Ukraine gov't boosts police, arms as it prepares possible state of emergency

Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov submitted his resignation on Jan. 28, the Cabinet of Ministers website reported. Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers decided at its closed session on Jan. 27 to increase by six times the personnel of its special police forces, according to the anonymous sources of the zn.ua news site. Particularly boosted was the Berkut, which is responsible for the terror campaign that has been launched against the EuroMaidan. Other decisions included the legalization of “people’s squadrons with the goal of ensuring civic order,” in reference to the state-sponsored thugs that have assisted police in the terror campaign. The zn.ua news site also reported plans to restrict traffic on 30 central Kyiv streets, as well as earmarking funds from the budget reserves for buying ammunition and arms for police special forces. The Cabinet also developed a draft resolution to establish the process of reviewing restrictions to access to Internet resources.

 

Ukraine’s parliament will convene today and is widely expected to attempt a vote to implement a state of emergency, despite repeated denials by top state officials of such plans. The opposition leaders announced on Jan. 27 that they declined President Viktor Yanukovych’s proposal to lead the Cabinet of Ministers. Former Parliamentary Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn said he doesn’t see enough votes to support the state of emergency. In preparation for the possible vote, Maidan Commander Andriy Parubiy called for all opposition supporters to converge on the EuroMaidan in its defense.

 

Activists freed the Justice Ministry building after the National Resistance Headquarters condemned the act as a provocation. Yet the same activists, members of the Common Cause organization, still occupy the Agricultural Ministry building, which is within the EuroMaidan’s occupied territory. The activists freed the Energy Ministry building the day they occupied it on Jan. 25. Meanwhile, AutoMaidan leader Dmytro Bulatov remained missing for the sixth day. Numerous reports surfaced of activists going into hiding, being beaten and imprisoned on false charges. Kharkiv State Oblast Administration Chair Mykhailo Dobkin told journalists to behave as if they were in a war zone.

 

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden called Yanukovych on Jan. 27 to urge him to refrain from calling a state of emergency, to remove special police forces from Kyiv’s streets and to respond to the dissatisfaction of the Ukrainian people. It was Biden’s second telephone call to Yanukovych this week, reported the Interfax-Ukrayina news agency. EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Minister Catherine Ashton said on Jan. 27 she was concerned about the Ukrainian government’s reported plans to implement a state of emergency. “This will become an impulse for a further downward spiral in Ukraine that won’t benefit anyone,” she said in the statement. “The resolution to the crisis is supposed to be political. A frank dialogue is needed to achieve a consensus on further action.” She called on the parliament to cancel the anti-protest laws approved on Jan. 16 and to agree on a plan of action out of the crisis.

 

Ukraine’s biggest industrial oligarch, Rinat Akhmetov, reportedly held a private meeting with the nation’s six largest oligarchs on Jan. 25, reported the INSIDER news site, citing its anonymous sources. The only oligarch confirmed by the website to have attended is Dmytro Firtash, the biggest player in Ukraine’s natural gas trade. The meeting occurred without the involvement of Yanukovych.

 

Zenon Zawada: Azarov’s resignation is a small victory for the opposition, but it remains to be seen what other ministers will resign and who will replace them. The resignation of Internal Affairs Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko is of particular concern to the EuroMaidan. Yet the EuroMaidan won’t be satisfied until Yanukovych is removed as president.

 

The Jan. 27 decision to increase police forces and acquire more arms and ammunition is disturbing and does not bode well for resolving the conflict. It remains to be seen whether all the tragic mistakes of the last two weeks, including the Jan. 16 anti-protest laws, are reversed with Azarov’s resignation.

 

There are signs that Ukraine’s moderate forces are using Azarov’s resignation as a pretext to stray from the government’s hard line. For instance, Party of Regions MP Mykola Rudkovskiy called this morning for pre-term parliamentary elections and liquidating the Berkut special forces this morning. Noticeably however, he did not call for early presidential elections.

 

Most importantly, what remains to be seen is whether the state of emergency remains on the president’s agenda. Azarov’s resignation will be meaningless if the presidential administration goes forward with its plan, which was reported to involve 10,000 special forces storming the EuroMaidan. Ukraine’s future as a democratic state hangs in the balance.