Totalitarian Democracy - The Ongoing War in Ukraine and War Measures Act in Canada

 

By: Stewart Brennan

[This essay, was published and shared at "Global Research"]

Ukraine Feb -20th, 2022

When our so-called western leaders tell you that Russia will invade the Ukraine and that they know exactly what day Russia will invade the Ukraine, without providing any evidence, you know that the western powers are up to something very sinister.

The latest chapter in the American propaganda show went to a new level of insanity on Feb 3rd 2022 when the U.S. State Department’s Ned Price announced that the US government had evidence that Russia was fabricating a “false flag attack” [01] to make it look like Ukraine will attack the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. However, when Ned Price was confronted on providing that evidence by AP reporter Matt Lee, the conversation became a “Who’s on First” Abbot and Costello monolog of "where’s the evidence”, “I just told you” "No you didn't"… "Well, where is it then?" "I just delivered it"…

Outside of this comedy show, there hasn’t been much else in the way of questioning the US government, as mainstream media just echo’s whatever the government states.

What our western governments and mainstream media are not telling you is that the Neo-Nazi forces that western NATO countries are supporting in Ukraine have amassed 125,000 soldiers (for over a year), and are preparing to launch a blitzkrieg invasion and genocide in the Donbass region where 4.6 million Russian speaking people live.

Over the past eight years, since 2014, the Ukrainian army has been strengthened, supported and trained by NATO countries including the US, Britain and Canada in using western weapons, which continue to be used on the Russian speaking people, in the towns and villages of the Donbass region [02] (Donetsk & Lugansk).

For those that are unaware or geographically challenged, Donetsk and Lugansk are independent republics that broke away from Ukraine and share a border with Russia…and for those that are Historically challenged, Russia fought for its very survival, losing 27 million people during World War II against the very same anti-Russian Nazi mind set that NATO supports in Ukraine today.

The reality of Ukraine, as opposed to the propaganda of western governments and media, is that shortly after the Ukraine coup by western supported fascists in 2014, belligerent elements within the fascist coup government in Kiev vowed to remove everything Russian including the language and people from Ukraine, which by their statements, included the Lugansk, Donetsk and the Crimean Peninsula where citizens in fear for their lives, due to violent incidents by fascist elements in places like Odessa, [03] held referendums. Both Lugansk & Donetsk voted overwhelmingly to become independent [04] while Crimea voted overwhelmingly to rejoin Russia [05] by a 96.7% margin.

So, when Western leaders say they know the date that Russia might intervene in Ukraine, it is because western leaders are partners with the fascist regime in Kiev and privy to information through violent elements they support within the Ukrainian regime, where it is more than evident that the Fascist Ukrainian forces will unleash their belligerence (Azov Brigades) on the communities they’ve sworn to obliterate.

Let’s be clear here, the fascist power structure that still remains in Ukraine, was put in place by a 2014 coup funded and supported by the USA, Britain, Canada and many European nations. The western political leaders and their blood thirsty shouts of glee when the elected Yanukovich Ukraine government was toppled, was all that the western mainstream media showed to its viewers. The western mainstream media did not investigate what was really going on in the region nor did they present a historical overview to its viewers, and they certainly did not show that our western governments supported the obliteration and genocidal operation by the elements within the Ukrainian regime on the Russian speaking Ukrainians by the fascists and neo Nazi’s they supported in Ukraine. However, for those who did not see what really happened during that time, I took the liberty of making a Video playlist [06] for historical purposes of all the events that unfolded in Ukraine during that time. For those who would like to learn the truth about recent history, this playlist is for you.

Western Support of Fascism

The American, Canadian and European leaders that support these fascists and Neo-Nazi’s in Ukraine, confirm what our western leaders are…I mean, who could support fascism but a fascist.

Even though the political parties or leaders in charge of our western governments have changed since 2014, government positions remain exactly the same as their predecessors. They support the successively violent fascist regime and the genocide of millions of Russian speaking people in the Ukraine.

For a clear picture of western fascism, all one needs to do is to look at what has been going on in Ottawa Ontario Canada from the end of January through February 2022, to see the totalitarian policies of the Canadian Liberal minority government as they unleashed the “War Measures Act” now known as the “Emergencies Act” [07], to destroy, break up and punish peaceful Canadian protesters for daring to defy government mask mandates, mandatory inoculations, and the absolute removal of our Rights and Freedoms.

The Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, the minority Liberal government and all those supporting him, including the N.D.P. under Jagmeet Singh are attacking and labeling Canadians as terrorists. In reality, the protesters are peaceful and exercising their constitutional rights by calling for an end to the two years of totalitarian government measures, restrictions and unnecessary obliteration of our rights and freedoms.

Canadians from across the country, from different political spectrums want an end to the insane mandates but the government answered them by labeling them terrorists and invoking the “War Measures Act”. The government did not even attempt to talk to the protesters, instead they unleashed hell upon them.

The Canadian government is viewed, by peace loving Canadians, as an out-of-control tyranny, but to fascists, this is normal government behavior that didn’t go far enough or act fast enough.

Canada has fallen and outed itself as a fascist nation, and there is no mainstream political party that is untouched by this totalitarian mentality, they are all authoritarian that fall inline with foreign economic interests as those in Ukraine do. It’s hard to even call our politicians and mainstream media Canadian anymore because they do not represent Canadian interests or ideals, they represent totalitarian dictatorship.

The same thing can be said about all western governments that support the belligerent elements in Ukraine over the people of the Donbass region. They’ve all ganged up using their NATO fist on the people of the Donbass region and more specifically, Russia, while also supressing their own populations with totalitarian suppression and human rights violations under the guise of health and security mandates.

In the past few weeks, NATO and U.S. government officials have stated that they have intelligence that Russia will invade Ukraine. American president and leader of the free world…I mean, the leader of the Fascist world, Joe Biden, initially gave Feb 16th as the invasion date, but then corrected himself after the day came and went two days later to then give Feb 20th, 2022 as the new date for the imminent Russian invasion. We all know that Joe Biden is suffering from dementia (most likely Alzheimer’s), so it’s possible he got the date wrong, or simply screwed up on what is clearly being orchestrated by others behind the scenes.

“We have reason to believe that Russian forces are planning to and intend to attack Ukraine in the coming week — in the coming days,” - American President Joe Biden said [08].

When pressed about what evidence the White House might have on Moscow’s decision to invade Ukraine, Biden declined to elaborate, saying only that “We have a significant intelligence capability.”

To add fuel to their propaganda fire, the US, UK, NATO and others, evacuated their embassies and offices in Kiev stating that the Russians were planning an attack.

