You are watching france 24. To ukraineraight now where at least 20, if not 25 more protesters have been killed , reportedly shot dead by the police. The twoday death toll in ukraine is now close to 50. New fighting has once again broken out on independence square. Three Foreign Ministers in ukraine as well to talk to embattled president Viktor Yanukovych but the venue had to be changed at the last minute over security concerns. With the very latest on what is happening on the ground in kiev, gulliver, what more can you tell us . I am outside the president ial Administration Building where the Foreign Ministers of france and germany are meeting with president Viktor Yanukovych. Coming up on two hours they have been there now, waiting for them to give a press conference out between us on the president ial Administration Building where they are. Just to give you an idea of the , there are trucks, first of all, and behind the trucks there are police all wearing helmets and body armor, preventing access to whether president ial Administration Building is. Delegation members said it is absolutely not normal in terms of the way the ministers are usually received. They themselves were usually admitted to the building but they would left and a hallway and ordered to leave the building without any explanation. We dont know when the ministers are going to come out or what they are managing to achieve in these discussions with resident yanukovych. As far as i know, fighting is still going on. Not so much at independent square itself but a street that meets up to the square through the Ukrainian Parliament building. The Ukrainian Parliament which could potentially, according to a group of 12 mps from yanukovychs party and received late this afternoon in an emergency debate, they were coming out saying they want to support the ukrainian people and convened the parliament. Some people thinking it is a sign they are ready to defect but they have not made it entirely explicit as yet. Littleiver, tell us a bit about reports that some protesters forced write a police on the main square and even captured policeman. Is there anything this anything you have seen . It has been shown on Ukrainian Television that protesters captured some policeman. That is nothing new. They already did it on tuesday. On tuesday what they did was captured some policeman and beat them up a bit and gave them back to the police. I dont know whether they have done the same thing today, of course, because certainly emotions are running a lot higher today, even then on tuesday. In terms of how the fighting this morning started, there are lots of different versions. , suddenly groups of protesters started to come up the street. I spoke to some of them who said basically the police just retreated so we thought, ok, they are leaving this part of the square and the street, which had, if you until a few days ago, had been an area occupied by the protesters. The protesters thought they would move back into the area again and in the police started shooting. There are other versions, though, that suggests that this happened and the police retreat happens because police came under fire by protesters. As is usual, i suppose, in these ,ind of conflict situations there are conflicting views on who started the violence. One thing that is important to stress is the truce announced yesterday evening did not happen. Wereghout the night there things thrown by the police and molotov cocktails from the demonstrators. Thank you so much for speaking to us. We will bring Something Else from kiev, someone else from kiev, and antigovernment protester. Thank you so much for taking the time to speak to us. Tell us what you where you are right now what is happening. I am on my way to i did not know what is happening. [inaudible] we seem to be having some trouble with our lines, but if you can hear me, tell us more about what the feeling is among your colleagues, the other protesters who do want Victor Yanukovych to go. Do you feel you are any closer to that goal . Yes, i think we are closer. Hoping for the best but bracing for the worst. I think everyone is ready. I dont think anyone has illusions. [inaudible] apologies for our viewers. We do seem to have a troubled phone line. I just want to try one more question. For you, for the protesters, what would calm the situation at this point . If the government were to come the meetingash from and nothing early elections, would that be enough . Think the onlyi establishment back and find a solution to this is the Ukrainian Parliament. The pressure of western european officials, maybe the americans. But i think the only establishment that can [inaudible] they understand they are responsible for finding a solution. And stop the bloodbath. So much for taking the time to speak to us. We apologize for the line. We will try to get back to you a little bit later, if we can. In the meantime, i want to turn is witht parsons, who us. What are your thoughts about what he had to say . I think he is right. If there is one institution he probably could do something up a moment, it is the parliament. The balance is becoming more from victorties yanukovychs party are beginning to see that perhaps this is the time to break away from yanukovych. Several are ready have moved over to the opposition. Yanukovych persuade that elections are the only way forward, then there is perhaps a chance. But at the moment, Victor Yanukovych, there are rumors flying around kiev he already agreed to hold elections. Just rumors. It is unlikely, i think, to take that step. I think he has already gone so far down this route that it is very difficult for him to back out, except, of course, the european ministers in kiev can persuade him otherwise. Theets talk more about meeting that is going on, a few hundred meters away from where some of the dead bodies of protesters have been lain out. We have the eu ministers having the meeting with Victor Yanukovych not far away. What might you imagine might be going on at the meeting . Are they threatening him with possible sanctions . First of all, they will be appealing to him on moral grounds. What he has unleashed on his own people is beyond horror. I have been watching scenes on Ukrainian Television this morning of government snipers of protesters. S i saw one group of about 15, and half were hit by sniper bullet and had to be dragged away. They are trying to appeal to him on that level. But they are also saying, look, youve got a bit vested interest. Not just you but the people around you, not just money, not just in ukraine