Eurasia Press & News
Ukrainian opposition protesters ended a two-month occupation of city hall in Kiev on Sunday and opened a road to limited traffic to meet an amnesty offer aimed at easing a standoff over President Viktor Yanukovich’s rule. The authorities, for their part, withdrew riot police from a flashpoint district of the capital, near the Dynamo Kiev football stadium, where at least three protesters died in January in violence between ultraradical activists and police.
Despite the conciliatory moves, opposition leaders sought to keep up pressure on Yanukovich, telling a rally in Kiev’s Independence Square that he must abandon “dictatorial” powers and let them form a government that would be independent of him.
Tension still simmered before a parliament session Tuesday when Yanukovich may present his candidate for prime minister – a choice that will show if he is ready to make more concessions after 12 weeks of often-ugly street confrontation.
Opposition leaders made it clear Sunday that they would also push at the parliament session for constitutional changes to reduce Yanukovich’s powers.