The Unfolding Story on the Ground

On February 19th, the massed Ukraine army started bombing the Lugansk and Donetsk region. See Here [09a] and Here [09b]. In response, the leaders of the breakaway republics issued evacuation orders to their populations [10] and have called upon all men under the age of 55 that are capable of carrying guns, to remain and defend their homes. [11]

Bomb shells launched from the Ukraine also landed in Russia. [12] Which put Russia on high alert and a defensive position running nuclear war drills with Belarus. [13] Tensions rose to the breaking point yet still NATO and the western fascist leaders like Joe Biden, Justin Trudeau and Boris Johnson stoke the war drums with Russia and a Russian invasion?

At some point, Russia will have no choice but to get involved to protect the 4.6 million Russian speaking people living in the region if the shelling of Lugansk and Donetsk continues to escalate.

So, this is not a Russian invasion, but a dangerous provocation being played out by belligerent elements in the Ukraine which of course are supported by our fascist western politicians.

Dmitry Orlov wrote a very good analysis of the Ukraine / Russia situation last year titled “Putin's Ukrainian Judo Revisited” [14], and concluded that Russia doesn’t have to invade Ukraine to protect the people of the Donbass, they could simply absorb the population by giving them Russian passports as they’ve already done for half a million people from the region already. He also mentioned, correctly I might add, that Russia also has weapons with sufficient range to launch from within Russian soil if they are needed to help protect the people of the Donbass without crossing the border.

I would add that the Russians also have satellite and drone surveillance while also possessing more superior weapons than the Americans and Europeans.

Final Word

As a Canadian citizen, no matter which western country I look at these days, be it Canada, Australia, the United States, New Zealand, Britain, France, Germany, Austria or Ukraine, I see a consolidated totalitarian mindset that includes mainstream media who promotes the fascist totalitarian ideology of our governments over their own people, while also stoking the flames of war on citizens of the Donbass.

If anything, the invocation of the “War Measures Act” and violent, dystopian police crackdown on peaceful people in Ottawa has certainly opened the eyes of millions of Canadians but also billions of people around the world who are watching fascism unfold in Canada and their own nations.

The propaganda and buildup of hostilities against Russia and the Donbass region, by the same western nations, is also in plain view right now and so we have reached a crossroads that surely must help change the direction of where we’ve all been heading. These events are a serious wake up call to people around the world and hopefully begins the changes needed to reverse course.

I could talk about the old Russian gas pipelines that run through a belligerent Ukraine, the new Nord Stream II gas pipeline to Germany that the American occupied Germans refuse to certify under pressure from the Americans, and the severe energy crisis the American’s have caused throughout Europe by their hostile economic position on Russia, but that will be a topic for another day.
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About Stewart Brennan:

Stewart Brennan is a Geo-political and economic analyst, activist, blogger and author. He’s worked in the Aviation, Packaging, Transportation and Logistics Industries and is the author of “The Activist Poet”, two books of political activism and poetry. (See Here and Here) He's also the author of several blogs including World United News and World United Music and a contributor on Global Research.


LINKS:

[01] US Dept Ned Price and AP Reporter Matt Lee asking for Proof that Russia is Fabricating Attacks by Ukraine
[02] Explosion hits capital of breakaway Ukrainian region (VIDEOS)
[03] 2014 May – Odessa Massacre by Ultra Nationalist Right Sector
[04] 2014 May - Donetsk, Lugansk proclaim independence from Kiev
[05] 2014 March - Crimea votes to join Russia: 96.77% say YES
[06] Complete Video News Archive 2013 – 2014 - Ukraine Coup and Civil War
[07] Emergencies Act a 'turning point' to end trucker 'occupation' - Ottawa interim police chief
[08] Russia to invade 'in coming days' – Biden
[09a] Gas company comments on blast amid escalation in eastern Ukraine
[09b] Ukrainian breakaway republic shelled, RT crew nearby
[10] Breakaway Donetsk and Lugansk republics order evacuation
[11] Mobilization ordered in eastern Ukraine
[12] Explosion reported in southern Russia
[13] Putin launches nuclear war drills
[14] Dmitry Orlov - Putin's Ukrainian Judo Revisited

A Pandemic of Lies and Coercion

 

By: Stewart F. Brennan 

(Edited Aug 25th, 2021)

Twenty, twenty is a term that is generally associated with perfect vision, however as we look back in regards to the year 2020, it was a time that saw the world descend into a fog of blindness; a year in which governments around the world opened a Pandora’s box of sinister repressive laws and actions against their citizens after embracing the World Health Organization’s decree of a global pandemic [01] with COVID-19, on March 11th, 2020.

Before the W.H.O. declared this pandemic, the world was immersed in a raging propaganda storm on every political and economic topic around the world; a storm that made heads spin while deflecting attention away from the truth about collapsing economies around the world.

COVID-19 came out of that propaganda storm like a roaring monster, which plunged the world deeper into an economic and moral abyss. The whole pandemic was shrouded in mystery and unknowns as governments and mainstream media told of a deadly virus spread throughout the world leaving the majority of the population in a state of fear and blind obedience.

As we moved through the year, governments all over the world imposed draconian rules, laws, heavy fines and proclamations without debate. The installation of plexiglass barriers in all public places including stores, banks and pharmacies, with two-meter social distancing, mandatory masks, and then a lockdown of communities, states provinces and nations were just the beginning. Fear continued to escalate throughout the world via corporate and government controlled mainstream media who peddled a never-ending story of a health apocalypse and “new normal”.

During this new normal, the closure of sports programs, entertainment venues, theaters, restaurants, small businesses, schools, a reduction in hospital and medical clinic services, surged into curfews, second wave fears and rushed vaccines.

Questions began to surface such as why were the major stores allowed to continue doing business while the small independent stores were not? and “Why did all the corporate work places remain open?” There were too many contradictions to the imposed rules which were not logical in any sense of the word. If there truly was a real pandemic, why wasn’t everything shut down?

The PCR Test

The whole narrative of this COVID-19 pandemic was based upon a questionable PCR test which was hastily adopted without explanation.

When it was found that the PCR test was unreliable and test results were proven inaccurate [02], mainstream media stayed silent, social media platforms censored information, governments ignored the science and the public remained in the dark about things that they should have been told.

The entire pandemic is based on a PCR test that cannot determine if you are sick with a virus [03]. What’s more is that the sampling rate of the PCR test can be manipulated into false positive to say that you have a virus even though the sample found might be a piece of a dead virus that your immune system killed off already at some point long ago.

The PCR test produced massive amounts of false positives when cycle rates were amplified which of course was propagated into fear and a deadly pandemic.

