Ukrainian police break up tent protest

KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukrainian police have dismantled a makeshift tent camp erected in central Kiev by demonstrators protesting against President Leonid Kuchma.

The 52-tent camp was set up in December by protesters demanding that Kuchma investigate the mysterious death of Heorhiy Gongadze -- a journalist critical of Kuchma's rule.

Around 400 policemen took about an hour to surround and evict around 100 occupants from the tents while bystanders shouted "Shame, shame" and "Kuchma out!"

Kuchma's involvement in the Gongadze's death was alleged when opposition politicians published tapes in which a voice similar to his was heard giving orders to "deal with" the reporter.

Austrian experts said on Wednesday that they could not verify that the voice was Kuchma's.

Prosecutors initially dismissed the tapes as fakes but Kuchma later acknowledged it was his voice but said the tapes, secretly recorded in his office, had been tampered with.

But the International Press Institute, a press freedom group, said after nearly two months of deliberation it seemed hard to believe that the hundreds of hours of expletive-strewn recordings had been faked.

Kuchma denies all involvement in Gongadze's death.

The Gongadze case has developed into the biggest political scandal in Ukraine in a decade.

The United States and European Union have expressed concern over the case and Kuchma's office published a letter from U.S. George W. Bush, urging the Ukrainian leader to pursue reform and respect the rights of individuals.

The tent-dwelling demonstrators, who have braved months of freezing temperatures and alleged harassment, have vowed not to give up.

"We'll put them back up," said Yuri Lutsenko, one of the leaders of the Ukraine Without Kuchma movement.

"I can't say right now how quickly, but we'll be back."

Reuters contributed to this report.

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