Ukrainian protesters demand Interior Minister’s resignation

PanARMENIAN.Net - Hundreds of protesters demanded the resignation of Ukraine’s Interior Minister at a demonstration Monday, Jan 13, in Kyiv, according to RIA Novosti.

The protesters blocked entrances to the Interior Ministry as they urged Vitaly Zakharchenko and law enforcement officials to resign over a violent crackdown on demonstrators in November.

The rally in the capital is the continuation of the anti-government movement that began in November, sparked by Ukraine’s rejection of an association agreement with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia.

Riot police used force to disperse protesters on November 30, prompting thousands to join street demonstrations the following day which resulted in violent clashes between activists and law enforcement.

The mass protests resumed last week after the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

Opposition leader Yury Lutsenko, who is a former interior minister, was taken to intensive care with head injuries after a confrontation late Friday between riot police and protesters. Up to a dozen were hurt in clashes that broke out after a district court in Kyiv jailed three men for six years over an alleged plot to blow up a statue of Vladimir Lenin in 2011.

Another big protest drew some 50,000 people to Kyiv’s central Independence Square on Sunday.