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Several thousand people, farmers but also hundreds of nationalist activists, gathered in Kiev on Tuesday December 17. They denounce a controversial bill to authorize the sale of the country's fertile agricultural land.
Police have dislodged protesters who had started setting up tents outside the Ukrainian parliament in Kiev to protest a controversial text, carried by President Zelenskiy , which has raised concerns across the country. Clashes broke out: 17 police officers and 2 demonstrators were injured. At least 26 people were arrested.
Hundreds of nationalist activists have thus expressed their opposition to the lifting of the moratorium on the sale of land in Ukraine , reports our correspondent in Kiev, Sébastien Gobert . For their leader Andriy Biletskiy, the opening of the land market will only benefit oligarchs and foreign investors - even if the opening of the market to non-Ukrainian actors is not expected before 2024. " This is not is not a law to sell the land, but to steal it , he believes. Selling land in wartime is even more dangerous for the country . But a majority of the population opposes this initiative.
60% of Ukrainians opposed to the reform
These nationalists are helped by polls, which show that more than 60% of Ukrainians are opposed to the reform which they consider ill-prepared and too risky. According to them, smallholders will not have the financial possibilities to oppose the wealthy.
In addition to the capital, Kiev, protests also took place in 10 regions from east to west of the country. Protesters who came to the appeal from opposition parties and farmers' associations blocked several roads.
In the hemicycle, the opposition deputies blocked the tribune and prevented the parliamentary work. Critics of the reform are calling for a referendum to decide the issue. For its part, the presidential majority wishes to adopt the law before the end of the year. The showdown promises new days of tension. The Rada, the Ukrainian Parliament, is to examine at second reading in the coming days, the bill aiming to authorize the sale of agricultural land in 2020. Today, this very fertile land can only be rented.
Fear of reform for the sole benefit of the oligarchs
The text was adopted at first reading last month, mainly thanks to the votes of deputies from Volodymyr Zelenskiy's party. According to World Bank estimates, the opening of the market could lead to 1.5 points of additional growth, a welcome windfall for this country among the poorest in Europe.
As a sign of appeasement in the face of opposition to this law in the majority of the population, the president promised a referendum on the sale of land to foreigners. Not enough to calm the anger of the demonstrators, who also demand that the concentration thresholds of arable land in the same hands be considerably reduced. The next examination of the text promises to be stormy, inside and outside the Parliament.