KIEV, July 9 (RIA Novosti) – Ukrainian Prosecutor General Vitaliy Yarema said Wednesday the police are authorized to use force to disperse the Euromaidan activists, who have been encamped in downtown Kiev since last year.
“A crackdown on the so-called Maidan is possible. If they organize armed resistance, police officers are allowed to use weapons,” Yarema told reporters.
The prosecutor general added that law-enforcement bodies should take measures to restore order in the capital’s central districts amid worsening criminal levels there.
Mass protests under the title Euromaidan started in Kiev’s Independence Square in November 2013 after Ukraine’s government announced a halt to European integration. The unrest ultimately resulted in the overthrow of President Viktor Yanukovych in a coup on February 22. Early presidential elections were held on May 25, bringing Petro Poroshenko to power. The Euromaidan activists, however, remain encamped on Kiev’s Independence Square, saying they will not leave until the new government meets all of its election campaign commitments.
