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Timeline Photos [Thanks to David McReynolds for posting.] EU Threatened Military Attack On Bosnian Revolution “If Disturbances Continue”
[Late report, found buried in another article about Bosnians reporter met on the street. T]
9 February 2014 By Guy Delauney, BBC News, Sarajevo [Excerpts]
Anyone thinking Bosnia’s protests were strictly a matter of disenchanted youth might have changed their mind after a Sunday in Sarajevo.
Flashes of white hair dotted the crowd which gathered in front of Bosnia’s smoke- blackened presidency building at noon.
Some of these senior participants said they wanted to make sure the budding protest movement would not be written off as merely the province of young hooligans bent on vandalism.
The International High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Valentin Inzko, has even raised the possibility of the deployment of European Union troops if disturbances continue.
MORE: But Disturbances Do Continue -- Army Veterans Call For More Action Against The Government; “We Will Call All Poor People to Come Out to the Streets” “I Will Do Everything So That Things Get Worse For Them (Referring To The Government Of The RS)” “He Added That A ‘Serbian Uprising Against Thievery And Negligence’ Was Beginning”
February 19, 2014·by marinaantic in banja luka, via bhprotestfiles.wordpress.com/
(This post originally appeared on RadioSarajevo.ba (18 February 2014)
New protests will be organized on Saturday if the demands of demonstrators gathered today in Banja Luka [second largest city in Bosnia] aren’t met.
More than a thousand demobilized veterans of the previous war in the Republic of Srpska (RS) answered the call of the Association of RS Veterans (ARSV) to gather today in Banja Luka’s ‘Mladen Stojanović’ Park.
“These people took risks in the war and are taking risks in peace. I will do everything so that things get worse for them (referring to the government of the RS),” stated Duško Vukotić, the president of the ARSV, while addressing the protestors.
He added that a “Serbian uprising against thievery and negligence” was beginning and called for peaceful demonstrations, according to Buka.com.
“If Pantelija Ćurguz doesn’t leave his current position, and if our demands aren’t fulfilled by Saturday, we will call on all poor people to come out with us into the streets. We’re still waiting for the relevant institutions to respond to us,” stated Vukotić.
In addition to the resignation of Ćurguz, the president of the Veterans Organization of the RS (VORS), the demobilized veterans also stated that they wanted to express their discontent with the overall socioeconomic situation of not only veterans but of all citizens in this Bosnia and Herzegovina entity.
Alongside cheers of “Ćurguz, leave,” protestors also demanded that RS institutions immediately begin working on resolving accumulated social problems.
The President of the AVRS, Vukotić, stated that while he is aware of the veterans’ anger, they should refrain from any march towards RS institutions, and recommended that they should express their dissatisfaction in a dignified manner.
MORE: Unemployed Macedonians Organized Protests Today In Skopje Chanting “Bosnia,” “Bosnia” “Our Government Is Not Behaving The Way We Want, But More Like The Governments Of Bosnia And Herzegovina Or The Ukraine” Demonstrators Say “Should Changes Not Take Place, Macedonia Will Witness A Scenario Worse Than The One In Bosnia” “If They Want To Pick A Fight, Next Time We Will Come Prepared. We Will Fight For Our Rights And They Cannot Scare Us”
February 19, 2014· By E.P.D via bhprotestfiles.wordpress.com/
(Originally appeared at http://www.bhrt.ba/vijesti/region/skoplje-demonstranti-uzvikivali- bosna-bosna/)
Unemployed Macedonians organized protests today in Skopje, in front of the Union of Labor Unions of Macedonia (ULUM) building. During the protests, they chanted “Bosnia,” “Bosnia,” and stated that, should changes not take place, Macedonia will witness a scenario worse than the one in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Anadolia Agency reported.
Several hundred Macedonian citizens were protesting the new legal regulations that affect only a small number of laid-off workers.
Protests were supported by leftist organizations such as “Lenka,” and “Solidarnosti.”
Protesters demanded that the union president, Živko Mitrevski, address them, chanting slogans against the ULUM. The leader of the unions, however, only issued a written statement, which notes that he will protect workers’ rights, and that they are attempting to solve this problem.
There were clashes with the police and protesters in front of the government building and four people were injured.
Police also detained one of the organizers of the protest, Ljiljana Gjorgievska, as well as Vasko Cacanovski from “Solidarnosti,” both of whom were later released after Uraniya Pirovska, the president of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Macedonia intervened.
Ljiljana Gjorgievska later stated to the press that they live in terrible times
“Our government is not behaving the way we want, but more like the governments of Bosnia and Herzegovina or the Ukraine. If they want to pick a fight, next time we will come prepared. We will fight for our rights and they cannot scare us,” Gjorgievska noted.
She also said that they want the Minister of Internal Affairs of Macedonia, Gordana Yankulovska, to resign, adding that the condition they find themselves in is a result of discrimination and abuse of power.
Gjorgievska also invited the representatives of embassies in Macedonia to open the borders of their countries to 6,000 work refugees, unless the Macedonian government manages to solve this problem.
Pirovska added that she will begin an investigation into the events at the protests.
