Banning Bikers: The Double Standards Of NGOs

by Andrew Korybko

Germany and Poland’s rejection of visa issuance for the Night Wolves patriotic bikers is politically motivated and speaks loudly about the West’s double standards towards NGOs. The group wanted to partake in a commemorative pilgrimage across Eastern Europe en route to Berlin in order to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Victory Day, and they were entirely transparent about their routes and itinerary. In the context of the New Cold War, it was obvious that if they would have been granted access to the EU, they’d have been watched over like a hawk and had every one of their moves monitored, thus ensuring that none of the ‘provocations’ that the Western mainstream media scared their citizens about would have had any chance of coming to pass even if the bikers wanted them to (which they didn’t).

So what in effect happened was that the EU fear mongered about and banned non-political private citizens who were planning to pay homage to the tens of millions of Europeans that perished in World War II. The Night Wolves are essentially a Russian NGO, in that they’re literally a non-governmental organization, meaning that the EU banned a foreign NGO at the last minute after embarrassingly exposing its members to hours-long interrogations and searches. The EU was so against the Russian NGO that they wouldn’t even allow them across the border under the Orwellian observation that they obviously would have been exposed to during their entire trip. Let that sink in for a moment, and then imagine if the shoe was on the other foot.

Russia has never treated a foreign NGO in this manner, not even those which are politically oriented and clearly engaged in regime change destabilizations. Rather, Moscow simply stipulates that NGOs receiving financing from abroad need to register as foreign agents in order to legally conduct their affairs in the country. It doesn’t force their members to undergo humiliating searches and interrogations at border crossings, and the harassment techniques practiced by the EU against the Night Wolves are noticeably absent in the case of their Polish counterparts’ yearly commemorative visit to Smolensk and Katyn. Russia doesn’t treat any foreign political, social, or historical NGO members in the same hostile manner as the EU treats Russians, nor does Moscow ban private individuals like the EU has de-facto done against the bikers. Despite this, Russia is constantly smeared in the Western press as being ‘authoritarian’, ‘xenophobic’, and ‘nationalistic’, but the irony is that these labels actually describe the West itself, as is clearly evidenced from their treatment of the Night Wolves.

In fact, the EU epitomizes all the socio-political negativities that it accuses Russia of, and actually behaves worse than it ever accused Moscow of acting when it comes to the Brussels’ own practice in this regard. It’s not the pot calling the kettle black, but more like a burned-out kettle having the audacity to level that label against a stainless steel pot. Such a comparison is delusion and devoid of reality, but the EU’s hypocritical criticism of Moscow’s NGO treatment testifies to the ideological rigor in which politics is practiced in the EU. The only reason that such a narrative is even espoused and surprisingly believed by many in Europe is because of the heavy information war that Brussels is waging against its own citizens.

People living in the EU are brought up in the belief of their own civilizational exceptionalism, not unlike the American indoctrination that has been ongoing for decades already (the proxy learns from its master, evidently). From the cradle to the grave, they’re led to believe that Europe is the proselytizing ‘force of good’ in the world, and that its people have an obligation to ‘civilize’ their Russian and Arab neighbors, including through the use of EuroMaidan and “Arab Spring” Color Revolutions. Solely through the narrow dialectic belief that one’s ideas represent the only ‘true good’ in the world can the hypocrisy of the EU’s treatment of Russian NGOs and private citizens (to say nothing of Syrians) appear ‘acceptable’ to the European populace, while the comparative lack of harassment by Russian and Syrian authorities can be used to fuel a ‘human rights’ crusade against those two countries that continues to this day.

Source: The Vineyard of the Saker 30-04-2015

Belarus leader says tension between great powers at Cold War level

The president noted that Belarus remains "a place of peace, calm and order"

MINSK, April 29. /TASS/. Tension between world powers has reached the level of Cold War, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Wednesday.

"Who would have thought that today bombs will drop and shells will explode in neighboring Ukraine, that the smell of big war will linger in Europe again, that tension between great powers will reach the level of Cold War," Lukashenko said.

The president noted that Belarus remains "a place of peace, calm and order." "Unfortunately, some people forgot the lessons of the Great Patriotic War, the 70th anniversary of which we will celebrate in a few days," Lukashenko said.

