UKRAINE: Cracks appeared in Ukraine's democracy movement yesterday, with Pora, the activist group leading Kiev's street protests, accusing opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko of going back on promises not to negotiate with the government writes Chris Stephen in Kiev.
Pora accused Mr Yushchenko of negotiating a deal to give immunity from prosecution on corruption charges to sitting President Mr Leonid Kuchma.
And it warned of a wave of new protests, this time against both opposition and government, unless talks were called off.
The protest was sparked by reports that Mr Kuchma, living in a summer house outside the city, was trying to negotiate an immunity deal from corruption charges with Mr Yushchenko.
Government and opposition aides are tight-lipped about the contents of such talks, but there is speculation that Mr Kuchma will not sign legislation allowing new elections until he gets a pardon guarantee.
"We want the opposition to stop all talks with criminals," said Pora spokesman Mr Andrei Yusov. "They should talk about full transfer of government action with no conditions."
Until this weekend, Ukraine's opposition had remained united in its demands for fresh elections.
But since Friday's Supreme Court decision to hold new elections, almost certainly meaning victory to Mr Yushchenko, splits have appeared.
"We always thought that the presence of morality in politics is critical for you," Pora said in an open letter to Mr Yushchenko. "That is the reason why it is so hard for us to understand why you are negotiating with criminals." Pora is also angry about a deal, brokered last week by European Union foreign policy chief Mr Javier Solana, under which Mr Kuchma promised to support new elections if Mr Yushchenko agreed to constitutional changes to weaken his powers.
On Saturday, Mr Yushchenko cancelled the agreement, with Pora accusing him of simply wanting to hang on to the levers of power.
Since last summer, Pora - the name means "It is time" - has led the protest movement against the regime with daring and eye-catching stunts. In the run-up to last month's rigged elections, Pora activists lay down in front of buses they said were being used to allow state workers to make multiple votes.
And after the elections, it was again in the vanguard, setting up Tent City, the sprawling encampment in Kiev's Khreshchatik Boulevard that has become the focus of opposition protests.
But questions hang over Pora's organisation, amid rumours that it was set up by American-trained activists from another group, Otpor, which ran a campaign to oust Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic in 2000.
Pora is shy about explaining its origins or sponsors. Mr Yusov said the group had no overall leader, only a "steering committee". He said this committee did not need to be elected because everyone in the movement agreed on who should lead them without the need for a vote.
On the streets, there is frustration among Pora activists that despite agreeing to new elections, Mr Kuchma's officials remain inside government buildings, with protesters still stuck outside.
One senior activist inside Tent City said the non-violence of earlier protests may now be dropped. "We could have taken the presidency last week, and maybe we should have done. Sure, one or two people might have been killed but at least we would have control."
But Mr Yushchenko's officials insist non-violence remains the only vehicle for protest and defended his decision to hold talks with Mr Kuchma.
"Yushchenko is politician with good morals, who is ready to compromise," said opposition MP Mr Grigory Omelchenko, a former secret service officer.