Josh Cohen - Vladimir Putin calls Ukraine fascist and country’s new law helps make his case

[newthinking]

(Note: This has now been passed and is no longer in draft)

Vladimir Putin calls Ukraine fascist and country’s new law helps make his case
Josh Cohen

A member of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) waits to depart to the frontline
in eastern Ukraine, in central Kiev, March 17, 2015. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

As Ukraine continues its battle against separatists, corruption and a collapsing economy, it has taken a dangerous step that could further tear the country apart: Ukraine’s parliament, the Supreme Rada, passed a draft law last month honoring organizations involved in mass ethnic cleansing during World War Two.

The draft law — which is now on President Petro Poroshenko’s desk awaiting his signature — recognizes a series of Ukrainian political and military organizations as “fighters for Ukrainian independence in the 20th century” and bans the criticism of these groups and their members. (The bill doesn’t state the penalty for doing so.) Two of the groups honored — the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) — helped the Nazis carry out the Holocaust while also killing close to 100,000 Polish civilians during World War Two.

The law is part of a recent trend of contemporary Ukrainian nationalism promoted by those on the extreme right to break with the country’s Communist past and emphasize Ukraine’s suffering under the Soviet regime. In addition to the moral problem of forbidding the criticism of Holocaust perpetrators, the law hinders Ukraine’s European ambitions — and validates Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claims that the country is overrun by neo-Nazis.

The OUN was founded in 1929 as a revolutionary organization designed to liberate Ukraine from Soviet rule and create an independent Ukrainian state. Many OUN leaders were trained in Nazi Germany, and the group’s philosophy was influenced by Nazi racial theorists such as Alfred Rosenberg. OUN literature, for example, declared the need to “combat Jews as supporters of the Muscovite-Bolshevik regime… Death to the Muscovite-Jewish commune! Beat the commune, save Ukraine!”

http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2015/05/14/putin-ties-ukraines-government-to-neo-nazis-a-new-law-seems-to-back-him-up/

____________________________________________________________________________________

Ukraine bans Soviet symbols and criminalizes sympathy for communism

New laws also honor controversial nationalist groups that committed ethnic cleansing or allied with the Nazis for part of second world war

Two new laws that ban communist symbols while honoring nationalist groups that collaborated with the Nazis have come into effect in Ukraine, raising concerns that Kiev could be stifling free speech and further fragmenting the war-torn country in the rush to break ties with its Soviet past.

The first law “on the condemnation of the communist and Nazi totalitarian regimes” forbids both Soviet and Nazi symbols, making something as trivial as selling a USSR souvenir, or singing the Soviet national hymn or the Internationale, punishable by up to five years in prison for an individual and up to 10 years in prison for members of an organization.

It also makes it a criminal offense to deny the “criminal character of the communist totalitarian regime of 1917-1991 in Ukraine” in the media or elsewhere.

The second law recognizes controversial nationalist groups – including the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) – as “independence fighters” and makes it a criminal offense to question the legitimacy of their actions. While these two groups at different times fought both Soviet and German forces, they also collaborated with the Nazis and took part in ethnic cleansing. One of the authors of the law is the son of UPA leader Roman Shukhevych.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/21/ukraine-bans-soviet-symbols-criminalises-sympathy-for-communism

[Blue_Tires]

1. You've been notably absent from the threads

Discussing the latest laws passed in Russia...

No big surprise, though

[newthinking]

2. stalk much?

I wish I was retired (though if I was hopefully I will not spend so much time here). And quite frankly, I am not on here to comment on every thread on every issue.

I don't post prolifically in comparison to many others (notice the different in out post counts?) and so mostly post in areas I know and I am particularly drawn to shallow/inaccurate/propagandized articles in foreign policy, because I believe it contributes to the likelihood of conflict and suffering. If you have noticed I also post on the surveillance state from time to time.

If I were as well acquainted with Middle Eastern Countries you would probably accuse me of the same there. Because of the way that our narrative and omission based propaganda I would end up posting about what is being portrayed dishonestly, exaggerated, inaccurately.

Sometimes I don't wade into a hatefest if I am not in the mood for it. Or it does not seem important enough to wade into a discussion.

[eggplant]

4. AUTOMATED MESSAGE: Results of your Jury Service

On Tue May 26, 2015, 09:49 PM an alert was sent on the following post:

Quit posting one-sided bullshit, and I'll quit appearing
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1016&pid=123186

REASON FOR ALERT

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.

