Ukraine’s Leader to Revoke Curbs on Dissent, but Opposition Remains Wary

A demonstrator took a rest from the protests on Monday in Kiev, Ukraine. Protesters withdrew^↲ from the Justice Ministry building they had seized^↲ on Sunday. Sergey Dolzhenko/European Pressphoto Agency

KIEV, Ukraine — Still struggling^↲ to contain a national civil uprising^↲, President Viktor F. Yanukovych of Ukraine agreed late Monday to revoke a package^↲ of new laws severely restricting political dissent, but a wider accord to defuse^↲ the crisis remained out of reach, officials said.

While nominally a concession to the opposition, a repeal^↲ of the laws would simply reverse a provocative legislative maneuver on Jan. 16 that only further infuriated antigovernment protesters who at that point had been on the streets for nearly two months over other grievances^↲.

The situation in Ukraine, a country of 46 million perched^↲ strategically between Russia and the European Union, has deteriorated sharply^↲ after clashes^↲ between the police and demonstrators in Kiev turned violent last week and mass protests began spreading in regional capitals.

Mr. Yanukovych, who set off the crisis^↲ in November by breaking a promise to sign political and free-trade agreements with the European Union , began offering concessions on Saturday in a sign that the authorities were losing control and that the police were outnumbered^↲.

As protests continued across Kiev on Monday, demonstrators took part in a training exercise in Independence Square. Rob Stothard/Getty Images

He offered to install opposition leaders as prime minister and vice prime minister — a proposal that they swiftly rebuffed^↲ in part because there was little support for it on the street, but also because it would have solidified Mr. Yanukovych’s own grip on power^↲.

One of those opposition leaders, Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk, the leader in Parliament of the Fatherland Party, officially informed the president on Monday night that he would not accept the post of prime minister.

In a statement released earlier in the day, Yulia V. Tymoshenko, a Fatherland leader and former prime minister who was jailed by Mr. Yanukovych, urged^↲ that the deal be rejected. “The people want fundamental changes in their lives, justice in Ukraine and a path to European values,” she said. “This is their last chance. Politicians still don’t understand that the people are ready to achieve their goal^↲ at the cost of their lives, health and physical freedom.”

In addition to repealing the new restrictions on dissent, officials said that a special session of Parliament on Tuesday would also begin to address a rollback of constitutional changes broadly expanding the powers of the presidency that had been made at Mr. Yanukovych’s direction earlier in his term^↲.

Yet, in a sign of how Mr. Yanukovych has reshaped^↲ the political system to his advantage, a return to the Constitution as it existed in 2004, absent^↲ other changes, would largely serve to empower^↲ a Parliament now solidly controlled by his Party of Regions.

Despite a thuggish^↲ reputation, Mr. Yanukovych has repeatedly proved himself to be a wily^↲ negotiator. After backing away from the deal with Europe, which would have required him to free Ms. Tymoshenko, as well as to undertake^↲ painful austerity measures^↲ demanded by the International Monetary Fund, Mr. Yanukovych secured^↲ a desperately needed $15 billion financial rescue package from President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.

At the same time, he avoided having to declare that Ukraine would join Russia’s customs union^↲ with Belarus and Kazakhstan, which the Kremlin has clearly wanted as part of a deal.

A protester at the barricade in Kiev, Ukraine, on Monday. Darko Vojinovic/Associated Press

Still, Mr. Yanukovych’s allies have grown increasingly uneasy^↲ as the country has descended into chaos, and international leaders have raised a growing outcry^↲ over evidence of abductions^↲, beatings and other abuse of protesters by the authorities or their surrogates^↲. On Monday, the Party of Regions issued a statement accusing protest leaders of attempting a coup, and of encouraging the occupation of government buildings.

Continue reading…

Key Terms…

demonstrator ↔ protestante
withdrew ↔ se retiraram^↲
had seized ↔ tinham tomado^↲
struggling ↔ lutando^↲
uprising ↔ revolta^↲
revoke a package ↔ revogar um pacote^↲
political dissent ↔ dissidência política
defuse ↔ aliviar^↲
out of reach ↔ fora do alcance
repeal ↔ revogação^↲
reverse a provocative legislative maneuver ↔ reverter uma provocante manobra legislativa
further infuriated ↔ enfureceu ainda mais
over other grievances ↔ sobre outras queixas^↲
perched ↔ empoleirado^↲
sharply ↔ bruscamente^↲
clashes ↔ confrontos^↲
began spreading ↔ começaram a se espalhar
set off the crisis ↔ desencadeou a crise^↲
outnumbered ↔ em desvantagem^↲
swiftly rebuffed ↔ repeliram rapidamente^↲
it would have solidified ↔ teria solidificado
grip on power ↔ permanência no poder^↲
jailed ↔ presa
urged ↔ incitou^↲
path ↔ caminho
achieve their goal ↔ alcançar seu objetivo^↲
In addition to repealing the new restrictions on dissent ↔ Além de revogar as novas restrições à dissidência
address a rollback ↔ abordar uma reversão
broadly ↔ amplamente
in his term ↔ em seu mandato^↲
Yet, in a sign of how ↔ No entanto, em um sinal de quão
reshaped ↔ reformulado^↲
absent ↔ sem^↲
empower ↔ habilitar^↲
thuggish ↔ agressiva^↲
wily ↔ astuto^↲
which would have required him ↔ que teria exigido dele
undertake ↔ empreender^↲
austerity measures ↔ medidas de austeridade^↲
secured ↔ garantiu^↲
avoided having to ↔ evitou ter que
customs union ↔ união aduaneira^↲
as part of a deal ↔ como parte de um acordo
at the barricade ↔ na barricada
allies ↔ aliados
increasingly uneasy ↔ cada vez mais inquietos^↲
the country has descended into chaos ↔ o país caiu no caos
have raised a growing outcry ↔ levantaram um crescente clamor^↲
abductions ↔ sequestros^↲
beatings ↔ espancamentos
surrogates ↔ substitutos^↲
issued a statement ↔ emitiu uma declaração
attempting a coup ↔ tentativa de golpe

^↱withdrew

se retiraram

He asked that his name be withdrawn from nomination for a Golden Globe Award. ↔Ele pediu que seu nome fosse retirado da indicação para o Globo de Ouro.

