Police destroy anti-Kuchma protest camp

At least 30 protesters were detained

Ukrainian police have swept away a tent city in the heart of the capital, Kiev, where opponents of President Leonid Kuchma have been staging a protest.

Early on Thursday morning, several hundred police evicted around 100 protesters who were occupying the makeshift camp in central Kiev.

"Kuchma out! Kuchma out!" shouted the protesters as the police tore down the camp and threw their belongings into a truck.

"You should have more respect for the constitution," shouted one of at least 30 protesters who were detained by police.

They appeared in court later in the day charged with malicious resistance to police officers and could face a fine or a fifteen-day jail sentence.

Police said they were carrying out municipal orders for the cleaning of Khreshchatyk Street, where the camp was situated.

Suspicious death

The protesters are angered by the murder of Georgiy Gongadze - an opposition journalist whose headless body was eventually identified on Monday, four months after it was found.

Police protect municipal workers as they tear down tents

President Kuchma has been accused of involvement in the disappearance of Mr Gongadze, who was highly critical of the president's policies.

On Tuesday, Mr Kuchma published a letter in the British newspaper The Financial Times denying any links to Mr Gongadze's death.

But opponents insist that Mr Kuchma's voice appears on a tape where Mr Gongadze's disappearance is ordered in highly colourful language.

However, Austrian investigators have said they cannot confirm that the voice belongs to Mr Kuchma.

Uncertain future

Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko has publicly condemned the break up of the protesters' camp.

On a visit to London he said he disagreed with President Kuchma's use of violence to disperse his critics.

The protesters are determined to continue their fight despite the setback.

"We'll put [the tents] back up. I can't say right now how quickly, but we'll be back," said Yuri Lutsenko, one of the leaders of the Ukraine Without Kuchma movement.

But one opposition member of parliament said that the clearing of the camp was a sign that President Kuchma intended to force an end to the situation.