He was victim of the Maidanist massacre against the Odessa union building on May 2, 2014, when Nazis killed more than 150 democratic activists with support of the new authorities. He survived wounded and could flee to Lugansk as a political refugee of the civil war. We asked him about his opinion on a ceasefire:   Yes, a ceasefire is a variant of finishing the conflict is possible. I mean to just stop fighting along the frontline. But you should know that nobody will agree with the political status-quo which constitute the roots of the civil war and the military escalation. Because if the Nazi state will survive, it will get new weapons from NATO, new trained fighters, and they will attack us again. So, that means that new war will start but we will be in more difficult … [read more]

26 May 2022 Dr. G.N. Saibaba, a 90% physically disabled person languishing in Nagpur central Jail started a hunger strike for the second time from Saturday 21st May 2022 seeking immediate resolution of his demands. Dr. G.N. Saibaba, also sat on hunger strike one and half years ago during lockdown in the jail demanding the immediate handover of medicines supplied by his family members and advocates, supply of books, letters etc. Some of these demands had been accepted. On 10th May 2022, the jail authorities installed a CCTV camera in front of his Anda Cell without providing any valid reason. This 24-hour camera surveillance is a clear violation of his fundamental right to privacy, life, liberty, and bodily integrity. The installed CCTV camera records everything 24X7 including use of … [read more]

Different sanctions against Belarus and individual representatives of the Belarusian regime by the EU and the United States are nothing new. In fact, they are being introduced, partially cancelled and reintroduced since the dissolution of the parliament and the adoption of the new constitution in 1996. As a rule, these sanctions are not critical either for the Belarusian economy, or for the Belarusian authorities, or for bilateral relations between the countries. And many have long doubted the effectiveness of such an instrument of pressure on the Belarusian government. The latest package of EU sanctions, according to experts, is also quite soft and, so far, does not pose a serious threat to the economy and the local political regime. Although it must be admitted that in the past few … [read more]

What do you think of the current street movement in Belarus trying to bring down Lukashenko? The current street movement is the largest we have ever seen in recent history of Belarus. Most of the people involved have no clear understanding of what they really want to achieve, and what is the future they are fighting for. Basically, it all boils down to some vague hope that it is enough to bring down Lukashenko – and everything will be all right. Of course, the people most likely to come to power if the movement wins have a very clear understanding of this future. It is clearly a neo-liberal vision with massive privatization of state property, deindustrialization, “optimization” of the healthcare system etc. It goes without saying that, as leftists, we can’t support these aims. … [read more]

At first glance, the whole story sounds quite unbelievable. In our ostensibly peaceful and harmless alpine republic, the maximum sentence is rarely meted out. A maximum sentence for an act that was obviously politically motivated, to be carried out in occupied Palestine, and which actually wasn’t carried out after all, should raise your eyebrows. The defendant, Abdelkarim Abu Habel, was born in 1990 in Jabaliya in the Gaza Strip. At the age of 14, he was sentenced to nine years in prison by the occupying forces, an Israeli military court. According to media reports, he was denied visits by his father for five years – just one example of the severe conditions in Israeli detention. We don’t know the details about this case, but the general situation in Gaza and the disproportionate … [read more]

Let’s briefly recall the political context of 2004: the US government believed they could “export democracy” to Iraq, but in fact US occupation troops in Iraq faced a growing wave of resistance that had deep popular roots. The Anti-Imperialist Camp initiated a symbolic campaign under the slogan “10 Euros for the Iraqi Resistance”, which was supported by thousands with their names. The campaign intended to demonstrate that resistance to the occupation, including armed resistance, is not only politically and morally legitimate, but also protected by international law. The political activities of the Anti-Imperialist Camp as well as the alliances and cooperations we formed were obviously successful enough to register with the NSA. The Signal Intelligence Directorate with … [read more]

And after the enormous pressure and blackmailing, the EU finally reached its aim, while caring not so much about Ukraine’s nature. On November 24, the President of The European Commission Jan-Claude Juncker stated that in coming weeks Ukraine is set to cancel the timber export ban and president Poroshenko is ready to submit the corresponding bill to the parliament. Jean-Claude Juncker, the President of the European Commission, linked fulfillment of this condition will allow EU to release EUR 600 million macro-financial assistance. A quite disturbing fact is that the decision (though still not approved by the Parliament) was made on the background of the recent statements like: ‘Ukrainian forests are on the verge of extinction’, as reported UaToday (i): “The forests are … [read more]

