Ukraine leaders call upon foreign diplomats to resolve political crisis

Central Kyiv remains occupied for the fifth day by opposition demonstrations demanding the resignation of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and the Cabinet of Ministers. The city’s main central square (maidan) remains barricaded, and the Kyiv City Council building remains under opposition control. Both government and opposition leaders have requested the intervention of foreign diplomats to resolve the political crisis.

 

The European Parliament is preparing to renew the EU diplomatic mission led by Pat Cox and Aleksander Kwasniewski, said its president Martin Schulz on December 4. Council of Europe General Secretary Thorbjorn Jagland arrived in Kyiv on December 3. The next day, he told a Kyiv press conference that he shouldn’t be called an intermediary and he wasn’t able to reach any agreement between the sides, the Kommersant-Ukraine newspaper reported today.

 

During a December 4 meeting, EU Delegation to Ukraine Head Jan Tombinski informed Prime Minister Mykola Azarov that the EU is aware of the government’s provocations to radicalize the protestors, Kommersant reported. The police removed the provocations’ organizers and released them, he said, adding that the names of these people are known. “The bulldozer that was used for the attack on police was clearly a provocation,” Tombinski said. “It’s worth noting that it was stopped thanks to opposition leaders.” Azarov denied Tombinski’s claims.

 

Azarov also claimed that Kyiv Police Chief Valeriy Koriak was dismissed for his role in the November 30 assault on peaceful demonstrators, but Koriak has since testified to the Prosecutor General’s Office that he remained employed, the Interfax-Ukrayina news agency reported.

 

Opposition MPs blocked the parliamentary tribune on December 4, demanding the release of imprisoned former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and a dozen arrested demonstrators. During a closed Cabinet of Ministers meeting, Azarov accused western Ukrainian local state organs of “amorality and irresponsibility” for striking and allowing employees to join protests. Politicians accused each other of considering violent methods to resolve the crisis.

 

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych traveled to China on December 3 for a three-day working visit. Among his goals was to gain a $12.8 billion loan, the Ekonomichna Pravda news site reported on December 4.

 

Zenon Zawada: The crisis will continue for the remainder of the week, and it’s realistic that the current stalemate will last for weeks (assuming the government doesn’t opt for a violent removal of demonstrators). Any peaceful solution will certainly require the extensive involvement of international mediators, given that we don’t expect the domestic players to reach any form of compromise.

 

In our view, the government has exacerbated the crisis by filing criminal charges against peaceful demonstrators (while employing provocateurs). That gives little incentive for the thousands of demonstrators to free the occupied territories, given that many of them will likely face criminal charges. Any solution will have to enable both sides not to face retribution after the conflict is resolved. It’s this fear of retribution that’s what’s fueling the current standoff.

 

In traveling to China, Yanukovych hoped that the protests would disperse upon his return, but we don’t see that happening. Tents, medical stations, portable toilets and clothing distribution centers are stationed throughout the occupied territory. And we do not believe Yanukovych will secure any deal in China (or in Russia, where he might fly afterwards) for as long as there are mass protests in the center of Ukraine’s capital.