ALERTER'S COMMENTS

The post above Blue Tires was pretty calm and reasonable. There was no need to be nasty. All the OP did was post a news item and BT seemed to reply with the intention to try and cause a flame-fight.

JURY RESULTS

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Tue May 26, 2015, 09:56 PM, and the Jury voted 4-3 to HIDE IT.

Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #2 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #3 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #4 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: Personal attack. DUers can post whatever they feel is of interest within the TOS. Nothing the OP posted deserves such an abusive response.
Juror #5 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #6 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #7 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: Don't like the post? Rebut it. Don't like the poster? STFU.

Stop trying to pick fights.

Thank you very much for participating in our Jury system, and we hope you will be able to participate again in the future.

[newthinking]

6. The poster seemed to think I was trying to insult him in my reply?

I was honestly trying to explain to him that there was no nefarious reason I did not hop on whatever posts he was referring to.
And just to make it clear to others I was not meaning to imply there is anything wrong with spending more time socializing and posting here (on a reread I see how someone could take it that way, which was not the intention).

[Caspian Morgan]

5. Thank you very much for posting this article.

The Simon Weisenthal Center is now officially on the same page with the premise of the article you posted. Jewish people have a very good reason to be concerned.

http://www.jpost.com/International/Putin-says-Ukraine-being-overrun-by-fascists-and-he-may-be-right-403205


Putin says Ukraine being overrun by fascists - and he may be right

Kiev has now handed the Kremlin "evidence" for Putin’s claim that Russia is facing off against fascists.

A Ukraine continues it's battle against separatists, corruption and a collapsing economy, it has taken a dangerous step
that could further tear the country apart: Ukraine’s parliament, the Supreme Rada, passed a draft law last month honoring organizations involved in mass ethnic cleansing during World War Two.

The draft law - which is now on President Petro Poroshenko’s desk awaiting his signature - recognizes a series of Ukrainian political and military organizations as “fighters for Ukrainian independence in the 20th century” and bans the criticism of these groups and their members. (The bill doesn’t state the penalty for doing so.) Two of the groups honored - the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) - helped the Nazis carry out the Holocaust while also killing close to 100,000 Polish civilians during World War Two.

The law is part of a recent trend of contemporary Ukrainian nationalism promoted by those on the extreme right to break with the country’s Communist past and emphasize Ukraine’s suffering under the Soviet regime. In addition to the moral problem of forbidding the criticism of Holocaust perpetrators, the law hinders Ukraine’s European ambitions - and validates Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claims that the country is overrun by neo-Nazis.

[newthinking]

9. Alec Luhn of the Guardian, who has pretty much become rich from hard criticism

of Russia, has recently posted an almost 180 degree turn on this issue (Ukraine's flirting with social nationalism). This is very hard to overlook.

[Caspian Morgan]

10. I haven't seen that yet.

Last edited Wed May 27, 2015, 07:20 PM - Edit history (1)

Having read the Guardian for many years, I can say that they have shown a complete bias against Russia when it comes to the Ukraine Crisis. Shaun Walker and Timothy Garton Ash being two of the worst pundits for that type of writing. Counterpunch has a new article out on the new Ukrainian government today. Things seem to have gone from bad to worse. http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/05/27/kievs-repression-of-anti-fascism-in-odessa/

The Reality of the Repression
Kiev’s Repression of Anti-Fascism in Odessa
by ERIC DRAITSER
There is a common misconception in the West that there is only one war in Ukraine: a war between the anti-Kiev rebels of the East, and the US-backed government in Kiev. While this conflict, with all its attendant geopolitical and strategic implications has stolen the majority of the headlines, there is another war raging in the country – a war to crush all dissent and opposition to the fascist-oligarch consensus. For while in the West many so called analysts and leftists debate whether there is really fascism in Ukraine or whether it’s all just “Russian propaganda,” a brutal war of political repression is taking place.

The authorities and their fascist thug auxiliaries have carried out everything from physical intimidation, to politically motivated arrests, kidnappings, torture, and targeted assassinations. All of this has been done under the auspices of “national unity,” the convenient pretext that every oppressive regime from time immemorial has used to justify its actions. Were one to read the Western narrative on Ukraine, one could be forgiven for believing that the country’s discontent and outrage is restricted solely to the area collectively known as Donbass – the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics as they have declared themselves. Indeed, there is good reason for the media to portray such a distorted picture; it legitimizes the false claim that all Ukraine’s problems are due to Russian meddling and covert militarization.

[PeoViejo]

7. Putin calling someone else a Fascist?

[GGJohn]

8. Putin claiming they're facists?

That's rich.