乌克兰警方驱散示威者 和谈前景不乐观

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Amid news that embattled Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych would support a roundtable with opposition leaders to negotiate an end to a political stalemate here, riot police pushed protesters out of the government block, where they barricaded administrative buildings.

Although there were only minor conflicts reported, Dec. 9 was psychologically exhausting for protesters who spent the day alert and fearing attacks. But major physical crackdowns took place in the offices of Batkivshchyna, the biggest political party, and several media outlets. Armed with automatic rifles, police confiscated servers from Batkivshchyna offices, claiming that the move was backed by a court order.

Officials had given protesters occupying central government buildings until today to evacuate or face crackdowns. But by nightfall protesters remained camped inside the Kyiv city hall and Trade Union buildings.

Law enforcement did manage to regain a substantial amount of ground in the government district of the city, dismantling many tents and barricades with barbed wire that were set up over the past week by protesters, and it was done without having to use much physical force.

Warnings that police had been given orders to remove protesters from key locations around central Independence Square, where several thousands have gathered in the past three weeks, came all day. But very few clashes actually happened. Sporadic scuffles were reported at various times, but no serious injuries.

Members of Batkivschyna, the party led by jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, whose case the West considers to be political, as well as politician Arseniy Yatseniuk, reported that unknown men in black uniforms and masks had ransacked their Kyiv base and taken their computer servers.

"They've turned the server room into a mess… Searches are under way and the doors of the Batkivschyna Party's office are being broken down," Yatseniuk said at a briefing. "No parliamentarians are let into the office. All the equipment has been damaged.”

The country’s Interior Ministry said a court, due to two criminal cases that involve alleged fraud and abuse of office, sanctioned the attack on Batkivshchyna’s office. They said a group of citizens reported to the police that a company, located on 19-B Turivska (an address close to Batkivshchyna offices) allegedly illegally seized computer equipment worth Hr 350,000, Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported. Moreover, they complained that officials from this company abused their authority.

During the search, computer equipment and documents were confiscated as evidence in a criminal investigation, according to Interior Ministry officials.

Police actions sparked outrage among protesters and the opposition, diminishing the chances for a presidential roundtable to succeed in finding a solution out of the current gridlock. Representatives of the opposition said that they would not even consider negotiations until the government resigns, the police officers responsible for violent crackdowns on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 are punished and students and activists arrested after those clashes are allowed to go free.

The European Union's Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton was scheduled to visit Ukraine on Dec. 10 to encourage the two sides to seek compromise. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland was also set to visit, but by the end of Monday it was not clear when.