The biggest demonstrations since the "Orange Revolution" are continuing in the Ukraine after Pres. Viktor Yanukovych allegedly aborted a trade deal with the European Union under Russian pressure to stick with the former USSR.
Tens of thousands of Ukrainians have flooded the streets of Kiev
in the biggest anti-government protest since the 2004 Orange
Revolution
to demand President Viktor Yanukovych reverse a decision not to sign a key pact with the European Union.
The
rally, which may herald the most serious challenge to Yanukovych's
authority since he came to power in 2010, ended with scuffles with
police outside government offices.
Police [reacted] with teargas. Ukraine
was to have signed a historic free trade and association deal with the
EU at this week's Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. EU
officials said Ukraine's abrupt U-turn came as a result of Kremlin
pressure.
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| Riot police clash with Ukrainians near the cabinet building in Kiev (Alexey Furman/EPA) |
Russia's
president, Vladimir Putin, wants Kiev to join a Moscow-led customs
union. [Allegedly] an estimated 45% of Ukraine's population support closer ties with
the West instead.
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| Ukraine president is unpopular |
"We want to be in Europe"
said 46-year-old Liudmyla Babych, a saleswoman from Kiev, holding a
placard reading, "Mr. President – the Ukrainian nation will not forgive
you this treason."
The protesters marched through the streets of
Kiev as part of a nationwide day of protest chanting the slogans "Out
with the gang!" and "Ukraine is Europe" and singing songs popular during
the Orange revolution. Tens of thousands of people held a peaceful
meeting on...
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Who rules the Ukraine, people or gov't?
Wisdom Quarterly (COMMENTARY)
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| FEMEN stands against dictators in Ukraine |
That was the headline in November. By the middle of December, the sides had grown in intensity. The police and politicians are conservatives, the people radicals for change -- greater trade and affiliation with the West. The EU versus RU (Russia, or what's left of the USSR), who will win the hearts and minds of the Ukrainians?
Oops, it's already been won by the EU. That will not stop Vlad Putin from putting inordinate pressure on its president to remain a Russian ally -- even if it means a massive and bloody police state intervention. Paramilitary police and secret forces are already on the scene beating civilians, deploying teargas, and planning for a major crackdown. People can simply not be allowed the delusion that their voice matters. When it comes to governing a modern "democracy," what matters most is what those tricky enough to rig elections decide.
Ukraine protesters return en masse to central Kiev for pro-EU campaign
Shaun Walker and Oksana Grytsenko (theguardian.com)
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| Kiev, Dec. 15, 2013 (theguardian.com) |
Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians brave freezing weather to demand EU integration despite suspension of negotiations on the agreement due to Russian interference.
Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians braved freezing temperatures and
aggressive [paramilitary] policing to return to central Kiev on Sunday to demand
political change, sending a message to authorities that the crisis over
the government's failure to sign an EU integration pact is unlikely to
end soon.
With the news that the
EU has suspended negotiations on the agreement likely to further inflame the mood, at least 200,000 people packed into Independence Square, known as the
Maidan,
to hear music and speeches from the trio of Ukrainian politicians who
have attempted to lead the spontaneous outpouring of anger.
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