Tomás Ó Flatharta

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Archive for the ‘Political Prisoners in Russia’ Category

Irish Trade Union Movement and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) “Unequivocal Supporters of Ukraine since the brutal Russian invasion in February 2022” – Gregor Kerr Speech to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions Global Solidarity Summer School; August 20 2026 at White’s Hotel Wexford

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I Was delighted to have the opportunity to speak at Irish Congress of Trade Unions Global Solidarity Summer School on behalf of Irish Left With Ukraine, alongside Chris Ford of Ukraine Solidarity Campaign and Kateryna Maliuta-Osaulova of the Trade Union of Education and Science Workers of Ukraine, on the topic of why Irish trade unionists should show solidarity with our Ukrainian colleagues and how we can do so.- Gregor Kerr

Gregor’s speech is below.

ICTU Global Solidarity Summer School, White’s Hotel, Wexford, 20/08/26 © Paula Geraghty

Gregor Kerr’s Speech :

I’d like to start by thanking David Joyce and the Global Solidarity Committee and conference organisers for including this session on the Summer School schedule. In this session, I’m going to invite you to put yourself in the shoes of Ukrainian workers and trade unionists – people who in the last months of 2021 and the early months of 2022 were grappling with exactly the same sort of struggles we face on a day to day basis – struggles with individual employers about wage rates and terms and conditions, struggles with the broader neo-liberal government agenda on issues of access to public health, housing, education etc etc.? 

But, suddenly, their lives were turned upside down by a brutal invasion of their country.  They found themselves facing the sort of horrors we really can’t envisage and they found themselves grappling with how to respond. 

How do any of us know how we would respond in such a situation?  Our pre-ordained political theory might suddenly not fit the reality of the brutality of what is happening. 

So the challenge for each of us as Irish trade unionists and as Irish left political activists is to be able to step outside our political theory and to listen to the voices of Ukrainian trade unionists, feminists, LGBTQ+ activists, socialists, anarchists.. to listen  to their reality, to respond to their requests, to empathise with the horrific situation in which they find themselves…

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Yanis Varoufakis “on the stage at a Moscow investment forum to a techno track repeating his own name”

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Andreu Movtxan reports below :

And in case readers cannot believe it, here is a link :


Yanis Varoufakis dances to viral techno-hit named after him in Russia

And thanks to Yuliya Yurchenko, who observes :

In case anyone was in a coma for the past few years and still has any respect for Yanis Varoufakis – Γιάνης Βαρουφάκης , read Andreu Movtxan.

Yuliya Yurchenko

While Russian FPV drones crossing the Dnieper hunt civilians at bus stops in Nikopol and Kherson, while yet more one-and-a-half-ton glide bombs fall on apartment blocks in Kramatorsk, while Russian anti-war socialists rot in Mordovian prisons… the Greek “anti-imperialist” politician Yanis Varoufakis is dancing on the stage at a Moscow investment forum to a techno track repeating his own name.

How does he manage to be like this? One has to be real human mold to behave this way. I could end the post here. But I’ll add a bit more.

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European socialism, imperial militarism, and defence of Ukraine – Simon Pirani, People and Nature Blog

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Simon Pirani offers extremely useful insights which are relevant to every European country, including Ireland.

Insight 1

On the political side, socialists in Nordic countries are streets ahead of us in the UK, perhaps because they are geographically closer to Russia.
Bjarke Friborg of the Red-Green Alliance in Denmark underlined in a recent interview the “very real” threat posed by Putin’s regime, “not necessarily in terms of ‘tanks rolling into Paris’, but certainly as a threat to democracy, sovereignty and the principle that borders can not be changed by brute force”. He continued:
We oppose Russian imperialism just as we have opposed American and NATO imperialism: not by supporting one bloc against another, but by defending the right of peoples to self-determination and supporting democratic and progressive forces in Russia and its client state, Belarus.

Simon Pirani, People and Nature Blog
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The U.S. & Israeli War with Iran: What Should Be the Approach of a Principled Socialist Left? – Frieda Afary

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Below is the revised text of a presentation by Frieda Afary to the South African organization, Zabalaza for Socialism on March 15, 2026.

Link :


The U.S. & Israeli War with Iran: What Is a Needed Approach for a Principled Socialist Left? Frieda Afary, ESSF

These are key passages :

Globally, the Russian government has gained from this war because the price of oil has increased, and the Trump administration has lifted sanctions on Russia’s sale of oil. Russia has also gained because the anti-missile systems that Ukraine and Europe were buying from the U.S. to help defend Ukraine against Russia’s brutal imperialist invasion of that country are now going to the Middle East. Russia is also helping the Iranian government by sharing secret information about U.S. targets.
The Chinese government has also gained from this war, because the U.S. government will pay less attention to the Pacific Region and might even allow China to proceed with its plans to take over Taiwan.

