{UAH} Ukraine either another referendum or civil war? Punch-up in Parliament
|
6:15 AM |
No comments |
Punch-up in Parliament as Ukraine defies Kremlin's warning of war and uses special forces to clear out pro-Russian protesters who declared a 'sovereign republic'
- Nationalists and communists came to blows over 'heavy-handed tactics'
- Government mounted 'anti-terrorist' operation arresting 70 in Kharkiv
- Activists in the city, 25 miles from Russia, had seized a state building
- Authorities claim two police officers wounded after a grenade was hurled
- Barricades remain in two nearby border cities, Donetsk and Luhansk
- Russian warns of civil war and blames 'chaos by extremists and neo-Nazis'
- But William Hague says crisis bears all the hallmarks of a Russian strategy
- Former U.S. presidential candidate: It's 'straight out of Putin's paybook'
By Dan Bloom
Published: 08:46 GMT, 8 April 2014 | Updated: 12:00 GMT, 8 April 2014
Ukraine's politicians brawled in parliament today over the 'heavy-handed' use of special forces to arrest 70 pro-Russian activists who took over a government building.
Firebombs, burning tyres and a grenade were hurled as authorities mounted an 'anti-terrorist' crackdown today in Ukraine's second-largest city Kharkiv - just 25 miles from the Russian border.
Russia has warned of 'civil war' over unrest in three cities, prompting fears that the 40,000 troops it has near the border will invade under the pretext of keeping the peace.
The punch-up today broke out after a communist leader accused Ukrainian nationalists of playing into Russia's hands by adopting extreme tactics.
Scroll down for video
Politics, Ukraine style: Nationalists and communists had a full-blown fight in Ukraine's Parliament today
Fight: Far-right nationalists grabbed communist Petro Symonenko as he told the chamber: 'You are doing everything to intimidate people. You arrest people, start fighting people who have a different point of view'
Punch-up: The brawl began between three members and others rushed to join in as the situation escalated
Nonplussed: Members of staff looked on as the politicians got out of their seats and began punching each other
Political fighting: Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague also waded into the row today, saying the chaos in three Ukrainian cities bore 'all the hallmarks' of a Russian campaign to destabilise the country
Two members of the Svoboda far-right nationalist party were so angry at the claims by communist Petro Symonenko that they grabbed him while he was delivering his speech.
His party supporters rallied to his defence and a brawl broke out with members of other parties joining in and trading punches.
More...
- Now ANOTHER pro-Russia part of Ukraine calls itself a 'sovereign republic', opening door to Putin taking it over too
- Pictured: The moment two of Ukraine's ousted leaders crashed through a metal detector and wrestled airport staff to the ground in desperate bid to flee the country
- Crowds of demonstrators waving Russian flags storm government buildings across eastern Ukraine
- Russia could seize Ukraine in just three days, Nato warns: Supreme military commander says Putin has built up force on border big enough for full-blown invasion
Symonenko had claimed armed groups were attacking people who wanted to defend their rights by peaceful means.
'You are today doing everything to intimidate people,' he told the Parliament.
'You arrest people, start fighting people who have a different point of view.'
Symonenko did not appear badly hurt, but one politician returned to his seat with clear scratches on his face.
The communists were strong supporters of ousted President Viktor Yanukovich right up until he fled the country on February 21 - after more than 100 people were shot dead by police snipers in Kiev.
The brawl came after pro-Russians stormed government buildings in three cities near the border and declared their independence.
Security forces regained control in Kharkiv but standoffs continue in Donetsk, where activists declared a new 'People's Republic', and Luhansk, where they brandished guns.
Today Britain waded into the row, with Foreign Secretary William Hague saying the chaos bore 'all the hallmarks' of Kremlin tactics.
He told Parliament: 'There can be no justification for this action, which bears all the hallmarks of a Russian strategy to destabilise Ukraine.
'Russia should be clear that the deliberate escalation of this crisis will bring serious political and economic consequences.'
