Archive for the ‘European Network Solidarity with Ukraine and against war Basic consensus’ Category
Dramatic Coup – Putin Régime in Trouble, June 24 2023 – Cedar Lounge Revolution Site a great news source; Short Sharp Ukraine Message “abandon false neutrality’ to ‘put an end to evil’ of Putin’s regime”; Family of Belarus Dictator Lukashenko’s Fled to Turkey (Unconfirmed Report)
A consistent left-wing pro Ukraine solidarity ray of light in Ireland comes from the Cedar Lounge Revolution, who are well-known to the authors who write for this blog: Here is their take on the attempt by the Wagner Group of Prigozhin to overthrow the Putin regime : if you have useful credible information to add, feel free to chip in : https://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2023/06/24/whats-that-they-say-about-rostov-on-don/
Here is a fascinating live report issued by the credible Irish war reporter Orla Guerin :
Orla Guerin tweeted a link to this article by Lawrence Freedman, emeritus professor of war studies from King’s College London.
“This coup is being led by the boss of the Wagner mercenaries, Yevgeny Prigozhin. At first the smart money was on his failure because the full weight of the Russian state is against him. Before he made his moves, he was declared a traitor, his offices were raided, and his bases shelled. But the Russian state is inept and decrepit. If the aim was to catch Prigozhin unawares and shut him up it failed, because he appears to have had some notice of what was being prepared for him and so took his own initiatives. If you are going to move against your opponents you need to be decisive. Prigozhin got away (like Zelensky in February 2022).”
https://samf.substack.com/p/prigozhins-mutiny
“Actually were Putin a US agent of influence he could hardly have done a better job” WorldbyStorm, the Cedar Lounge Revolution Blog.
John Meehan June 24 2023
Watchword :
Ukraine calls on international community to ‘abandon false neutrality’ to ‘put an end to evil’ of Putin’s regime
Ukraine’s foreign minister has called on the international community to “abandon false neutrality” and give his country the weapons it needs to “put an end to the evil” of Putin’s regime.
Posting on Twitter, Dmytro Kuleba said it was time to “give Ukraine all the needed weapons; forget about friendship or business with Russia”.
Those who said Russia was too strong to lose: look now. Time to abandon false neutrality and fear of escalation; give Ukraine all the needed weapons; forget about friendship or business with Russia. Time to put an end to the evil everyone despised but was too afraid to tear down.— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) June 24, 2023
Has Belarus Dictator Lukashenko, Putin’s Puppet, Fled to Russia?
Unconfirmed Report :
The plane, while over Russia, turned off the transponders, and turned them back on only over Kalmykia.
The plane of the self-proclaimed President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko landed in the Turkish city of Bodrum on the night of June 24 .
“The business jet of the family of the self-proclaimed President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko flew out of the country and is now in the sky over Turkey,” reports Radarbox .
The Bombardier Challenger 850 airliner with tail number EW-301pj took off from Minsk at 00:01 and landed in Bodrum, Turkey at 05:15. We add that the plane, while over Russia, turned off the transponders, and turned them back on only over Kalmykia.
Recall that hundreds of Belarusian citizens who left the country after the mass protests of 2020 are allegedly undergoing combat training in Poland in order to overthrow the Lukashenka regime.
Update : The private plane of the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, landed in Turkiye on the morning of June 24. It is worth noting that the day before, the Minsk dictator spoke on the phone with the Kremlin murderer Vladimir Putin.
The two dictators discussed the confrontation between the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the Wagner PMC.
This follows from statements by Russian media and the Telegram channel Belarusian Gayun.
The Lukashenko family plane landed in Turkiye at 5 a.m. on June 24. The government business jet EW-301PJ, which took off from Minsk at 00:01, landed in Bodrum, Turkiye, at 5:15 a.m.
The network notes that the plane flies there quite often. In addition to the dictator himself, the business jet is used by his family members.