The main task now is to maintain peace, order and independence, the Belarusian president said. "The fate of Belarus is determined not at the front or in squares, but in the economy. Economy is the guarantor of our independence," Lukashenko said.

Source: ITAR-TASS 29-04-2015

Western Ukraine Ready for Secession?

Former Interior Minister and leading Maidan luminary reports spread of secessionist sentiments in Maidan’s political heartland as war weariness and disillusion grows.

Alexander Mercouris

The following short piece that appeared on the Fort Russ website could represent a turning point in the Ukrainian conflict.

Western Ukraine (the region that was once known as Galicia) has borne a disproportionate share of the burden of the war.  

This is because Western Ukraine is the heartland of the Ukrainian nationalist movement.  Maidan oriented parties typically get around 90% of the votes in elections there.

Conscripts from Western Ukraine are therefore considered especially reliable, which is why they have been recruited into the Ukrainian army in disproportionate numbers.

This has been a heavy burden to bear for a region that accounts for less than a fifth of Ukraine’s population, and there have been increasing reports of anti-conscription protests, some of which appear to have taken a violent turn.

At the same time Western Ukraine has been caught up in the general disillusionment with the Maidan regime that has been spreading across Ukraine as the economy disintegrates and life for people becomes harsher.

In light of this it is not surprising if secessionist feelings are starting to spread in Western Ukraine.  

The region has a distinct identity, having only been finally united with the rest of Ukraine following the Soviet conquest in 1944.  Not only is Ukrainian rather than Russian the main spoken language but in contrast to eastern or central Ukraine the local religion is Uniate rather than Orthodox.  

The region is large enough, and distinct enough, to form a viable independent state and it seems that option is becoming increasingly attractive.

The source for the claim that secessionist feeling is now spreading in Western Ukraine is an authoritative one.  
Yury Lutsenko is not only a former Interior Minister and one of Tymoshenko’s closest associates, but was a key Maidan leader during the protests.  Between 2010 and 2013, during Yanukovych’s Presidency, he was jailed on forgery and embezzlement charges.  As was inevitably the case in the highly polarised conditions of Ukrainian politics, Lutsenko’s conviction and imprisonment was widely assumed to be a political act by Yanukovych to eliminate a rival.  The result was that Lutsenko’s imprisonment elevated him to a status just behind Tymoshenko as Ukraine’s most celebrated prisoner.

Since his release Lutsenko’s political star has waned but he remains nonetheless an important player in Ukrainian politics.  He has recently served as an adviser to Ukrainian President Poroshenko and he is now the parliamentary leader of Poroshenko’s faction in the Ukrainian parliament.

If someone as senior as Lutsenko says that secessionist sentiments are spreading in Western Ukraine, it is likely to be true.

In one respect however Lutsenko is wrong.  He implies that secessionist sentiments are something new in Western Ukraine.

In fact Western Ukraine declared autonomy from the rest of Ukraine in February 2014 during the Maidan protests, when it still appeared as if Yanukovych might be able to ride them out.  

That secessionist impulse was checked when Yanukovych’s fall appeared to render it superfluous. However the so-called “Self Reliance” party” of Lvov mayor Andriy Sadoviy, which came third in the November parliamentary elections with 11% of the vote, appears to have emerged out of it.

If a secessionist movement ever gains significant support in Western Ukraine, then it is difficult to see the present government in Kiev holding on.  Western Ukraine is the heartland of its support.   The option of using force to suppress “separatism” in Western Ukraine (as has been done in the Donbass) simply isn’t there.

If Western Ukraine secedes Ukraine will unravel and the Maidan revolution will be finished.
————————–

This article first appeared in the Fort Russ website. 

Ordinary people living in Western Ukraine, are now seriously discussing the need to divide the country.
This was stated by the former head of the Interior Ministry of Ukraine, one of the closest associates of Yulia Tymoshenko, Yuriy Lutsenko.

“This weekend I was in Western Ukraine - in Ternopil, Lviv, in Lutsk, and Rivne. I saw the situation among the people. I was mostly in bookstores and talking with sellers. With intensity I heard the question numerous times: ‘Isn’t it time already to divide the country?’ - I’ve never heard of,” he said, according to “Regnum”.

“Today, they begin to say that the country they can not go on living together - or put up with each other, or resolve things. God forbid that politicians would talk about it, but it has begun to be spoken of among the common people “- also added Lutsenko.

