UKRAINE: Kiev offices of Ukraine's richest man have been attacked by protesters accusing him of aiding the pro-Russian separatists in the east
Record ID:
230247
UKRAINE: Kiev offices of Ukraine's richest man have been attacked by protesters accusing him of aiding the pro-Russian separatists in the east
- Title: UKRAINE: Kiev offices of Ukraine's richest man have been attacked by protesters accusing him of aiding the pro-Russian separatists in the east
- Date: 13th April 2014
- Summary: KIEV, UKRAINE (APRIL 13, 2014) (REUTERS) PROTESTERS LINED UP OUTSIDE KIEV OFFICE OF RINAT AKHMETOV HOLDING BANNER "TERRORIST"/ PAN TO AKHMETOV'S OFFICE PROTESTER SPRAYING GRAFFITI "FUCK YOU!" ON WALL PROTESTER SPRAYING PUTIN AS HITLER STENCIL ON WALL "TERRORIST DANGER" SPRAYED ON WALL PROTESTERS SPRAYING GRAFFITI ON WINDOWS PROTESTERS LINED UP WITH BANNERS/ EU FLAG PROTESTERS SPRAYING GRAFFITI ON WINDOW PROTESTER STICKING NOTICES TO MOVE THE OFFICE OUT OF KIEV PADLOCK ON DOOR CROWDS OUTSIDE SHOUTING "GLORY TO UKRAINE", "GLORY TO NATIONS" (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) LEONID KANTER, PROTESTER, SAYING: "It was always well-known that Akhmetov is a criminal who had been the head of a criminal group since the 90s and earned all his money racketeering. That's how he became the richest person in Ukraine. Now what he stole is not enough for him and he's trying to support separatism in the east, namely supporting what is going in Lugansk and Donetsk" (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) KARINA BABENKO, ACTIVIST OF MOVEMENT "WE ARE THE EUROPEANS", SAYING: "Everyone knows that Akhmetov went to the meeting with separatists without security guards and felt calm there. It raises surprise and everyone is sure that if he wants order and calm in the region and wants such incidents which are taking place now not to happen he could influence and attain this" PROTESTERS WITH BANNER: "AKHMETOV = SEPARATIST = TERRORIST"
- Embargoed: 28th April 2014 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Ukraine
- Country: Ukraine
- Topics: Crime,Conflict,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVACSL12R56OXVMIUUBCY5H2QHBQ
- Story Text: Protesters in Kiev on Sunday (April 13) attacked the offices of Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine's richest man, accusing him of aiding the separatists in the east and using the situation to bolster his own position.
Protesters sprayed graffiti on the walls and windows of his System Capital Management offices, the corporate hub of his various businesses and holdings.
Steel and mining magnate Rinat Akhmetov has seized on the stand-off between the Kiev authorities and pro-Russia separatists to help forge new political alliances following the overthrow of his former ally, President Viktor Yanukovich.
He is drawing on his local clout in Donetsk to negotiate with separatist protesters to end their occupation of state buildings in the eastern city, his industrial fiefdom where Yanukovich was once the governor.
Since Monday, sources close to him say, Akhmetov has been actively involved in talking to the rebels - even sympathizing with some of their demands - while urging law-enforcement agencies to stay their hand in using force to end the stand-off.
Akhmetov emerged into the public consciousness out of bloody regional gang wars in the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union as head of a private business empire that now reaches into steel mining, energy and the media.
Commentators say the 47-year-old, whose fortune is estimated by Forbes magazine at $11.4 billion, is trying to use the crisis in eastern Ukraine to re-position himself and protect his huge business concerns in the post-Yanukovich landscape.
"It was always well known that Akhmetov is a criminal who had been the head of a criminal group since the 90s and earned all his money racketeering," said Leonid Kanter, one of the protesters. "That's how he became the richest person in Ukraine. Now what he stole is not enough for him and he's trying to support separatism in the east, namely supporting what is going in in Lugansk and Donetsk."
"Everyone knows that Akhmetov went to the meeting with separatists without security guards and felt calm there. It raises surprise and everyone is sure that if he wants order and calm in the region and wants such incidents which are taking place now not to happen he could influence and attain this," said Karina Babenko, activist of the "We are Europeans" movement.
Akhmetov's close identification with the deposed Yanukovich, whose election campaign he backed in 2009-10, means he is already far from popular in the capital. He stayed well clear of protests during the three months of turmoil leading up to Yanukovich's flight to Russia, though he and fellow oligarchs did rush out appeals for restraint during the final, bloody denouement.
In his much publicized contacts with pro-Russian activists who took over the regional administration building in Donetsk on Sunday, he has sympathized with their calls for upgrading the status of the Russian language in Ukraine and came out strongly against any use of force by authorities to end their sit-in.
If security forces stormed the building, he "would be with the people", Ukrainska Pravda news site quoted him as saying.
At the same time he urged the separatists to tone down some of their demands, such as an independent "Donetsk Republic", and to hold constructive negotiations with the government.
He favors decentralization of power - along lines already being drawn up by the new leadership - but is at pains to differentiate this from Moscow's call for "federalism", which Kiev says would be a precursor to the break-up of the country.
Though he insists he backs only a united Ukraine, his aides acknowledge that he runs the risk of Russia's propaganda machine exploiting his sympathy for some of the separatists' demands, particularly on language rights. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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