However, the fact that on the eve of the flight to Turkiye, Lukashenko spoke with Putin on the phone is more revealing. Russian propagandists said that the Kremlin dictator informed Lukashenka about the situation in Russia, in particular about the confrontation between the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the Wagner PMC. https://ukranews.com/en/news/940720-after-talking-to-putin-lukashenko-sends-his-personal-plane-to-turkiye
2023 Congress of the The Bloco de Esquerda [Portuguese Left Bloc/ BE] – “two years of intense challenges that tested the coherence of its political project.”
On the electoral and political level the The Bloco de Esquerda [Portuguese Left Bloc/ BE] has similarities to the People Before Profit (PBP) formation in Ireland. In January 2022 the BE suffered a significant electoral reverse in a Portuguese General Election, going from 19 to 5 deputies. The circumstances are described below.
A significant welcome political difference between the BE and the PBP is that the BE is in favour of solidarity with Ukraine, resisting the genocidal Russian imperialist invasion which began in February 2023.
Article sources : https://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article66868 and https://internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article8135
The Bloco de Esquerda [Portuguese Left Bloc/ BE] held its 13th Congress after two years of intense challenges that tested the coherence of its political project.
Internally, the defence of a free and public National Health Service, the defence of the end of the labour laws of the Troika and the fight against real estate speculation led the Bloco de Esquerda to vote against a State Budget without a trace of left influence.
Read the rest of this entry »Mick Lynch – Rail Marine and Transport Union (Britain) – participates in solidarity with Ukraine
Recently Mick Lynch visited Ireland, speaking at a well attended Robert Tressell commemoration in Liberty Hall, headquarters of Lynch’s political hero, the Easter 1916 Rising rebel James Connolly.
Mick Lynch understands that all on the left must stand with Ukraine.
Who on the Irish left comes anywhere close to this internationalist and revolutionary policy?
‘”The general secretary of the RMT rail union, Mick Lynch, refuted the government official’s accusations towards Ukraine: “I was in Ukraine when the Russian tanks invaded, and ASLEF deputy general secretary Simon Weller was also there to talk to the railway workers when the Russian bombs fell on Ukraine. And we are involved in the solidarity campaign with Ukraine.”‘
Read the rest of this entry »Philip O’Keeffe – A Comrade of Finbar Cafferkey – was arrested while travelling to Ireland to inform family of Mayo man’s death
Philip O’Keeffe, an Irish citizen who fought with Finbar Cafferkey against Islamic State in Syria, was arrested by British counterterrorism police on his way to Ireland.
Readers are encouraged to support Philip in any way that is practical.
This report comes from the May 19 2023 issue of the Irish Times :
A former comrade of Finbar Cafferkey, the Irish man killed fighting in Ukraine, was arrested by UK counterterrorism police last month as he attempted to travel to Ireland to deliver the news of the Mayo man’s death.
Philip O’Keeffe, an Irish citizen who fought with Mr Cafferkey against the Islamic State in Syria while they were both members of the Kurdish YPG, is facing prosecution under contentious antiterrorism legislation after being stopped by the Metropolitan Police while travelling through Heathrow Airport in London on April 22nd.
Read the rest of this entry »“It was all about FINBAR. the Irish environmentalist; DMITRY the Russian anarchist, and COOPER the American socialist” – Tribute to heroes fallen in Ukraine at Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris
A report is here :
On Saturday, May 6, a delegation of activists and representatives of organizations participating in the French Committee of RESU (European Network for Solidarity with Ukraine 🇺🇦) held a tribute organized by the Collectif des Francophone Combatants du Rojava to three internationalist comrades who fell all three in Ukraine fighting against the Russian invasion . The homage took place at the cemetery of Father Lachaise. at 14:30 in front of the Federated Wall of the Paris Commune.
It was all about FINBAR. the irish independentist and environmentalist. ; from DMITRY the Russian anarchist, and from COOPER the American socialist. They fought against the Russian invasion that they judged to be the emanation of authoritarian imperialism covering itself with the varnish of “liberator”.
Some had previously fought in Rojava alongside the Kurds with other revolutionary militants.
We wanted to show our deepest respect for their commitment.