The EU intended to force Ukraine into a neo-liberal free-trade agreement largely cutting its vital economic tries to Russia. The internal conflict over this capitulation allowed the nationalist bloc to seize state power. As the vast majority of the south-eastern population did not want to be ruled by rightist anti-Russian forces a popular rebellion developed which the Kiev regime put down by military force. In Donbass, the old Soviet industrial heartland, they, however, failed while the popular forces could take over with Russian support. A peaceful solution could be very simple and the Minsk agreement does contain it: autonomy for Donbass. What it does not provide for is democracy for the south-east like Odessa and Charkow which would also vote against Ukrainian nationalism. But Kiev … [read more]

Do not harm the good name of the Robert Bosch Foundation by collaboration with the JNF Dear Professor Rogall, Dear board members of the Robert Bosch Foundation, Dear Minister Schmid, On 3 December 2015, there was a meeting in Stuttgart between the board of directors of the Robert Bosch Foundation (which owns 92% of the multinational automobile supplier Robert- Bosch GmbH), the Jewish National Fund (JNF) and representatives of the Israeli embassy, the Baden-Württemberg State government (Minister for Economic Affairs Nils Schmid) and prominent businesspeople and politicians. According the reports by the Jüdische Allgemeine newspaper on 10 December and the Jewish National Fund itself (on its website), the main topic was joint projects in third countries. The two organizations … [read more]

A break with the Euro-German creditor’s oligarchy will most likely run through Syriza. An anti-EU liberation front will become necessary comprising all forces determined to defend the popular classes rallying the majority. They will need massive international solidarity especially from the anti-systemic forces within the Euro core countries. The International Anti-EU Forum scheduled for the end of June in Athens will be the place to forge this European alliance. The Left Platform of Syriza together with all the Greek forces preparing for the Euro exit are preparing this meeting. Following excerpts of an interview with the Greek minister of reconstruction of production, environment & energy whose original has been published on the website of the ministry. It was originally … [read more]

The signing of Eurogroup’s 20/2/2015 declaration by the SYRIZA-ANELL government signifies a point of no return. During the previous period SYRIZA has been retreating continuously from its programme and his electoral declarations. He has already abandoned debt’s write off and is begging for its extension. He has abandoned the nationalization of the banking system. He has forgotten his declarations about ‘tearing apart the Memorandum’ and already declared that it accepts 70% of it. He has abandoned any notion of confrontation with the EU and its policies and instead, by hiding behind the unrealistic and hypocritical position of ‘no confrontation, no submission’, he accepts a disgraceful compromise with EU’s dominant countries. SYRIZA in the post-electoral negotiations with … [read more]

The elites and their media are however continuing with their campaign, and cry “populism”: they say it is necessary to make cuts, because Greece supposedly had lived beyond its means. And they try to frighten the public: without austerity, there will inevitably be insolvency. What they keep to themselves is, that at the heart of the matter this is a question of distribution. Obviously it is a global matter, but if we restrict the view to the national level. Even if we take as granted the current level of capacity of the Greek economy set by the global frame, there is absolutely no reason that a tiny elite is unflinchingly enriching itself, while the vast majority – and especially the poorest strata – are impoverished. (In fact Greece could be much more productive, and of course … [read more]

The groups already involved at that time coming from France, Spain and Austria were again present. Only the Greek participants could not come for obvious reasons but pledged to continue their participation. (See the Assisi call with the detailed names of the groups involved. ) The Finnish Independence Party joined in. The biggest part of the participants came from Italy. A new development was the strong involvement of activists and personalities from the Five Stars Movement among them also several members of parliament. Members of Rifundazione Comunista as well as several leftist groups were also present. The former voice minister of economy, Stefano Fassina, conveyed greetings. It emerged as a consensus that the next step would be to enlarge the “Leftist Co-ordination against the … [read more]

