Before It’s News – by Jay Will
Ukraine Arrest warrant issued for Viktor Yanukovych over killings of civilians
The turmoil in Ukraine has swept aside its president, brought about the release a prominent opposition leader and raised fears the country could break apart.
After the bloodshed in the streets of Kiev last week — the deadliest violence Ukraine has suffered since its independence 22 years ago — the political twists and turns came thick and fast over the weekend.
As a new week begins, uncertainty has taken a hold in the divided nation as Ukraine tries to reshape its political landscape.
An arrest warrant has been issued for ousted President Viktor Yanukovych over the killings of civilians, a government official said Monday. But officials don’t know where he is.
Here’s what you need to know to get caught up:
Who’s in charge?
It depends whom you ask.
The Parliament voted to oust Yanukovych, a key demand of protesters. It appointed seasoned lawmaker Oleksandr Turchinov as a new speaker who will take on Yanukovych’s duties until new elections in May.
Turchinov, a longtime ally of opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko, has promised a new interim government by Tuesday.
“We have a legitimate source of authority in Kiev, which is the democratically elected Parliament and a democratically, constitutionally elected speaker of parliament, who is acting president,” Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, who helped broker a peace deal between the government and the opposition, said on CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS.
But Yanukovych claims he’s still in charge, saying he was forced to leave Kiev because of a “coup.”
“I don’t plan to leave the country. I don’t plan to resign. I am the legitimate President,” he said Saturday in a televised broadcast.
But acting Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said Monday that arrest warrant has been issued for Yanukovych.
“As of this morning, a criminal case on mass killings of civilians has been opened.
Yanukovych and several other officials have been placed on the wanted list,” Avakov wrote Monday on his Facebook page.
Where exactly is Yanukovych?
Unclear. He made his TV broadcast from Kharkiv, a pro-Russian stronghold near the border. And he reportedly tried to board a charter plane Saturday night in the eastern city of Donetsk, but was turned away because he didn’t have the right papers.
On Sunday, he was staying at his private residence in Balaklava in the southern region of Crimea, Avakov said, adding that Yanukovych is believed to traveling in three vehicles with his chief of staff.
But Avakov said he doesn’t know where Yanukovych was Monday.
“An arrest warrant has been issued for ousted President Viktor Yanukovych over the killings of civilians, a government official said Monday. But officials don’t know where he is.”
I’m just wondering if this warrant was issued by the same type of court that issued them for the Queen Lizard, Bush and the rest of that crowd.