Police in the Ukrainian capital Kiev used tear gas after clashes broke out at a demonstration on Wednesday morning against a bill significantly enhancing the status of the Russian language in the country, which was passed in a final reading on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, President Viktor Yanukovych threatened to consider holding early parliamentary elections, as both the speaker and deputy speaker of the Rada quit on Wednesday in protest at the bill.
If President Yanukovych signs the bill into law, Russian will acquire the status of a regional language in regions where it is the native tongue for at least 10 percent of the population, or 13 out of Ukraine’s 27 administrative-territorial entities, including the capital Kiev.
Opposition supporters gathered at the entrance of the Supreme Rada building on Wednesday to protest against the bill. Clashes erupted as protesters threw bottles at riot police, who have been trying to disperse the crowd using tear gas, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported from the scene. President Yanukovych was scheduled to give a speech in the building.
Several people were injured in the clashes and ambulances arrived at the scene, a RIA Novosti correspondent said.
Several opposition lawmakers left the Rada building and joined protesters to sing Ukraine's national anthem.
President Yanukovych said he would not rule out calling early elections to the Rada in a bid to end the political turmoil in the country, as scuffles broke out in the chamber.
“Viktor Vanukovych has not ruled out introducing the procedure for early parliamentary elections, if the situation regarding the work of the Rada is not stabilized,” the Ukrainian President’s press service said.
Ukrainian parliament speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn and his deputy Mykola Tomenko announced their resignation on Wednesday in protest at the bill.
Lytvyn is the chairman of the People's Party, which holds 20 seats in the 450-strong Supreme Rada. Tomenko is member of the opposition Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc.
Yanukovych invited Lytvyn and Tomenko, as well as leaders of the Rada factions, to discuss the situation on Wednesday afternoon, the presidential press service said. The president canceled his news conference scheduled for 11:30 a.m. local time (08:30 GMT).
Under the bill, Ukrainian would actually remain the only state language, but restrictions would be lifted on the use of other languages spoken in the country, including Russian, Bulgarian, Romanian and Hungarian, granting them official regional status.
During his election campaign, President Yanukovych pledged to make Russian, a native tongue for many Ukrainians, a second state language.
Russian is still used in much of Ukraine, especially in the east, Crimea and Kiev, and there is a strong movement to protect the rights of Russian speakers. The bill allows the parliament, government, and other legislative and executive bodies to publish their decisions in the regional language, and enables TV companies to broadcast in that language.
The authors of the bill maintain that it preserves the status of Ukrainian as the only state language. However, the opposition regards it as a ploy by Yanukovych’s governing Party of Regions, ahead of parliamentary elections, due in October, to deepen divisions between the country’s Ukrainian and Russian speakers.
Seven lawmakers from the Our Ukraine - People's Self-Defense opposition faction started a hunger strike on Tuesday night in protest against the bill.
