Ukrainian Army Urges President to Act, Opposition Set to Meet Kerry

Local Editor

Ukraine's opposition leaders were set to meet US Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday, after the army urged embattled President Viktor Yanukovych to act urgently to end two months of turmoil.

Yanukovych on Friday scrapped controversial anti-protest laws but the reappearance of a leading protester, his face swollen and caked in blood, did little to win over the opposition or international opinion.

Yanukovych, who has been on sick leave since Thursday, repealed draconian anti-protest laws passed in January that had radicalized the two-month anti-government protest movement. The street rallies first erupted when the president backed out of a key pact with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Moscow.

He also signed an amnesty bill for jailed opposition activists, but it will only take effect if protesters vacate the public buildings they have occupied within 15 days.

EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said she would return next week to Ukraine, condemning what she described as instances of intimidation and torture against the opposition there.
The protest movement's leaders claim that abuse and beatings of activists are widespread.

A recent outbreak of violence in the protests saw several people shot dead and turned parts of the capital Kiev into a battle zone.
Weighing in on the crisis for the first time, the Ukrainian armed forces called for Yanukovych to act urgently to stabilize the situation.

Ukraine's security service soon after announced a criminal probe into an opposition attempt to seize state power, after information on confiscated computers allegedly revealed the mass protests were "pre-planned".
NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said he was "very concerned by attempts to involve the military in the crisis".
"Ukraine's military is highly respected and must remain neutral," he said on Twitter.

On Friday, opposition leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk of the Batkivshchyna party met German President Joachim Gauck and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, saying they had voiced support of his people's "fight for freedoms and liberties".
Yatsenyuk also met the EU's Ashton separately.

In November, Yanukovych scrapped an integration deal with the EU in favor of closer ties with Kiev's historical master Moscow, sparking huge protests.
Yanukovych on Thursday attacked the "irresponsible" opposition for inflaming tensions but also admitted the authorities had made mistakes and that he needed to take more account of the country's mood.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team