MORE: Bosnia: “Around The Country, Protesters Are Not Just Occupying Streets And Public Squares But Organizing Plenums To Create Alternative Governments” “The Participants Agreed To Set Up A Completely New Government” “The People’s Assemblies Have Succeeded In What The International Community And The Awkward, Tripartite Government It Imposed Failed To Do Over The Last 20 Years; Overcoming The Rifts Among The Country’s Croats, Serbs And Bosnians”
Popular Assembly on the 12th day of the protests against high rate of unemployment, corruption of the elites and privatisation of the fabrics in the whole country. People organise themselves to put clear demands on paper forming working groups. Photo: Aurore Belot, Demotix
When Valentin Inzko, the union’s high representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, said the unrest might require international troops to quell it, protesters lashed out at him, too.
FEB. 18, 2014 By SRECKO HORVAT, New York Times
SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina — A boy, his voice heavy with embarrassment and regret, was performing Samuel Beckett in Serbo-Croatian. “Mr. Godot,” he said, “told me to tell you that he won’t come this evening, but surely tomorrow.” It was 1993 in Sarajevo. Outside, the only sounds came from a United Nations vehicle rolling by and, in the distance, a mortar shell exploding.
The staging of the play, “Waiting for Godot,” was managed by Susan Sontag, and her choice was apt: Despite the United Nations presence, the war-torn country felt as if it was waiting for a resolution that would never arrive.
Almost 20 years later, Bosnia and Herzegovina is once more torn by strife, but this time it is different.
Frustrated with corruption, political inaction, unpaid wages and youth unemployment around 60 percent, workers started a protest in the northern town of Tuzla on Feb. 4.
Within days, the unrest had spread nationwide. By the time I arrived in Sarajevo a week later, scores of government buildings had been set on fire.
Around the country, protesters are not just occupying streets and public squares but organizing plenums to create alternative governments.
In Sarajevo, one such assembly was taking place at the youth center, which before the wars of the 1990s was one of the most popular Western-style clubs in Yugoslavia. During the war it was hit by artillery shells and caught fire.
Now I watched as more than 1,000 people — mothers without a job, former soldiers, professors, students, desperate unpaid workers — gathered here to discuss the future of the country.
In the best tradition of direct democracy, after hours of discussion, the participants agreed to set up a completely new government, to curtail the salaries and benefits of politicians, and rein in the privatization process, which many in this country consider hopelessly corrupt.
The same day, the plenum in Tuzla forced the local government to fulfill one of its demands: eliminating the practice of paying “white bread,” or salaries of politicians after they leave office — savings of some $700,000 a year, enough to cover about 130 average annual pensions.
Aside from these small but important victories, the people’s assemblies have succeeded in what the international community and the awkward, tripartite government it imposed failed to do over the last 20 years — namely, overcoming the rifts among the country’s Croats, Serbs and Bosnians that have haunted it since the end of the war.
During the first day of protests in Sarajevo, one young man, among 50 others, had been pushed into the river by the police.
A few days later, I watched as he appeared with a broken leg in front of the plenum. “I am a Catholic, I am a Jew, I am a Muslim, I am all the citizens of this country,” he said.
Another man added: “If I am a Muslim, and he is a Serb or a Croat, if we are hungry, aren’t we brothers? We are at least brothers-in-stomach.” Then he muttered, “I am not smart, but I just wanted to say this.” From the other corner of the fully packed hall, someone replied: “If you’re here, you’re smart!”
As Andrej Nikolaidis, a Sarajevo-born writer who escaped the city while it was under siege by Serbian forces in the early 1990s, said, “The citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina are these days greater Europeans than the Europeans themselves, they are now the ones who are serious about European ideals, while the E.U. created a museum of abandoned ideals.”
These plenums are attracting ever more people and are now part of the daily routine. During the day people protest in the streets, and afterward they gather in the assemblies. Instead of waiting for Godot — for Ms. Sontag, it was the “international community” that was supposed to stop the war; today it is the European Union, which is supposed to bring an end to economic despair — they have taken the future into their own hands.
But unlike the 1990s, when international action was the only solution, today the people are uninterested in European Union intervention.
When Valentin Inzko, the union’s high representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, said the unrest might require international troops to quell it, protesters lashed out at him, too.
Of course, the cynics among us could pose the legitimate question: What happened after the Arab Spring? What happened after Occupy Wall Street?
In that sense, the best answer we might give, for now, also comes from Samuel Beckett: Try again, fail again, fail better.
AFGHANISTAN WAR REPORTS
Resistance Action
2.21.14 Associated Press
Militants attacked a police compound near Kabul with explosives and guns on Friday, setting off an hour-long firefight that left one officer dead and four wounded, according to Afghan officials.
Interior Ministry spokesman Seddiq Seddiqi said a car bomber first blew through the gates of the district police headquarters in Surobi early Monday morning.
Two other male attackers clad in the all-enveloping burqa traditionally worn by Afghan women then opened fire and a gunbattle ensued, he said. Inside the compound, the bloodied body of one attacker lay sprawled on the ground between blackened police vehicles and as security forces roamed around.
Kabul Police said in a statement that the three attackers were killed, along with one police officer.
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SOMALIA WAR REPORTS
Insurgents Storm Somali Presidential Palace: “Senior Officials In The Prime Minister’s Office And Security Services Are Said To Have Been Killed” “Militants Still In Control Of Some Buildings Inside The Presidential Compound” “10 Assailants Wearing Uniforms Similar To That Of The Presidential Guards”
The car bomb rammed into a concrete barrier in front of the presidential palace
21 February 2014 BBC
A huge car bomb has exploded at the gate of Somalia’s presidential palace, followed by a fierce gun battle inside, officials say.