Source: Russia Insider 28-04-2015

Russian bikers participating in Moscow-Berlin motocross reach Polish border

More than 100 Polish Katyn Raid bikers are waiting for Russian motorcyclists to cross the border

WARSAW, April 27. /TASS/. Bikers from Russia’s Night Wolves club have reached the border with Poland on Monday. The bikers participating in the Moscow-Berlin motocross dedicated to the 70th anniversary of Victory Day are now undergoing border control procedures.

"Border guards will act in compliance with existing legislature," a press secretary of the border control department told TASS, adding that they will check the bikers’ documents.

Polish media reported earlier that border guards will scrupulously check every Russian on a motorcycle, look for Night Wolves badges in order to prevent bikers from the club from entering the country as individual motorcyclists.

According to a preliminary plan, participants of the motocross will head for Warsaw after crossing the border. In the Polish capital, they will lay wreaths at the Soviet Military Cemetery, at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and at the Volyn Park.

More than 100 Polish Katyn Raid bikers are waiting for Russian motorcyclists to cross the border. "If Russian motorcyclists are attacked, it will be a disgrace for us. In Poland, all bikers are our guests. We must help them and protect them," head of Katyn Raid biker club Viktor Vengzhin said.

On April 25, Russian motorcyclists started Moscow-Berlin motocross which will pass through Minsk, Brest, Wroclaw, Brno, Bratislava, Vienna, Munich and Prague.

The Polish authorities have not allowed Russian bikers from the "Night Wolves" club to ride through the Polish territory, saying the motocross represents "a political provocation." The decision came in spite of remarks by Poland’s former Prime Minister Leszek Miller who called the step "a political paranoia."

The Polish Interior Ministry sent a note to the Russian Embassy in Poland "containing information on refusing entry to the territory of Poland to an organized group of motorcyclists, including representatives of the Night Wolves club."

President of the Night Wolves club Alexander Zaldostanov said this will not affect the motocross.

Source: ITAR-TASS 27-04-2015

Ukrainian analysis by the Saker: no hope for peace left

Today I will begin by quoting in full two posts from the blog of Colonel Cassad (we owe this translation to “SA” who has done it especially for this analysis literally overnight!):

About the intensity of the western “Voentorg”

Instructors from Canada have arrived to train Ukrainian security officers
The authorities of the Donetsk National Republic announce an increase in the number of foreign military instructors in the territory controlled by Ukraine.

- Today there are an immense number of instructors from different countries operating there. For example, 200 people came from Canada, and there are English and others. Now just counting those legally in the Ukrainian territory there are about 1,500 military instructors, who are not themselves fighting, but are instructing and training others. And this does not include illegal instructors, mercenaries, and special agents, – as Speaker of the National Council of the DNR Andrey Purgin described to the correspondent from RG. Judging by his words, foreign experts are conducting training in military science for members of sabotage groups and territorial battalions, who already “have their hands up to the elbow in blood”.

- Also there are mercenaries who are directly fighting on the side of the Ukrainian security officers. Generally they come from Georgia and join territorial battalions, which by the way is absolutely not permitted from the point of view of Ukrainian law. I do not know who is paying their salary. After all generally territorial battalions receive little, live on foraging, and engage in robberies, – says Andrey Purgin .

Let us remember that it was reported earlier that the Ukrainian side threw under Volnovakha 70 American mercenaries from the private US military company Academi.

“According to available data, on the territory controlled by the VSU, specifically in Volnovakha, the presence of 70 representatives of the private military company Academi was revealed. This company was named Blackwater previously”, – said the representative of the Ministry of Defence of DNR Edward Basurin. He also explained that mercenaries from this company carry out the orders of the US State Department at flashpoints, and are engaged in arms trafficking.

PS. Gradually there is a natural increase in foreign military presence, in light of the fact that the situation more and more clearly begins to remind one of scenarios like the Korean War. Just as in the case of Russian support of the DNR and LNR, the American “Voentorg” operation with support of allies and satellites, has two levels – legal and illegal.

At the legal level we observe:

1. The appearance of Instructors, who train officers and staff within the story about “doctrines” and “staff preparation”.
2. Information transfer from the American satellite group “allegedly with restricted clearance”.
3. Deliveries of outfits (uniforms, bullet-proof vests, {razgruzki}, helmets).
4. Deliveries of special devices (thermal visors, night vision devices, target indicators)
5. Deliveries of special equipmente (countermortar radar, REB devices, armored vehicles)
6. Concentration in Eastern Europe of mechanized units of the army of the USA.

