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Chaos in Kiev

The crisis in Ukraine is far from over as the government has launched an operation to crack down on the protesters staging a sit-in for the last two months.

The police action on Kiev’s Independence Square came just a day after the opposition agreed on a compromise with President Viktor Yanukovych and vacated the besieged town hall. Though many of the protest groups were against that move, the opposition ate humble pie in order to make room for some kind of give and take so that the standoff could come to an end. The opposition, however, had made it clear that it would move a bill in the parliament to curtail the powers of the president and undo the amendments in the constitution that had taken away powers from the prime minister and the legislators. Therefore, this crackdown has sabotaged any possible reconciliation between the authorities in Kiev and the opposition, motivating several independent anti-government factions to pursue their own line of action. This will bring more chaos to the republic, and the crisis will aggravate with the passage of time. It is worrisome that renewed clashes have left at least 25 dead and scores injured. President Yanukovych’s claim that the opposition was resorting to undemocratic methods is questionable, as the sit-in in the freezing weather since November was peaceful in essence and no effort was made by the agitators to break into government offices.

The fact that the crackdown has come after Moscow renewed its pledge to pour in more financial assistance to the embattled government in Kiev could have realpolitik undercurrents. Earlier, Russia had distanced itself from Ukraine and protested at the forced resignation of prime minister Mykola Azarov and his cabinet, calling it an attempt to steer Kiev out of Moscow’s influence. The situation as of now is one of chaos and confusion. The initiative by the opposition to gradually become part of the reforms process by taming the anger in the streets of Kiev now seems to have lost credence.

The people are restless as they believe that their political rights are being trampled upon, and the possibility of aligning with the robust Western bloc, the European Union, is being undermined by an assertive Russia. Kiev’s pro-Moscow government is fuelling the fire by cracking down on its political opponents. Yanukovych needs to do some serious soul-searching.