Ukraine protest organizers hoping to rally at least 10,000 demonstrators against President Leonid Kuchma Tuesday suffered a new setback Tuesday when only 3,000 turned up.
The rally, called by Ukrainian opposition groups to back demands for the resignation of following allegations that he ordered the killing of a dissident journalist, was the second in successive days to fall below well expectations.
Carrying banners and placards reading "Kuchma behind bars" and "Ukraine without Kuchma", the protestors gathered in the city's Sophyivska square and heard speeches by opposition leaders before dispersing peacefully.
Yury Lutsenko of the Ukraine Without Kuchma movement told the crowd there was no place for "a president who orders the murder of journalists and political opponents."
Organizers for the three main anti-presidential coalitions -- the Committee for Truth, Ukraine without Kuchma and the National Salvation Forum -- said earlier they hoped some 10,000 supporters would attend following a disappointing turnout for a student protest on Monday.
On Monday only 500 students turned up for a protest organizers had said could attract as many as 5,000.
Kuchma has faced mass protests and calls for his resignation from opposition parties for several months over accusations that he ordered the disappearance of opposition journalist Georgy Gongadze.
He has denied any involvement in Gongadze's disappearance, described the allegations against him, based on a tape recording in which he is supposedly heard ordering the killing, as a "massive plot."
A charred and headless body found in November was identified as that of Gongadze by DNA testing in February, although more recent tests put the initial findings in doubt – KIEV (AFP)
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