but all over europe and in the united states. We are serious about the threats to impose sanctions. We will freeze accounts. Effective,ose how we dont know. Yanukovych is already turning pretty clearly toward russia and he might not be impressed. But at least at this point, there is a chance reason can be brought to bear. With us. , to stay those antigovernment protests in kiev are spreading across the country in ukraine. Many of the protests have turned violent as well. One regional official being dragged from his office and handcuffed to a poll. Pole. Protesters, this governor is dragged out of his office and into a public square. Refuses to resign from his post. In response, demonstrators handcuffed the governor to a makeshift stage. In this western city, hardliners from the radical right movements around the police and government buildings on wednesday. After an hourlong siege, Security Forces backed down, letting protesters take control. Deal managed to make a that would allow most of the staff to leave via a corridor while other special units will leave for the headquarters. The head of the Police Office promised they were not going to kiev to fight. Elsewhere in western ukraine, on wednesday, 5000 people stormed public and military buildings, seizing stockpiles of weapons. Right activists are on the sideline. We are not letting anyone in fromgovernment operating and to stop vandalism. Miles away, 300 opposition demonstrators gathered to support a crossing with neighboring poland. This is a socalled second front. Everyone coming here wired everyone that they came, showing we want to live as a free people. Ukraine is of increasingly in the oppositions way, but president Victor Yanukovych can still out on widespread support in the east of the country. With our chief Foreign Editor robert parsons. Tell us more about the eastwest divide, if we can call it that. Speaking, the country is divided between the west and east. West being, broadly speaking, the east,tion and the broadly speaking, provictor , but it is not as simple as that. Is true,the east, it the population is very much in favor of yanukovych and calling for the opposition to be crushed but anothers, not the case. A majority of the population in east ukraine is ukrainian and many of them identify with the demand in the hopes of the opposition. Said,ny, it has to be because the economy in the Eastern Ukraine is so tightly linked to the economy of russia, they are nervous about the future and want to preserve very close links to russia for understandable reasons. To speak about fear of civil war at this point, or could the country be tipping into that level of violence . Is wrongdont think it to talk about the risk of civil war. It is very real, i think, and the more the government takes this route of force, the more likely it becomes. 25,mentioned a figure of but there are even higher figures being bandied around in ukraine. As a said earlier, i was watching on Ukrainian Television, as apparently Government Troops or militia were firing upon demonstrators, killing many of them. The situation is gradually getting out of hand. Today we have one of the leaders of opposition calling for civil disobedience from the army and from the police. Yanukovych haso, to bear in mind is when he uses troops in this way against the civilian population, he has to bear in mind that in parts of the country, his own militia, his own police, his own army are drawn from both parts of the country with opposition is strongest. He could be pushing the police and army to a division that could lead to a catastrophic situation, where we see one half of the army attacking the other half of the army, the country being split down the middle. Not just on a civil level but also on a military level. Viewers,o remind our this crisis began a few months ago when president yanukovych turned his back when the treat key trade deal with the eu in favor of russia. Tell us more about russias influence in the crisis especially given the violence. We have the russian Prime Minister calling yanukovych basically a doormat. It quitent express like that, but clearly the russians are demanding that Viktor Yanukovych be much tougher and certain figures in the kremlin, a Senior Adviser in the kremlin on integration of the former soviet space, has been pushing yanukovych to take tough measures, as he called it, against the demonstrators. Behind the scenes there has been a lot of that going on. I have been visits by ukrainian ministers to moscow, visits by kremlin advisers to proyanukovych parts of the ukraine and it is clear that the russians determined that yanukovych should top this out, hence ofgh this out the loan to the yanukovych government. The all really goes back to end of last year when it looked as though ukraine under yanukovych was about to sign onto this big deal with the european union. It didnt happen because moscow, president putin, threatened ukraine with dire consequences if it went ahead with it. Trade punishment, that sort of thing. Ukrainianse, if the to turn toward russia, a loan of 15 billion, at the time of course when ukrainian economy was in dire straits and desperately in need of money. It was very difficult for yanukovych to ignore it. As we know, the consequences play out for us today. Thank you for that, robert parsons. Lets go back to kiev. Gulliver, we get a report that the chief of Kiev City Administration announced he is yanukovychs own party. How damaging might it be to yanukovych . Well, it would be damaging if it is the start of a mass exodus and there are signs coming from members of parliament, from Victor Yanukovychs party, 12 of them seem to be hinting they were about to leave the party, expressing support for the people. It is interesting to see who those mps are, i think about half of them are close to ukraines richest man. Up until recently was considered a supporter. In fact, an old friend of yanukovych in one of the people who helped him build the party in regions in the first place. Think, hemonths, i has grown rather disappointed with the way yanukovych has been running the country and his company he is not the only several to do this but others have issued statements condemning the violence. One his company issued, i think the day before yesterday, price to blood was no pay for political mistakes. I spoke to someone from his company and he said that was very carefully calculated as a criticism of yanukovych himself. The problem is these oligarchs who were thought to be very powerful because the influence they have in parliament recently have