<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1. WAR – RUSSIA’S HANDS OFF UKRAINE<\/strong><\/p>\n We, socialists, trade unionists, scholars, activists for human rights, social justice and peace, stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine against Russian imperialism.<\/strong><\/p>\n The international left and labour movement must vigorously oppose Russia\u2019s threats against Ukraine.<\/strong><\/p>\n We say neither Washington nor Moscow. We oppose the policy and manoeuvrings of the big Western powers and NATO.<\/strong><\/p>\n But currently it is Russia that is threatening the Ukrainian people\u2019s right to self-determination and challenging their legitimacy as an independent nation.<\/strong><\/p>\n It is Russia that has massed troops on Ukraine\u2019s borders; Russia that has annexed Crimea and persecuted the Crimean Tatars; and Russia that has organised an eight-year war in eastern Ukraine leading to 14,000 deaths, 30,000 wounded and 1.9 million displaced people on the Ukrainian side alone.<\/strong><\/p>\n Subjugated by Russian Tsarist and Stalinist rulers, for centuries Ukraine was the object of exploitation and national oppression, its culture and language subject to discrimination. Millions perished at the hands of the Kremlin.<\/strong><\/p>\n We call for peace through self-determination of the Ukrainian people. That does not mean support for the current government of Ukraine or the capitalist oligarchs it serves.<\/strong><\/p>\n Despite its rhetoric, self-evidently the Russian government is interested in neither democracy nor opposing fascism. The Russian government actively promotes pro-Russian sections of the far right in occupied eastern Ukraine and other parts of Europe; and its anti-Ukrainian policy strengthens the hand of far-right Ukrainian nationalists too.<\/strong><\/p>\n We hail the brave internationalists in Russia protesting against Putin\u2019s war politics. We demand the release of Russian political prisoners.<\/strong><\/p>\n We stand in solidarity with socialists, trade unionists and activists for democratic and human rights who, who can bring real progress \u2013 in Ukraine and in Russia..<\/strong><\/p>\n We demand the withdrawal of Russia\u2019s troops from the Ukrainian borders and occupied territories, and an end to Russian interference in Ukraine.<\/strong><\/p>\n ______________<\/p>\n 2. A BBC NEWS SEGMENT ON UKRAINE DOESN’T MENTION IT WAS PLATFORMING NEO-NAZIS<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n A video shows a five-year-old playing with a gun watched over by a uniformed man from a neo-Nazi organisation. You could be forgiven for thinking this\u00a0BBC\u00a0<\/em>footage was from Louis Theroux\u2019s new\u00a0documentar<\/a>y\u00a0Forbidden America<\/em>. But you\u2019d be wrong.<\/p>\n In fact, this footage was broadcast immediately after Theroux\u2019s documentary about the far-right in the US, on the\u00a0BBC Weekend News<\/em>. But unlike Theroux\u2019s expose, this news item failed to mention that the group it platformed is a neo-Nazi organisation known for ultranationalism, anti-semitism, and Nazi iconography.<\/p>\n The Azov Regiment<\/strong><\/p>\n As part of the\u00a0BBC<\/em>\u2018s coverage of the situation in Ukraine, journalist Orla Guerin reported on people preparing for invasion. The segment covered a training afternoon for civilians organised by the National Guard. But it neglected to tell viewers that it was the Azov Regiment \u2013 formerly the Azov Battalion \u2013 that ran the training event.<\/p>\n Azov was\u00a0formed<\/a>\u00a0in 2014. Its first commander Andriy Biletsky is now the leader of the far-right ultranationalist National Corps party. In 2010, Biletsky\u00a0stated<\/a>\u00a0that Ukraine\u2019s mission was to:<\/p>\n Azov\u2019s links to neo-Nazi ideology are well documented. Even the\u00a0Sun<\/em>\u00a0ran an article in January\u00a0describing<\/a> it as \u201cneo-Nazi militia\u201d. The paper further stated that:<\/p>\n On the Azov Battalion-affiliated Thule Signal\u00a0Telegram channel, openly racist jokes and memes are posted.<\/em><\/p>\n __________<\/p>\n also see:-<\/p>\n 1. No to war in Ukraine – Ukraine Solidarity Campaign and Executive Bureau of the Fourth International<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/thumbnail_DSC_8372-2.jpg\")
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