Tent city protest to stay but no additional protestors to be called, leader says

The tent city protest outside Ukraine’s parliament will remain until legislation for all of its demands is approved, Self-Reliance Parliamentary Deputy Faction Head Yegor Sobolev told the Interfax-Ukraine news agency on Nov. 2. These demands are eliminating political immunity from MPs, creating an independent Anti-Corruption Court and changing the election system to exclusive open-list, proportional voting, said Sobolev, who is leading the protest alongside New Forces Movement Head Mikheil Saakashvili and Donbas war veteran Semen Semenchenko.

Currently, the protest consists of 60 tents manned mostly by Donbas war veterans. Police have been removed, Sobolev told Interfax, which didn’t confirm whether they have been replaced by National Guardsmen. About 10 law enforcement officers are patrolling the protest site, the report said. The protesters are not calling for a mobilization for more demonstrators for the parliamentary session beginning Nov. 7 because none of their relevant legislation is scheduled for review, Sobolev said.
Zenon Zawada: We continue to view this as a tense situation, with the potential for violence next week. While the tent city’s legislation might not be scheduled next week, we expect a vote for the second reading of the law on reintegrating Donbas, which includes establishing the conditions for autonomy in the separatist regions, as well as reforms to the military enabling the president to respond to Russia’s hybrid war. The bill is violently opposed by numerous political forces – including nationalists and veterans – who argue it illegally expands the president’s authority.

The tent city protest will inevitably lend its support to those opposed to the Donbas reintegration bill, who are sure to protest, possibly violently. We have speculated that the government will use this potential violence to crack down on the tent city and eliminate it. Yet it doesn’t help the tent city’s cause when its political demands keep changing. Saakashvili mentioned other goals, such as approving a law creating the mechanism to impeach the president. Sobolev is demanding the election law to be amended, yet parliament already held three votes on that matter that failed. Ultimately, we expect the government will be looking for a convenient pretext next week to sweep the tent city away.