At least two senior officials and nine attackers are reported dead but the security minister told the BBC the situation was “under control”.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has told the UN envoy to Somalia he was not harmed, envoy Nick Kay has tweeted. The insurgent group al-Shabab has said it carried out the attack.
BBC Somalia analyst Mohamed Mohamed says this is the first time that al-Shabab fighters have entered the presidential palace, known as Villa Somalia.
The heavily guarded complex is home to the president, prime minister, speaker of parliament, other ministers and a mosque, which was hit during the attack.
The president was preparing for Friday prayers at the mosque, senior police officer Abdikadir Ahmed told Reuters news agency.
Another police officer, Hussein Farah, told Reuters there were about 10 assailants, wearing uniforms similar to that of the presidential guards.
“All the Shabab fighters perished, some blew up themselves while others were shot dead. Several government guards also died,” he said.
“Now the fighting is over, and scattered on the scene is human flesh and blood.”
Security Minister Abdi Karim Hussein told the BBC Somali service that all of the country’s leaders were safe.
Senior officials in the prime minister’s office and security services are said to have been killed.
Al-Shabab military spokesman Sheikh Abdul Aziz Abu Musab said militants were still in control of some buildings inside the presidential compound.
“Our commandos have attacked the so-called presidential palace in order to kill or arrest those who are inside,” he told the AFP news agency.
MILITARY NEWS
EU And Ukrainian Politicians Cut A Deal: “If You Don’t Support This, You’ll Have Martial Law, You’ll Have The Army. You Will All Be Dead’” The Objective: Disarm The Ukrainian Revolution; The Message: Go Home And We’ll Be Nice To You. If You Don’t The Army Will Kill You
Comment: T Despite the threat, there is no certainty that Ukrainian soldiers would butcher their own people to defend a government of corrupt murderous reactionary filth.
There is also no certainty that the Ukrainian ruling class will refrain from using police terror to hunt down revolutionaries once the government has tricked them into dispersing.
What this loathsome government wants is what every government wants, above all: to get a rebellious people off the streets, where they are strong, and isolated in their homes, where they are weak.
What a surprise.
****************************************************************************
February 21, 2014 By Phil Black. Nick Paton Walsh and Greg Botelho, CNN & Wall Street Journal [Excerpts]
Kiev, Ukraine (CNN) -- Three months of political unrest, one week of horrific internecine violence, a few frenetic hours of negotiations -- it all culminated in a breakthrough deal In Ukraine to cut the president’s powers, reinvent the Constitution and pave the way to free a key opposition leader.
These developments Friday gave hope to the Eastern European nation.
But as long as angry protesters pack Kiev’s Maidan, or Independence Square, as long as the emotions remain raw, as long as the bloodshed is still fresh, this story isn’t over.
The crowds on Independence Square jeered some opposition leaders who supported the deal. Dmytro Yarosh, leader of a militant protester group Right Sector, said that his members wouldn’t leave the square until Mr. Yanukovych resigns.
The crowds thinned as the evening wore in, but still numbered in the thousands after midnight in and around the square. Protesters listened by the stage to the latest news reports of demonstrations in other cities, and sat around camp stoves and discussed the dizzying string of events over the past two days.
The agreement -- hashed out overnight and into the afternoon among Ukrainian leaders, opposition figures and European Union representatives -- drew some cheers when it was announced to the Maidan crowd.
Later, a protester -- not a leader, not part of any political group, just an ordinary Ukrainian he insisted -- expressed disappointment with the deal and proposed that action should be taken if President Viktor Yanukovych doesn’t resign by 10 a.m. Saturday.
Another protester, Viola Danis, said simply the deal is “not enough.”
“This agreement does not pay for the life of my friend and the lives of the Ukrainian people,” she said.
As the crisis brewed in Kiev, Yanukovych is believed to have gone to eastern Ukraine, said a senior U.S. State Department official who talked to reporters on condition of not being identified.
While the government revolves around Yanukovych, there is not a single face of the opposition. Its demonstrators have strong and varying opinions about what they’d accept -- and what they’d be willing to do if these standards aren’t met.
Thus, while there is an apparent truce, there’s not peace in the Ukraine.
Friday was a day of action -- but unlike on Tuesday and Thursday, thankfully, the action happened in meeting rooms and Parliament, rather than in pitched battles on the streets.
The first, biggest announcement on this front was the landmark agreement calling for cutting the president’s power and rolling back the Constitution to what it had been in 2004. According to a draft posted on the German Foreign Office’s website, further constitutional reforms must be completed by September.
The deal also requires presidential elections “as soon as the new Constitution is adopted but no later than December 2014.”
And there will be an investigation -- conducted by government authorities, opposition figures and European Council representatives -- into the violence.
By then, security forces should’ve long ago stepped back from a” confrontational posture” with permission to use force only to protect pubic buildings, per the agreement.
And within 48 hours, protesters should have turned in their illegal weapons and withdrawn from streets and public buildings.
But will they? In a conversation urging a protest leader to accept the deal that was overheard by ITN/ITV, [Polish foreign Minister] Sikorski pleaded, “If you don’t support this, you’ll have martial law, you’ll have the army. You will all be dead.”
The U.S. State Department official acknowledged the agreement is “a very tough sell” for many seething opposition activists, and called the deal “very, very fragile.”
