Ukraine Court Blocks Yanukovich Taking Power
Nov 25, 2:07 PM (ET)
By Ron Popeski
KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine's highest court on Thursday blocked the inauguration of the Moscow-backed prime minister as president, putting fresh wind in the sails of his liberal opponent who has led street protests to overturn his election.
The Supreme Court rejected official publication of results that showed Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich had beaten Viktor Yushchenko in a run-off election on Sunday. The ruling effectively stopped Yanukovich being sworn in as head of state.
The West-leaning Yushchenko, who says he was robbed of victory by electoral fraud, hailed the ruling as a victory.
"This is only the beginning. It is proof that it is society that always wins. It is small compensation for the suffering that we have endured," he told tens of thousands of supporters on Kiev's Independence Square to wild cheering.
The four days of high tension since the election have led to warnings of civil conflict by Western officials and even the country's outgoing president, and spawned rumors of a violent backlash from Yanukovich supporters.
The court, which has shown it is independent-minded in the past, also said that next Monday it would examine Yushchenko's complaint that the prime minister's election had been rigged.
Under the court ruling, outgoing President Leonid Kuchma, who has been in power for 10 years and had endorsed Yanukovich only after long reflection, would stay on in power for now.
Yushchenko has said he is ready to take part in fresh elections so long as rules are tightened to prevent cheating.
Encouraged by the Supreme Court ruling after four days of protests in the center of Kiev, Yushchenko's political allies announced they would ratchet up the pressure.
Firebrand deputy Yulia Tymoshenko urged supporters to begin a peaceful blockade of the government building and parliament. She said from Friday there would be moves to coordinate the blocking of major highways to back a planned national strike.
DECREES ON PUBLIC ORDER, MEDIA
Aide Oleksander Zinchenko said Yushchenko, who symbolically took the oath of office this week, had issued "decrees" on behalf of a newly created Committee for National Salvation to uphold public order and guarantee media freedoms.
Yushchenko vowed earlier there would be no let-up in protests to overturn the result.
Support for protests remained firm in western and central regions, Yushchenko's strongholds. In Lviv, the cradle of nationalism in the west, 10,000 people demonstrated and many factories were already on strike.
In the divided state's eastern regions, which account for most of Ukraine's economic muscle, backing was strong for Yanukovich and relatively few saw any reason to join a strike.
But even here there were chinks in the armor.
In Kharkiv, Ukraine's second city in the east, about 30,000 supporters turned out in support of Yushchenko, according to television footage. Even in Luhansk, in the heart of the coal belt, 2,000 workers marched on the challenger's behalf.
In Kiev, dozens of buses packed mostly with young men, were seen parked without explanation at various points in the city center. That fueled residents' fears of possible violence.
In The Hague, Ukraine's crisis dominated summit talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the European Union presidency, who are at odds on the issue.
Putin, who congratulated Yanukovich as the summit began, later said outsiders had no moral right to push Ukraine into "mayhem." Ukrainian courts, he said, should resolve any dispute.
Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski will arrive in Kiev on Friday to meet Kuchma, Poland's PAP news agency said, citing the Polish embassy in Kiev. Kwasniewski's press office was not immediately available to comment.
Poland, a NATO and EU member, is Ukraine's main European sponsor.
The West has made clear to Ukraine it regards the election as fraudulent. Apart from sharp EU criticism, the United States has warned Ukraine there could be consequences for their ties.
As Ukraine seethed with turmoil for a fourth successive day, the central bank said it would support banks if they were hit by a run on deposits, sparked by political uncertainty.
The dispute reflects passionate differences over the orientation of Ukraine, a country of 47 million people that has a common history with Russia but also wants to grow closer to three new EU members on its borders. |
