Ukraine Protests: Police Move In On Kiev Camp

Ukrainian riot police have entered Kiev's City Hall to try to force out protesters who have occupied the building, the activists claimed.

The protesters, demanding President Viktor Yanukovich's resignation, said police had entered the building after a night of scuffles and a tense stand-off, Reuters reported.  

Live footage from the Espreso TV channel showed the protesters appearing to fire water back at the police from hoses after officers blocked the building off with buses.

Activists linked hands and sang the national anthem as police gathered

But interior minister Vitaly Zakharchenko said there would be "no storming of the square" as he appealed for calm.

He said: "No-one will violate your rights to protest peacefully, but do not ignore the rights... of other citizens."

Thousands of officers had moved in on the anti-government protesters' camp in the centre of Ukrainian capital at around 1am on Wednesday.

There were clashes as the protestors put up fierce resistance for hours, pushing back at the police lines to keep them away from key sites in the camp.

Protesters shouted "Shame!", ''We will stand!" and sang the Ukrainian national anthem. Ukrainian singer Ruslana, who is with the protesters, was heard appealing to police through a loud hailer: "Don't hurt us."

By dawn the police had regained control of a large section of the square, using heavy equipment to bulldoze tents and put them in a rubbish truck.

Police appeared to receive hundreds of reinforcements

Sky Correspondent Katie Stallard, in Kiev, said: "The protesters on their side are coming to their defensive positions and looking out.

"The police, for their part, are formed up and seem to be waiting for the order to go in.

"We saw protesters earlier today reinforcing their positions with whatever they could find, with oil drums, with timber. They've strung barbed wire along some of the sections of the barricades."

Ukrainian opposition leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk called for a millions-strong protest, predicting the regime of President Viktor Yanukovych would fall.

"We will not forgive this," he said.

"Here there will be millions and his regime is going to collapse."

US Secretary of State John Kerry voiced the country's "disgust" at Ukraine's repression of demonstrators.

"(Washington) expresses its disgust with the decision of Ukrainian authorities to meet the peaceful protest in Kiev's Maidan Square with riot police, bulldozers, and batons, rather than with respect for democratic rights and human dignity," he said.

"This response is neither acceptable nor does it befit a democracy."

Opposition leader Vitali Klitschko, who is a reigning world heavyweight boxing champion, urged Ukrainians to rush to the centre of the capital to defend democracy.

"We will say no to a police state, no to a dictatorship," he told protesters in the square.

The storming of the camp comes despite a visit by two top Western diplomats to try to defuse a weeks-long stand-off between the opposition and Mr Yanukovych.

Protesters have been demonstrating against the government's decision to pull out of negotiations on a trade pact with the European Union and rebuild economic ties with Russia.

European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton had earlier visited the camp after first meeting Mr Yanukovych and then opposition leaders.

She issued a statement in response to the police's actions, saying: "I observe with sadness that police use force to remove peaceful people from the centre of Kiev.

"The authorities didn't need to act under the coverage of night to engage with the society by using police.

"Dialogue with political forces and society and use of arguments is always better than the argument of force."

Mr Yanukovych had previously attempted to calm the situation by calling for the release of the demonstrators arrested in the protests and vowing that Ukraine is still interested in integrating with Europe.

His efforts, however, stopped far short of opposition demands that his government resign, and the two sides appeared no closer to a resolution that would chart out a secure future for their economically troubled nation.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

Ukraine Protests: Police Move In On Kiev Camp

Dengan url

https://miekeritingting.blogspot.com/2013/12/ukraine-protests-police-move-in-on-kiev.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

Ukraine Protests: Police Move In On Kiev Camp

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

Ukraine Protests: Police Move In On Kiev Camp

sebagai sumbernya