Kiev rally cancelled over protester memorial
Source: AP-Excite
By MARIA DANILOVA and YURAS KARMANAU
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) - Ukraine's opposition called off a massive rally planned for Sunday because of the funeral for a protester killed in clashes with police last week, underscoring the rising tensions in the country's two-month political crisis.
Mikhail Zhiznevsky, 25, was one of two protesters who died of gunshot wounds on Wednesday. The opposition contends they were shot by police in an area where demonstrators had been throwing rocks and firebombs at riot police for several days.
The memorial service is to take place at Independence Square in the center of the Ukrainian capital, where protesters have established a large tent camp and held demonstrations around the clock since early December. Sunday rallies in previous weeks have attracted especially large crowds, sometimes exceeding 100,000 people.
The protests began in late November after President Viktor Yanukovych shelved a long-awaited agreement to deepen ties with the European Union, but they have been increasingly gripped by people seeking more radical action even as moderate opposition leaders have pleaded for a stop to violence.
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Medics transport an injured protester during an attack of the Ukrainian House building in central Kiev, Ukraine, early Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014. New violence erupted in Ukraine's capital during the night as a large crowd attacked the government exposition and conference hall where police were stationed inside. Early Sunday, demonstrators were throwing firebombs into the Ukrainian House building and setting off fireworks, and police responded with tear gas. (AP Photo/Evgeny Feldman, Novaya Gazeta)
