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January 22, 2014

3 Killed as Ukraine Dismantles Protest Camps 
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Three people have died after overnight clashes in Ukraine between state
forces and opposition protesters. The government has attacked protest
camps in Kiev since thousands defied a state ban on rallies over the
weekend. Demonstrators have begun receiving text messages on their
cellphones informing them of taking part in an illegal "disturbance."
Kenneth Roth, the executive director of Human Rights Watch, called on
the Ukraine government to respect the right to protest.

Kenneth Roth: "Our principal concern is that neither the police nor the
government use the outbreak of violence by a tiny minority of the
demonstrators as an excuse to crack down on the vast majority of the
demonstrators who continue to protest peacefully. The Ukraine in this
rushed legislative effort has adopted a series of new laws trying to
stifle the protests. The people of the Ukraine showed this weekend that
they have no intention of taking that line down."

 

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