French Committee of the ENSU (RESU) : https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087563586225
Against Half-Solidarity and False Pacifism – Statement of the Russian Socialist Movement on May Day
Source : https://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article66416
This excellent statement diagnoses a political blight – False Pacifism – which has entered the bloodstream of significant parts of the Irish left and trade union movement. We are dealing with an international phenomenon :
May Day is not only International Workers’ Day but also a day of solidarity with the oppressed peoples and civil disobedience against war. For example, one can remember the 1971 May Day protests against US imperialist aggression in Vietnam in Washington. During that time, the antiwar movement’s stance was clear: halt the war, complete the withdrawal of American troops, and support the right of the Vietnamese people to self-determination. Nowadays the Left is also leaning toward pacifism but its present iteration is much more ambivalent. While it still highlights issues of American imperialism, the prevention of nuclear war, and condemns militarization and war as means of resolving conflicts, it faces challenges in precisely identifying the aggressor and exhibits a willingness to tolerate Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territory and the continued presence of Russian troops there. Thus this version of pacifism is deprived of real solidarity with the oppressed peoples.
Read the rest of this entry »Two Contrasting May Day Celebrations in 2023 – Ghent (Belgium) V Dublin (Ireland)
Ghent, Thomas Weyts Reports
This year we also participated in the 1st May parade in Ghent with a beautiful group of Ukrainian people and solidarity Belgians.
With a clear message: Russian troops out of Ukraine, stop the bombing. Solidarity with Ukraine and its people! We will continue to take action as long as necessary.
We also continue to shake the high tree of the trade unions and the progressive movements: come out of your room, show your solidarity with Ukraine, in words but especially in deeds!
We thank the fine people of Peace for Ukraine-Ghent, the European Network for Solidarity with Ukraine, Ghent4Humanity Refugee Support, SAP Anti-capitalists and all the other people who were there, but also all the participants at the parade and by the side who showed their sympathy.
https://www.facebook.com/100049340987344/videos/788647199647966/?idorvanity=1354716241617827
Dublin : John Meehan Reports :
Dublin Council of Trade Unions (DCTU), organisers of the May Day march in Ireland’s capital city, made sure that nothing politically worthwhile was said from the platform about Ukraine. Mick O’Reilly spoke about “War and Peace” – at best the speech was woffle; at worst it was a left-evasionist exercise which avoided making a clear call for the immediate withdrawal of the Russian genocidal troops from Ukraine, or demanding an end to the murderous Russian bombing of civilian targets (including hospitals and schools) in the invaded territories.
Read the rest of this entry »Finbar Cafferkey – “Achill Island Man killed fighting Russian forces in Ukraine” – Russian Embassy in Dublin Threatens Irish Government
Finbar Cafferkey’s death was front page headline news in one of the leading Irish daily newspapers, the Irish Times. The newspaper also reports :
Council of Europe says deportation of children from Ukraine is “genocide”
Vladyslav Starodubtsev, a member of the Ukrainian organisation Sotsialnyi Rukh (Social Movement) issued the following tweet :
Vladyslav Starodubtsev (@VlStarodubtsev) tweeted at 8:36 pm on Thu, Apr 27, 2023:
Irish freedom fighter, who fought for Kurdish YPG and then in Armed forces of Ukraine (ZSU) died today. Glory to such persons, who are ready to defend a just cause and die for it. Glory to heroes
(https://twitter.com/VlStarodubtsev/status/1651656479089238037?t=hg_o8jGfkv05IuMtjkP_yw&s=03)
Finbar Cafferkey served with the same unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and died in the same battle as did his comrade, fellow internationalist, anarchist and revolutionary, Dmitry Petrov from Russia.
Taras Bilous – Sotsialnyi Rukh – wrote a long thread about Dmitry’s life.
Taras Bilous (@ahatanhel) tweeted at 7:19 am on Fri, Apr 28, 2023:
Dmitry was a co-founder of the Combat Organization of Anarcho-Communists (BOAK), which sabotaged railway infrastructure in Russia since the start of the invasion.
He send his last word to them for publication in case he died. 9/9
https://t.co/3fzN82woaO https://t.co/dZlDhMsQmr
(https://twitter.com/ahatanhel/status/1651833602705969152?t=kRxCMOkigOV2psgr7F47Yg&s=03)
Tomás Ó Flatharta 