Frieda Afary, ESSF, March 15 2026

IV. What Can International Progressives Do Now?
First: Do anything you can to stop this war. Educate, speak out, protest, put pressure on your government representatives and independent intellectuals. In the case of the United States, public opinion is currently 60% against this war. Most people don’t want to send their children to fight in the Middle East. Half the adult population is opposed to the Trump administration’s attacks on and detention/deportation of innocent immigrants. There is also a great deal of anger about the ways in which mostly wealthy men including Trump, other politicians and even academics have collaborated with and benefited from the late Jeffrey Epstein’s network for trafficking of women and girls for rape and sexual abuse. All of these questions need to be addressed in articulating an anti-war message.
Second: Reach out to progressives in the Middle East or Middle Eastern progressives abroad. Do not limit yourself to talking only about one struggle or one country in the Middle East.
Third: Oppose campism, take a clear stand against all global and regional capitalist-imperialist powers and defend the rights and humanity of the peoples that these powers are oppressing.
Fourth: Address key issues that are holding back our struggles: racial and ethnic discrimination, patriarchy, capitalist exploitation, and capitalist alienation.

Frieda Afary, ESSF, March 15 2026
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Solidarity With the People of Ukraine – Bring the Stolen Children Home – Teachers’ Club, 36 Parnell Square West, Dublin 1 D01 T6V6 Tuesday March 24 7.30pm

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IRISH LEFT WITH UKRAINE – NEITHER MOSCOW NOR WASHINGTON

Some background information :

European parliament resolution on a war-crime – Russian abduction of stolen children :

The case of political prisoner Aishe Kurmatet :

“Venezuela – Ordinary Imperialism” – A Ukrainian Comrade Denys Pilash warns : “Fears about a global deal between two imperialisms: “you leave us the Western Hemisphere, we leave you Ukraine.” And China gets in on the act

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The Dublin government is doing normal campist hypocrisy : Currently the Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin is visiting China. Expect no mention of the Beijing régime’s well-documented human rights abuses in the Xinjiang province and persecution of the Uyghur minority – China’s boss Xi Jinping will not tolerate that kind of talk :

Link :
China Syria and the Uyghurs

“Another piece of information related to the Xinjiang issue concerns the dissemination of confidential documents that would prove Xi Jinping’s direct involvement in the repression of the Uyghurs. These are three internal speeches given in 2014 during a visit to the region immediately after the attack on Kunming railway station in which Xi called for a campaign of “heavy and rapid strikes” and demanded the creation of a climate of constant pressure. These instructions already hinted at the elements that would subsequently shape the system of internment camps, forced labour and linguistic assimilation programmes, with the aim of eliminating religious practices and cultural identities considered threats to national security.”

The head of the Dublin government is saying nothing about ongoing repression of trade union activists in Hong Kong. Not a dicky-bird from Micheál about the Chinese régimes’s threatening build-up of its military forces in the South China Sea.

Here is a flavour of the Leinster House “Official Version” : Business Before Principles :

“In Shanghai, the Taoiseach will meet the city’s mayor Gong Zheng and visit Irish and Chinese companies in the country’s commercial capital. He has planned meetings with representatives from the financial services, tourism and food and beverage sectors, among others.

“In Beijing, there will be a particular focus on further and higher education – an important area with a lot of potential for both partners, and where co-operation will yield longer-term dividends in terms of research and innovation, and people-to-people links,” he said.

The Taoiseach will meet representatives from 12 Irish third-level colleges that offer full-time degree and diploma courses with Chinese higher education partners. Typically, these offer qualifications that are recognised in both Ireland and China, with courses based on those in Irish colleges.

Last month, the Sunday Times Ireland edition reported that the Irish Military Intelligence Service was concerned about security risks associated with academic links to China. But the Taoiseach later suggested that a more sophisticated approach to China’s strategic ambitions was required.

“I do accept the intelligence that’s across Europe and UK recently but on the other hand, China has never initiated, in modern times, a war. I had a very interesting, pretty careful discussion with the Singaporean Prime Minister on that. We should do more to understand the Chinese psyche and approach, and the more longer term sort of scenario, strategic thinking,” he told The Journal.” – Irish Times January 5 2026.



Venezuela – Ordinary Imperialism

Denys Pilash, from Ukraine, offers us a very useful article based on principles which need to be universal across the left :
Ukraine – Venezuela – Palestine – Occupation Is A Crime.


Washington’s scarecrow, catching up with its Kremlin counterpart, has conducted its own special military aberration [1]. Moreover, whilst boasting about this latest step towards what it calls the “noble peace prize” [2] and asserting its “Donroe Doctrine” [3], it makes no attempt to conceal that this is all for the sake of tasty oil and that it could not care less about the consequences of regional destabilisation. [4]

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“Ukraine, an invaded country, has managed to defend its independence in this terrible three-year war with great sacrifices against the formidable army of the imperialist aggressor” – Small countries can defeat big imperial occupiers

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A myth is doing the rounds on the left in Ireland and other parts of the globe that small countries are powerless when they have to fight against imperialist invaders. We suggest readers consult this fine passionate article written by Joxe Iriarte, Bikila, a revolutionary socialist activist from the Basque region (Euskadi) situated in the northern part of the Spanish state.