What an old piece of dead virus found by a PCR test indicates is that your immune system has battled the virus already and given you immunity from it. Yet, what they are calling COVID-19, is 99.98% survivable which places it in the same category as the annual flu. However, those that govern the pandemic narrative completely ignore these scientific immunity facts [04a]. There are many doctors and professors who are trying to educate the population [04b], but they are being censored, repressed, labeled frauds and threatened openly. There is no discussion whatsoever. Why?

The governing narrative on the pandemic is still not allowed to be questioned by anyone, as the propagators of the pandemic outright lie to the population while covering up the truth behind it.

The dystopian government actions that emerged over the past 17 months, could not have developed in a world steeped with moral consciousness or a world with a true investigative mainstream media. We are instead, witness to the descent of morality, human rights, common sense and our living conditions on the say so of questionable people in power who are tied to economic interests.

Division within the Community

As a result of these pandemic lies, there is a major division of the population within our nations and communities regarding the belief in this Orwellian conceived COVID-19 pandemic.

The major dividing point in today’s crisis between those that are pro mask, pro pandemic, and pro inoculation verses those who do not believe, can be found in where people get their information from. Those who believe there is a pandemic, believe everyone should be masked and inoculated and tend to believe what their governments and corporate news networks tell them, where as, the majority of those who are against masks, experimental vaccines and who raise questions about the false PCR data, get their information from their own education or alternative sources, doctors, professional researchers, and professors who are being purposely censored by corporate internet platforms, search engines, governments and mainstream media. However, their voices have emerged on alternative platforms.

Those that do not believe in the declared pandemic are skeptical of the pseudo science delivered by mainstream media and governments that completely ignore the facts and the annual number of flu deaths every year. Is COVID-19 a deadly pandemic? Is the annual flu considered a pandemic?

If 99.98% survive what they are calling a pandemic, where the majority affected are the elderly in care homes, and the rest of the population is virtually untouched, then it is not a pandemic. If we had real conscientious authorities in charge of our nations, they would investigate why COVID-19 is prevalent in the elderly and old age care homes.

If we were to do a REAL investigation on the causes of death, the very first thing to check on those who died would be their flu vaccine records, did they get one and if so, which annual flu vaccines were administered in those elderly care homes. I would also check the annual number of deaths in those facilities and what they died from and then compare with the 2020 numbers. However, I would also look at all possible causes of death, as many of those that died, had other ailments that lowered their immune systems and made them more susceptible to the annual influenza or that they died from their other ailments but were reported to have died with COVID.

Have people died of severe flu symptoms over the past year? Yes, sadly every year people die from the complications of corona viruses because viruses like Influenza "A" & "B" travel the world annually causing hundreds of thousands to millions of deaths world wide but especially in the elderly who are more susceptible to flu viruses due to ailing health conditions. Death through the complications of influenza (i.e. pneumonia) has occurred around the world every year since World War II. Nothing has changed for decades. There has been a continuous annual flu cycle since then.

Flu became more noticeable in the early 1990’s when hospitals wards were filled with the elderly. Also, clinics and hospital emergency rooms were filled with people requiring a doctors note for their corporate bosses if they had been off sick with the flu. Mandatory doctor’s papers were, and continue to be, a needless and costly burden on our healthcare systems by companies that have made this practice compulsory. Staying home and resting when one has the flu is the best practice. Going to a hospital or medical clinic to be diagnosed with the flu just to get a sick note should not be necessary.

People used to joke that if you wanted to get sick, just go to the hospital, where you would surely catch the flu just by being around people with it. The same thing can be said about the annual Flu vaccines that pharmaceutical corporations were desperately trying to administer unsuccessfully to the entire population even before this pandemic was launched…and of those that did get the Flu shot, many got sick after they had it, including the elderly in care homes.

People die every year from corona virus related complications through pneumonia. The proof can be found in the nations’ historic annual cause mortality numbers where one can find all causes of death including overall totals year on year. These facts are a known part of our collective past but somehow have escaped the so-called mainstream media who obviously do not conduct investigative journalism, because if they did and fought for community, they would have put pressure on politicians, and the corporate pseudo-science they embrace with attention given to their unnecessary draconian mask, lockdown and inoculation laws instead of being the wedge dividing society. Unfortunately, we have to understand that mainstream media are corporate or government owned, which explains their criminal collusion and lack of reporting scientific facts.

What will they do Next?

Pandemic Vaccines

The new complications in this dystopian pandemic are tactics being used to get people to take their extremely questionable corporate provided vaccines. There has been some reluctance by people to get these inoculations especially since the pharmaceutical corporations never completed the testing phases for them. Given the deadly history of past pharmaceutical products, and that they have been given immunity from prosecution, the trust level of them is rightfully at a historic low, but especially now after millions of reported vaccine injuries and many thousands of deaths.

Those pushing the ongoing pandemic narrative are so desperate to get people to take their untested vaccines that they offer money and gifts to those that do. But that still hasn’t had the desired effect that they were expecting and so a new level of desperation has emerged where, governments are now proposing forced vaccination programs on their populations, where failure to comply will mark you as an undesirable while cutting that person off from all societal activities and travel. Health passports are being tabled by governments against the people’s rights and freedoms while corporations are also doubling down on their employees to take the experimental vaccines or risk losing their jobs. This type of behavior is criminal, its coercion, totalitarian and should be opposed at all costs. 

Vaccines Not Needed

Data has come out by doctors and medical researchers that claim there is a very real danger of getting these inoculations, especially if you’ve already had the stipulated covid virus. To me, this is a serious warning that I want to hear because it’s my life and the lives of my children that are at stake and I don’t take chances, especially when some stupid government official, mainstream media employee or some entertainment false god says these experimental vaccines are safe without providing any proof. My response is to say, “Take your vax and shove it”.

Conclusion

Our governments are compromised by corporate economics. They have bowed down to a cartel with interests in politicizing the annual flu into a profit-making monster for their pharmaceutical companies and the mega corporations that were allowed to continue their operations throughout a so-called pandemic. These corporations, are not concerned with our general health and safety, they are only concerned with making profits for their shareholders…and those shareholders control economics, government, media, entertainment and thus, society.

If there was a real pandemic, it would have been reflected by a large death spike in the annual cause mortality numbers of 2020. It would have been right in our faces, such as a constant above normal stream of ambulances to the hospitals from residential areas where the people affected would have ranged in age across the population spectrum. But that did not happen. 99.98% of the population survived the so-called pandemic. There was no additional death spike. The only spike we saw was in government lies, mainstream media propaganda and information censorship across the internet. Who did that benefit?

There are four medical research reports that came out after the first round of covid inoculations were administered to the population that warn of blood clot dangers from these mRNA and DNA corporate vaccines. These scientific reports should raise an alarm across the world and should be taken seriously. They require a close study and should not be dismissed, while video explanations [04a] by professionals such as Professor Sucharit Bhakdi, MD should not be censored, as government, social platforms and mainstream media continue to do.