The attack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo is a further escalation in the unequal confrontation between the West and the Islamic world, which is increasingly taking the form of a kulturkampf or clash of civilizations. We condemn the attack on Charlie Hebdo. At the same time, we do not join the ranks of the united front for the defence of the imperialist West and its “superior civilization”, which is emerging as a reaction to the attack. In France, this front ranges from the secularist left all across to the radical right of Jean-Marie Le Pen. As anti-imperialists, social revolutionaries and “enlightened”, rationally thinking people, we insist: 1. Not to forget the imperialist character of the present world order, which denies the majority of humankind any perspective … [read more]

Demise of the French elites For the EU France is not one country among others. She neither belongs to the southern periphery such as Greece and Portugal, nor the peripheral centre like Italy. Paris used to be the union’s spiritus rector, its very demiurge. It was the French bureaucracy to forge the German-French axis, the European integration with the aim to build a supra-national regime of the capitalist classes. Together with their partners they wanted to institutionally strengthen themselves to wipe out the social and democratic gains achieved by the popular classes after WWII. The goal was a European quasi-state. In this way they wanted at the same time to control the stronger and potentially dangerous German neighbour. The formula: In exchange to adopting the German economic … [read more]

The quintessence: none of the regional and global players want Kurdish self-rule in Northern Syria to survive! The decisive role is being played by Turkey: In Kobani Ankara got the final say. The Turkish calculus is obvious. If Rojava held on it would serve as a precedence enormously strengthening PKK. The pressure on Ankara to grant substantial autonomy also to its own millions of Kurds would increase massively. The US, on its part, is pushing Turkey, pillar state for the NATO, to join their alliance against the Islamic State (IS) thus defining the Jihadis to be the main enemy in the regional civil war. The US air campaign is turning Asad into the lesser evil potentially upgrading his regime even into a partner. This is, however, unacceptable for Turkey’s ruling AKP. For them … [read more]

1) Iraq: The fox set to keep the geese As a start one needs to look at the results of the American war on Iraq: For two decades Washington starved Iraq by a genocidal embargo in order to suppress the worn-out remnants of formerly proud Arab nationalism. In a certain sense we can read it as the continuation of the US strategy of “dual containment” pitting Iraq and Iran against each other by maintaining the balance in the Golf war from 1980 to 1988 and weakening both. After the end of the war the US continued to keep both states in check. Driven by the hubris of the Neocons in 2003 the US went for “regime change” by direct military invasion. The result so far: their arch enemy Iran has been strengthened enormously and is now wielding decisive influence over Baghdad. This … [read more]

Despite all the attempts to silence Ukrainian neo-fascist and far-right groups, they cannot be hidden or whitewashed totally – the reports about rioting Nazi-ultras, neo-fascist battalions and pro-government far-right gangs in modern Ukraine can be met even in mainstream media. They are too notorious and too noticeable so that to turn a blind eye on their leading role in current Ukrainian crisis. Actually, without virulent neo-Nazis the coup in February and current war in East Ukraine couldn’t happen. Some analysts consider Ukrainian neo-Nazis as mere tools of Ukrainian oligarchs, while the other analysts are more worried and state that neo-Nazis wish to seize all the power and push through their dreams about ‘united white Europe’, uniting with their western colleagues into … [read more]

A Call for Solidarity May 8 is celebrated all over the world as a day of victory over Nazism that caused millions of losses and much suffering to many people of the world. However, now we see that neo-Nazism raises its head again. Far-right groups and parties are striving to power in many countries. Their members unleash real terror against the dissenters, migrants, the ‘others’, leftwing and anti-fascist activists. We have to stop the rise fascism again – that’s our duty to stop it till it is not too late. On May 2, 2014 in Ukrainian city Odessa neo-Nazis and far-right groups unleashed a real massacre. Far-right paramilitaries burned alive and beaten to death 46 local residents in the ‘House of Trade-Unions’. They brutally finished off the wounded, shouting ‘Glory … [read more]

Exchange among the people – not power-brokering First of all, let us recall the aim of the “All Sides Consultation for a Political Solution” which took place in the “Peace Castle Schlaining” close to Vienna, Austria, from 7-10 March, 2014. The idea was to give a voice to Syrian society in its full diversity, voices emerging from the people who have been silenced and excluded by the powerful. It was not intended to hold negotiations between the conflicting sides and their global and regional sponsors as has failed in Geneva. A consultative forum of personalities not directly representing the sides involved but indeed representing the societal richness was called upon to explore ways to stop the catastrophic bloodshed. Thus we were not in search of sophisticated and … [read more]