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Protests grow as ukraine vote crisis deepens { November 24 2004 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/24/international/europe/24ukraine.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/24/international/europe/24ukraine.html
November 24, 2004
Protests Grow as Ukraine Vote Crisis Deepens
By C. J. CHIVERS
KIEV, Ukraine, Nov. 23 - Mass demonstrations against the preliminary outcome of the presidential election expanded here in the capital Tuesday, as the opposition candidate, Viktor A. Yushchenko, declared himself the winner and tried unsuccessfully to force Parliament to invalidate government tallies showing him the loser.
Mr. Yushchenko's supporters swarmed through the capital, staging highly organized rallies at Independence Square and the Supreme Rada, Ukraine's 450-seat Parliament. On Tuesday night they marched through lightly falling snow to the presidential administration building, where they were met by lines of helmeted police officers standing 12 deep.
The demonstrators' numbers were visibly larger than the day before, when tens of thousands chanted antigovernment slogans, claiming the runoff election on Sunday had been stolen by fraud.
The preliminary count of the Central Election Commission shows the government's candidate, Prime Minister Viktor F. Yanukovich, took a three-point lead ahead of Mr. Yushchenko, but the government has not declared a president-elect.
With regions announcing allegiance to one candidate or the other, the country remained split, and the government came to a near standstill. At what was shaping up to become a historic moment of confrontation for the nation of 48 million, and with its leadership at a crossroads, the lights to the huge presidential building were dimmed.
Mr. Yanukovich kept a low profile during the day, as did Leonid D. Kuchma, the departing president and Mr. Yanukovich's chief patron.
Jan Peter Balkenende, the Dutch prime minister, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, telephoned Mr. Kuchma to express the presidency's "serious concerns" about the election.
Western election observers reported inflation of voting lists on election day, multiple voting and the use of state resources to Mr. Yanukovich's favor, among other abuses.
Mr. Kuchma's office released a statement confirming that he had spoken with Mr. Balkenende, and warned that "political issues must not be solved in the street." The country also awaited the possible arrival of Lech Walesa, the Nobel laureate and former leader of the Solidarity movement in Poland, who said he was willing to try to mediate. Mr. Walesa urged the opposition "to use peaceful methods to lower the risks of a possible tragedy," according to Agence France-Presse.
Later in the day, Mr. Yanukovich's campaign declared him the president-elect and called for Mr. Yushchenko to concede. The position, stronger than that taken by Mr. Kuchma, was an unusual instance of public incoherence between the prime minister's and the president's camps.
In Kiev, buses with police officers were parked near the city's center and, at night, officers in riot gear were posted at barricades in front of the president's office. The police and the protesters appeared for the moment to have found a balance.
"The police are with the people!" the crowd chanted outside Parliament. At night, Mr. Yushchenko's supporters tied orange ribbons - a symbol of the opposition - to officers' riot shields.
With the situation unstable and the outcome uncertain, the White House issued a statement saying the United States was "deeply disturbed by extensive and credible indications of fraud" in the election, and urged the Ukrainian authorities "not to certify results until investigations of organized fraud are resolved."
Also in the United States on Tuesday, four Ukrainian diplomats in Washington issued a letter protesting their own government's conduct of the election. "Guided by our conscience, our professional pride and our oath of loyalty to serve the Ukrainian state we express our solidarity with the voice of the Ukrainian people," the letter read, according to The Associated Press.
A senior Western diplomat in Kiev, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the political situation, portrayed the Ukrainian leadership as being at an impasse, stung by public and diplomatic reaction, and unsure of how to react to the growing protests.
The diplomat also said he had credible reports that police units, the army and even the S.B.U., Ukraine's successor to the K.G.B., might be unwilling to put down the demonstrators by force. His assessment suggested deep divisions at senior ranks in the Ukrainian government.
"You have a government which in my opinion does not know what to do," the diplomat said.
He also cautioned, however, that one law enforcement agency, the Interior Ministry, might be willing to use force. The diplomat said "two red lines" had been communicated by his country to Mr. Kuchma. First, he said, that the government was to use no violence, and second, that it was to take no step to certify the election.
The pressure on Mr. Kuchma appeared extraordinary. At issue was not just the direction of his country - Mr. Yushchenko has pledged to steer it westward, while Mr. Yanukovich has vowed to tighten further the nation's strong ties with Russia - but also his legacy, already tarnished by allegations of corruption, illegal arms dealing and state support for political violence.
One other matter he was said to be contemplating was his own security in retirement. Many of Mr. Yushchenko's supporters hope a new government will investigate allegations of presidential involvement in corruption and politically motivated violence. As the pressure increased, Mr. Yushchenko aimed for symbolic stature. In an unofficial session of Parliament, he placed his hand on a Bible and read the presidential oath of office, a gesture without legal standing but meaningful to supporters massed outside.
The session had been an attempt to have Parliament declare no confidence in the election commission, but was boycotted by members supporting Mr. Kuchma and Mr. Yanukovich. Only 191 members were present, short of a quorum.
Both sides worked to demonstrate popular backing. The government of Donetsk, an eastern region that is home to many officials in Mr. Kuchma's government, passed a resolution noting "the complete and irrevocable victory of Yanukovich."
Almost simultaneously, the western region of Lviv recognized Mr. Yushchenko as president, a gesture similar to those already made on his behalf by four cities, including Kiev.
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company
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