Ukraine protesters leave justice ministry
BBC News online -- 27 January 2014
Protesters rushed to bolster their presence at the ministry earlier
Ukrainian
anti-government protesters say they have left the justice ministry
after the minister threatened to call for a state of emergency.
A BBC correspondent says about 30 protesters remain outside the building and are refusing to let anyone in.
Unrest has spread across Ukraine, with protesters targeting municipal buildings across the country.
The protesters stormed the justice ministry building late on Sunday in a "symbolic act" to strip the authorities of justice.
Key dates
21 Nov 2013: Ukraine announces it will not sign a deal aimed at strengthening ties with the EU
30 Nov: Riot police detain dozens of anti-government protesters in a violent crackdown in Kiev
17 Dec: Russia agrees to buy $15bn of Ukrainian government bonds and slash the price of gas it sells to the country
22 Jan 2014: Two protesters die from bullet wounds during clashes with police in Kiev; protests spread across many cities
25 Jan: President Yanukovych offers senior jobs to the opposition, including that of prime minister, but these are rejected
However, Justice Minister Olena
Lukash said she would request a state of emergency and demand all talks
with the opposition cease.
The crisis was sparked by President Viktor Yanukovych's decision last November not to sign a deal aimed at strengthening ties with the EU.
The unrest has escalated in recent days with the deaths of four activists.
Various protest groups have staged short occupations of several ministry buildings in the capital, Kiev, and attacked other municipal buildings across Ukraine.
They are angry at Mr Yanukovych for what they perceive as his closeness to Russia.
Mr Yanukovych's power base is in the east, which has close cultural and historical ties to Russia.
Since the fall of the USSR, however, many people in western Ukraine have looked towards the EU and Western Europe.
Protesters have been building barricades with whatever they can find on the streets
Activists filled up sacks with snow to build a barricade in front of the Ministry of Justice building
The violence is taking place away from the longstanding protest camp in Kiev's Independence Square
They have been camped out in Kiev in below-freezing temperatures since late November
Ukraine's protests
Watershed moment
Ukraine's opposition leaders appear to see
President Yanukovych's offers of concessions as a sign of weakness and
are forging ahead with their campaign to unseat him, writes the BBC's
David Stern.Labels: Conflict, Democracy, Economy, Russia, Ukraine, Violence
posted by Pieface @ Monday, January 27, 2014
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