I have to withdraw (= take out) some money from an ATM machine. ↔Eu tenho que sacar (= tirar) dinheiro de um caixa eletrônico.

^↱had seized

tinham tomado

Rebel forces seized control of six towns. ↔As forças rebeldes tomaram o controle de seis cidades.

^↱struggling

lutando

We watched boys on skateboards struggle to keep their balance. ↔Vimos meninos lutarem para manter o equilíbrio nos skates.

^↱uprising

revolta

Here was a great peasant uprising in 1908 of wild Indians. ↔Aqui houve uma grande revolta camponesa dos índios em 1908.

^↱revoke a package

revogar um pacote

Licenses can be revoked for up to five years. ↔As licenças podem ser revogadas por até cinco anos.

^↱defuse

aliviar

The two groups are trying to defuse tensions in the town council over the budget. ↔Os dois grupos estão tentando aliviar as tensões sobre o orçamento na Câmara Municipal.

^↱repeal

revogação

Legislators repealed the sales tax. ↔Os legisladores revogaram o imposto sobre vendas.

^↱over other grievances

sobre outras queixas

A special committee investigates prisoners’ grievances. ↔Uma comissão especial investiga as queixas dos presos.

^↱perched

empoleirado

(of a bird) to rest on a branch or other object, or of a person or thing to sit or be on the edge or top of something.

^↱sharply

bruscamente

Interest rates rose sharply last month. ↔As taxas de juros subiram acentuadamente no mês passado.

^↱clashes

confrontos

Three soldiers were killed on Tuesday when security forces clashed with the separatists. ↔Três soldados foram mortos na terça-feira, quando as forças de segurança entraram em confronto com os separatistas.

^↱set off the crisis

desencadeou a crise

What time do we set off tomorrow? ↔A que horas partimos amanhã?

▪ Her comments set off [=touched off] a chain of events that led to two people losing their jobs. ↔▪ Os comentários dela iniciaram uma cadeia de eventos que levaram à perda do emprego de duas pessoas.

^↱outnumbered

em desvantagem

Girls outnumbered boys by a margin of 2 to 1. ↔As meninas superam (em número) os meninos por uma margem de 2 para 1.

^↱swiftly rebuffed

repeliram rapidamente

Ellen made a remarkably swift recovery. ↔Ellen teve uma admirável rápida recuperação.

^↱grip on power

permanência no poder

Worn tires don’t grip very well on wet roads. ↔Os pneus gastos não aderem muito bem em estradas molhadas.

The baby gripped my finger. ↔O bebê agarrou o meu dedo.

Brady was gripped by fear. ↔Brady foi tomado pelo medo.

^↱urged

incitou

Party leaders urged her to run for Congress. ↔Os líderes do partido pediram a ela para concorrer ao Congresso.

^↱achieve their goal

alcançar seu objetivo

USA is helping the Russian terrorists achieve their goal in scaring American from traveling to Sochi. ↔Os EUA estão ajudando terroristas russos a alcançarem seu objetivo de assustar os americanos em viajar para Sochi.

^↱in his term

em seu mandato

▪ He is in favor of term limits for members of Congress. ↔▪ Ele é a favor da limitação de mandatos para os membros do Congresso.

^↱reshaped

reformulado

Governments have sought to reduce or reshape health programs. ↔Os governos têm procurado reduzir ou reformular os programas de saúde.

^↱absent

sem

She has had repeated absences from school this year. ↔Ela teve repetidas ausências da escola este ano.

^↱empower

habilitar

We want to empower individuals to get the skills they need. ↔Queremos capacitar os indivíduos a obter as habilidades de que necessitam.

^↱thuggish

agressiva

(behaving in a violent way)

▪ He was beaten and robbed by street thugs. ↔▪ Ele foi espancado e roubado por bandidos de rua.

^↱wily

astuto

▪ She turned out to be a wily negotiator. ↔▪ Ela acabou por ser uma negociadora astuta.

^↱undertake

empreender

The president directed the Department of Justice to undertake an investigation of the allegations. ↔O presidente determinou que o Departamento de Justiça empreenda uma investigação das alegações.

^↱austerity measures

medidas de austeridade

Greece austerity measures ruled unconstitutional. ↔As medidas de austeridade da Grécia foram consideradas inconstitucionais.

^↱secured

garantiu

▪ He secured a loan using his house as collateral. ↔▪ Ele garantiu um empréstimo usando sua casa como garantia.

^↱customs union

união aduaneira

The three countries have formed a customs union to promote trade. ↔Os três países formaram uma união aduaneira para promover o comércio.

^↱increasingly uneasy

cada vez mais inquietos

He stirred uneasily in his chair as she stared at him. ↔Ele se mexeu desconfortavelmente em sua cadeira enquanto ela olhava para ele.