This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/17/world/europe/ukrainian-protesters-end-occupation-of-kievs-city-hall.html

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
Ukrainian Protesters End Occupation of Kiev’s City Hall Protesters Vacate Kiev’s City Hall in Deal for Amnesty
(about 7 hours later)
KIEV, Ukraine — Ending their occupation of City Hall in Kiev, Ukrainian protesters withdrew from the large granite building on Sunday — but then quickly threatened to take it back if the authorities did not immediately fulfill a pledge to drop all criminal charges against political activists. KIEV, Ukraine — Ending an occupation of City Hall here that began in December, Ukrainian protesters cemented an amnesty deal with the authorities on Sunday amid signs that both sides in a volatile political crisis were seeking to reduce tensions.
The departure from the building in the capital after more than two months eased tensions — temporarily, at least — in the standoff between protesters and President Viktor F. Yanukovych, who set off the country’s tumultuous political crisis in November by spurning a trade deal with the European Union and tilting Ukraine, a former Soviet republic of 46 million people, toward Russia instead. After groups of young men wearing helmets and armed with wooden clubs threatened to retake the building if the authorities did not swiftly close all criminal cases relating to a protest movement now in its third month, Ukraine’s prosecutor general announced a halt to criminal proceedings, ruling that protesters had met the conditions for amnesty set out in a Jan. 29 law.
In a statement from Brussels, Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, welcomed the evacuation of City Hall as evidence that, after weeks of demands and counterdemands by each side, “several important steps have been undertaken during the last few days to de-escalate the situation in Ukraine, thus contributing to a Ukrainian way from the current political crisis.” The law specified that those involved in sometimes violent demonstrations would receive amnesty only if the protesters, among other things, unblocked Hrushevsky Street, a soot-smeared road piled with barriers that leads to the government’s main office complex.
At the same time, however, tens of thousands of people poured into Independence Square in Kiev on Sunday to join a boisterous but peaceful antigovernment rally that featured speeches denouncing Mr. Yanukovych’s “bandit regime” and calling for his swift resignation. In a sign that neither side wants to return to the bloody clashes that killed at least three protesters last month, the police pulled back from the barricades on Hrushevsky Street and protesters cleared a narrow passageway for vehicles to pass through tangled mounds of garbage, rubber tires, sandbags and ice. Late on Sunday, however, masked men in helmets were still blocking nearly all cars and pedestrians.
How far both sides were willing to go toward a more enduring truce or even a settlement might become clearer on Tuesday, when Parliament reconvenes and Mr. Yanukovych might present a new candidate for prime minister to fill a post vacant since the last prime minister resigned, in January. The partial lifting of the blockade and the decision by protesters earlier in the day to pull out of City Hall eased, at least temporarily, a standoff with President Viktor F. Yanukovych, who set off the political crisis in November by spurning a trade deal with the European Union and tilting Ukraine, a bitterly divided former Soviet republic of 46 million people, toward Russia instead.
Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk, an opposition leader who last month rejected an offer from Mr. Yanukovych to take the post, said at the rally on Sunday that the roughly 2,000 criminal cases against protesters must be closed. In a statement from Brussels, Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, welcomed the evacuation of City Hall. After weeks of demands and counterdemands, she said, “several important steps have been undertaken during the last few days to de-escalate the situation in Ukraine, thus contributing to a Ukrainian way from the current political crisis.”
In an interview posted on the website of the Ukrainian weekly Dzerkalo Tyzhnia, Yulia V. Tymoshenko, a former prime minister and opposition leader jailed after Mr. Yanukovych defeated her in the 2010 election, said that she was willing to take part in negotiations to end the crisis but added that “the only topic” up for discussion was the manner of the president’s resignation, including “guarantees for the protection of his family.” At the same time, tens of thousands of people poured into Independence Square in Kiev to join a boisterous but peaceful antigovernment rally that featured speeches denouncing Mr. Yanukovych’s “bandit regime” and calling for his resignation.
Barricades erected around Independence Square to fend off a possible attack by the riot police remained in place on Sunday, guarded by masked young men carrying homemade shields and wooden clubs. Located inside an area of central Kiev blocked off by barriers, City Hall, although no longer crammed with protesters, remained beyond the reach of the authorities. How far each side is willing to go toward a more enduring truce or even a settlement may become clearer on Tuesday, when Parliament reconvenes and Mr. Yanukovych may present a new candidate for prime minister — a post that has been vacant since the last prime minister resigned in January.