At the illegal level we observe:
1. The active operation of private military companies (Academi, ASBA Otago, Greystone, Green Groop)
2. Illegal deliveries of small arms from Eastern and Western Europe.
3. Illegal deliveries of armored equipment from Eastern Europe.
4. Development of information and reconnaissance infrastructure on the basis of being state agencies of the Ukraine or under cover of the international organizations of the OSCE type.
5. Operation of instructors and military advisers whose presence in Ukraine is not officially announced and not revealed.

From what does not yet have obvious confirmations:
1. Artillery deliveries from countries of Eastern Europe.
2. Armored equipment deliveries from countries of Western Europe.

Basic channels of distribution of foreign military influence:
1. Airfields of Southeast Ukraine on which supply and transfer of special staff is engaged by military transport aircraft of the USA.
2. Railway junctions of Western Ukraine through which pass transit units with arms and ammunition from Eastern Europe.
3. Airfields of Central and Western Ukraine to which are delivered legal deliveries of equipment and technique, and as the legalized staff – instructors, “inspectors”, and “observers”.
4. The Odessa port is used for illegal arms supplies by sea, as well as for illegal arms traffic.
The primary countries involved in military support to the junta: USA and Poland.
The primary objectives which the military support achieves, is enhancing the level of fighting capacity of the VSU and the controllability of the progress of the war. Therefore the basic structural changes for VSU are associated not so much with deliveries of arms (which as a rule are outdated), but with a change of organizational logistics, reconnaissance, information, and command structures, which should increase the effectiveness of operations of the VSU.

Overall, the situation with foreign military man presence continues to develop and becomes more and more systemic. The fruits of the foreign “voentorg” operation may begin to be evident by July-August. At this stage the interior transformation of the VSU is in process and goes rather slowly due to irregularity of organizational structures and low level of command structures, to which is added a high level of corruption, misunderstanding by a considerable portion of the officer corps of the requirements of modern warfare, low level of technical preparation of staff when operating with unfamiliar technology. But one should not be deceived, these are problems which are surmountable to a certain extent, and with which military advisers and instructors are now properly engaged. As a result, the USA and its allies are trying to remake the army of the junta in the course of the war for its own needs and in order to resolve the necessary issues. For this reason they must not be at war on the front line, and therefore at this stage of war, you will hardly see the American Marines or any mechanized unit in the first line. 

They can appear only in hardened scenarios in the Ukraine section.

For now, “semi-legal voentorg” is sufficient, which in principle reflects the line of Obama’s administration for long-term opposition without direct military involvement of the USA. Hawks wish to add to the above-stated points open delivery of American lethal weaponry and more active involvement of the Pentagon in this war. This all proceeds against the background of low and medium-intensity fighting (both sides are actively using heavy artillery and tanks), which in fact began on April 12, and I do not think this will stop, since even the very first point on a “ceasefire” is de facto not being carried out. One must not even speak of the “withdrawal of heavy arms”. As a whole, the foreign military presence will gradually the nature of the ongoing war, which will become more and more systematic, organized, and centralized, from both sides. It is already not a war of semi-deployed VSU with the militia. This is a war of regular armies, trained and continuing to be trained by military advisers and instructors.

Situation on the front as of April 23rd

 1. Military operations as before are low-intensity on most of the front, and medium-intensity in a number of sites – Bakhmutka, Peski, and now also under Schastye. High-intensity military operations are primarily under Shirokino, where practically the entire spectrum of arms is being used.

2. Shellings of cities continue, and first of all the front regions of Donetsk are exposed to junta artillery attacks. There are no serious[ly injured] victims among the civilian population. Although the shellings are systematic, their intensity varies from mid-range to low.

3. DNR military intelligence has reported that concentration of junta groupings is complete and they are prepared for approach. The basic areas of concentration of the battle groups are all the same – no substantive changes in location of the opponent were noted.  No withdrawal of heavy weapons is recorded, quite the opposite.

4. For about a week the VSN is in a state of heightened combat readiness, and a considerable proportion of heavy equipment is already moved into position. In the LNR, engineering operations at sites of possible VSU attacks are continuing.