If these scientific research studies are accurate, see (Here [05]), (Here [06]), (Here [07]) and (Here [08]), then there will be a lot of death and injuries going forward if these inoculations continue to be administered on the population. That should be enough for everyone to stop this insane vaccine program in its tracks. But our governments are completely ignoring these studies and doubling down on vaccines being forced on the population! Why!?

Those in control of the pandemic narrative, are not letting it go, but are instead, digging their heels into the hyper pandemic narrative where mainstream media now blame the unvaccinated population for the continuation of the COVID pandemic through covid variants. They completely ignore the fact that if you’ve already had this virus and survived along with the other 99.98% of people that have had it, then your immune system already has the tools to fight off any variant; AND so, this so-called pandemic is over! Which means that their COVID and its variants are just another seasonal flu. Unnecessary vaccination on the other hand, becomes a serious danger to everyone’s health.

The path that our governments and mainstream media continue to drive, leads to further totalitarian government measures and segregation of the population, which has already begun to emerge throughout Europe, Australia, New Zealand and North America via proposed health passports, continued lockdowns and health segregation laws.

Treasonous government officials would not be able to get away with imposing totalitarian dictates if everyone was properly informed, and so, because a small immovable group controls the narrative, the majority of the population will continue to believe whatever lies they are told by the media, without doing any investigation. The establishment has no intention of letting the covid pandemic narrative go as they talk incessantly about new waves of covid variants, additional inoculations, medical passports and no-go zones with a refusal to listen to medical facts. We are heading down a very dystopian road where the unvaccinated population will be blamed for the coming variant pandemic.

The Future of PCR Tests

Since people are slowly becoming wise to the fraudulent use of the PCR test, the cartel in charge need to make the PCR test facts go away if they want to continue their pandemic. Therefore, they have scheduled new corporate controlled tests to replace the PCR test [09] after December 31st, 2021. Doing so without questioning the previous fraudulent PCR results allows them to hide the truth by inserting new and completely invisible “replacement tests” so they can continue the lies that keep the majority of the population fearful of annual flu viruses.

You can be sure that the information on these replacement tests will be corporate and government controlled so no one will be able to pull them apart through scientific data. We will have to trust what the lying corporate government establishment says.

The only other recourse we have other than mainstream media is the alternative media that carries the voices of opposition from doctors, professors and medical researchers that internet platforms and mainstream news continues to censor...However, I expect we will see a great deal more censorship across the Internet as they eliminate the COVID-19 PCR TEST from history, and the test results which are the pandemics Achilles heal.

Opposition to Forced Inoculations and the Health Pass

People all over the Europe have risen up in opposition to their governments planned or forced vaccines and Health Passports. (Italy [10]), (France [11], (England [12])

There are more government’s passing laws of oppression on their nations such as France [13] as we get closer to the annual flu season which returns to the northern hemisphere in August / September of 2021, and as they get closer to rolling out the new test scheduled for December 2021.

Unfortunately, the world is run by a deviant corporate economic banking cartel that only has a code for profit. Anything they do not control is either a target for consolidation or destroyed and accepted as collateral damage in their war on our communities. Division of the population is one of the main tools they use to get what they want and so this covid crisis which stems from the top down will continue being used as a means to usurp economics and freedoms away from the population and it will also have the effect of depopulation through a continuous cycle of administering dangerous inoculations that cause injury and premature death. (Population Reset?)

The road ahead is dark and full of fears but many of us are not going quiet into that dystopian night. The future of the world will be determined in the coming months where the entire plot will be exposed in plain view of the worlds population as our resistance continues to grow. The real power is in our hands. Stand up now and fight for your rights and freedoms!
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LINKS:

[01] The U.N. & the W.H.O. Declare a Pandemic
[02] External peer review of the RTPCR test reveals 10 major scientific flaws at the molecular and methodological level
[03] Kary Mullis, Creator of the PCR Test in his Own Words (Short Clip)
[04a] Doctors for COVID ethics - Signatories
[04b] Dr. Sucharit Bhakdi's Explains the Immune System (Video)

[05] SARS-CoV-2 elicits robust adaptive immune responses regardless of disease severity
[06] Human IgG and IgA responses to COVID-19 mRNA vaccines
[07] Circulating SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Antigen Detected in the Plasma of mRNA-1273 Vaccine Recipients
[08] SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination induces functionally diverse antibodies to NTD, RBD, and S2
[09] Lab Alert: Changes to CDC RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 Testing
[10] Protest in Italy (20210724)
[11] Protest in France – (20210724)
[12] Protest in UK – (20210724)
[13] French parliament approves bill forcing vaccination for medical workers & greater health pass

Additional Links:

[A] The COVID 2nd Wave Will Tear Our Communities Apart
[B] Letter to Physicians: Four New Scientific Discoveries Regarding the Safety and Efficacy of COVID-19 Vaccines
[C] Vaccine Choice Canada - Informed Consent --> Missing info that people should know about (PDF)
[D]Exempting Big Pharma from COVID-19 Vaccines Liability
[E]Are Face Masks Effective? The Evidence they are not

EU / Ukraine Agreement a NATO Trojan Horse

 

Article: Is NATO’s Trojan Horse Riding Towards the “Ukraine Spring”? 

By: Dennis Kucinich

News Source: Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dennis-j-kucinich/ukraine-nato_b_4435637.html

Ukrainian citizens have rallied in the bitter cold at Independence Square in Kiev to demand a better economic future and to protest President Viktor Yanukovych's failure to sign an economic agreement with the EU.

But while the draft of the EU "Association Agreement" is being sold as an economic boon for Ukrainian citizens, in reality it appears to be NATO's Trojan Horse: a massive expansion of NATO's military position in the region. What's more, the Agreement occurs under the cover of nebulous economic promises for a beset population hungering for better wages.

In a country where the average monthly minimum wage stands at about $150 USD, it's not hard to understand why Ukrainians are in the streets. They do not want to be in Russia's orbit, nor do they want to be pawns of NATO.

But is the plight of Ukrainians being exploited to usher in a new military agreement under the guise of economic reform?

For NATO, the goal is expansion. The prize is access to a country that shares a 1,426-mile border with Russia. The geopolitical map would be dramatically reshaped by the Agreement, with Ukraine serving as the new front for Western missile defense at the doorstep of Russia. Should the U.S. nuclear deal with Iran fall apart, Ukraine could be employed in larger regional disputes, too.

As an EU deal appears imminent, few people are asking questions about NATO's role in the deal, which was meant to facilitate jobs and trade. Economic conditions in Ukraine are dire: $15 billion in IMF loans suspended, danger of default and a zero growth forecast.

