UKRAINE: OPPOSITION SUPPORTERS MASS NEAR PRESIDENT'S OFFICE AS POLITICAL TURMOIL OVER DISPUTED PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION RESULT CONTINUES

Record ID: 649459

  • Title: UKRAINE: OPPOSITION SUPPORTERS MASS NEAR PRESIDENT'S OFFICE AS POLITICAL TURMOIL OVER DISPUTED PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION RESULT CONTINUES
  • Date: 23rd November 2004
  • Summary: (W7) KIEV, UKRAINE (NOVEMBER 23, 2004) (REUTERS) (NIGHTSHOTS) PAN FROM PROTESTERS IN GROUP SHOUTING "YUSHCHENKO" TO RIOT POLICE (3.16) SCU/PAN: LINES OF RIOT POLICE (2 SHOTS) (3.25) LV: RIOT POLICE RUNNING THROUGH SNOW TO TAKE UP NEW POSITIONS (3.31) WS: PROTESTERS WITH FLAGS (3.39) ZOOM IN: CHEERING AS POLICE VAN MOVES BACK WITH PROTESTER STANDING ON FRONT BUMPER (3.50) PROTESTERS URGING THE RIOT POLICE TO JOIN THEM (3.55) VARIOUS: PROTESTERS CHANTING/ WITH FLAGS IN BIG GROUP (3 SHOTS) (4.11) (U7) KIEV, UKRAINE (NOVEMBER 23, 2004) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) MASS OF OPPOSITION SUPPORTERS MOVING NEAR PRESIDENTIAL ADMINISTRATION OFFICES (4.28) LINES OF RIOT POLICE (4.25) SV'S: RIOT POLICE MOVING THROUGH OPPOSITION SUPPORTERS AS THEY CHANT: "YUSHCHENKO! YUSHCHENKO!" (3 SHOTS) (4.39) CU: RIOT POLICE BEING GIVEN FLOWERS (4.45) LINES OF RIOT POLICE/ ORTHODOX PRIEST SITTING NEAR LINES OF RIOT POLICE (4.50) CLOSE-UP OF ORTHODOX PRIEST'S FACE (4.54) SCU: RIOT POLICE/ CLOSE-UP OF FLOWERS IN THE RIOT POLICE SHIELDS (2 SHOTS) (5.04) VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS AND RIOT POLICE NEAR PRESIDENT'S OFFICES (2 SHOTS) (5.13)
  • Embargoed: 8th December 2004 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LVIV AND KIEV, UKRAINE
  • Country: Ukraine
  • Topics: General,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA5QCKR47CHZW2DMCSJZAKQVSZJ
  • Story Text: Ukraine's opposition supporters mass near the president's office as political turmoil continues.
    Thousands of Ukrainian opposition supporters massed near the president's offices on Tuesday (November 23) seeking to install their leader in power in defiance of election results they see as rigged by a pro-Moscow government.
    But government backers made clear they were not ready to yield power and denounced protest rallies as political farce.
    Hours earlier, pro-Western opposition head Viktor Yushchenko symbolically took the oath of office as 200,000 rallied at parliament in a sea of orange opposition banners and flags.
    The act carried no legal weight but marked a blunt challenge to the establishment figure who according to official results won the election, prime minister Viktor Yanukovich. It will also be viewed with deep concern by Yanukovich's Kremlin backers.
    The crowd, chanting "Yushchenko! Yushchenko!", moved in driving snow and freezing temperatures to the presidential offices occupied by outgoing president Leonid Kuchma.
    In scenes reminiscent of rallies that brought the fall of Georgian president Eduard Shevardnadze exactly a year ago, protesters urged police manning barriers to join the protest.
    Police stood their ground. The crowd thinned as the night wore on, with protesters vowing to return on Wednesday morning.
    Yushchenko has accused authorities of staging mass fraud to deny him victory in Sunday's run-off.
    Outgoing president Leonid Kuchma, who endorsed his prime minister in the election, warned Western countries that their criticism of election procedures could stoke tension in Ukraine.
    He also signalled clearly for the first time he would not yield to the protests as their momentum appears to grow.
    "This political farce being played out now ... is very dangerous and can lead to unforeseen consequences," he said in a statement read out by a newsreader on state television.
    "I urge representatives of all political forces in Ukraine to sit down immediately at the negotiating table...," he said.
    Authorities, he said, would not be the first to use force but were "ready to uphold law and order".
    Russian President Vladimir Putin, a supporter of Yanukovich, called for a non-violent solution of the crisis.
    The crisis highlights the stark division in Ukraine between the western-leaning west of the country and the Russian-speaking industrial east that sympathises with the pro-Moscow Yanukovich.
    Yushchenko's dramatic gesture declaring himself president came after parliament's speaker hurriedly closed a tumultuous session to ensure that no constitutional rules were violated.
    Placing his hand on a bible as his allies in the chamber sang the national anthem, he read the oath, opened a window in the building and spoke to supporters outside.
    Yushchenko told parliament that Ukraine, convulsed by two days of protests backing him in Kiev and in nationalist western Ukraine, was "on the brink of civil conflict".
    At a session boycotted by the prime minister's allies, he accused Kuchma and Yanukovich of direct responsibility for electoral fraud.
    Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn had opened the debate by warning that Ukraine was "sliding towards the abyss".
    Washington said allegations of electoral fraud must be investigated and warned the Ukrainian government against any recourse to force against demonstrators.
    "The government bears a special responsibility not to use or incite violence," White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan said.
    In Brussels, the European parliament's chief observer said Sunday's run-off defied common sense and had more in common with a North Korean election.
    Economists said Ukraine, which has one of Europe's fastest-growing economies, could suffer a painful slump if the political split deepens.
    Yanukovich has not declared victory. But he virtually assumed the mantle of president on Monday by appearing on television beside the national flag to denounce Yushchenko and his supporters.
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