Hours after that deal was signed, Ukraine’s Parliament, the Rada, moved quickly to pass a series of measures seemingly in line with protesters’ demands.
The first order of business was to fulfill the first requirement of the agreement -- passing a law to roll back the country’s constitution to an earlier version that limits the President’s powers.
Other bills called for the dismissal of the nation’s interior minister and release of Yulia Tymoshenko, a former prime minister who earlier was a hero of the country’s 2004 revolution, and who is a powerful symbol to the opposition.
Even with parliament’s action, Tymoshenko’s freedom was not expected to be immediate:
A court must now act to free her, and other charges pending against her remain in place.
Even after Friday’s deal was announced, demonstrators went to graphic lengths to remember the dead -- bringing coffins onto their stage in Independence Square.
Pavel, a demonstrator who identified himself only by his first name, said he’d helped carry away some of those shot Thursday, and he insisted he won’t forget, nor will he give up.
“As long as (Yanukovych) is president,” he said, “the movement will continue.”
MORE: “The Revolution Is Being Very Much Driven From Below” “The Main Opposition Leaders Are Liberals Who Advocate Neoliberal Economic Policies” “They Are Not Trusted By Ordinary People” “While The Main Catalyst Was The Desire For Closer Integration With The European Union, The Motivations Of Most Are Anger With The Corruption And Repressive Nature Of Political And Economic Elites” “More And More People From The Russian Speaking East Are Joining In, Strengthening The Possibility That Nationalism Will Be Sidelined”
21 February 2014 By Ben Neal, revolutionarysocialism.tumblr.com/. Many thanks to Ilya Matveev for his input and comments and to Jan Ladzinski for his research …… [Excerpts]
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Dozens of people have been killed this week in Ukraine as a result of a brutal government assault on the opposition held “Euromaidan” (Euro square), or Independence Square, in Kiev. In addition hundreds of people have been injured, some of them seriously.
At least 70 people, including 12 members of the security forces, are known to have been killed since Tuesday, and around 1000 have been injured, some seriously.
There have been pitched battles in the centre of the city, with many reports of live ammunition being used, possibly by police or security forces, or by the “titushki” hired thugs, and snipers firing at protesters.
The deaths are in addition to the five people killed by police in January after protests erupted in response to laws passed which effectively outlawed demonstrations and gave the state dictatorial powers to deal with any opposition.
Both escalations in the fighting came after relative lulls.
The west of the country, including the city of Lvov, is effectively no longer under government control and in these places the police and other security forces will simply not follow government orders. Street fighting has taken place even in eastern cities such as Kharkov, which are Russian speaking and traditionally more supportive of Yanukovich.
What is happening in Ukraine is clearly more than simply a protest movement.
Right from day one it has had an insurrectionary character, with government buildings being taken over and used as organizing centres, huge barricades being built and manned by disciplined and organised groups of fighters.
People from all walks of life and of all ages are getting involved, not just in fighting the brutal Berkut riot police and other forces, but in providing food, first aid, tires and other materials for the barricades, filling molotov cocktails.
One visitor to Kiev who was there recently described to me the atmosphere in the main opposition zone in ways that reminded me slightly of Orwell’s description of revolutionary Barcelona.
The state was completely absent, yet ordinary people had taken control and were organizing and running things themselves.
The revolution is being very much driven from below.
While the main opposition leaders are liberals who advocate neoliberal economic policies, they are not trusted by ordinary people, and on several occasions have been prevented from making any deal with Yanukovich due to pressure from rank and file protesters.
More worryingly, the far right, whether the nationalist “Svoboda” (Freedom) Party which has a large number of seats in the parliament, or the “Right Sector” which has been engaged in street fights with the police, has a very visible and undeniable role in this movement. It is particularly the Right Sector which has done most of the street fighting in Kiev, both initiating it and giving the fighting its insurrectionary character.
They are seen by many as being the boldest and most fearless part of the movement, in contrast to the more mainstream liberal leaders who some fear will try to find a compromise with Yanukovich.
“It is a revolution.” Ilya Matveev, a St Petersburg based socialist and activist told me.
“Yes, the far right is strong, but it’s not a ‘fascist coup’. It is important not to present this revolution as a right wing uprising. That is echoing Putin’s propaganda.”
It is clear that this is a mass popular uprising, with opinion polls consistently showing around 50% support for Euromaidan.
Large numbers of ordinary people are actively involved, and while the main catalyst was the desire for closer integration with the European Union, the motivations of most are anger with the corruption and repressive nature of political and economic elites in the country.
Where is the left in all this? In the Ukraine the left is very small and weak. The Communist Party is large, but is essentially a loyal opposition to the government, and opposes Euromaidan. The radical left is very small and therefore has had little impact on the process so far. It has suffered a split over the movement, with one of the main organizations, Borotba, opposing the movement completely.
The small Left Opposition meanwhile has participated in the protests, mainly by volunteering in hospitals. When a group of 100 anarchists attempted to form an anarchist defence brigade at Maidan, they were prevented from doing so by members of the Right Sector. What’s more, Ukraine had a traumatic experience under the USSR, especially in Stalin’s time, so many Ukrainians are understandably suspicious of anything connected to socialism.
Nevertheless, the evening before Yanukovich’s crackdown, there was an open meeting in the Euromaidan headquarters where Ukrainian leftists raised radical left demands such as preventing oligarchs from taking public office.
