Harper to call for emergency debate on Ukraine

Prime Minister Stephen Harper will call for an emergency debate on the turmoil in Ukraine when Parliament resumes next week.

"We understand that this violence is occurring because the majority of the population is very worried about the steps taken by their government that very much remind them of their anti-democratic and Soviet past,"Harper told reporters on his planereturning from Jordan on Saturday.

"The government of Canada very much shares the concern of the majority of the Ukrainian people,"when it comes to the "growing political conflict and violence," he said in a statement.

Two Conservative MPs, Ted Opitz and James Bezan, have asked for an emergency debate in the House of Commons, which Harper says his government supports.

Harper took no questions but added, "We will continue to work with our allies and partners to determine what the necessary and the appropriate response to all this should be."

Anti-government protesters in Ukraine were once again clashing with police on Saturday in the capital, Kyiv. Theunrest has spread to many other cities in the country, despite the promise of government concessions.

On Friday, President Viktor Yanukovych promised amnesty to detained activists and a change to harsh anti-protests laws, according to news agencies in Ukraine.