Thousands Rally in Ukraine to Support Arrested Opposition Politician

by Dramelin 7:00 PM 0 comments

Thousands of supporters of ex-Georgian leader-turned Ukrainian opposition politician Mikheil Saakashvili rallied in Kiev demanding the impeachment of the eastern European nation’s president, Petro Poroshenko, and progress to stamp out corruption.
The protesters gathered Sunday less than two days after Ukraine arrested Saakashvili, the former Odessa governor who denies accusations he plotted to overthrow the government.
The crowd reached as many as 50,000 people, according to Saakashvili’s party.
Police put the turnout much lower, at 2,500, while local media said it was 3,000-5,000.
Demonstrators marched in heavy snow to Independence Square, known as Maidan, the focal point of the protest movement that unseated Russian-backed President Viktor Yanukovych in 2014.
Since then, the administration that took power has angered voters by failing to deliver on promises to bring greater transparency to government and remake the country’s former Soviet economy.
Ukraine’s allies are similarly displeased: a $17.
5 billion international bailout loan has stalled along with the government’s reforms.
“We know what we want, our opposition force is big and a lot of people want change,” Saakashvili’s wife, Sandra, told Sunday’s rally.
“The fight against corruption is necessary.
We did it in Georgia.
It was very difficult but we did it.
It’s possible but you need to want it.
Those who’re in power now, don’t want it.
” Activists urged parliament to adopt laws on creating a special court to handle corruption cases, and called for the dismissal of the prosecutor general.
They demanded an end to pressure on agencies set up to tackle graft as part of the rescue loan’s conditions, an issue that the U.
, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund all complained about last week.
The rally was overseen by about 1,000 security officers.
Detention Hearing Protesters also went to the detention center where Saakashvili has been held since his arrest on Friday evening.
That was the second attempt to take him into custody, after an earlier one failed when his supporters freed him from a van that was waiting to take him away from his home.
Saakashvili’s allies said they plan to rally Monday outside the court that’s set to decide on the terms of his detention.
The Prosecutor General’s Office will request that he’s subject to house arrest and made to wear an electronic bracelet, a spokeswoman for said Sunday on Facebook.