Many non-political people present responded with even more radical proposals to strip the oligarchs and millionaires of all political rights completely.
The Left Opposition issued in January a ten point plan for social change, which is even being discussed seriously in liberal and right wing publications.
Such demands could make this movement more attractive to people in the east of the country, where so far the revolution has not been as strong so far, and they show the logic of the situation, which goes beyond the more nationalist and bourgeois demands of the opposition leadership.
It is far too early to tell how the situation will develop, but for now it seems that the opposition is strong, confident, and willing to fight a brutal, corrupt but desperate government.
It is a dangerous situation, with a worryingly prominent role being played by the far right, overt, and possibly covert, involvement by the USA, European Countries and Russia, and the fear that civil war between east and west could develop.
Nevertheless, more and more people from the Russian speaking east are joining in, strengthening the possibility that nationalism will be sidelined in favor of more social demands.
The people of Ukraine deserve our full solidarity.
MORE: “After The Adoption Of The Laws Of January 16, The Protests Against The Regime Of Yanukovych Were Supported Virtually By All Left-Wing Forces” “All They Agree In One Point – Now You Can Not Simply Disperse To Homes” “People Go To The Streets Now Not ‘For Eurointegration’, But Because They Are Tired Of Neoliberal Reforms, Can Not See Any Prospects Before Themselves, And The Economic Situation In The Country Becomes Increasingly Worse And Worse”
The victim of the attack on the tent of the Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine. Photo: Vlad Kazakov / levoradikal.ru
[Another rough translation, but content not found elsewhere. Italics as in original. T]
29.01.2014 Posted by tahriricn; translation Tahrir ICN [Excerpts]
In the leftist and trade union environment of Ukraine there is no single assessment of the occurring events and an action plan.
In the words of activists “all variants of events are considered, including a civil war.”. Cooperating with each other, participating in street resistance, the leftists do it on their own initiatives rather.
All they agree in one point – now you can not simply disperse to homes.
After the adoption of the laws of January 16, the protests against the regime of Yanukovych were supported virtually by all left-wing forces.
[On Jan. 16 the Ukrainian dictatorship adopted laws criminalizing the activities of left, trade union, and social activists. T]
The Socialist Left Opposition initially went out to the streets with slogans of a socialist European Union with strong trade unions, the blue color of the EU flag replaced the red one.
“Today we join grassroots initiatives, because we do not support standing on the barricades and participation in combat actions” – said the activist of LO, Nina Potarskaya, clarifying that no one forbid the members to protest privately in a way they deem appropriate.
“Currently, in general it is difficult to go out (on Maidan) for leftist or feminist organizations. We can participate without naming ourselves.
“All of our programmatic ideas about self-organization, a progressive tax meet now with a positive response among the masses. But we cannot call them leftist, or otherwise we meet with hostility and they would be no further talk. It comes to us to adapt to the overall situation, because it can be dangerous “ – is convinced Potarskaja.
A Marxist organization “Borot’ba”, conversely, is emphatically against the Euromaidan, believing that joining the EU will not bring Ukraine nothing but neo-liberal dogmatism in economics and strengthening the extreme right in politics.
“In case of victory of Euromaidan, it will emerge in the country a more repressive and anti-democratic regime with the participation of pro-fascist forces that today are already demanding inclusion in the special services, catch and torture the people,” - said the ”Borot’by” in its resolution.
For its main task the organization considers now to prevent the civil war.
But its activists also judged the law of 16 January, calling on “all the leftist, communist and workers’ organizations in the world to break off all cooperation with the so-called “Communist” Party of Ukraine and its sister organizations.” (Communist Party deputies supported the enactment of repressive laws).
Although “ Borot’ba “ boycotted Euromaidan, this did not prevent its individual activists to go on the street – for example, the already mentioned Denis Levin.
“The organization takes the Eurosceptic position, the position taken also by most left- wing organizations in the European Union. In Europe, there is the same process as in Ukraine – the liberalization of the economy. And in addition, in Europe, right-wing forces come to power.” – explains Lewin the “Borot’by”‘ position.
But, continues the activist, people go to the streets now not “for eurointegration”, but because they are tired of neoliberal reforms, can not see any prospects before themselves, and the economic situation in the country becomes increasingly worse and worse.
“Workers of Dunbas are ready to go out to prevent right-wing attacks on the headquarters of the regional authorities” – says Lewin. “In western Ukraine there are voices that there is a need to prohibit the symbolism of the Communist Party and the Party of Regions, but in reality, it is a limitation of democracy, regardless of the fact that both parties are actively involved in the development of neo-liberal reforms” – is convinced the activist and predicts Ukraine “turning the screws against nationalist asphyxiation.”
The Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine, whose representative Mikhail Wołyniec was once a deputy of the Supreme Council of the Batkivshchyna party of Yulia Tymoshenko, actively supports Euromaidan.
Confederation took care of the family of the dead and turned to Orthodox hierarchs for not admitting to the sacraments functionaries of force departments involved in “punitive operations” against demonstrators. Being a part of the Confederation, the Trade Union of Miners, called the miners of Dunbass to not participate in “free trips”, organized by the administration, to Kiev, where workers could be used in confrontation with opposition demonstrators.
