The following letter was sent by Roger Annis to CBC Radio One’s weekly, Saturday political affairs program The House.
June 28, 2014
Hello CBC The House,
In his interview today with Minister of Foreign Affairs John Baird, your host broached the subject of Ukraine. Mr. Solomon mentioned briefly the refugee
situation in eastern Ukraine, saying that “some” residents of the region have fled to Russia for refuge. That’s an understatement. There is a violent, political cleansing of eastern Ukraine taking place through a civil war being prosecuted by the right wing government in Kiev. The United Nations high commissioner for refugees said yesterday that more than 100,000 people have fled from Ukraine to Russia this year.
Fascists militias that played an important role in the ‘Maidan’ protests in late 2013 and early 2014 have greatly expanded in recent months. They are prodding and fighting alongside the Ukraine conscript army in the east because army recruits have frequently refused orders to fire upon their fellow citizens.
All this is backed by the NATO militaries, including the provision of weapons and training.
Western media was providing a modicum of news and insight into events in Ukraine earlier this year, importantly with journalists on the scene. But since the plebiscite vote in Crimea three months ago to secede from Ukraine (a shrewd and perceptive move by the population there, considering the civil war launched soon afterward against eastern Ukraine), all we get in the news now is regurgitated versions of the NATO propaganda offensive. NATO tells us that Russia has aggressive designs on Ukraine and is poised to pounce militarily. That is belied by the facts; Russia’s reactions to the militarization of eastern and southern Ukraine has been entirely defensive in character. The NATO propaganda ‘disappears’ the aggressions of a Kiev regime which is bombing, shelling and attacking cities and towns in the southeast.
Considering that no MPs in the House of Commons are questioning Canada’s support for the civil war regime in Kiev, I don’t know if that means a program titled ‘The House’ is in a position to question the tri-partisan consensus there. The silence or complicity of MPs in the face of the rise of militarism and fascism in Ukraine is a moral stain on Canada’s body politic. Much of western, mainstream media stands compromised, too.
You can read important compilations of news and analysis about the situation in Ukraine on my website, including my own articles: http://www.rogerannis.com/category/ukraine-crimea-russia/
and, more importantly, those of Russian and Ukrainian writers: http://www.rogerannis.com/category/reports-from-ukraine-and-russia/.
Sincerely,
Roger Annis
