaly Klitschko, arrived at the scene and helped to negotiate a solution.
The two-hour pre-dawn confrontation came after Yanukovich made his biggest concession yet in a 2-month standoff that has cast Ukraine into crisis, killed at least three people and deepened tension between Russia and the West.
He abruptly abandoned plans to sign political linkage and free trade deals with the EU in November, vowing instead to boost ties with Russia and angering millions who dream of being in Europe.
Hoping to end protests that threaten to bring the country to a standstill, Yanukovich on Saturday offered former economy minister Arseny Yatsenyuk the post of prime minister.
Klitschko, a former international boxing champion, was offered the post of deputy prime minister responsible for humanitarian issues, the presidential website said.
The presidency linked its offer to the opposition reining in violent protesters. Though the protest movement is largely peaceful, a hard core of radicals have been fighting pitched battles with police away from Independence Square.
Opposition leaders said they would press their calls for early polls and repeal of an anti-protest law.
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