“I am a representative of the Confederation and therefore find myself on the Maidan on the first day – where the members of our union are” - says Volyniec . “We are a democratic union, we do not serve the power and do not obey its orders, we advocate in favor of the change of life and strive for better standards” – explained his position an union leader, adding at the end a little provocative comment – “The Confederation is not involved in politics.”
Kharkiv AST (Autonomous Union of Workers – anarcho-syndicalist union), in its resolution, stresses that is against both eurointegration and against joining the Customs Union and also against the status quo in Ukraine.
“Causes generating social cataclysms are systemic in nature and equally associated with all state formations and their associations” – is convinced AST. As a minimum program the syndicalists advocate the overthrow of the ruling coalition “regionalists” and the Communist Party of Ukraine, the transition to an open arrangement of the budget, the withdrawal of pension law and the introduction of free public transport.
“AST unites in its ranks anarchists and libertarian Marxists and has a federal structure, which is why organizations of Kyiv and of Kharkiv are fully autonomous and can operate in different ways, depending on the political situation,” – explained Ganner, belonging to the Kiev AST.
“We are anarchists, and do not chant “Fame for Ukraine”, Do not make tributes to images of Petlura or Bandera. Nevertheless, we urge you to go to the barricades. Since, as long as the Maidan stands, as long as the Hrushevskoho (barricade) stands, the government is forced to concentrate its forces there, and people have the freedom to work in other places.”
- says a resolution of Black Maidan. The AST support all points of its program, except the one about barricades. The syndicalists think that in flashpoints they cannot do anything.
The parliamentary Communists, KPU, are now absolutely condemned by representatives of all left-wing forces in the country. In the words of activists, KPU is “worse even than the Communist Party of the Russian Federation”. It is a “fake political technology”.
“KPU – it is an endless theater of the absurd, which has no translation into the left, and there is only an effect of nostalgia of retirees” – characterizes the Communists Teologova.
“The party has nothing to do with the movement of the left-wing, acting as clerical and conservative force, openly collaborating with the ruling Party of Regions” – echoed her Ganner .
The wave of protest activity, which rose in Ukraine in November last year, spreads in a heterogeneous environment – the situation varies from region to region, and the local specificity to a large extent determines the role the local leftist groups manage to play on the political scene of their city or district.
“Retirees, screaming yesterday that the governor is a thief, stood up now in his defense. They decided to come to the Maidan and suggest the protesters that, as long as the country is in chaos, they should go to work and not be screwing things up” – says Evgeny Spirin, an anarchist from Luhansk. The activist points out that in the eastern districts of the country, so far a Soviet stereotype is strong, according to which “Donbass feeds all Ukraine” and the regime skillfully plays on such sentiments.
“The current power looted everything. They sold some for shopping centers, some simply abandoned. Currently, of the power of Donbas, just rusty skeletons of factories remained with written with spray “For Sale” on them” – says Spirin. In the words of the activist, the miners, not looking at it, believe the state propaganda and fear the arrival of “Banderists”.
“Neither the miners nor the workers, nor the poorest strata of the population in Eastern Ukraine did not support the idea of Maidan. Maidan remained here a breath of liberalism for “cultured” team: artists, designers, lawyers, journalists. Our attempts to tell people that we are against the government, against the corruption and for humanity did not yield results. Residents of Luhansk, knocked to his forehead, giggling or just passed by with faces frozen of cold, sentencing “a disgrace, you sold the home to America” – sadly says Spirin.
“In the West [Ukraine], the headquarters of the administration were not conquered by anyone. There deputies resign themselves from attorneys before the people. And here? Nobody even came to mind to try to conquer the administrative headquarters of Luhansk. It would be like hanging a portrait of Roosevelt at the mausoleum of Kim Il Sung”- continues emotionally. In the words of Spirina, the situation in Luhansk extremely tightened on January 27, when Luhansk District Council decided to create people’s squads filled with Cossacks, and deputies spread the rumor that “fighters” from Lviv are going to the district center, and they want to conquer the city.
“After this the city just became hysterical. On social networking sites, furious schoolboys of apartment block estates began to organize meetings, during which they called for “beating the fascist reptile”. All drunkards from sleeping quarters went to the center “to bring the order”. Well, they arrived at the main square, and there are twenty Euromaidanists singing. Do I need to say that no buses with “Lviv fighters” was not and could not have been?” – says Spirin.
“In the Eastern Ukraine, the words “leftists” or “libertarians”, or “anarchists” have become a kind of curses. The anarchist – is a hipster and Russian rock fan. Leftist – is primarily a communist, the worshiper of the USSR, the promoter of the Holodomor (The Big Hunger of 30s) and putting up monuments to Stalin. Well, a libertarian, you know – gay, Banderist and tolerasta*”- concludes the activist.
“An unusual situation arose in Kharkov – local anarchists turned out to be so serious force on the Maidan that they do not have to adapt to their environment. “They ( Kharkiv AST ) had an easier situation, because the fascists participated in the local Euromajdanie in a minimal amount” – believes Ganner .
As an activist told, the AST, the Kharkov anarchists are the only left-wing group in Ukraine co-organizing the protests. “Not being the largest political group, the Kharkiv anarchists organized well small groups agitating inside the Maidan, and a campaign to boycott the products of companies belonging to the ruling party” – said Igor. In addition, the anarchists from Kharkiv are responsible for protecting the local Euromaidanu.
According to the activist, to play a central role in the protests was due to their high level of self-organizing, and “an authentic focus on the issue of overthrowing the government.”