While NATO is not specifically mentioned in the draft of the "Association Agreement," the proposal, which was posted online (and translated to English here) by the Ukrainian cabinet in August, pledges convergence of foreign and security policy.

Read: NATO expansion.

For instance, in the draft of the Agreement, foreign and security policy mandates:

“The Parties shall explore the potential of military and technological cooperation. Ukraine and the European Defence Agency (EDA) will establish close contacts to discuss military capability improvement, including technological issues.”

The draft of the Agreement's preamble links Ukraine to "ever closer convergence of positions on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest" including the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) of the European Union and the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) -- which underscores the military nature of the agreement.

Since 22 of 28 members of the EU have NATO membership, there is little doubt that Ukraine is being drawn into the broad military arrangement with EU nations.

If the EU Agreement is ratified, Ukraine will inevitably spend a higher percentage of its GDP for military purposes, steering critical resources from social programs and job opportunities. In 2012, Ukraine's military budget already increased 30 percent to $2 billion, representing a comparatively low 1.1 percent of GDP. NATO members agree to spend at least 2 percent of GDP on defense.

NATO members are also under pressure to contribute more and more of their GDP to military expenditures. "It is time to move beyond the '2 percent rule,'" says the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The former U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Ivo Daalder, in his farewell remarks in June, 2013, described the sentiment:

"The gap between American and European contributions to the Alliance is widening to an unsustainable level. Something must be done. The trends need to be reversed."

When military spending goes up, domestic spending goes down. The winners are unlikely to be the people of Ukraine, but instead the "people" of Lockheed-Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing and other defense interests. The Ukrainians didn't go to Independence Square to rally for NATO. Yet NATO's benefit is clear. Less clear is whether Ukrainians will receive key economic benefits they seek.

To wit, the preamble to the Agreement is hazy on the implementation of visa-free travel for citizens of Ukraine, a crucial incentive for struggling workers seeking better jobs. The draft of the Agreement is vague, calling for the visa issue to be introduced "in due course." It also asserts that EU nations could block the movement of self-employed Ukrainians to other job markets.

For Greece, Spain and others, EU membership hasn't turned out to be a shining economic savior. The return of austerity policies reminds one of Naomi Klein's warning about the perils of disaster capitalism, in which instability opens the door for exploitation from outside forces.

For the protesters in Kiev, standing tall for democracy and economic opportunity, there's suddenly a new worry: Disaster Militarism. Ukrainians may be pro-EU, but are the EU and NATO pro-Ukrainian?
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Dennis J. Kucinich is a former 16-year member of Congress and two-time U.S. presidential candidate.
Visit his Official website: www.kucinichaction.com

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Links:

EU / Ukraine Association Agreement (PDF)(English)

http://glavcom.ua/pub/2012_11_19_EU_Ukraine_Association_Agreement_English.pdf
Draft of the EU Association Agreement (PDF)
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2013/0290/COM_COM(2013)0290(PAR2)_EN.pdf
IMF Repeats Loan Demands on Ukraine
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-31/ukraine-vows-to-curb-reserves-plunge-as-imf-repeats-loan-demands.html

 

Japan's ambassador to China dies amid rising anti-Japanese protests

 

Chinese demonstrators carry anti-Japan banners and shout slogans during a protest over the Diaoyu islands issue, known as the Senkaku islands in Japan, in Wuhan.(AFP Photo / China Out)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/japan-china-island-dispute-protest-244/

The Japanese ambassador to China died in a Tokyo hospital after being admitted three days earlier. His death coincides with an escalation in anti-Japanese protests across China over a territorial dispute.

The cause of ambassador Shinichi Nishimiya’s death is currently under investigation, Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs said. Three days ago, Nishimiya was found unconscious near his Tokyo home after leaving for work.

A second day of demonstrations took place across China against Japan's territorial claim to a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea. China does not recognize Japan's claim to the isles, which are known to the Japanese as 'Senkaku' and as 'Diaoyu' by the Chinese.

In Shenzhen, a city near Hong Kong in southern China, police dispersed thousands of activists with water cannons. And in the eastern city of Qingdou, witnesses reported smoke and flames coming from a factory owned by Japanese electronics manufacturer Panasonic. A Toyota dealership was also damaged in Qingdou, a company spokesperson said.

In response, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda called on the Chinese government to “ensure the security of Japanese citizens,” and decried the recent surge of anti-Japanese demonstrations. “I strongly object to the burning of Japanese flags and the protests,” Noda said on a Japanese talk show broadcast by NHK.

Tensions between the two countries intensified on Friday when six Chinese ships entered Japanese waters near the disputed islands and ignored the Japanese Coast Guard's orders to leave. The move triggered angry protests in hundreds of Chinese cities, some of which were reportedly violent.

 

Italy's army may interfere against violent protests over economic woes

Italy's Prime Minister Mario Monti

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/05/14/241115/italy-may-use-army-against-protests/

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti has pointed to the possibility of calling in the army to deal with the violent protests in the country over the government’s economic policies.

Monti raised alert levels on Sunday at some sensitive sites across Italy to handle the recent violence that has hit the country.

Interior Minister Anna Maria Cancellieri also said on Sunday that she was considering bringing in the army to defend certain locations.

“There have been several attacks on the offices of Equitalia (the agency handling tax collections) in recent weeks. I want to remind people that attacking Equitalia is the equivalent of attacking the State,” she said.

"The army could be used to guard buildings which could be the target of violent protest. The danger of an escalation exists. It’s a situation which demands drastic action," she added.

On Saturday, two Molotov cocktails were thrown at the offices of Equitalia in Livorno, Tuscany, and severely damaged the front of the building after they blew off. Moreover, a letter bomb, which did not blast, was sent to the organization’s offices in Rome on Friday.

Earlier this month, a senior executive of state-controlled nuclear engineering group Ansaldo Nucleare was shot in the leg, with an Italian rebel group claiming responsibility for the attack.

Italy has faced a fresh wave of attacks in the last six months since Monti took office as prime minister and introduced a harsh austerity package to save the country from bankruptcy. The three-year austerity and growth package includes budget cuts, pension reforms as well as tax hikes worth 30 billion euros.

Italy, one of the biggest eurozone economies, fell into recession after its economy contracted by 0.2 percent in the third quarter and by 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011.

The Italian government has been urged to implement economic reforms and budget cuts to reassure investors concerned about the country's debt.

Italy’s debt ratio in the eurozone is second only to Greece.

Situation in Egypt more complicated before presidential polls

File photo shows people's demonstrations in Alexandria

By: Mohyeddin Sajedi

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/239910.html

The military council ruling Egypt has declared curfew in part of the capital city Cairo.

