After an announcement just last week that he’d be taking an indefinite sick leave, the President of Ukraine returned on Monday, as the political crisis continues there.
From Reuters:
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich returned to work on Monday after four days of sick leave, issuing a warning about rising “radicalism” after more than two months of unrest on the streets but giving no word on a new prime minister.
Yanukovich, caught in a tug of war between Russia and the West, is seeking a way out of a sometimes violent confrontation with protesters who have occupied city streets and public buildings following his decision in November to spurn a trade deal with the EU and accept financial aid from Moscow.
As he returned to work, looking in fair health, a day before a new session of parliament, the political opposition took heart from fresh expressions of support from Western governments and pressed for more concessions to end protests.
However, the European Union, whose foreign policy chief is due in Kiev late on Tuesday, played down suggestions it was working with the United States on a large-scale aid package aimed at nursing the economy through a political transition.
It remains an uncertain situation upon Yanukovich’s return.
From the NY Times:
Mr. Yanukovych, who has faced a sustained civil uprising since late November, when he backed away from a promise to sign political and free-trade accords with the European Union, has seen his position erode substantially in recent days.
Support he had been relying on from Russia — particularly $15 billion in credit that Ukraine desperately needs to cover basic expenses — was suspended last week by the Kremlin, which expressed pointed displeasure over the growing political uncertainty in Ukraine. And the forced resignation of Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and the rest of the cabinet on Tuesday showed Mr. Yanukovych sacrificing some of his staunchest political allies, in a failed bid to appease his critics by offering them senior positions.
Indeed, among the tasks Yanukovich faces is what to do about the position of Prime Minister, from which Mykola Azarov resigned last week as a concession to protesters. And in another concession to the opposition, many of the recently passed anti-protest laws had been repealed or modified, but protesters continue to oppose conditions that would require them to vacate occupied government buildings and dismantle barricades, according to CNN.
Protesters and opposition leaders meanwhile continue to call for the president’s resignation, new elections and constitutional reforms that would weaken the power of the president.
(Featured image: AP Video)
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The Ukrainian demonstrators need to realize they have already launched a revolution against the Ukrainian government. I pray they succeed in protecting their freedoms.
Accepting compromises with the Ukrainian government will lead to the demonstrators and their leaders being arrested, or worse.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich ordered the security forces to use violence against the demonstrators. Should he and his allies remain in power no demonstrator can remain free for long.
The Ukranian protestors better get with it. They don’t have endless amounts of time.
Russia is afraid to intervene for the moment. If it suppressed the pro-democracy protestors today, it would be exposed to a very embarrassing boycott of the Sochi Olympics.
But as soon as the Olympics are over. . . .
I’m not sure what the protesters can do at this point. Western Ukraine toppled local governments, but it seems like the revolution stopped in the east. Kharkiv, for instance, likes their corrupt mayor.
It would be nice if some kind of solution could be worked out diplomatically before the Olympics’ end.