Overall, after medium-intensity large-scale operations resumed April 12, the sides have continued preparatory work for high-intensity large-scale operations against the background of diplomatic maneuvering, and this is not a secret to both sides, who regularly accuse each other that the enemy is beginining to attack first.

Analysis:
There is very little doubt left in anybody’s mind that the junta will resume a full-scale attack on Novorussia.  Likewise, it appears that any hopes for a weakening of the US and/or European support for the Nazi junta are now dead.  If the long string of murders of political opponents including a well-known and iconic figure like Oles Buzina shocked *nobody* (least of all the millions of European “Charlies”!) then probably nothing will.  

Furthermore, there are no signs of another “Maidan” which could topple the junta.  Yes, there are protests here and there, but nothing which could seriously threaten the regime.  To the contrary, all the signs are indicating that the US is holding the Ukraine in a very firm grip and that the predictable US plan is to restart a full scale war between the Nazi-occupied Ukraine and Novorussia with the option to involve Russia (which has been the plan all along).

The regime is clearly “going for broke” and not even pretending to solve any of the innumerable problems of Nazi-occupied Ukraine.  Both Poroshenko and the Ukie Rada, apparently, are spending all their time and efforts into further provoking Russia, by seriously discussing a law to nationalize all Russian assets in the Ukraine, re-writing history books, adopting resolutions saying that Russia has invaded the Ukraine, etc.  Nazi death squads, now trained by the USA, are now supposedly crucifying and burning “separatists” alive, while the US Gauleiter in Kiev tweets photos of Russian air defense system taking in Moscow in 2013, as proof of a Russian invasion of the Ukraine.

In the meantime, the US is doing exactly what it always does: it sends in US forces to train local death squads while building a “coalition of the willing” (US+UK+Canada+Poland), to do with no form of mandate or permission, that which it could not get approved legally (by the UN or even by NATO!).  It appears that the debate inside the US “deep state” about the risks of the current strategy is over and that the Neocons have prevailed.

In practical terms this means that we are back to “square 1″: the question is now “can Novorussia withstand the Nazi onslaught alone with only the help of the “Voentorg” and “Northern Wind” or will Russia be forced to intervene?”

Honestly?  I don’t know.  And neither does anybody else.

By all accounts, the junta forces have become better but so have the Novorussians.  Zakharchenko has announced that the recent voluntary mobilization was successful at 110% of the expected, which sounds very good, in particular with only volunteers, but it does not really tell us if Novorussia will have the 100’000 men under arms, by June, as was promised by the same Zakharchenko.  Also, there appears to be a lack of equipment for such a large force, but then again, judging by what happened earlier this winter, we can expect the Russian Voentorg to fully open it’s spigot, as soon as the Russian intelligence services conclude that an Nazi attack is inevitable.

Now, let’s be honest here, the “military aid” offered by the “USUKCNDPL” coalition, is bordering on useless, as is the gear shipped so far, to the the junta forces.  This “assistance” is much more about appearing to be doing something grand than actually getting anything done.  Not only does it take a lot of time to train any force, (un-)natural selection has done a much better job than any US “advisor” to increase the quality of the junta forces.  Still, the advantage in morale and tactical skills should remain on the Novorussian side.

Always keep in mind that the real goal of the next Ukronazi offensive will not be to defeat Novorussia, but to pull Russia in and then be defeated by Russia. Such a defeat at the hands of the Russian military will probably provide NATO with a justification for its existence for the next 50 years and completely crush any European desires to rid itself from the EU’s current status of “voiceless US colony”.  Should that happen, the much awaited “new Cold War” will be again in full swing, the US military-industrial complex in complete bliss and the US population suitably “re-terrified” by the next “global enemy”.

There are some indications that more and more European politicians are beginning to understand the risks, but they are too weak to meaningfully oppose the AngloZionist hegemony.

Having a war in Europe on a regular basis has always been the linchpin of British foreign policy and this “tradition” has been fully passed on to the US “successor empire” (which immensely benefited from both WWI and WWII).  What the Americans want is plainly simple: a major war in Europe, but also one contained to Europe.

War therefore appears to be inevitable.  How big it will be now only depends on women and men defending Novorussia against the Ukronazis.

The Saker

Source: The Vineyard of the Saker 26-04-2015