Kiev warns of terrorism threats amid protests

KIEV:

Ukraine's security agency yesterday warned of a heightened risk of terrorism, including from nearly three months of anti-government protests. The warning raised the pressure on the opposition as parliament tries to find a way out of the crisis.

The Security Service of Ukraine said it was putting its counterterrorism units on alert, after receiving a large number of bomb threats across the country at airports, train stations, pipelines and other locations. In what was seen as a warning to the opposition, the seizure of government buildings also would be viewed as manifestations of terrorism, the agency said in a statement.

Rally turnout

Some 30,000 people turned out for a rally on Kiev's Independence Square, known as the Maidan, yesterday, the day the demonstrations usually draw the largest crowds.

Opposition leaders de-manded a constitutional reform that would reduce presidential powers and early elections in which they hope to unseat President Viktor Yanukovych. The measures are currently being discussed in the national parliament, which is controlled by Yanukovych loyalists who, so far, have rejected those demands.

"The authorities are already scared of us," opposition leader Oleh Tyahnybok told the crowd. "We need to press them further."

How it began

The protests started after Yanukovych ditched a key treaty with the European Union in favour of a bailout loan from Russia.

Protesters and police have been maintaining a shaky truce at giant barricades near a government district in Kiev for several weeks, after three activists were killed in clashes last month. Another one was found dead outside Kiev after being kidnapped from a hospital.

Many activists said yesterday that they were ready to resume confrontations with police, if Yanukovych re-fused to concede to their demands.

"We are already tired of standing on the Maidan," said Dmytro Shulets, 47. "Nothing happens without a fight. If talks fail, we will resort to force again."

- AP