Ukraine opposition prepare for strike action

Opposition leaders in Ukraine prepared today for a nationwide strike to protest the government’s decision to name Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych winner of a presidential election amid allegations of vote-rigging.

Backed by thousands of protesters who spent a fourth night outside in the bitter cold in Kiev, reformist candidate Viktor Yushchenko and his allies called yesterday for an “all-Ukrainian political strike” after election officials declared the Kremlin-backed Yanukovych the winner of a bitterly disputed run-off denounced by Western observers as fraudulent.

The opposition’s threat to shut down factories, schools and transportation risked provoking a crackdown by outgoing President Leonid Kuchma, who accused the opposition of trying to carry out “a coup d’etat”.

With the gulf deepening between the opposition and the government, a key mediator – Lech Walesa, the founder of the Polish Solidarity movement – was expected in the capital to try to help pull the deeply divided nation of 48 million back from the brink of conflict.

A strike could also further divide the country: Yanukovych drew his support from the pro-Russian, heavily industrialised eastern half of Ukraine, while Yushchenko’s strength was in the west, a traditional centre of nationalism.

To prevent the crisis from widening, Yanukovych said negotiations with Yushchenko’s team would begin today. The opposition has said, however, that it would talk only about a handover of power to Yushchenko, and would only negotiate with Kuchma.

The election officials’ decision to declare Yanukovych the winner “puts Ukraine on the verge of civil conflict”, Yushchenko told hundreds of thousands of his cheering supporters in central Kiev’s Independence Square.

The commission said Yanukovych got 49.46% of the vote and Yushchenko 46.61%.

Thousands of the orange-clad supporters spent the night in the capital, staying in giant tent camps set up along Kiev’s main street and near the presidential administration.

As sun rose over the city, groups of opposition supporters huddled together, drinking hot tea and breaking into regular chants of “Yushchenko! Yushchenko!” as they stamped their feet to keep warm as the temperatures plunged well below freezing.

The police presence around the presidential administration building was reinforced last night, with about 40 buses disgorging more than 1,000 officers with helmets and shields who stood up to eight deep outside the building.

The election was denounced as fraudulent by Western observers, who cited voter intimidation, multiple voting and other irregularities. US Secretary of State Colin Powell said yesterday that the United States could not accept the result.

“With this decision, they want to put us on our knees,” the Western-leaning Yushchenko, who took a symbolic oath of office on Tuesday, told his supporters. They responded with chants of “Shame! Shame!” and "We will not give up".

Socialist Party leader Oleksandr Moroz said the opposition was "organising citizens, stopping lessons at schools and universities, stopping work at enterprises, stopping transport - and, thus, we’ll force the authorities to think about what they are doing”.

Yuliya Tymoshenko, Yushchenko’s key ally, said his followers would “surround all government buildings, block railways, airports and highways”.

She also said that the opposition would go to Ukraine’s Supreme Court today to protest the alleged election fraud. The opposition also planned to file complaints in regional courts across Ukraine.

The election has led to an increasingly tense tug-of-war between the West and Moscow, which considers Ukraine part of its sphere of influence and a buffer between Russia and eastward-expanding Nato.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has already congratulated Yanukovych on his victory, and the Kremlin-controlled Russian parliament denounced the Ukrainian opposition for its “illegal actions”.

Powell, by contrast, challenged Ukrainian leaders “to decide whether they are on the side of democracy or not” and warned of “consequences for our relationship, for Ukraine’s hopes for a Euro-Atlantic integration and for individuals responsible for perpetrating fraud”.

Canada also said it did not accept the results, and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso warned of “consequences” for the European Union’s political and trade relations with Ukraine.

At risk is aid the bloc has given or committed to Ukraine since 1991 in development and economic aid and possible visa bans.