Ukrainian protesters in Kiev urge halt to corruption

Ukrainians have held a protest in front of a presidential office in the capital, Kiev, against the law enforcement bodies whom they accuse of covering up corruption.

The Ukrainian activists, carrying a banner reading, "Poroshenko, come out," demonstrated outside the presidential administration building in Kiev on Friday, calling for a meeting with the President Petro Poroshenko. But the president ignored their demand.

The protesters, who burned tires and clashed with police, called for holding police officials and prosecutors involved in corruption cases accountable.

On March 29, Ukrainian parliamentarians accepted the resignation of the country’s prosecutor general, Viktor Shokin, who has been accused of refusing to clamp down on corrupt officials in Ukraine. The move, however, was seen by activists as insufficient and called for further resignations.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk faces similar calls for resignation, although he has decided to cling to power. In March, Poroshenko once again called on Yatsenyuk to resign and urged the parliament to pick his successor.

SS