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Russia calls for pan-European sanctions against Ukraine
over Nazi glorification
Europe must unify in response to resurgence of far-right ideology in Ukraine,
Moscow says
© AP / Efrem Lukatsky
A top Russian legislator has called for a pan-European response to the glorification of Nazism in Ukraine, after far-right activists held a torch-lit march in Kiev marking the birthday of a controversial WWII Hitler collaborator.
The rally to celebrate Stepan Bandera, held in Ukraine’s capital over the weekend, has been condemned by State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin. It also drew the ire of the Israel, which described it as an “insult” to victims of the Holocaust
“It is unacceptable when, in the 21st century, Nazi leaders are glorified again, those who organized atrocities, were Nazi collaborators, burned villages to the ground, killed elderly people, women, children and babies,” Volodin wrote in a Telegram post.
European countries must come with a unified response to the resurgence of ultra-nationalism in Ukraine and elsewhere, Volodin stressed, mulling the idea of slapping Kiev with sanctions for allowing such events. The country is “increasingly sliding toward a state based on a nationalist ideology,” he added.
“What is happening in Ukraine must be condemned by the European Parliament, PACE [the Council of Europe] and the OSCE PA. Its leadership must be held accountable for the promotion of nationalism, sanctions must be imposed, everything must be done to stop its resurgence in Europe,” Volodin stated, promising to raise the issue with European lawmakers during upcoming inter-parliamentary meetings.
Those overlooking such a trend in Ukraine must be held accountable as well, the official said. While Volodin did not mention anyone in particular, he said it was “horrifying” that some “NATO countries” have been supplying weapons to Ukraine despite its far-right drift.
Thousands of Neo-Nazi activists took part in the torch-lit march on Saturday night, as they marked the birthday of Stepan Bandera, a former leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN). The insurgent group, responsible for massacres of ethnic Poles, Jews, and Russians, was aligned with Hitler's Germany during WWII.
Nazi collaborator Bandera is regarded by Ukrainian nationalists as a ‘hero’ who strived to create an independent Ukrainian state. He was assassinated in Munich, Germany in 1959 by a Soviet agent in retaliation for the OUN’s war crimes.
The glorification of those who supported Nazi ideology, insults the memory of the victims of Holocaust in Ukraine,” Israel’s Embassy in Kiev insisted in a Facebook post. However, so far there has been no official reaction to the pro-Nazi march from either the EU or the US.
Belgium complicit in killing of popular African leader
New evidence shows Belgium turned a blind eye as its officials plotted the assassination of Burundian PM Prince Louis Rwagasore in 1961
but was assassinated by on October 13, 1961. © AFP / BELGA
Belgium has “overwhelming responsibility” for the killing of Prince Louis Rwagasore, the popular Burundian leader who sought to unite the country’s ethnic groups as it gained freedom from the colonial power, new evidence shows.
Weeks after being elected prime minister in a landslide, Rwagasore, the 29-year-old son of a former king, was assassinated in October 1961. The governing Belgian elite masterminded the shooting while Brussels turned a blind eye, according to archived records uncovered by Flemish sociologist Ludo De Witte.
Although the shooter, a Greek national, and five accomplices were executed, De Witte said that probes by the Belgian colonial court, the government of independent Burundi, and the UN all neglected Belgium’s role in the killing, which led to decades of war, ethnic tensions, and instability.
Publishing his findings in a book titled ‘Murder In Burundi’, De Witte noted that then-Belgian governor Roberto Regnier had told a post-election crisis meeting of senior Belgian officials and allies in the Belgium-friendly Christian Democrat party (CDC) that “Rwagasore must be killed.”
According to the author, the CDC saw his words as an invitation. Regnier’s remarks were apparently confirmed by four people at that meeting to a 1962 inquiry by prosecutors in Brussels. But that report had not been published until De Witte unearthed it during a five-year investigation into the murder.