The Defense Ministry is located at al-Abbasiya district which has seen regular rallies in the past two weeks by people who ask the military to transfer power to civilian institutions. Unidentified assailants supporting the military council attacked the rally, leaving 12 people dead.

On Friday, May 4, the Army and security forces attacked and dispersed the demonstrators. To justify the attack, army officials claimed that the demonstrators aimed to occupy the building of the Defense Ministry.

Egyptian parties and groups have been divided on whether to support the rally. Some Salafi figures, whose presidential candidates had been disqualified, as well as the Egypt Revolutionary Youth Movement and the supporters of a presidential candidate as well as former and expelled leading figures of the Muslim Brotherhood took part in the rally. The mainstream of the Muslim Brotherhood, certain Salafi groups and supporters of secular parties opposed it, insisting that the demonstrations should be only held at the Liberation Square.

The military council supports the second viewpoint and has announced that the power will be transferred after the presidential elections are held on May 23 and 24. Although the elections are close, they are still surrounded by ambiguities. For example, the new Egyptian constitution should be drafted and approved before the presidential polls, but the council responsible for that has not been established so far.

The military council has rejected charges by the opposition and echoed by the Egyptian press that it has supported former Arab League secretary-general, Amr Mousa, or is inclined toward Ahmed Shafiq, the last prime minister under Egypt's deposed dictator Hosni Mubarak, from among the 13 presidential hopefuls. Some consider what happened in Cairo's al-Abbasiya square as a small example of what may happen the day after the presidential polls in Egypt.

The power that the Egyptian military council believes to hold during the transitional power has not been conferred on it by the nation. The revolutionary youths and most of the Egyptian parties believe the power belongs to the revolution and the people, who have shown their resolve in the past elections for the People's Assembly and Shura Council. The conflict between these two sources of power has led to the continuation of crisis in Egypt and has increased its complexity.

This is while the Saudi king has ordered his country's Embassy to resume its activities in Cairo and the Saudi ambassador to return to Egypt. Saudi Arabia shut its Embassy, and all consulates, in Egypt last week after angry protesters attacked the building. The new crisis was sparked after an Egyptian was arrested in the Jeddah Airport. The Saudi security personnel had accused him of drug trafficking.

The arrest of the Egyptian by Saudi Arabia has shed light on the crisis in the relations between the two countries. The majority of the Egyptians are unhappy about the way the Saudi government has conducted itself after the January 25 revolution. The Saudi king made a lot of efforts to prevent the fall of former Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak; people can still recall his phone conversations with US President Barack Obama, asking to keep Mubarak in power.

And after the revolution, the Saudi government put a lot of effort into preventing Mubarak from being tried. Some Egyptian officials even noted that Riyadh had offered a 10-billion-dollar aid package to Cairo in exchange for agreeing to allow Mubarak leave Egypt. Former Tunisian dictator Zein El Abidin Bin Ali has also taken refuge in Saudi Arabia.

After the US, Saudi Arabia is the biggest foreign investor in Egypt and the trade balance between the two countries reaches USD 4.5 billion. The severance of trade and diplomatic ties between Cairo and Riyadh would have affected the fate of around one million Egyptians, most of whom are working in Saudi Arabia.

Accordingly, a high-ranking Egyptian delegation comprising legislators, politicians, scholars and artists was dispatched to the Saudi capital of Riyadh in a bid to convince King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz to reverse his decision -- an attempt which they finally succeeded in.

Nevertheless, the visit was met with scathing criticism at home and the Egyptian media likened its members to the representatives of the deposed authoritarian regime of Hosni Mubarak.

The relationship with Egypt is critically important to Saudi Arabia as the oil-rich Persian Gulf sheikhdom tries to maintain its influence on the North African nation through funding a number of Egyptian political blocs, particularly those supporting the Salafist ideology.

Any disruption in Riyadh's ties with Cairo will inevitably affect Saudi Arabia's role as the leader of the Arab world, and will turn the Arab public opinion against Saudi authorities.

The attention-grabbing point about the recent diplomatic row between Egypt and Saudi Arabia is Iran's engagement in the crisis.

Saudi newspapers recently reported that the customs department personnel at Riyadh's King Abdul Aziz International Airport have seized a suitcase full of narcotic pills, which was carried by Egyptian lawyer Ahmad Muhammad Tharwat Al-Sayed, known as Al-Jizawee. Local dailies alleged that the Iranians had asked the Egyptian lawyer to deliver the suitcase containing 21,380 pills of Xanax, which is a benzodiazepine used to treat anxiety and panic disorder, to someone in Jeddah.

In another case, Saudi media outlets claimed that an Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Cairo, Ahmad Qattan, had been thwarted.

Egyptian officials dismissed the reports as baseless. However, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal blamed certain elements for the tension between Riyadh and Cairo.

The allegations bore hallmark to the alleged Iranian plot to kill a Saudi diplomat in Washington in October 2011.

Claims of Tehran's involvement in the plot to assassinate Saudi Arabian envoy Adel al-Jubeir, with the help of a suspected member of a Mexican drug cartel, later fell on deaf ears as the aspects of the immature scenario became clear.

Analysts believe Saudi Arabia is seriously worried about Iran's growing influence in the Middle East, and tries to contain the Iranian clout in the region by means of anti-Iran bids and allegations of Tehran's intervention in the domestic affairs of the Arab nations.

Dozens killed in car bomb attack in Yemen

Scene of an explosion in Yemen (file photo).

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/228564.html

As Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi the winner of the country's single-candidate presidential vote takes office, a bomb attack in southern Yemen has killed at least 32 people.

The causalities come after a car bomb exploded outside the presidential palace in al-Mukalla located in Hadramawt Province, where Hadi was sworn in on Saturday.

Members of the elite Republican Guard are thought to be among the dead.

Al-Qaeda has reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack.

The violence comes hours after the new president replaced Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was forced to resign after months of protest against his rule.

Hadi, Saleh’s ex-deputy, was the single candidate in the presidential vote that took place on Tuesday, which was described by pundits as a mockery of democracy. He will lead Yemen for a two-year interim period.

Saleh, who returned home from a “medical visit” to the United States late on Friday, is set to formally hand over power to Hadi in a ceremony at the presidential palace on Monday.

Hadi pledged to continue the fight against al-Qaeda, which he called a "national and religious duty" in a live broadcast speech on television. "If we don't restore security, the only outcome will be chaos," he said.

Meanwhile, people took to the streets in the city of Taizz once again to renew their demand for a free Yemen and the prosecution of the 69-year-old Saleh and his aides.

In the southern Yemeni port city of Aden regime forces reportedly used live bullets against protesters.

