18.02 Protesters, Police Clash in Ukraine in March on Parliament
KIEV, February 18 (RIA Novosti) – Anti-government protesters in the capital of Ukraine marched toward parliament Tuesday, occupying the ruling party’s headquarters and clashing with police as a tug of war played out inside the legislature on amending the former Soviet nation’s constitution.
Thousands of demonstrators moved toward the parliament building armed with shields, masks and bats and throwing stones at police, who responded with rubber bullets, stun grenades and tear gas.
Protesters occupied the offices of the country’s ruling Party of Regions in the center of Kiev after reportedly throwing a smoke bomb inside.
Police said protesters were using the same tactic to attempt to seize other buildings near the parliament.
“The people inside are literally jumping out of the windows,” police said in a statement.
The Interior Ministry said eight officers had been injured in the clashes.
Inside parliament, opposition deputies blocked the speaker’s rostrum in protest at the refusal to register a draft bill introducing reform to the constitution.
The bill was eventually registered, the opposition Svoboda party said on Twitter later Tuesday.
Opposition forces are seeking the restoration of the 2004 constitution, which they say would ensure a way out of the political crisis gripping the country.
The Party of Regions has said it is willing to review the law but has refused to automatically return to a previous version.
Large-scale street protests erupted in the capital, Kiev, and other Ukrainian cities in November after President Viktor Yanukovych backed away from deals to deepen political and economic cooperation with the EU and instead opted for closer ties with Russia.
The protests have sporadically descended into violence on both sides.
Yanukovych has said he is ready to appoint a coalition government that includes members of the opposition, the speaker of parliament said last week.
Updated with details, comments from police and Svoboda party.