It also appears the UK was at least aware of the danger faced by Rwagasore, with Britain’s then-ambassador James Murray writing in a 1962 dispatch that influential Belgians had “an almost pathological hatred” of the charismatic leader, who they believed would harm Belgian-Burundian relations. Murray noted that Regnier’s “words... go very far in the direction of incitement to murder,” according to De Witte.
The book also accuses then-Belgian foreign minister Paul-Henri Spaak – today celebrated as a founding father of the EU – of ignoring Regnier and other conspirators on a “war footing” with Rwagasore. It also finds fault with King Baudouin, who “moved heaven and earth” to commute the assassin’s death sentence to life imprisonment.
Last October, a special commission into Belgium’s colonial past admitted it paid “limited attention” to Burundi and Rwagasore’s killing. De Witte attributed this to a “reticence” among the country’s elite to “confront the reality” of colonization.
Was that the real reason for the reticence? Or, did it have more to do with the suspicions that Brussels was deeply involved in the murder? Certainly, the reality of colonization had nothing to do with democracy or the welfare of the people. It had strictly to do with greed.
Meanwhile, a Belgian Foreign Ministry spokesperson did not respond to the book’s charges, but told The Guardian that the government was waiting for parliamentary recommendations before adopting a policy position.
American Partisan Politics Could Upset the European Union's Cohesiveness
US Democrats won’t back sanctions against Nord Stream 2 pipeline – media
Nord Stream 2 Pipeline. © Nord Stream 2 / Axel Schmidt
Despite consistently criticizing the Nord Stream 2 project, for many years, American Democrats are reportedly planning to derail next week’s vote on US sanctions against the Russian-backed natural gas pipeline.
The party is making the U-turn because it doesn’t want to weaken President Joe Biden’s position in ongoing security discussions with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Politico suggested on Wednesday.
Senators have apparently decided that imposing curbs on Nord Stream 2 now could undermine unity among America's allies in Europe, and remove Biden’s key leverage in negotiations with the Russian leader.
A bill that would force the US president to impose restrictions on the pipeline within 15 days – including travel limitations, asset freezes, and bans on doing business with American firms – is being promoted by Republican Senator Ted Cruz. He needs the support of at least 10 Democrats for it to pass the 60-vote threshold and become law.
Moscow and Washington engaged in talks late last year in the wake of US claims that Russia is preparing an invasion of Ukraine.
The Kremlin has denied such an intention, labelling it an attempt to stir “hysteria" and demanded written guarantees from Washington and NATO that the US-led bloc will cease its eastward expansion and activities near the Russian border.
Putin and Biden held both a virtual meeting and a separate phone call in December, with Russia-US talks on security guarantees planned for Geneva, Switzerland on January 9 and 10.
“At this point it’s very important, as we’re looking at potential Russian action in Ukraine, for us to work very closely with our allies, and Germany is one of those very important allies. And so I think the amendment is ill-timed,” Jeanne Shaheen, a senior Democratic senator from New Hampshire, told Politico.
Germany believes the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which is already completed and is just awaiting certification, to be essential for its energy security. Berlin supported the project for years despite opposition from the US, which wants Europe to buy its own liquefied natural gas, which is more expensive, and less reliable, than the product supplied by Russia.
“This isn’t about Russia. This is about a Cruz-Trump agenda to break up the transatlantic alliance,” Chris Murphy, a top Senate Foreign Relations Committee member, pointed out.
He was backed by Democratic whip, Senator Dick Durbin, who said “I have no lost love for Putin and Russia, but I don’t want to do anything that’s going to hurt our security.”
Cruz has already said that voting against sanctioning Nord Stream 2 would be a “cynical decision” on the part of the Democrats, which would only prove that they “put partisan loyalty above US national security interests.”
National security interests? Seriously? It is financial bullying and that's all it is. If it has anything to do with the break-up of NATO, I'm all for it, but I don't think that is what its about.
“The only problem with the legislation is the president is a Democrat. They all voted for it when the president was Trump. If the president was still Trump, every single Democrat would vote for it,” the Republican senator argued.
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