• Rare anti-war protest by citizens of beseiged Donetsk neighborhoods demands both sides stop hostilit
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[url]http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/16/world/europe/discontent-in-eastern-ukraine-leads-to-rare-public-protest.html?_r=0[/url] [quote=New York Times]MOSCOW — Residents of two frequently shelled neighborhoods in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine staged a public antiwar protest on Monday, an exceedingly rare event in rebel-held territory. The crowd of about 500 people briefly blocked the city’s main thoroughfare, Artema Street, chanting, “Stop the war!” and “Out with everybody!” That referred to both the Ukrainian and the separatist leadership. That the separatists, and not merely the Ukrainian Army, were publicly criticized made the rally all the more unusual. The Ukrainian authorities have recently erected an economic blockade of the breakaway regions, hoping it would foster internal discord, though there had been few signs of any until now. The protesters [B]were not entirely unified in their demands[/B]. Some said they wanted the rebels to attack the Ukrainian Army, to push the front farther from their neighborhoods, while others demanded that the separatists remove artillery pieces from backyards and city streets, so as not to invite retaliatory strikes. Some also demanded pension payments, which Kiev has suspended as part of the blockade. The protesters came mainly from the Kievsky and October Market neighborhoods, [B]where rebel units have mortar emplacements that draw return fire from the Ukrainian Army.[/B] Despite a cease-fire brokered in February, skirmishes are common. The line of contact runs between these districts of Donetsk, controlled by Russian-backed rebels, and adjacent villages controlled by Ukrainian forces. The separatist police turned out but allowed the protest to go ahead.[/quote]
[quote]Despite a cease-fire brokered in February, skirmishes are common.[/quote] Because fuck progress towards peace.
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