Source :
Europe: The Starting Point for the Remodelling of the New Reactionary International Order – Bikila

See also Vitaly Dudin’s

Five problems with the US-Ukraine mineral deal

which appears below.


Ukraine, an invaded country, has managed to defend its independence in this terrible three-year war with great sacrifices against the formidable army of the imperialist aggressor. Of course, this would not have been possible without the supply of weapons from the West, but the main factor has been the courage and great motivation of the Ukrainian people. This is how the Russian left-wing intellectual Ilya Budaitskis refers to Ukraine’s sacrifice.

Economist Michael Roberts states: “The Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused a terrible impact on the Ukrainian people. 46,000 civilians and perhaps 500,000 soldiers have died. Millions have fled abroad and millions more have been forced to leave their homes. Kyiv has lost 50,000 workers. Ukraine’s GDP has fallen by 25% and 7.1 million Ukrainians currently live in poverty”.

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Brussels conference lifts Ukraine solidarity to higher plane – Report by Dick Nichols, Green Left Weekly Australia

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The March 26-27 Brussels Solidarity with Ukraine conference drew together about 200 activists from a score of countries, in support of the Ukrainian people’s national and social rights.

A main organizer was Dick Nichols, who wrote the comprehensive report below;

Link :
Brussels Conference Lifts Ukraine Solidarity to a Higher Plane – Dick Nichols, Green Left Weekly

Former Finnish education minister Li Andersson (left) and Ukrainian women’s rights activist Ivanna Vynna addressing the March 26-27 Ukraine Solidarity Conference in the Belgian capital Brussels. Photos: Julie Ward

The gathering was organised by the European Network for Solidarity with Ukraine (ENSU) and the Ukraine Solidarity Campaigns (USC) of England and Wales and Scotland. It was devoted to strengthening people-to-people solidarity, as the menace of Ukraine being partitioned and pillaged by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s and United States President Donald Trump’s governments looms ever larger.

The conference also took place in the context of ongoing conflict between Ukraine’s trade union, feminist, environmental, civil rights and progressive political movements and the neoliberal domestic policies of Volodymyr Zelensky’s government.

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“Being a socialist you oppose imperialism – Russia has no right to a single square metre of Ukrainian Soil” – Jonas Sjöstedt, European Parliament Member of the Vänsterpartiet (Left Party, Sweden)

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News reports, reactions and analysis : Solidarity With Ukraine Conference, Brussels, March 26 and 27 2025.

Jonas Sjöstedt, European Parliament Member of the Vänsterpartiet (Left Party, Sweden) spoke at the opening session of the international conference “Solidarity with Ukraine”, March 26 and 27 2025, Brussels.

Link :
Jonas Sjösted MEP (Left Party, Sweden), European Left – Being a socialist you oppose imperialism – Russia has no right to a single square metre of Ukrainian Soil

Li Andersson MEP (Left Alliance, Finland) reports :

Ukraine needs support to fight back against Russia’s aggression, but we must also address the problems facing Ukrainian civil society.

Last week we in The Left group organised a conference in Brussels to which we invited Ukrainian leftists and trade unionists to talk about supporting Ukrainian civil society in the midst of Russia’s illegal war of aggression launched by Putin.

Their message was very clear: in addition to arms support, there are many problems in Ukrainian civil society that urgently need solutions. In particular, they highlighted the serious lack of affordable housing, the lack of care services and the proposed reforms which will weaken workers’ rights and trade unions.

When I was in Kiev last autumn, we also talked a lot about the housing shortage with the Ukrainians.

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Support Ukrainian Resistance – Not Monstrous Rearmament Plans – Simon Pirani, People and Nature

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An important left-wing conference in solidarity with Ukraine took place in Brussels on March 26 and 27 2025. We will present a number of reports from this conference in the next few days. Here is the first item – written by Simon Pirani who publishes a People and Nature blog.


Support Ukrainian Resistance – Not Monstrous Rearmament Plans – Simon Pirani, People and Nature

By Simon Pirani. Based on a talk given at a panel, “What peace?”, at the Solidarity with Ukraine event this week in Brussels

“What peace?” is a wide question. To narrow it down, we can ask: what sort of peace is being discussed among Ukrainians?

In an interview about the Trump-Putin talks, and the prospects for any agreement, our comrade Denis Pilash, a member of Sotsialnyi Rukh, said that “Ukrainians have two things in mind when thinking about any deal: the fate of people in the occupied territories, and how to prevent Russia from restarting the war.”

The photo is courtesy of a Ukrainian anarchist group that provides soldiers at the front with “all the necessary equipment that can increase their safety and efficiency in resisting the imperial onslaught of the Russians”.  

These points could frame areas for agreements, he argued. He pointed to the Ukrainian government’s position that it will not recognise illegal annexations, but would accept a ceasefire followed by negotiations.

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