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 The violence, which the government blamed on the main nationalist
party, and division in the pro-Western camp in parliament suggested
President Petro Poroshenko will struggle to push through key parts
of a faltering peace agreement reached in February for eastern
Ukraine.
Poroshenko sprang to the defense of the constitutional reforms
following the clashes outside parliament, where deputies loyal to
him managed to push through a first reading of a "decentralization"
draft law - but only in the face of strong criticism from some of
his political allies.
In a message to the nation, he said that if parliament had not
passed the draft, in line with Kiev's commitments at the peace talks
in Minsk, Belarus, Ukraine would have been in danger of losing the
support of its Western allies.
"There would have been a real possibility of us being left alone
with the aggressor," he said.
The violence came after 265 deputies voted in favor of the bill, 39
more than that required to pass, at a boisterous session with many
deputies shouting "Shame!" and rhythmically beating parliamentary
benches.
Opponents of the bill, which supports a law giving certain
self-management rights to separatists controlling parts of Donetsk
and Luhansk regions, said it played into Russia's hands and would
lead ultimately to Ukraine losing control in the east.
They objected to the separate legislation on local self-governance
which they fear will give the separatists the right to form their
own courts and militia and create a special relationship with
Russia.
It would allow Russian to be the chosen language of people living in
these regions and grant amnesty to separatists who had previously
taken part in military action against Ukrainian forces.
SMOKE-BOMBS, THEN GRENADES
Elements in the crowd, many of whom carried banners from the
nationalist Svoboda (Freedom) party, pelted black-helmeted national
guardsmen with fire-crackers and smoke-bombs after the vote. Then,
police said, grenades were thrown.
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, blaming Svoboda in a tweet, said
nearly 90 national guardsmen had been hurt, four of them with
serious wounds to the eyes, stomach, neck and legs, by explosive
devices lobbed from the crowd.
 About 30 people were arrested, including a man suspected of throwing
grenades, Avakov said.
Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk also blamed Svoboda, which has its
main power-bases in western Ukraine, while Poroshenko said
"pseudo-patriots" had been behind the violence.
The national guardsman killed was a 25-year-old who had been called
up only in spring. Avakov said he had died from wounds caused by
grenade splinters.
Though the bill passed on its first reading, many coalition allies,
including former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, spoke against it.
And, despite his firm words in support of it, it is far from certain
that Poroshenko will be able to whip up the necessary 300 votes for
it to get through a second and final reading later this year.
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Approval of legislation for special status for parts of Donetsk and
Luhansk regions, which are largely controlled by Russian-backed
separatists, is a central element of the Minsk deal.
Though a ceasefire is under pressure from sporadic shelling and
shooting which government troops and rebels blame on each other,
Western governments see the deal as holding out the best possible
prospects for peace and are urging Ukraine to abide by the
agreement.
BORDER CONTROL
"We have to support the international 'anti-Putin' coalition," said
Yuri Lutsenko of the Poroshenko bloc, referring to Russian President
Vladimir Putin.
Poroshenko defended his strategy, saying that the main parts of the
self-governance law would come into force only when local elections
had been held in accordance with Ukrainian law, Russian forces had
left Ukraine and after Ukraine had restored control over the border
with Russia.
But opponents maintained it gave Putin the upper hand.
"This is a diametrically opposed process which forces us to lose
territory," said Tymoshenko. "Putin does not need the Donbass (the
name for the industrialized east). He needs war in Ukraine. Our task
in the vote is to get back to negotiations on the right road to
bring peace, not the illusion of peace."
The dissent in parliament and protests outside showed that
Poroshenko will have an uphill task selling vital parts of the Minsk
agreement to his people and increasingly restive pro-government
paramilitary groups before the turn of the year.
That is when other elements of the agreement, including local
elections, are supposed to be in place and Ukraine is supposed to
have regained control of its border with Russia.
More than 6,500 people have been killed in the east since
pro-Russian separatists rebelled against the Kiev government after
Russia annexed Crimea in response to the ousting of a Moscow-backed
president by street protests and his replacement by a pro-Western
leadership.
(Additional reporting by Serhiy Karazy; Writing by Richard
Balmforth; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
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