Kiev riots over vote to use Russian language

Thursday 5 July 2012

Police fired tear gas and used batons to disperse hundreds of protesters in Kiev yesterday after parliament voted to make Russian, rather than Ukrainian, the main language in schools and local government in some parts of the former Soviet republic.

ANGER: Police use tear gas and batons to break up a protest in Kiev over the government's plan to use Russian as a main language. Picture: EPA

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Pavel Polityuk and Olzhas Auyezov KIEV

The clashes took place after protesters, led by opposition members of parliament defending the role of Ukrainian as the only state language, massed in front of a building where President Viktor Yanukovich was due to hold a press briefing.

The chamber rushed the language bill through on Tuesday, minutes after a surprise proposal by a pro-Yanukovich deputy, giving opponents little time to cast their vote and prompting scuffles both in parliament and on the streets.Though the bill needs to be signed by Mr Yanukovich and parliament speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn to become law, protesters took to the streets."There are millions of us and they cannot pretend that nothing has happened," said Vitali Klitschko, the world heavyweight boxing champion who has founded his own opposition party, Udar (Blow). The 6ft 7in Klitschko, took part in yesterday's protest and had to have his eyes washed out after being sprayed with tear gas. His left arm was bandaged because of a cut sustained in the commotion.Protesters have demanded Mr Yanukovich – who had planned a celebratory statement to crown the successful co-hosting of the Euro 2012 soccer tournament – to veto the bill, which was pushed through by his own majority Party of Regions.Opposition parties and millions who speak Ukrainian as their first language see the bill as a threat to sovereignty, keeping Ukraine in Russia's sphere of influence after 20 years of independence following the break-up of the Soviet Union.As black-helmeted riot police moved to push the crowds back, Mr Lytvyn tendered his resignation as speaker, apparently siding with the opposition which complained of procedural irregularities.Mr Yanukovich cancelled his briefing and called an urgent meeting with faction leaders and Mr Lytvyn. He said Ukraine may have to hold an early parliamentary election if the crisis persisted. But since an election is already set for October 28, this seemed more of a rhetorical flourish by Mr Yanukovich aimed at preventing the situation from undermining his own prestige.People in large swathes of Ukraine speak Russian as their mother tongue and the bill would recognise it as a regional language in predominantly Russian-speaking areas in the industrialised east and southern regions such as Crimea.The bill will be welcomed in Moscow, where Kremlin leaders have pressed Mr Yanukovich to deliver on an election pledge in 2009 to upgrade the status of Russian.Russian President Vladimir Putin is to meet Mr Yanukovich in Yalta next week for talks on gas supplies and the language law seems certain to crop up in conversation.But given the level of protest, it is by no means certain that Mr Yanukovich will sign the bill into law even though it will be popular in his power base in the east of the country.Opponents say it was pushed through by the president's party in order to win back disenchanted voters in Russian-speaking areas ahead of the October poll.Opposition party Batkivsh-chyna said protests also took place in the western city of Lviv where the entrance to a regional government building was blocked. It added that more protests were planned across the country.Another opposition leader, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, said: "There are signs of a real political crisis in Ukraine and it will develop further."

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Kiev riots over vote to use Russian language

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