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Derechos | Equipo Nizkor
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Derechos | Equipo Nizkor
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18Feb14
'Golden eagles' storm protester's barricades in Kiev's day of bloodshed
Ukraine's demonstrators have feared a government assault on their main camp ever since they occupied large areas of central Kiev in December. Last night, that dreaded scenario appeared to come to pass when the security forces - including specialist riot police known as the "golden eagles" - were turned on the protesters with unprecedented ferocity.
They broke through the biggest barricade on Grushevskogo street, once defended by hundreds of club-wielding demonstrators wearing masks, and recaptured Ukrainian House, a public building only a few hundred yards from the biggest protest camp in Independence Square, universally known as the "Maidan".
For the first time since the rallies began, the security forces penetrated this citadel, using tear gas, baton rounds and water cannon to suppress their opponents. Once inside the Maidan, they set the tents ablaze, lighting up Kiev's version of Trafalgar Square with fire.
But thousands of protesters fought back and their leaders were still able to voice defiance. As flames burned around him, Vitaly Klitschko, the leader of the second biggest opposition party in Parliament, mounted a stage in the Maidan and declared: "We will not go anywhere from here. This is an island of freedom and we will defend it."
The opposition issued a general call for its supporters to flock to the Maidan. But the security forces, anticipating this move, sealed off the arterial roads leading to central Kiev and shut down the capital's metro system. The interior ministry said that an "anti-terrorist" operation was underway and urged all women and children to leave the Maidan. The demonstrators had "crossed the line", said a joint statement from the ministry and the internal security service, adding: "If atrocities do not stop by 1800, we will have to clean up this disorder by all means provided by law."
As the flames rose from the wreckage of the protest camp, at least nine people lay dead - two policemen and seven demonstrators - making this the bloodiest day that Ukraine has suffered since the country won independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
After weeks of relative calm, the trigger for the bloodshed appears to have been an attempt to persuade Parliament to amend the constitution and strip President Viktor Yanukovych of many of his powers.
As the opposition tried to force a vote on its proposed reforms, thousands of demonstrators marched on the Parliament building in central Kiev. They collided with massed ranks of police deployed to stop their advance. The officers, brandishing metal shields, fired baton rounds and hurled stun grenades at the protesters, who threw stones and fireworks. The advance on parliament soon became a struggle for control of the streets nearby. By 11am, battles had broken out at three separate locations in the city centre.
Protesters, many of them wearing masks, helmets and army surplus camouflage, seized police vehicles and set them ablaze. They stormed and wrecked the central office of Mr Yanukovych's Party of the Regions. Tyres piled on icebound barricades were set ablaze, sending up thick clouds of black smoke.
By the afternoon, three demonstrators lay dead, according to Olga Bohomets, the chief medical officer of the protest movement, and Lesiya Orobets, an MP from the opposition Fatherland party. Later, a fourth body was reported to have been found near the burnt-out headquarters of the ruling party.
As fighting continued outside the Parliament building, the opposition accused Volodymyr Rybak, the speaker, of obstructing their attempt to reduce the president's powers by refusing to allow a debate on their draft resolution. Later, some opposition members simply abandoned their attempt to cut Mr Yanukovych down to size using parliamentary means. The Fatherland party said that all its male MPs had left parliament to join the demonstrators in Independence Square.
The protesters also reoccupied City Hall, which they had vacated only two days earlier as the confrontation appeared to be winding down. Meanwhile, Pravy Sektor, an extreme nationalist paramilitary group, urged any member with a gun to report to the Square. "There is confirmed information that a dispersal of Maidan using armoured vehicles and firearms is highly probable," read an "urgent appeal" from the group. "In this regard, we encourage all owners of firearms to come to the square and form groups to protect people from criminal government servants."
Arseniy Yatsenyuk, the leader of the biggest opposition party, told the crowds in the Maidan: "We see that this regime again has begun shooting people; they want to sink Ukraine in blood. We will not give in to a single provocation. We will not take one step back from this square. We have nowhere to retreat to."
The security forces began their assault on the Square soon afterwards. As the fires burned last night, it was unclear whether they had successfully crushed this challenge to Mr Yanukovych's rule.
But Western governments denounced the violence and urged a return to negotiations.
Jay Carney, the White House spokesman, warned that "force will not resolve the crisis", adding: "We continue to condemn street violence and excessive use of force by either side."
Stefan Fuele, the European Union's enlargement commissioner, said that he had spoken by phone to Sergei Arbuzov, the acting prime minister of Ukraine, and received guarantees that the government would do everything to avoid violence. "He assured me that he and the government would do what they can to make sure that those weapons stay silent," said Mr Fule. "For the sake of Ukraine and its future I will pray that he is right."
As recently as Sunday, the tension seemed to be easing in Kiev as protesters evacuated some public buildings, including City Hall, in return for an amnesty from prosecution granted by Mr Yanukovych. The main barricade on Grushevskogo street was opened to allow traffic to pass. In retrospect, that seems to have been a tactical error: the security forces were able to breach this rampart, once heavily defended, last night.
The march on Parliament and its bloody suppression appears to have brought Ukraine's confrontation to the bloody climax that all sides had hoped to avoid.
The demonstrations began last November after Mr Yanukovych rejected an association agreement with the European Union in favour of accepting a $15 billion loan from Russia. But the movement changed from being a pro-European to an explicitly anti-government campaign directed primarily at removing Mr Yanukovych.
He tried to compromise by sacking his entire government last month and repealing nine security laws which banned most forms of public protest. Mr Yanukovych made every concession save his own resignation. That left him with a stark decision of either stepping down or crushing the protests by force. Last night, he appears to have made the latter choice.
[Source: By Roland Oliphant in Moscow and David Blair, The Telegraph, Moscow, 18Feb14]
 | This document has been published on 19Feb14 by the Equipo Nizkor and Derechos Human Rights. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. |