Ukraine unsettled, uneasy as peace deal sinks in

17:39 | 22.02.2014
Ukraine unsettled, uneasy as peace deal sinks in

Ukraine unsettled, uneasy as peace deal sinks in

In Ukraine, neither protesters, opposition politicians nor embattled President Viktor Yanukovych had what they wanted Saturday after a week of bloodshed.

Enthusiasm was muted for the peace deal brokered among them a day before by the foreign ministers of Poland, Germany and France.Hours before they signed the deal, Poland's Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski warned them not to expect perfection."All sides need to remember that compromise means getting less than 100%," he said in a message on Twitter.If he upholds his end of the deal, Yanukovych will lose many of his powers soon -- and his office completely -- before the year is up. That's not soon enough for some.Opposition leader Vitali Klitschko on Saturday urged Ukraine's parliament to enact a resolution calling for the President's immediate resignation and for early presidential elections to be held by May 25th.During the session, resignations were announced for two of his political allies in parliament, including the speaker of parliament. A deputy speaker read them live on the parliament's television channel.Protesters who occupied Kiev's Maidan, or Independence Square, for months and watched dozens of fellow demonstrators die this week want him out of office.Grief, angerEven after Friday's deal was announced, demonstrators held a procession to remember their dead that night. Pallbearers carried coffins over the heads of a throng of people holding up lights in their honor.Early Saturday, a large crowd gathered in the square for funeral ceremonies.Pavel, a demonstrator who identified himself only by his first name, said he'd helped carry away people with bullet wounds Thursday, when protesters died en masse after shots rang out.Pavel said on Friday that he won't forget his fallen compatriots, nor will he give up the fight."As long as (Yanukovych) is president," he said, "the movement will continue."But other protesters showed some support for the deal. Its announcement before the crowd at Independence Square on Friday drew some cheers.And when Klitschko, who has acted a spokesman for the movement, took the stage Friday, he got a notably frostier reception.He contended that the government was trying to divide the protesters with the deal.He walked off to a handful of jeers.Testy truceKlitschko said he's listening to his side's dissenters and still pushing to maintain pressure on Yanukovych -- but not through violence."I tell everybody it is very important ... not to be involved in the war," said Klitschko, who said ensuring the country doesn't "split" is a top priority. "(It's) also very important to find a peaceful way to be the winner."Yanukovych is the face of the government, but Klitschko is not his counterpart with the opposition and the demonstrators.They don't have a unified leadership. Their opinions vary wildly about what they'll accept and what they might do if they are disappointed.During an announced truce this week, some of them went on the attack. That is when security forces opened fire.A U.S. State Department official said the deal is "very, very fragile."While there is an apparent truce, anger and anxiety hang heavy in the air.But as the sun rose Saturday in Kiev, Independence Square was quiet.President's whereaboutsAnd Yanukovych may have been out of town.He left for Ukraine's second's largest city of Kharkiv for a meeting, said a senior U.S. State Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The official had been on the phone with Ukraine's foreign minister."Not unusual," the official said.Yanukovych has strong support in the East, where many ethnic Russians live. The raging opposition he faced was triggered by his loyalty to Russia and a decision to turn away from the European Union.His absence from the capital comes during tense times, and many don't want to see him return to the presidential palace.The dealFriday was a day of action in Ukraine's Parliament, the Rada.The first, biggest order of business was the landmark agreement calling for cutting the president's power and rolling back the Constitution to what it had been in 2004.The deal also requires presidential elections "as soon as the new Constitution is adopted but no later than December 2014."The Rada also worked on bills calling for the dismissal of the nation's interior minister and release of Yulia Tymoshenko, a former prime minister and a hero of the country's 2004 revolution.She is a powerful symbol to the opposition, and the West and human rights activists have called for her release for years.There will also be an investigation into this week's violence.Police will face more restrictions on the use of force, and over the weekend, protesters are to turn in their illegal weapons and withdraw from streets and public buildings.Discord's rootsThe wave of unrest began in November, when Yanukovych scrapped a European Union trade deal and turned toward Russia.The country is ethnically split, with many ethnic Russians living in the East. The rest of the country comprises mostly ethnic Ukrainians.Russia, which has offered to lend money to cash-strapped Ukraine in a deal worth billions of dollars and to lower its gas prices, has put pressure on Yanukovych to crack down on demonstrators.Western leaders, who have offered Ukraine a more long-term aid package requiring economic modernization, urged the President to show restraint, open up the government to the opposition and let the democratic process work out deep-seated political differences.But the fight was also about corruption and control. The opposition called Yanukovych heavy-handed, with Klitschko and others saying protesters wouldn't leave Maidan until he resigned.Tensions boiled over Tuesday, when security forces charged into a Kiev crowd with stun grenades, nightsticks and armored personnel carriers. At least 26 people -- protesters and police alike -- were killed.Late Wednesday, the government announced a truce.But on Thursday, protesters pursued police as they withdrew. Security forces fired back, sending dozens of protesters tumbling to the ground.Then came the landmark agreement Friday.(CNN)ANN.Az

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