Ukraine leader agrees to scrap anti-protest laws

KIEV, Ukraine – Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych on Monday, January 27, agreed to scrap anti-protest laws but said jailed protesters would be released only if barricades are taken down, in a new twist to a two-month crisis before a key EU-Russia summit.

Ukrainian opposition leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk also formally turned down the post of prime minister, held out by Yanukovych following a previous round of negotiations on Saturday, January 25, the presidency said in a statement on the talks.

“There was a political decision to abolish the January 16 laws that have caused so much discussion,” read the statement, which comes on the eve of a special parliament session in Kiev that is due to discuss possible measures aimed at bringing the deadly crisis to an end.

“Yatsenyuk declined to lead the government of Ukraine.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin is on Tuesday, January 28, due in Brussels, after which the European Union’s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton will travel to Kiev in a diplomatic flurry reflecting growing international concern.

Yanukovych met with the three main opposition leaders – Yastenyuk, former boxing champion Vitali Klitschko and nationalist Oleg Tyagnybok – who have called for a new mass demonstration on Tuesday on Independence Square, the Maidan.

Radical protesters earlier on Monday agreed to leave the premises of the justice ministry building they had stormed on Sunday evening, January 26, in a provocative move that had threatened to derail attempts to find a solution.

With concern growing that the situation in Ukraine was spiraling out of control, the country’s worst crisis since independence was set to dominate Tuesday’s EU-Russia talks.

The protests began in November as a drive for EU integration after Yanukovych ditched a key deal with the bloc under Russian pressure, but have now turned into a drive to unseat him.

At least three protesters have been killed in clashes with the security forces and the protests have spread far beyond their hub in Kiev to outlying regions, including Yanukovych’s heartland in eastern Ukraine.

Under unprecedented pressure, Yanukovych on Saturday, January 25, had offered to give the opposition posts in government and to impose changes in the constitution that would reduce the powers of the presidency and boost the government.

But opposition leaders have said they will press ahead with their protests until all their demands are met – including early elections.

Taking a more radical line than many in the opposition, the jailed leader of the 2004 Orange Revolution, Yulia Tymoshenko, earlier urged opposition leaders to reject the “humiliating terms” set by the presidency.

Klitschko, who was offered the job of deputy prime minister, had already dismissed it as “a poisonous offer” aimed at driving a wedge between the leaders of the demonstrations.

Amid a febrile atmosphere in Kiev, the Dzerkalo Tyzhnia news website reported the cabinet was preparing a state of emergency decree which would restrict movement on some Kiev streets.

But Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara told reporters Monday: “Today we are not considering the introduction of a state of emergency. Today, this measure is not on the table.”

Dzerkalo Tyzhnia also reported that the government was planning to massively expand the Berkut riot police force blamed for much of the violence in Kiev by six times to 30,000 people.

Protesters vacate justice ministry

Tensions remained high in Kiev after several dozen radical protesters seized control of the justice ministry late Sunday.

After occupying the premises for over 12 hours, the activists walked out of the building though dozens dressed in battle fatigues still blocked the front entrance.

Protesters now control much of the centre of Kiev around a hub on Independence Square, with their camp protected by barricades several meters high and guarded by activists in balaclavas armed with baseball bats.

Protesters also occupy regional government offices in all but one region in the west of the country, with local opposition lawmakers and militants uniting to run their regions.

Protesters now occupy or are blockading a total of 10 of the 25 regional centers across Ukraine.

Security forces appear to have been fighting back in the east, using force to disperse protests in the regional centers of Dnipropetrovsk, Cherkasy and Sumy and arresting dozens, local media reported.

The escalating crisis is expected to dominate a meeting between Putin and European Council president Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso.

Moscow has slammed protesters as extremists, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov condemning “fascistic youth” and warning against external interference.

But the West has voiced concern about police violence, and says Ukrainians’ right to protest should be protected. – Rappler.com