President Viktor Yanukovych issued a statement, saying he was “deeply outraged” by the riot police who beat up peaceful demonstrators on Independence Square early this morning.
Some 500
police officers broke up a tent camp at 4 a.m on Nov. 30, smashing heads and pummeling hundreds of mostly young pro-European protesters in a brutal attack that shocked the nation. Opposition blamed Yanukovych of ordering
disperse of the rally, whose participants were demanding president’s
resignation.
Sergiy
Liovichkin, Yanukovych’s chief of staff, resigned just in hours after the
incident, Kyiv Post sources said. Two influential politicians, Inna Bohoslovska and
Davyd Zhvania, left Yanukovych’s party in protest. Bohoslovska also call on
Yanukovych to resign himself.
But it
seems that Yanukovych would rather punish his subordinates.
“I condemn
the actions that led to violent confrontation and suffering of people,” he said
as was posted on his web-site. “Several days ago I declared to all the country
about my support of civil nonviolent actions. Those, who didn’t hear the words
of Constitution and president and who provoked by their decisions and actions the
conflict on Maidan, will be punished,” Yanukovych added.
Yanukovych demanded
prosecution to investigate the incident and promptly report to him and the nation
about the results.
Yanukovych refused to sign a landmark free trade and association deal
with the European Union at summit in Vilnius on Nov. 29. But he announced once more about his
plans to move into European direction. “We are united in our common choice of
European future,” he said.