Saleh's deputy takes oath of office after sham election

Yemen's new President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi arrives to take the oath of office during a ceremony at the parliament, Sana’a, February 25, 2012

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/228516.html

The former deputy of Yemen’s Ali Abdullah Saleh has been sworn in as the country’s new president after winning a US-backed one-man vote.

Saleh’s ex-deputy Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi was the single candidate in the presidential vote that took place on Tuesday, which was described by pundits as a mockery of democracy. He will lead Yemen for a two-year interim period.

"It is a patriotic and religious duty to continue the battle against Al-Qaeda," claimed the new Yemeni president.

"If we don't restore security, the only outcome will be chaos," Hadi said.

Saleh, who returned home from a “medical visit” to the United States late on Friday, is set to formally hand over power to Hadi in a ceremony at the presidential palace on Monday.

Saleh traveled to New York in late January allegedly to receive treatment for wounds sustained in an attack on his palace last year. The Yemeni people have slammed the US government for sheltering a man whom they blame for the deaths of a large number of protesters since a revolution began in January 2011.

The protesters now want the prosecution of the 69-year-old Saleh and his aides over the regime's deadly crackdown on peaceful demonstrators during the past year.

Polls open in Yemen with sole US-backed pres. candidate

Members of the Yemeni election committee prepare ballot boxes on the eve of Yemen’s presidential election at a polling station, Sana’a, February 20, 2012

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/227790.html

Voting has begun in Yemen’s presidential election with only one candidate on the ballot amid the opposition’s call for the downfall of the entire regime.

The polls opened Tuesday, with 12 million eligible voters, and the sole candidate Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

The election is to put an end to Yemen’s Ali Abdullah Saleh’s 33-year rule and formally transfer power to his assistant, Hadi.

However, the country’s major opposition groups, including the Southern Movement and the Southern Shia group have boycotted the election, demanding the removal of the regime that abounds with Saleh-era officials.

Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama has thrown Washington’s weight behind Yemen’s election, offering his support to Hadi.

In a letter to the Yemeni vice president, Obama said Yemen could be an example of the peaceful transition of power in the Middle East.

This is while demonstrations are expected to continue in Yemen as protesters say their revolution will not end until Saleh and all corrupt government officials are put behind bars.

On Monday, several polling stations were the target of bomb attacks prior to the beginning of the polls in the southern province of Aden and the southern port city of al-Makla, with no reports of casualties. The protesters also blocked roads leading to five villages in Daleh province, making it impossible for poll organizers to send ballot boxes there.

Saleh is currently in the US for medical treatment. He left Yemen in mid-January, shortly after the country’s parliament passed a law which grants him full immunity from prosecution.

'US, safe haven for world dictators'

Yemeni dictator Ali Abdullah Salehi (shown) left Yemen to travel to the US on January 22, 2012, amid a growing popular uprising in the Middle Eastern country.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/222596.html

An American political activist has lashed out at Washington for accepting Yemeni dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh, saying the US has long been a safe haven for authoritarian rulers across the world, Press TV reports.

“I think it is wrong for the US government to accept Saleh coming from Yemen, as the people of Yemen should be the ones to determine his future,” Medea Benjamin, co-founder of both CODEPINK and the international human rights organization Global Exchange, told Press TV on Sunday.

“The US unfortunately has a history of taking in dictators from other countries, which goes against the principles that people who commit crime should be held in judgment through legal processes by the constituency of their own country and this should be the case for Yemen,” she added.

“The US has been supporting Saleh dictatorship both with weapons and with other logistical kinds of support," the activist pointed out.

Benjamin also criticized the US officials for attaching more importance to their so-called war on terror than the democratic rights of the Yemeni people.

Saleh left Yemen's capital, Sana'a, on Sunday and will visit Oman en route to the US.

In a televised farewell speech on Sunday, Saleh said, “I will go to the United States for treatment and will then return as the head of the General People's Congress party,” Yemeni state media reported.

On Saturday, Yemen's parliament approved a law that grants complete immunity from prosecution to Saleh for the crimes committed during his 33-year-long rule.

Yemeni anti-regime protesters reject the immunity law and say that Saleh and his aides must face prosecution for the killing of hundreds of demonstrators during the popular uprising that began in January 2011.

Putin warns of attempts to break Russia

Russia's Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin (File Photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/222628.html

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has warned against attempts by nationalist parties to stir up ethnic discord and disintegrate the country, as he stepped up his presidential campaign.

"We've lived together for centuries. And we will live together in the future. And to those who want or are trying to divide us, I can say just one thing -- keep waiting," Putin wrote in an article published on Monday.

Putin added that such attempts would have the potential to bring the destruction of the Russian folk - and the Russian state

"If a multi-ethnic society is hit by bacteria of nationalism it loses its strength and durability. Connivance with attempts to foment ethnic strife and hatred towards people of another culture or faith can trigger far-reaching consequences," he added.

Putin comments comes after Nationalist groups, who have joined the growing protest movements across Russia, called for a withdrawal from the North Caucasus where Russia has fought two wars against Chechen separatists in the past 20 years.

Tens of thousands took to the streets of Russia in a wave of protest unseen during the prime minister's 12-year rule to denounce the allegedly fraudulent parliamentary elections held on December 4.

“Attempts to advocate the construction of a Russian 'national,' monotonic state contradicts our thousands of years old history,” Putin added.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is reportedly due to become prime minister under a prospective Putin presidency in March 2012 -- a job swap bitterly criticized by the opposition.

Putin's presidency ended in 2008 after two consecutive terms because the Russian constitution prevented him from running a third term, however he will be free to run again on March 4 presidential election.

'Saleh leaves Yemen for US'

File photo of Yemeni dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/222499.html

Yemeni dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh has left the capital, Sana'a, for the United States to receive medical treatment, an official says.

The official from Saleh's office said the Yemeni dictator left the capital on Sunday but did not specify Saleh's destination.

This comes while authorities in Sana'a said on Sunday that Saleh's son, who runs the Republican Guard, was “already in Oman” to prepare for his father's visit to the Arab country en route to the United States.

In a farewell speech earlier on Sunday, Saleh said, “I will go to the United States for treatment and will then return as the head of the General People's Congress (GPC) party,” Yemeni state media reported.

Last week, a senior official of Saleh's GPC party said Saleh will visit “Oman and then Ethiopia before travelling to New York for [the] treatment” of the wounds he sustained in an attack on the presidential palace in June 2011.

Saleh's departure from Sana'a comes one day after Yemen's parliament approved a law that grants complete immunity from prosecution to the dictator for the crimes committed during his 33-year-long rule.

