Deputies
in the Ukrainian parliament brawled in the chamber on Tuesday after a communist
leader accused nationalists of playing into the hands of Russia by adopting
extreme tactics early in the Ukrainian crisis.
Two deputies from the Svoboda far-right
nationalist party
took exception to the charges by communist Petro Symonenko
and seized him while he was talking from the rostrum.
His party supporters rallied to his
defense and a brawl broke out with deputies from other parties joining in and
trading punches.
Symonenko stirred nationalist anger when,
referring to pro-Russian protesters who seized buildings in eastern Ukraine, he
said nationalists had set a precedent earlier this year by seizing public
buildings in protest at the rule of ousted President Viktor Yanukovich.
Now,
he said, armed groups were attacking people who wanted to defend their rights
by peaceful means.
"You
are today doing everything to intimidate people. You arrest people, start
fighting people who have a different point of view," he said, before being
pulled away from the rostrum by the Svoboda deputies.
Symonenko
did not appear to have been hurt in the brawl involving other deputies. But one
deputy later resumed his seat in the chamber with scratches on his face clearly
showing.
The communists backed Yanukovich and his
Regions Party through the three months leading up to him fleeing the country on
February 21 after more than 100 people were shot dead by police snipers in
Kiev.
Chapisha Maoni