European Forum

Clashes on Independence Day in Ukraine

On 24 August Ukraine was marking its 20th anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union. On the same day over 5000 opposition activists rallied in Kiev to protest the arrest of former PM Yulya Tymoshenko. Tymoshenko’s Batkyvshina party claimed that the police used tear gas to stop protesters. The police, however, denied this, saying police officers only protected themselves with shields. The police prevented thousands of oppositionists, led by Tymoshenko’s aid, Olexander Turchinov, from marching to the presidential administration in their protest. March organisers called on supporters to protest later on Kiev’s main Independence Square – center of Ukraine’s Orange Revolution in 2004 which thwarted current president Viktor Yanukovich’s first bid for presidency. But those who answered the call were drowned out by a concert and other official events organised to mark independence day. On 25 August the investigative department of the main office of the Interior Ministry announced it has opened a criminal case into the Independence Day clashes between opposition and police in Kiev. The case was opened on hooliganism charges that entail prison terms of two to five years. Opposition activists had attempted to break through police cordons, defying a 24-hour ban on rallies, marches and demonstrations in the central Kiev. As a result, several policemen were injured.