Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 20, 2014, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE B4 B 4 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2014 UKRAINE UNREST winnipegfreepress. com WATERFIGHT VIDEO AT - 40 The whole story... AND MORE Use Blippar. There's more to the story above embedded in this page. THE head of a Winnipeg Ukrainian group is skeptical about a truce following deadly clashes in Kyiv, Ukraine's capital. Violence in Kyiv left 26 dead and more than 425 injured this week and President Viktor Yanukovych and protesters agreed to a truce. " Personally, I wouldn't trust him as far as I can throw him," said Oksana Bondarchuk, president of the Manitoba chapter of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress. " The protesters were offered amnesty and this is what they got in return. They were ambushed." Yanukovych met with opposition leaders and the two sides agreed to halt the violence and hold talks on ending bloodshed, a statement on the presidential website said. Vitali Klitschko, one of the leaders of the protests, was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying Yanukovych agreed there would be no attempt to storm the protesters' encampment on Kyiv's main square downtown. On Tuesday, 16 anti- government protesters and 10 police officers were reportedly killed in Kyiv street battles. In addition to a March 1 fundraiser for the prodemocracy movement in Ukraine, Winnipeggers are organizing a memorial service for fallen victims, Bondarchuk said. " It's heart- wrenching, but you realize these people have little to lose because they have such a substandard level of life and they want better," she said. " Parents don't want to see their children live how they did for the last 20 or 30 years. " They want to see democratic rights and values. They were moving toward that. Now they're going back to a totalitarian state with no human rights or civil liberties." No time or date has been set yet for the memorial service, Bondarchuk said. Canada's federal government and Winnipeggers condemned the bloodshed in Ukraine. About 20 people gathered outside the Centennial Concert Hall Tuesday night to protest the violence as the Shumka Dancers Ukrainian dance troupe performed in Winnipeg. Canadians of Ukrainian origin gathered Wednesday on Parliament Hill to denounce the violence in their homeland's capital city. The Ukrainian and Canadian flags were lowered to half- mast at city hall Wednesday to acknowledge the suffering in that country. It will stay at half- mast until Sunday. Mayor Sam Katz made the announcement at the start of Wednesday's executive policy committee meeting. Winnipeg's Ukrainian community is " very concerned about family and friends there," Katz said. " We hope for a quick end and a peaceful end in the very near future." Katz has spoken publicly before in support of the protesters occupying the heart of Kyiv, describing them as fighting to protect democracy in a nation that was once part of the Soviet bloc. " It's very difficult to watch what is going on and then be told by ( Ukrainian) authorities that it's the protesters' fault. It's very difficult to stomach, to say the least," the mayor said. He later told reporters he was saddened by the turn of events in Ukraine. " We know there is something wrong there and hopefully it can be corrected before any other lives are lost," he said. - with files from The Associated Press carol. sanders@ freepress. mb. ca aldo. santin@ freepress. mb. ca Winnipeggers wary about ceasefire, back protesters By Carol Sanders and Aldo Santin K YIV, Ukraine - Ukraine's embattled president and leaders of the protests that have been roiling the country agreed Wednesday on a truce to halt the violence that has killed 26 people and injured more than 425 others. A protest leader was quoted as saying the government pledged not to attack an opposition encampment in central Kyiv while further negotiations unfold. President Viktor Yanukovych met with opposition leaders and the two sides agreed to halt the violence and hold talks on ending bloodshed, a statement on the presidential website said. The statement did not give further details. Vitali Klitschko, one of the leaders of the protests that have sought to keep Ukraine open to Europe and out of a close political and economic alliance with Russia, was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying Yanukovych agreed there would be no attempt to storm the protesters' encampment on the main square of downtown Kyiv. Flames from burning barricades of tires and refuse leapt into the air at the square for a second night as protesters demanding Yanukovych's resignation showed no sign of yielding. The truce announcement came hours after the president replaced the army chief and the military vowed a national anti- terrorist operation to restore order. The recent violence has been the worst in nearly three months of antigovernment protests that have paralyzed Kyiv. The two sides are locked in a battle over the identity of this nation of 46 million, whose loyalties are divided between Russia and the West. The protests began in late November after Yanukovych turned away from a long- anticipated deal with the European Union in exchange for a $ 15- billion bailout from Russia. Political and diplomatic manoeuvring has continued, with both Moscow and the West eager to gain influence over this former Soviet republic. Three EU foreign ministers - from Germany, France and Poland - were heading to Kyiv on Thursday to speak with both sides before an emergency EU meeting back in Brussels to consider sanctions against those responsible for the recent violence in Ukraine. In Kyiv, Ukraine's top security agency accused protesters Wednesday of seizing hundreds of firearms from its offices and announced a nationwide anti- terrorist operation. Demonstrators forced their way into the main post office on Kyiv's Independence Square, also known as the Maidan, after a nearby building they previously occupied was burned down in clashes with riot police late Tuesday. Thousands of activists armed with firebombs and rocks had defended the square. Before the truce was announced, the bad blood was running so high it has fuelled fears the nation could be sliding toward a messy breakup. While most people in the country's western regions resent Yanukovych, he enjoys strong support in the mostly Russian- speaking eastern and southern regions, where many want strong ties with Russia. Neither side had appeared willing to compromise, with the opposition calling for Yanukovych's resignation and an early election and the president apparently prepared to fight until the end. " Yanukovych, you will end like ( late Libyan dictator Moammar) Gadhafi," Opposition lawmaker Oleh Lyashko told thousands of angry protesters. " Either you, a parasite, will stop killing people or this fate will await you." Before the truce announcement, Yanukovych had blamed the protesters for the violence and said the opposition leaders had " crossed a line when they called people to arms." He called for a day of mourning today for the dead. In Moscow, the Kremlin said it put the next disbursement of its bailout on hold amid uncertainty over Ukraine's future and what it described as a " coup attempt." - The Associated Press Obama, Harper welcome truce, tell military to stay on sidelines WASHINGTON - U. S. President Barack Obama warned of " consequences" Wednesday if Ukraine failed to restore calm after a day of violence in the capital, while the State Department announced it would bar 20 senior members of the country's government from travelling to the United States. " We hold the Ukrainian government primarily responsible for making sure that it is dealing with peaceful protesters in an appropriate way," Obama said. Canada's embassy in the Ukrainian capital remained closed for a second straight day. Federal MPs James Bezan and Ted Opitz said in a statement they are " disgusted" by the callous behaviour of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and his regime. During a bilateral meeting in Mexico, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Obama were in agreement on several fronts regarding the Ukrainian crisis, calling the truce a " welcome step." Harper and Obama also urged the Ukrainian military to show restraint and refrain from becoming involved in issues that should be resolved by civilians, the statement said. Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said Canada is considering a range of diplomatic options to send a message to the Yanukovych government, including targeted sanctions. The Harper government will consult other nations as it considers possible next steps, he said. " I will... be consulting our allies and like- minded nations to build a co- ordinated path forward in the coming days." - from the news services President, protesters agree to truce West, Kremlin vie for influence over country By Maria Danilova And Yuras Karmanau YVES LOGGHE / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A protester in Brussels shows her disdain for Ukraine's president. SCAN PAGE TO SEE VIDEOS OF THE PROTESTS SERGEI L. LOIKO / LOS ANGELES TIMES A protester hurls a cobblestone over a wall of fire toward police forces storming Independence Square in central Kyiv on Wednesday. KEN GIGLIOTTI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Ukraine's, Canada's flags at half- mast at city hall. B_ 04_ Feb- 20- 14_ FP_ 01. indd B4 2/ 19/ 14 10: 06: 38 PM ;