Berkut riot police stop bus with sound equipment for peaceful „language law” protest

Following a stoning incident by unidentified assailants, the“Last Barricade” bus carrying sound equipment for the anti-language law protest outside Ukrainsky Dim [Ukraine House] in Kyiv has been stopped by Berkut riot police.  According to an Ukrainska Pravda correspondent, the Berkut officers have prevented the bus from driving up to the place where the protest is based.  As reported, protesters, some on hunger strike, have been holding an ongoing protest since the scandalous blitzkrieg operation in parliament on 3 July during which quite flagrant infringements of parliamentary regulations compounded many other reasons making the draft law extremely contentious.

The Berkut officers claimed that they were entitled to stop the bus as it was moving along the pavement. Calls from two MPs Yury Stets and Oles Doniy for the police to move away were met with abuse.

According to Doniy’s assistant Viacheslav Ponomaryov, one of the police’s arguments is that they’re protecting public order because the vehicle could plough into people.  He points out that since people move aside to let the bus through, there are no legal grounds for stopping it, and assumes that the officers are obeying an order “from the top”. 

see also:
• VAAD slams controversial language bill
• Clarification for President Yanukovych regarding the language law
• Language Law Protesters vow to continue hunger strike to the end
• Another anti-language law protester taken away by ambulance
• More anti-language law protesters in Kyiv
• Ambulance called for third language law hunger striker
• Constitutional Court simplifies dismissal of Parliamentary Speaker
• Strange story with police summons of language law protester
• Fifth criminal investigation over language law protest
• «Last Barricade” anti-language law bus stoned
• Statement of demands from language law protesters
• Cherkasy: Riot police roughly disperse „language law” protest
• The Kivalov-Kolesnichenko Language Bill must not be signed into law!
• UABA: Statement regarding the Principles of Language Policy Act
• Language and constitutional reform: dangerous trends
• First December Initiative condemns “language” coup in parliament
• Religious leaders urge President not to sign divisive language bill
• Kyiv erupts over language bill
• Confrontation, teargas and political impasse over language bill