Judging from Western media, one might think nothing much is happening in Ukraine. Facts are wildly different as we will discuss momentarily.
Rush to Judgment
As a prelude to current events, please recall the hype when Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was gunned down in March. Western media rushed to judgment. Heck, even friends who should know better rushed to judgment.
Every Western news agency, even some I would have expected better of, was quick to point the finger at Putin.
I commented on Boris Nemtsov on March 6 in Rush to Judgment and Extremely Inaccurate Reporting.
With that backdrop, let’s turn our attention to some recent events.
Death Squads Kill Four News Reporters in Ukraine
On April 17, Death Squads Killed Four News Reporters in Ukraine in 24 Hours.
Over the last two days in Ukraine, there have been four prominent killings. On Wednesday, it was former member of Parliament from the Regions Party, leader of the All-Ukrainian Officers’ Union, and one of the founders of the AntiMaidan, Oleg Kalashnikov. On Thursday, it was journalist Sergei Sukhobok, one of the founders of the ProUA and Obkom websites. That same day, former editor of the major newspaper Segodnia, well-known journalist Oles’ Buzina, was shot dead in his own backyard; and the body of editor-in-chief of the Netishinskii Herald, Olga Moroz, was found dead in her apartment, bearing signs of a violent death.
Three journalists in one day. Four political figures in 24 hours. Where is the human rights crowd? Where is the international community? Where are the declarations of Merkel, Obama, Cameron, etc.? Where is the wave of indignation from the Western press? Where?
Page 18
What did those journalists have in common? They were all against the war effort or considered “pro-Russian”.
Had four anti-Putin journalists bit the dust in Russia, this would have been front page news for six straight days.
The New York Times devoted exactly one paragraph to the Ukraine killings on page A18 of the Friday, April 17th edition.
A Ukrainian journalist with a vocal pro-Russian stance was killed in Kiev, the capital, by unidentified gunmen on Thursday, a day after a pro-Russian lawmaker was killed in a similar attack. The journalist, Oles Buzina, 45, publicly opposed the protests that led to the ouster of President Viktor F. Yanukovych in 2014. The current president, Petro O. Poroshenko, called for a swift investigation and declared that the recent killings were “conscious provocations” intended to “destabilize domestic politics in Ukraine.” President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said Ukraine’s government was allowing a campaign of political violence against supporters of the previous government.
Note the slant by Poroshenko. Supposedly Putin is killing pro-Russia supporters!
This is what constitutes “reporting” in the US.
Wakeup Call From Poland
Please consider Polish General ‘Calls Back Support’ of Ukraine over Nationalist Glorification
Retired General Waldemar Skrzypczak, an influential figure in the Polish military, says he withdraws all words of support for Ukraine due to the country’s sliding towards nationalism. Earlier he advocated supplying heavy weapons to Kiev.
The angry U-turn in attitudes towards the Ukrainian government was published on Friday in the Gazeta Prawna newspaper. Skrzypczak said he is outraged with a law that the Ukrainian parliament passed hours after Polish President Bronisław Komorowski spoke before the MPs to express support for Ukraine.
The law gave benefits to all people who fought for Ukraine’s independence throughput history. Those include fighters of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, or UPA, which was responsible for mass killings of Polish citizens in 1943-44. The tragic events are known as Volhynian slaughter in Poland.
“I wonder on what foundation is Ukrainian President Poroshenko building the future of Ukraine. Bloodthirsty nationalism? It’s frightening. I have long been telling that Ukrainians must get rid of nationalism, because otherwise cooperation with Poland would be very difficult if possible at all,” he said.
As early as January, Skrzypczak was calling on the Polish government to send some armor from its reserves to Ukraine to help its government ‘fight against Russia.’
Sanitized US News
The above was from RT, but the translation would be the same from any source. Don’t like RT? How about Newsweek?
Please note that Newsweek (Polish Edition) reports Poland Claims US Is Responsible for Destabilization in Ukraine.
This is an English translation courtesy of Watching America Published in Newsweek (Poland) on 16 March 2015 by Marta Ciastoch Translated from Polish by Justyna Demuth.
“The U.S. has spent $5 billion on the Ukrainian revolution, the snipers who shot Euromaidan protesters came from the West, the annexation of Crimea was a justified action, and Nemtsov was killed by Americans,” claims Janusz Korwin-Mikke, a Polish member of the European Union, in the interview for a Ukrainian TV program “Shuster Live.”
“Most citizens of Crimea were, by their own democratic choice, in favor of joining Russia,” argued the Polish KORWIN party leader. He emphasized that the existence of an independent Ukraine is critical for Poland, but whether Crimea remains a part of Ukraine or not, does not really matter. “Ukraine could exist without Crimea, and would, had not the U.S. invested $5 billion to destabilize it,” says Mr. Korwin-Mikke, adding that Ukraine’s loss of Crimea, followed by the loss of Donetsk and Luhansk, is a result of U.S. actions. Mr. Korwin-Mikke appealed to Ukrainians in order to make them realize the true intentions of the USA, which pretends to be allied with Ukraine, but, in fact, uses it against its own conflict with Russia.
The US is supporting neo-Nazis and murderous thugs in Ukraine because we prefer those thugs over Russia.
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot
