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| Protesters Vacate Kiev’s City Hall in Deal for Amnesty | Protesters Vacate Kiev’s City Hall in Deal for Amnesty |
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| 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. | |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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 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.” |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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.” | 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.” |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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.” | 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. | 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. |