The immunity law is part of a power transfer deal brokered by the (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council and supported by the United States. The legislation gives immunity to Saleh's aides only on “politically motivated” criminal acts and not on corruption charges.

“I ask for forgiveness from all my people, men and women, for any shortcomings during my 33-year-long rule,” Saleh said during his speech on Sunday.

However, Yemeni anti-regime protesters reject the immunity law and say that Saleh and his aides must face prosecution for the killing of hundreds of demonstrators during the popular uprising that began in January 2011.

The Yemeni parliament has also adopted a law that approves Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi as the “consensus candidate” in the upcoming presidential election of February 21.

Interim govt throws Saleh immunity

Yemen's outgoing dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh (file photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/220041.html

Yemen's interim government has endorsed a US-backed draft law granting the country's outgoing dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh immunity from prosecution.

The draft, which was approved by the Yemeni cabinet on Sunday, also applies to anyone, who has worked with Saleh, saving them from prosecution for any crimes they have committed during his 33-year-long rule.

According to the government, Saleh and his associates "including in civilian, military and security institutions during the period of his presidency” are thereby awarded 'legal and judicial immunity.'

Yemen's parliament will now have to ratify the draft, which paves the way for Saleh's departure.

The decision is in line with a power transfer deal brokered by the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council ([P]GCC), which Saleh signed in the Saudi capital Riyadh on November 23.

The Saudi-backed deal grants him immunity from prosecution in return for his handing over the power to acting ruler Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

The United States, which regarded Saleh as a pillar of its 'counter-terrorism' strategy for years, pushed through with the power transition deal, while Saudi Arabia has been supporting him by donating diesel and crude oil to the country.

The prospect of the immunity law comes as thousands of anti-regime demonstrators, calling their protest action the 'March of Dignity,' arrived from the western port city of Hudaydah to the capital Sana'a on Sunday to demand Saleh's prosecution.

The march, led by members of the north-based Yemeni Shia minority, known as Houthis, was welcomed in Sana'a by other anti-regime protesters, who also called for the trial of the outgoing Yemeni dictator.

Also, in late December 2011, tens of thousands of anti-regime protesters marched towards Sana'a from the southern city of Taizz, about 322 kilometers (200 miles) from the capital.

Yemeni demonstrators hold Saleh responsible for the killing of hundreds of protesters during the popular uprising against the regime that began in January 2011.

Protesters say the country's Republican Guards, led by Saleh's son Ahmed, are responsible for most of the deadly attacks on the anti-regime activists.

'Yemen amnesty against intl. law'

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay (file photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/219716.html

The United Nations human rights chief says any amnesty granted to those responsible for human rights abuses under Yemen's power transition deal would be a violation of international law.

"I have been closely following the events in Yemen, particularly the very contentious debate about an amnesty law to be presented to parliament shortly," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said in a statement issued on Friday.

The UNHCHR said anyone who had committed human rights violations during Yemen's mass protests must not be allowed to evade justice and should be prosecuted.

"International law and the UN policy are clear on the matter: amnesties are not permissible if they prevent the prosecution of individuals who may be criminally responsible for international crimes including war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and gross violations of human rights," she added

The United Nations High Commission for Human Rights has censured Yemen's security forces for using live ammunition against unarmed protesters and has said that outgoing ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh should not get amnesty in a deal to persuade him to leave power.

In November, Saleh signed a deal in Riyadh, brokered by the (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council ([P]GCC), which granted him immunity from prosecution in return for stepping down from power after 33 years of iron-fisted rule in the impoverished state.

The United States, which regarded Saleh as a pillar of its "counter-terrorism" strategy for years, pushed the power transition deal through, while Saudi Arabia has supported Saleh by donating diesel and crude oil to the country.

Meanwhile, mass anti-regime demonstrations continue in the major cities, with protesters calling for the release of prisoners detained over the past year during the uprising.

Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands more have been injured in Yemen since the beginning of the uprising against the Saleh regime in January 2011.

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia orders arrest of 23 protesters

Saudi protesters rally to demand freedom and equality in the country. (File photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/219079.html

Saudi Arabia's interior ministry has ordered the arrest of 23 anti-regime Shia protesters in the kingdom's oil-reach Eastern Province over accusations of sparking an uprising in the Persian Gulf monarchy.

Saudi Interior Ministry declared the arrest order in a statement read on state television on Monday, accusing the 23 men of serving the agenda of a foreign power.

"We do have evidence of a relationship with somebody else abroad," Saudi Interior Ministry spokesman Major General Mansour Turki told a news conference. "Now how much, or what kind of relationship and how strong that relationship, this still has to be investigated and that is what we want these people for," he added.

He further called on the Saudi people to inform the authorities of any other protesters, offering rewards.

Several villages and towns in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province have been the scene of protest rallies, with demonstrators calling for freedom and equality as well as the release of thousands of political prisoners.

Earlier in November, Saudi forces attacked thousands of demonstrators, killing five people and injured many others in the Eastern Province. The funerals for the victims usually turned to demonstrations, with protesters chanting slogans against the Al Saud regime.

Saudi activists say there are thousands of political prisoners in jails across the kingdom. According to human rights campaigners, most of the detained are being held without trial or legitimate charges and have been arrested on the grounds of mere suspicion.

Yemeni troops demand Saleh trial

Defected Yemeni soldiers supporting anti-government protesters (file photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/218707.html

Yemeni soldiers have rallied in the southern city of Taizz, calling for the trial of the outgoing dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The soldiers condemned Saleh and his regime for killing peaceful and unarmed protesters during the country's uprising.

“These people must leave their positions because they represent injustice and terror instead of security and peace,” one soldier said on Saturday, referring to the injustices committed by Saleh and his loyalists.

“They will have no upper hand on us anymore,” the soldier added.

A similar rally was also held in the port city of Aden.

Meanwhile, a military official said that Ahmad, the son of the outgoing ruler, is now in charge of leading the crackdown within the country's army to stop more officers from joining the mass protests.

The demonstrators also denounced a recent deal, brokered by the (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council ([P]GCC), which granted Saleh immunity from prosecution in return for stepping down from power after 33 years of iron-fist rule in the impoverished state.

According to the (P)GCC agreement, newly appointed Prime Minister Mohamed Basindwa has been tasked with forming a unity government.

Under the new unity government, the ministries of defense, foreign affairs, and oil will be controlled by Saleh loyalists, while the ministries of information, the interior, and finance will be in the hands of the opposition.

Opponents of the deal have now formed a new organization called the Revolutionary Front of Salvation, uniting members of various political parties and groups.

The founders of the group say they want to recover the real goal of the revolution to achieve what they call real democracy.

Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands more have been injured in Yemen since the beginning of the uprising against the Saleh regime in January 2011.