“The nationalist revival, independently of the uprising, quickly turn into a total disappointment in the right-wing ideology. And then it will be our time. Besides, it is unlikely that hardened in the battles with the police, the extreme right will smoothly return to the quiet everyday life – their next targets will be leftists and anarchists. A harsh antifascist confrontation awaits us, comparable what was in Russia in the second half of the 2000s.” – predicts Volodarsky.
ANNIVERSARIES
February 23, 2011: Benghazi Liberation Day: “Now He Has To Explain Where All The Bodies Are”
Carl Bunin Peace history February 18-24
Benghazi, Libya’s second largest city, fell to rebels after three days of violent clashes with the forces of brutal dictator Col. Muammar Qaddafi.
“He is gone. A dragon has been slain,” cried Ahmed Al-Fatuuir outside the secret police headquarters. “Now he has to explain where all the bodies are.
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CLASS WAR REPORTS
[Thanks to David McReynolds for posting.] DANGER: POLITICIANS AT WORK
RECEIVED: “I Think You Are Being Misled By The Excitement Of Fires And Barricades And Not Penetrating Below The Surface Very Well”
From: “A Reader” [designation chosen by sender] To: Military Resistance Newsletter Sent: February 21, 2014 11:13 AM Subject: Moser
In Mil Res 2.21.14 you print a letter from Ted Moser and then go on to trash him on little or no evidence.
I think Moser is much more right than you are. Of course the USA may not be able to INITIATE a rebellion but they most certainly are able to insert agents capable of GUIDING a rebellion when one arises. You assert that it is simply a “revolution from below.” I have read about the rebels being computer programmers, bookkeepers, lawyers, and today’s NYT cites a manager for a US telecom company delivering a case of Molotov cocktails to the barricades. And the combat “hundreds” are being formed in the spirit and on the pattern of the Czar’s Cossacks. None of this, nothing in any report including the ones you print, leads me to believe that the working class is involved in any way in terms of its own interests.
I think you are being misled by the excitement of fires and barricades and not penetrating below the surface very well. Moser is more right than you allow.
OK onward and upward.
******************************************************
[The material referenced follows: T]
[FROM: MILITARY RESISTANCE 12B12 2.21.14] Moser: “Regarding The Ukrainian Uprising: It Should Be Noted That The US Has Both Plaid An Active Role And Is Covertly Pursuing Its Own Economic Agenda In Fomenting The Violence There”
From: Ted Moser To: Military Resistance Newsletter Sent: February 19, 2014 7:57 PM Subject: RE: Military Resistance 12B11: World Class Stupid
Regarding the Ukrainian uprising: It should be noted that the US has both plaid an active role and is covertly pursuing its own economic agenda in fomenting the violence there.
For years now, the US has been suplying the Ukrainian government--military and police forces--with new civil disturbance technologies. The sound cannons that were deployed toward the end of the Occupy movement were first tested there in Kiev.
Just as the occupation of Afghanistan is more about controlling the flow of natural gas and oil from the Caspian, so is the conflict in the Ukraine. The natural gas supply for most of Europe flows through that country. The US and its petro-moguls want to control this. Currently, US companies are blocked out by Ukraine’s ties to Russia. If the pro- Russian regime is overthrown by the people (at the behest of US interests but under the guise of liberty) then new economic alliances will be formed and US companies will have a real shot at controlling the lion’s share of Europe’s oil and gas.
These points need to be given voice in your newsletter. Otherwise, you are simply buying into the concocted and controlled story being forcefed the media and the population. This is standard protocol for US initiated regime change without direct military involvement.
Ted Moser Veteran, US Army OEF, Afghanistan Reply: T “Neither The U.S. Government Nor The Russia Government Nor The EU Governments Caused Or Can Command Events Within The Developing Ukrainian Revolutionary Uprising”
Yes.
There definitely is a blizzard of concocted propaganda getting puked out about the Ukraine, as the writer notes above.
Russian imperialism, U.S. imperialism, and the EU are busy busy busy “concocting” propaganda being “forcefed to the media and the population,” frantically trying to put their spin on Ukrainian events.
However, despite their screeching whining accusations against each other, neither the Russian Empire, nor the American Empire, nor the EU are in power in the Ukraine, although each very much wishes to dominate that nation’s economic relations.
The Ukrainian government is a murderous criminal combination of corrupt politicians, assorted petty tyrants, and some, but not all, fabulously wealthy local capitalist oligarchs who have decided to slaughter their own citizens rather than give up their dictatorship and its class privileges.
The notion that some outside power can bring on a mass revolutionary movement from below is ridiculous; typical ruling class thinking that presumes that Ukrainians are a nation of stupid animals who can be tricked into a mass uprising by some outside agitators leading them around by their noses.
That is contemptible blind Imperial elitist arrogance.
The same kind of bullshit was once practiced here in the Southern USA last century by racist scum who told the world that “their Negroes” were happy, laughing, musical Negroes, who loved segregation, and that all the trouble down south was being stirred up by outside agitators and their money from the north.
Neither the U.S. government nor the Russia government nor the EU governments caused or now have command of events within the developing Ukrainian revolutionary uprising.
They are all pissing their pants in fear it may get out of control: out of their control that is.
