Ukraine govt extends terror campaign, opposition captures state organs

The Ukrainian government extended its terror campaign against the EuroMaidan protest on Jan. 23, kidnapping, arresting, beating and pursuing journalists and activists. The leader of the AutoMaidan protest, Dmytro Bulatov, remained missing and more than 100 activists were incarcerated in the conflicts that erupted on Jan. 19 and ceased yesterday. Video footage circulated around the world of a protester being stripped naked outside in freezing weather, with his body bearing sever bruises. A kidnapping victim was interviewed from his hospital bed, alleging that plainclothes police captured him randomly in the EuroMaidan territory and drove him to a remote location to beat him. Incarcerated students reported they were randomly arrested, away from the EuroMaidan, simply for wearing a helmet. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and the Internal Affairs Ministry denied the police was involved in the shooting of two protesters on Jan. 22. Azarov said “extremists” could have been responsible and accused the protesters in attempting a government overthrow.

The leaders of the three opposition parties continued to negotiate with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and his associates, who reportedly offered to release all those imprisoned and forbid police forces to use firearms. A Jan. 28 parliamentary session may consider changes to the Jan. 16 dictatorship laws, and amnesty for all protesters. The president’s officials warned the government was planning the arrest of another 1,000 activists, said Freedom Party Head Oleh Tiahnybok. That night, Tiahnybok and Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform Head Vitali Klitschko addressed EuroMaidan activists, who voiced their dissatisfaction with the negotiations with the government. From the stage, Tiahnybok led the EuroMaidan in officially halting negotiations. “We are going towards further struggle, but on the condition that there’s discipline, fulfillment of orders and a single army,” he said.

Opposition supporters have taken control of five oblast state administration buildings, in addition to the Kyiv City State Administration that was captured on Dec. 1. Citizens stormed an additional two oblast state administrations but failed to take them under control. Police in the Cherkasy Oblast have arrested 58 protesters for their role in the takeover attempt and arrests were being made in another oblast. Ukraine’s national state administration network serves as the Presidential Administration’s representation in the nation’s oblasts and districts. EuroMaidan Commander Andriy Parubiy endorsed the attempts to capture the oblast state administrations.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych engaged in telephone conversations with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, news reports said. Yanukovych reportedly told Barroso he would not impose a state of emergency. EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule will visit Kyiv this weekend and EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Commissioner Catherine Ashton may visit next weekend.

The U.S. government has denied entry to Party of Regions MPs Volodymyr Oliynyk and Olena Bondarenko, reported on Jan. 23 Myroslava Gongadze, a reporter with Voice of America in Washington. An entry ban is being considered for National Security and Defense Council Secretary Andriy Kliuyev, she said. Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel voiced her opposition on Jan. 23 to imposing sanctions on key Ukrainian officials, stating “sanctions are not effective at the current moment.”

Zenon Zawada: The Ukrainian government’s terror campaign has dug the Yanukovych administration deeper into its international isolation. The Russian government couldn’t be more delighted and we can’t rule out its role in advising Ukrainian enforcement authorities in its launch. Meanwhile, Azarov’s claim that a government overthrow is being attempted is not baseless. The seizures of the oblast state administrations are part a campaign to deprive gradually power from the Yanukovych administration.

The U.S. announcement on depriving visas from two mid-ranked Party of Regions officials is meant as a warning to the key government officials, giving them time to change their course. We agree with Merkel’s position that sanctions won’t be effective against government officials, but we believe they’d be quite effective against key oligarchs in Ukraine, who can pressure key state officials to make the necessary concessions.