Ukraine slipping into dictatorship

One of their methods is throwing people in jail. It is a true method of dictatorship, and Yanukovych is starting to use it, says Tymoshenko

Opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko on Monday accused President Viktor Yanukovych of turning Ukraine into a dictatorship, raising tensions ahead of a planned protest rally next week.

Tymoshenko has called on her supporters to rally outside parliament on May 11, in a crucial test of her support amid growing controversy over the succession of deals Ukraine has agreed with Russia in the last weeks.

"They (the government) don't consult with civil society, they don't consult with the opposition, they are using force to intimidate," Tymoshenko said in a statement.

"One of their methods is throwing people in jail. It is a true method of dictatorship, and Yanukovych is starting to use it today", said Tymoshenko, who was defeated by Yanukovych in February's presidential elections.

Tymoshenko: The new authorities have started giving away our territories

Opposition lawmakers last week unleashed smoke bombs and threw eggs in an unsuccessful bid to prevent ratification of a controversial deal to extend the lease of a Russian naval base on Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula for 25 more years, The parliament ratified the agreement between Yanukovych and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev, which pro-Western opposition parties have slammed as a violation of Ukraine's sovereignty.

Days later, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin suggested merging Russian gas giant Gazprom with Ukraine's state gas firm, again provoking howls of rage from the opposition led by ex-prime minister Tymoshenko.

"The new authorities have started giving away our territories without any consultation with society," Tymoshenko said.

There have also been expressions of concern about press freedom in Ukraine under Yanukovych. Watchdog Reporters Without Borders last week expressed its concerns in a letter to the president.

"We... hope that your government will do what is necessary to ensure that journalists are able to work in the manner that is normal in a democratic country," it said.

Yanukovych meanwhile congratulated the country's journalists on Monday's World Press Freedom Day and promised again to "promote press freedom in Ukraine", the presidency said in a statement