Ignore the apologists for Russian imperialism who try to portray the uprising in the Ukraine as some sort of U.S. conspiracy. Those apologists writing in favor of the Yanukovych dictatorship who haven’t sold themselves outright to the Putin regime don’t have a clue that mass movements against a dictatorship are filled with all kinds of political and civic organizations, right, left, and center, as well as millions of people who are not with any organization, but hate the tyranny, oppression, and exploitation which this Ukrainian government practices.
Ukrainians are right to rise up and fight against it.
There are certainly extreme reactionaries protesting the government, but they don’t control a genuinely popular mass uprising against a dictatorship that tried to crush all criticisms of its corruption and ruling class greed by passing a law criminalizing opposition, including revolutionary socialists, anarchists and workers’ unions.
This is a mass movement from below that, hopefully, will destroy the Ukrainian government and those Ukrainian capitalists that own and operate that government.
IF so, the question then becomes whose class will organize and take the power after mass revolution brings down a hated regime; the same question that follows every successful revolution from below.
RECEIVED: Ukraine & GI Coffee House Tour
From: R To: Military Resistance Newsletter Sent: February 21, 2014 11:16 AM Subject: G.I. coffehouse tour
Great job on your coverage of popular uprising in Ukraine!
Really helps me get some perspective amid the bullshit from mainstream media.
Should have thought of this sooner, but I’m wondering if you can give some space to the coffeehouse tour, now underway on the west coast. Attached file gives overview, and there is a press release at the bottom.
Solidarity, R
REPLY: T
Yes. Material on Coffee House Tour follows. Success to all of you in the Joint Base Lewis McChord area and other locations involved in making it happen!
Here it is: 15107 Union Ave. SW, Lakewood, WA 98498 253-581-1565
February 17, 2014 by abacon, Coffee Strong
We are excited to join our sister GI coffeehouses in Killeen, Texas near Fort Hood (Under The Hood Café & Outreach Center), and Kaiserslautern, Germany near Ramstein Airbase and Landstuhl Medical Center (The Clearing Barrel GI Bar & Coffeehouse) for our first ever joint project – the GI Coffeehouse Tour.
Starting February 13th in San Diego we’ll begin a tour of the west coast with over a dozen tour stops planned.
At these tour stops we’ll present the voices of soldiers, veterans and military families sharing our experiences and our plans to continue challenging war and militarism from within the military and veteran community. At many stops, we’ll also be joined by local musicians and coffeehouse organizers from the Vietnam-era.
Representatives from all three coffeehouses will be at each tour stop to share more about our work.
Please join us for a tour stop in the Pacific Northwest.
For a complete list of tour stops including California and other tour information, check out the GI Coffeehouse Tour website.
•Thurs., Feb. 27: Eugene, OR: 7pm, University of Oregon, The Browsing Room in the Knight Library, 1501 Kincaid Street, Sponsored by Community Alliance of Lane County.
•Fri., Feb. 28: Portland, OR: 6pm Potluck, 7pm Program, Multanomah Friends Meeting, 4312 SE Stark St. Loose Changes’ Grant Remington will also be joining us and playing a couple anti-war tunes on his guitar. Sponsored by Veterans for Peace, Chapter 72 and Multnomah Friends Peace and Social Concerns Committee. For more info contact: Rosy Malloy, [email protected] , 360-883-5942
•Sat., Mar. 1: Olympia, WA: Saturday, 2pm at Olympia Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 2300 East End St NW. Special guests: Shelter Half Coffeehouse collective members (GI Coffeehouse in Tacoma during the Vietnam era). Sponsored by: Olympia Unitarian Universalist Congregation Social Justice Committee, Olympia Movement for Justice & Peace, Rachel Corrie Chapter of Veterans for Peace. For more information about the event, please contact Josh Simpson at [email protected] or 360-584-5105.
•Sat., Mar. 1: Seattle, WA: 7pm, University Temple United Methodist Church, 1415 NE 43rd Street. Special guests: Musical performance by Kaeley Pruitt-Hamm and Shelter Half Coffeehouse collective members (GI Coffeehouse in Tacoma during the Vietnam era). Sponsored by: Western Washington Fellowship of Reconciliation, Veterans for Peace Chapter 92, University Temple United Methodist Church. For more information about the event, please contact Ellen Finkelstein at [email protected] or 206-661-3241.
•Sun., Mar 2: Everett, WA: 1pm, Firewheel Community Coffeehouse, 2727 Colby Ave. Special guests: Musical performance by Jim Page and Shelter Half Coffeehouse collective members (GI Coffeehouse in Tacoma during the Vietnam era). For more information about the event, please contact: Linda Newton, [email protected], 425- 877-1404.
Can’t join us for the tour?
Make a tax-deductible donation online: [https://support.coffeestrong.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=10] to support Coffee Strong, Under The Hood and The Clearing Barrel or by mail with a check made out to “GI Voice” with “GI Coffeehouse Tour” in the memo line.
Our mailing address is: 15107 Union Ave SW Lakewood, WA 98498.
The GI Coffeehouse Tour is supported by: Veterans For Peace, The War Resisters League, Iraq Veterans Against the War, March Forward, The Military Law Task Force of the National Lawyers Guild, The Center For Conscience in Action, The Center on Conscience and War, Civilian Soldier Alliance, Catalyst Project, GI Rights Network, Courage to Resist, American Friends Service Committee, and Resist.
Military Resistance Looks Even Better Printed Out Military Resistance/GI Special are archived at website http://www.militaryproject.org .
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