But in a sign that neither side wants to return to the violent clashes that killed at least three protesters last month, the police pulled back from barricades on Hrushevsky Street, the soot-smeared scene of the worst violence, and protesters cleared a narrow passageway for vehicles to pass through tangled mounds of garbage, rubber tires, sandbags and ice. A line of masked men in helmets, however, blocked nearly all vehicles and all pedestrians. Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk, an opposition leader who rejected an offer from Mr. Yanukovych last month to take the post, said at the rally on Sunday that the roughly 2,000 criminal cases against protesters must be closed.
The Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office, in a statement posted on its website on Sunday evening, lifted an important obstacle in the way of a settlement. It said it was “closing relevant criminal proceedings” and lifting any future liability against protesters covered by a conditional amnesty law passed by Parliament on Jan. 29. The law specified that an amnesty for those involved in sometimes violent protests would go into effect only if protesters unblocked Hrushevsky Street and met a number of other conditions. The prosecutor’s statement implicitly certified that these conditions had been met, a move that should help ease tensions. In an interview posted on the website of the Ukrainian weekly Dzerkalo Tyzhnia, Yulia V. Tymoshenko, a former prime minister and opposition leader who was jailed after Mr. Yanukovych defeated her in the 2010 election, said that she was willing to take part in negotiations to end the crisis but that “the only topic” up for discussion was the manner of the president’s resignation, including “guarantees for the protection of his family.”
Many of the protesters who left City Hall on Sunday said they disagreed with the decision to vacate the building. The decision had been made by opposition leaders as part of an amnesty deal with the authorities aimed at defusing a crisis that a former Ukrainian president, Leonid M. Kravchuk, said last month had pushed the country to “the brink of civil war.” The government has agreed to drop all criminal charges against protesters, more than 200 of whom were freed from detention on Friday, although they remain under investigation. Most of the barricades erected around Independence Square to fend off a possible attack by the riot police remained in place on Sunday, guarded by masked young men carrying homemade shields and clubs or metal rods. Although City Hall was no longer crammed with protesters, it remained beyond the reach of the authorities.
Bogdan Burtnuk, an activist from western Ukraine who joined the occupation of City Hall in December, said he thought it was a mistake to leave before “they release and clear all our hostages,” meaning that the freed detainees possibly still faced criminal charges. The agreement to vacate the building was strongly supported by Svoboda, a nationalist political party that is at odds with more hard-line forces like Right Sector, a coalition of militant groups that has said that Mr. Yanukovych’s resignation is a condition for any political settlement. Many of the protesters who left City Hall on Sunday said they disagreed with the decision to vacate the building — a decision made by opposition leaders as part of an amnesty deal aimed at defusing a crisis that former President Leonid M. Kravchuk said last month had pushed the country to “the brink of civil war.” On Saturday, the authorities freed more than 200 people who had been detained in connection with the protests, but they and many others remained under investigation until the prosecutor general’s announcement on Sunday.
The evacuation of the building was monitored by the Swiss ambassador in Kiev; Switzerland holds the rotating presidency of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, a Vienna-based organization that is working to defuse tensions in Ukraine. Bogdan Burtnuk, an activist from western Ukraine who joined the occupation of City Hall in December, said he thought it was a mistake to leave before “they release and clear all our hostages,” meaning that the freed detainees could still face criminal charges. The agreement to vacate the building was strongly supported by Svoboda, a nationalist political party that is at odds with more hard-line forces like Right Sector, a coalition of militant groups that has said Mr. Yanukovych’s resignation is a condition for any political settlement.
Switzerland’s foreign minister, Didier Burkhalter, said in a statement from Bern that the decision to vacate the building — which was covered in graffiti declaring it the “headquarters of the revolution” — was a “positive development,” and he urged “all sides to remain fully engaged in efforts to reach necessary compromises in a broad and inclusive political dialogue.” The evacuation of the building was monitored by the Swiss ambassador in Kiev. Switzerland holds the rotating presidency of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, a Vienna-based group that is working to defuse tensions in Ukraine.
But deep suspicion remained on both sides. Scores of young men in camouflage fatigues who pulled out of City Hall early Sunday later returned to the building, gathering in a militarylike formation outside and vowing to retake it if Ukraine’s prosecutor general did not sign a formal order lifting all charges. Switzerland’s foreign minister, Didier Burkhalter, said in a statement that the decision to vacate the building, which had been daubed with graffiti declaring it the “headquarters of the revolution,” was a “positive development.” Mr. Burkhalter urged “all sides to remain fully engaged in efforts to reach necessary compromises in a broad and inclusive political dialogue.”
But deep suspicions remain. Scores of young men in camouflage fatigues who left City Hall early on Sunday later returned, gathering outside in a militarylike formation and vowing to retake the building if the prosecutor general did not sign a formal order lifting all charges against the protesters.
“We do not trust them,” said the group’s commander, who identified himself only as Andriy.“We do not trust them,” said the group’s commander, who identified himself only as Andriy.