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Canada checks whether its soldiers train Ukrainian neo-Nazis
9 Nov, 2021 15:04
Stung by allegations that its troops trained neo-Nazis in Ukraine, Canada’s defense department has launched a review into the vetting process on its “mentoring” and “capacity building” programs for foreign military personnel.
In response to the bombshell accusations, defense department spokesman Dan Le Bouthillier revealed that an internal review had begun last month that will “look holistically at all missions” where the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) are involved with foreign military personnel.
However, he noted that some details would remain secret since “the specifics of the process by which the CAF verifies the suitability of training candidates is subject to operational security restrictions.”
Canada, which has been in Ukraine since 2015 as part of the joint task-force ‘Operation UNIFIER’, provides support and training to Ukrainian security forces. According to media reports, senior Canadian military leadership – including former defense minister Harjit Sajjan – have largely ignored warnings about far-right elements within the Ukrainian forces since then.
I'm thinking there was probably a rather uncomfortable meeting between Sajjan and our uber-Liberal Prime Minister recently.
In June 2018, Canadian diplomats and armed forces officers met and posed for photographs with members of the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion – despite reportedly expressing concerns about the meeting being leaked to the media. The Azov Battalion then used the photo-op for propaganda purposes, according to an Ottawa Citizen report on Monday that cited newly released documents.
According to the paper, Lt. Col. Fraser Auld, then-commander of the task force, had warned that negative press coverage could prompt questions about the meeting from the Canadian government. In 2017, task force officers had apparently been briefed that “multiple members of Azov have described themselves as Nazis.” However, there was no condemnation from the top brass.
The paper revealed another previously unreported meeting in December 2018 attended by then-Canadian Army commander Lt. Gen. Jean-Marc Lanthier and members of the Azov Battalion. Again, there was no denouncement of its radical sympathies. Instead, Chris Henderson, the assistant deputy minister for public affairs at the time, reportedly emailed more than 20 defense department public relations officers about the “need to be ready” for media scrutiny.
In September, a study on the far-right in Ukraine’s military had first revealed that ‘Military Order Centuria,’ a neo-Nazi outfit of soldiers within the country’s National Army Academy linked to the Azov movement, had boasted online about receiving training from Canada and other NATO countries.
Le Bouthillier had previously noted that Canadian military officials had no prior knowledge of those who attended the 2018 meeting, which was apparently organized by Ukrainian authorities. He added that Canada “has not, does not, and will not be providing support to Azov and affiliated entities.”
Despite the announced review, critics told the paper that the CAF does not directly conduct vetting of the foreign troops it trains, leaving the responsibility to the nation providing the troops instead.
And yet, Le Bouthillier swears that Canada has never trained AZOV members. He also stated above, that the selection process is Secret! What selection process?
No wonder the Canadian military is in such trouble - IATT - Idiots at the top!
1,200kg of ammo: Austria busts suspected Nazi stash
9 Nov, 2021 14:55
Dozens of guns, Nazi memorabilia, and around 1,200 kg of ammunition were discovered by Austria’s domestic security agency and counter-terrorism unit during a house raid on Tuesday.
The arsenal was found at the home of a 53-year-old man from a spa town 26km south of Vienna, who is suspected of having far-right links.
Two illegally-owned machine guns, shotguns, assault and sniper rifles, pistols, pepper spray, tasers, and melee weapons were seized from him, the police said. Many of the firearms were loaded.
The weapons were accompanied by a whopping 1,200 kilograms of various ammunition, as well as a hand grenade, seven pipe bombs, and other pyrotechnic items.
The suspect also owned a vast collection of Nazi memorabilia, including a steel helmet with a swastika, a bust of General Erwin Rommel, medals, coins, magazines, propaganda pamphlets, and other literature.
A provisional gun ban was imposed on the man and his wife while they await charges from the prosecutors.
The investigators are currently looking into their contacts in order track down anyone who assisted them in obtaining so many weapons.
The operation was praised by Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer, who said that “consistent action against right-wing extremism isn’t only part of our historical responsibility, but also a clear advocacy of our democratic coexistence in Austria.”
Latvia warns that NATO could be brought in
to ‘defend’ EU’s border with Belarus
11 Nov, 2021 14:29
Latvia has cautioned that NATO could be called in to help protect the EU’s eastern border amid a rapidly escalating migrant crisis, with Brussels having accused Belarus of flying in refugees as part of a “hybrid war” campaign.
Speaking to local radio on Thursday, Defense Minister Artis Pabriks said that if Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko chooses to worsen the situation, then “I cannot rule out that even NATO could become involved, because we must defend our borders and will not open them.”
Now, what could possibly go wrong there?
According to him, the ongoing crisis should strengthen the EU’s resolve to build fortified fences along the border with the eastern European nation. In a broadside against the European Commission, he argued that officials were reacting “very slowly” to the stand-off. “If a way to respond faster isn’t found, the people of Europe will take a much dimmer view of the future potential of the EU,” he continued.
The row over the shared frontier has worsened in recent days, with neighboring Poland declaring a state of emergency and deploying thousands of troops, border guards, and police officers in response to a spike in attempted illegal crossings. Warsaw alleges that Belarusian officials are encouraging the crowds to reach the demarcation line, and using force to prevent them from turning back.
Officers deployed pepper spray and riot shields earlier this week to prevent groups of would-be asylum seekers reaching Poland. Several people are reported to have died on the Belarusian side of the border, having been forced to sleep rough in cold weather while attempting to get to safety.
Brussels is reportedly considering a package of economic measures, including against airlines it claims are responsible for ferrying desperate people to Minsk from troubled nations like Iraq, Syria, and Iran.
Lukashenko denies the claim that the worsening situation is retribution for EU sanctions, and has said his government is simply no longer prepared to stop refugees reaching the border.
Did they ever?
According to him, the crisis is one of the West’s own making, after years of foreign intervention. “What are people to do? They will go to Europe,” he insisted.
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