Armed and masked: A Ukrainian policeman stands guard in the country's second-largest city Kharkiv, where special forces ousted activists from a government building (pictured) and arrested 70 people
Shell: The view from one of the windows of the cleared regional government building in Kharkiv
East v West: Far from the pro-European rulers in Kiev (top), Eastern Ukraine (right) has strong ties to Russia. Last month Russia took over Crimea (bottom) and now separatists in Moldova (left) want to join Russia too
Armed and masked police guarded the cleared state building today in Kharkiv, one of three cities in which pro-Russians seized public buildings and demanded a referendum on independence.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov blamed 'extremists and neo-Nazis' for the chaos - but former U.S. presidential candidate John McCain said it was 'straight out of President Putin's paybook'.
And the U.S. government has fired a broadside at Russia - which has 40,000 troops near the border - saying any move into Ukraine would be a 'very serious escalation' leading to further sanctions.
The protesters in Khakiv seized the regional government building yesterday and declared a 'sovereign Kharkiv People's Republic,' similar to one in nearby Donetsk.
They also seized the city's TV tower and demanded it broadcast banned Russian channels, Kharkiv's mayor said.
The building was initially cleared but activists, who responded by throwing firebombs and rocks at the windows and setting tires ablaze, recaptured it.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov announced today's special forces operation in Kharkiv on his Facebook page, saying the activists threatened to 'provoke change in blood and sacrifice'.
He added: 'Putin and [ousted Ukrainian president Viktor] Yanukovych ordered and paid for another round of separatist unrest.
Standoff: Pro-Russians argued with and pushed towards Ukrainian riot police in Kharkiv today
'Heavy-handed': A Ukrainian politician accused the use of special forces in Kharkiv (pictured) of playing into Russia's hands. The Kremlin as put 40,000 troops near the border which could invade to 'keep the peace'
Long arm of the law: Some 70 separatists were arrested after being cleared from the building (pictured)
The Ukrainian Interior Minister added: 'The situation will go back under control without the blood. The Interior Ministry will not shoot people for a bunch of paid provocateurs.
'Among the protesters were many dupes - many came for the money.'
White House spokesman Jay Carney also said there was strong evidence some of the pro-Russians were hired mercenaries.
But Russia - which has stationed 40,000 troops near the border - replied: 'We call for an immediate halt to military preparations which could lead to an outbreak of civil war.'
'The situation will go back under control without the blood. The Interior Ministry will not shoot people for a bunch of paid provocateurs. Among the protesters were many dupes - many came for the money'
- Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov
Writing for the Guardian, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov added: 'The main danger for the future of Ukraine is the spread of chaos by extremists and neo-Nazis.
'We are not imposing anything on anyone. We just see that if it is not done, Ukraine will continue to spiral into crisis with unpredictable consequences.'
Two police officers were reportedly wounded by a grenade as the building was cleared.
Those arrested were held on suspicion of 'illegal activity related to separatism, the organisation of mass disorder, damage to human health' and other crimes.
Last night Ukraine's acting Foreign Affairs Minister, Andrii Deshchytsia, made a phone call to Mr Lavrov - and asked him not to invade.
'I expressed our concern about the situation,' Mr Deshchytsia told CNN’s Fred Pleitgen.
'I also warned him not to use any military force to protect Russians in eastern Ukraine, since we have enough power to protect Russian-speaking [people].'
'We both agreed that we have to deploy all necessary means to de-escalate [the] situation.'
Sunny: Pro-Russian activists in face masks near a barricade today at the security services building in Luhansk, one of three cities in which activists stormed public buildings and demanded a referendum to join Russia
Improvised: In Luhansk, pro-Russians build a barricade out of sheet metal. Some in the city brandished guns
Kharkiv was one of three eastern cities which saw wide disorder yesterday, together with Donetsk and Luhansk.
In Donetsk, masked pro-Russian groups seized the provincial government building, barricaded the entrance with car tires and barbed wire and raised the Russian flag.
THE CRISIS SPREADS: NOW PEOPLE IN MOLDOVA WANT TO JOIN RUSSIA
Separatists whose homes border a Russian-speaking part of Ukraine have revealed they want to join the eastern power too.
Evgheny Shevciuk, president of the self-proclaimed republic of Trans-Dniester in Moldova, said his people wanted to be recognised as an independent state.
He added he wanted eventually to join Russia - even though Moldova is hundreds of miles from the country and shares no border with it.
'Our dream is to have a successful, independent Trans-Dniester, together with Russia,' he said yesterday.
The region voted in a 2006 referendum to join Russia and tensions have flared again because of the activity in Crimea.