shown that things would seem to have suggested that despite their disappointment with the way things are going and their concern about the way this could be turning ukraine into a failed state, they have not been able to persuade dnps mps to vote. When the amnesty law was voted on in january, the party of regions proposed another way that was more conditional and it was reported the yanukovych showed up in parliament and talked to them for a while and according to political experts in ukrainian journalists and from the Company Representative that i spoke to, much more case of a stick than a carrot. So, the ukrainian president has not to pressure mps vote against his party. Rebellion today among members of yanukovychs party, and they start leaving wouldrty en masse, that really be something new but so far 12 mps and the acting mayor of kiev is not a mass exodus. So much. You gulliver reporting from kiev. Stay safe. Lets take a quick look at other world news. A massive milestone in libya today. People are going to the polls to elect a constituent assembly, the latest up in the chaotic lyrical transition following the fall of muammar gaddafi. But there seems to be little enthusiasm. Just over one third of all eligible voters have even bothered to register. That assembly will be tasked with drafting the constitution, just as rebel militias are trying to dissolve the countrys General National Congress which continues to run the country. Only a third of the electorate has registered for this election and many observers fear there will be a low turnout. But for people who have voted here, they say they remain very optimistic and that the constitution is a key step in the political transition in libya. Yet many libyans decided not to vote. Trustay they have less and authorities, especially after the conflict between the parliament and the government. They also say they are very disappointed by the result of the parliament him of the parliament that they they that they elected in 2012 him and that they dont trust the electoral process anymore. And the lack of security here in remainsns a very very much a concern. Journalistsf 20 from tv channel al jazeera are going on trial in egypt today. They are in court for allegedly supporting the ousted islamist president Mohammed Morsi and his now banned muslim brotherhood. Prosecutors allege the defendants, among them an australian and an egyptian canadian reporter manipulated footage and supported the brotherhood. The case has sparked accusations of censorship against the military installed government in egypt. 100 tons of highly radioactive water has been discovered at the crippled Fukushima Nuclear plant. Apparently only one of the nine, mentors were still working. The toxic water is no longer escaping reportedly from the storage tank on the site, but the news still comes as a further blow to the companys already battered reputation for safety. The first family reunions in three years between north and South Koreans have been held. A group of elderly and frail koreans traveled to a resort to see family members they were separated from during the war 60 years ago. The event was the result of torturous highlevel negotiations between pyongyang and seoul, which nearly broke down to the norths objections to joint military exercises between south korea and the united states. The customs and quarantine area is the last stop before the moments they trumped up a for most of their lives. These elderly South Koreans will be crossing the border to reunite with relatives they have not seen for nearly 60 years. I am going to meet my brother. But i am not sure if he can come, because i heard he is sick. I didnt sleep very well last night because my feet were aching so much. I stayed up all night. Governmenth korean set up in 2000 eight computerized lottery to pick a limited number of citizens allowed to make the trip to north korea. On aman had to be carried stretcher after catching a cold during the night. But nothing could stop him from embarking on a journey to finally see his son and daughter. Millions of families like his have been separated since the end of the korean war in 1953. On the bus there is a mix of excitement and anxiousness. This man is about to meet a brother he has not seen in 65 years. How do you feel right now . I feel at peace in my heart. Awaited reunion is taking lace and north koreas Diamond Mountain resort. A total of 5000 South Koreans have been granted the right to make a trip this time. All of them have brought gifts like medicine and food as well as family photos. It might well be the last time they get a chance to reunite with their loved ones. Here in paris, u. S. Secretary of state john kerry heading into day two talks with palestinian president abbas. They first met late last night in a dinner hosted by abbas. John kerry has spent months now trying to get the israelis and palestinians to try to agree on a framework for resolving the conflict. But negotiations have such shown little progress with each side blaming each other. Are the focus of todays inside look. We have the director of the middle east program at Oxford Research group. Thank you so much for joining us. Went onht, these talks after dinner for an additional few hours. John kerry and Mahmoud Abbas are talking again today. What does kerry hope to get from Mahmoud Abbas . What does he hope to get well, i think what he is open to do is get a Framework Agreement on the table within the next few weeks. And i think the real problem here are is not going to be the agreements. I think a lot of very careful work has been done on that. Has 120 advisors and four generals working with him. Although it has been a culture of blame and everybody speaking the language of failure, i think if he does succeed in putting a Framework Agreement on the table, the difficulty is going to be how to sell it. How to sell it to the people . In fact, among the palestinians, 91 do not believe in the idea that there could be any kind of peace deal. Of course, at the same time, 80 actually want to live in a twostate solution. But what you have are the consequences of endless conflict which creates huge frustration and disillusionment, and a kind of lack of faith or belief that there can be any forward movement. And it is further exacerbated by of israels policy settlement which serves to frustrate and anger the palestinians. But nevertheless, if there is an agreement on the table, and there are many people talking about us getting that far, i think gg99nnwcca7guc
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