Klitschko rallies hundreds of thousands of opposition in Kyiv

Kyiv Post ^ | Nov 24, 15:23 | Staff

[Paleo Conservative]

Younger boxing brother backs Yushchenko: "the people are the authority"

(Post Staff) - Heavyweight boxer Volodymyr Klitschko spoke to hundreds of thousands of supporters of opposition presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko on Maidan Nezalezhnosti in central Kyiv during the early afternoon of Nov. 23.

An estimated million opposition protesters are clogging central Kyiv on this snowy afternoon during Ukraine's political crisis.

Wearing a scarf and tie in Yushchenko's signature colors of bright orange, Klitschko -- whose older brother Vitaly is heavyweight champion of the world and who flew into Kyiv from Las Vegas -- said "Viktor Andreyevich Yushchenko is our president."

"Politics is a fight," he said, speaking in Russian, "but like sports, there are rules, and if a sportsman breaks the rules he is disqualified."

Klitschko, one of the most famous Ukrainians in the world, said that in Ukraine "the people are the authority," and that Ukraine is a "civilized, democratic nation." He called for peace, and for protestors not to fall prey to provocations.

Older brother Vitaly Klitschko has also expressed support for Yushchenko, but could not come to Kyiv as he is in the United States preparing for a title fight.

AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev

Supporters of opposition presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko, former heavyweight boxing champion Vladimir Klitschko and pop star Ruslana, winner the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest, greet opposition demonstrators in Kyiv, Nov. 24. Election officials on Nov. 24 declared Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych the winner of Ukraine's presidential election, sharpening a crisis sparked by allegations from observers and the opposition that the vote was brazenly fraudulent.