The comments are a headache for the Moldovan government - because it wants to join the EU.
In the chamber of government, there was a standing ovation as an unidentified bearded man proclaimed 'the creation of the sovereign state of the People's Republic of Donetsk'.
Those barricaded inside 'voted' for a referendum which they said must be held no later than May 11.
The cities are close to the Russian border and their citizens have more ethnic ties to Russia than those in Ukraine's capital Kiev, where the pro-Russian government was ousted earlier this year.
Events in eastern Ukraine echo the spiral towards Russian control which happened last month on the Crimean peninsula - where Russian troops moved in after residents voted against Ukrainian control.
The world's financial leaders will be forced to discuss the crisis later this week at the G20 meeting of nations.
An official from Russia, which is part of the group, said: 'One way or another, the issue will be brought up during discussions but it will be approached from the point of view of risks the crisis in Ukraine can create for the region as a whole. This is a traditional approach.'
Ukraine's finances are in turmoil. Last month it won up to £11billion in standby credit from the International Monetary Fund, and Russia's gas supplier Gazprom claims Ukraine owes it a £1.3billion unpaid debt.
Gazprom has raised prices for Ukraine by 80 per cent in just a month - a move which politicians, who are in emergency talks today about sourcing gas from Europe, insist is political.
Homemade: In Donetsk, armoured activists barricaded themselves inside the regional chamber
Ayes to the right: The pro-Russians barricaded inside the government building in Donetsk 'voted' for a referendum on leaving Ukrainian control, which they said must happen no later than May 11
Applause: The demonstrators, many of them in combat clothes, gave themselves a standing ovation
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry today called on Russia to 'publicly disavow the activities of separatists, saboteurs and provocateurs'.
He and the Russian Foreign Minister are hoping to convene direct talks in the next 10 days which would also involve Ukraine and the EU.
The White House warned President Putin against moving 'overtly or covertly' into eastern Ukraine and said there was strong evidence that pro-Russian demonstrators in the region were being paid.
But in a phone call last night with Mr Kerry, Mr Lavrov warned the answer to solving the crisis was constitutional reform in Ukraine.
Russia says this would give Ukraine's eastern more powers because ethnic Russians' rights are being violated - something the new government in Kiev flatly denies.
ONE WAY TO PROFIT FROM THE CHAOS...OWN A MASSIVE NUCLEAR BUNKER
Bunk up with me: Waldemar Matuszak, 47, bought the nuclear shelter from the Polish army
A Polish man who bought a Cold War bunker big enough for 150 people claims it is completely booked up by people scared about the crisis in Ukraine.
Waldemar Matuszak, 47, bought the underground nuclear shelter - which had been top-secret and disguised as a water plant - from the Polish army after it was declassified.
Now, years later, he has had to set up a waiting list for panicked locals in the village of Krapiewie, near the northern Polish city of Bydgoszcz.
The panic came even though his village would not exactly be the first to suffer - it is more than 350 miles from the Ukrainian border.
He said: 'The complex is eight metres below the ground, the entry doors weigh two tonnes and the ceiling is constructed of 2.5 metre-thick reinforced concrete.
'Inside there are still working power generators, water and plumbing and one could survive down here for a few weeks easily.'
He is reserving the places for £10 a month to people worried about war and wanting a place to flee.
He said: 'For sure it doesn't have the comforts of a hotel. The beds are bunks and have military mattresses.
'But it is enough to survive in case of war, a nuclear explosion, or natural disaster. I was surprised that there was such a swarm of interest, with hundreds asking about places.
'This is my Noah's Ark. The cash I get I am using to update the facilities.'
Top secret: The bunker in rural Poland was originally disguised as a water plant before it was declassified
Not quite a hotel: Mr Matuszak admitted it was not the homeliest place his guests would ever stay
Camouflage: One view of the bunker near a village in northern Poland - which is 350 miles from Ukraine
Wartime: The bunker has enough space for 150 people and rooms are being reserved for £10 a month
The businessman said: 'The complex is 8m below the ground and the entry doors weigh two tonnes'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2599525/Ukraine-deploys-special-forces-clear-pro-Russian-protesters-defiance-Kremlin-warning-military-action-east-country-trigger-war.html#ixzz2yIfIHNdn
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
0 comments:
Post a Comment