Hands off Venezuela!

 

By New Worker correspondent

Last Saturday Theo Russell represented the New Communist Party at a rally in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin demanding “Hands off Venezuela”, organised by the Coop Anti-war Café.
Speakers at the rally included Nancy Larenas from the Communist Party of Chile, Maren Crosnest and Renate Döhring from the United Front for Latin America, Heinrich Buecker from the Anti-war Café, and Cornelia Praetorius from Mothers against War.
In his contribution Theo Russell said that “Five or ten years ago, some people were comparing the current world situation with the 1930s, but it is now clear that the capitalist system is now in a deep and very dangerous crisis”.
He noted that across Western Europe the old political order was crumbling with new right wing parties gaining millions of votes, but said “we also need to be positive, last year we saw the far-right anti-migrant, anti-Muslim rioters in Britain vastly outnumbered by people from the local communities, we have seen millions marching on solidarity with the people of Palestine, and two weeks ago over five million people protesting in cities across the United States against Donald Trump’s repressive and autocratic policies”.
The Coop Anti-war Café  runs a café, gallery, shop and meeting venue two blocks from the Alexanderplatz at 3 Rochstrasse and it is usually open from Monday to Saturday from 5.30 pm to 2 am, however it’s best to confirm before visiting by emailing: info@hbuecker.net or calling 0049 15154 161869. It has been a centre for organising anti war and political action for 25 years.

Peace Call in Berlin!

by New Worker correspondent

Around sixty peace activists gathered at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin last Saturday, which happens to be exactly adjacent to the United States embassy.
The rally called for solidarity with Venezuela and Cuba and the Global South, Peace with China and Russia, and Palestinian freedom, with speakers from the United Front for Latin America, Cuba Si, and the Communist Party of Chile.
Theo Russell spoke about the history of the current war in Ukraine on behalf of the International Ukraine Anti Fascist Solidarity campaign, saying “the war in Ukraine started in 2014, and not with the Russian military intervention in 2022. The NATO-backed coup on February 22nd 2014 ushered in a tragedy for all the people of Ukraine.
"Over 6 million Ukrainians went into exile, with 4 million finding a home in Russia.
The forces that allied with NATO in Ukraine have started two wars in Ukraine. The first was the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) which was launched on 15th April 2014 with the full support of NATO, which claimed that Russia had invaded Ukraine.
"That claim was a barefaced lie based on satellite images and old pictures of Russian tanks on exercise. But Kiev’s army was defeated by the Donbas anti-fascist militias in 2015.
"Since 2014 we have the Western media collectively censored all reports on the deaths of thousands of civilians in the Donbas Republics at the hands of Ukraine's forces and the Nazi military battalions.
"We now know that the 8 year-long Minsk peace talks were used by NATO to secretly re-arm Kiev’s army, and even while the peace talks continued, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky declared in 2021 ‘We will re-occupy the Donbas’.
"NATO used the talks to secretly re-arm and train Ukraine's military, with the participation of the US, Britain, France, Germany, Poland and Canada.
"The US military expert Scott Ritter has described how these countries brought the fascist battalions into Ukraine's armed forces, and trained them to use NATO military equipment.
"Several days before the Russian intervention on February 24th 2022 a 60,000-strong Ukrainian force launched the second all-out military offensive against the Donbas People's Republics, the first being in 2014.
"In February-March 2022 the Russia and Ukraine negotiated a deal to end the war, but the NATO Council met and decided that Ukraine must continue fighting with NATO weapons and money.
"This was the second great tragedy for Ukraine. About 180,000 Ukrainians have died since then as NATO’S cannon fodder. Their deaths could so easily have been prevented.
"After this war ends, perhaps in 6 months or a year, a new government will emerge, with the participation of Ukrainian anti-fascists and democrats. But our media will then tell us that this new government is a Russian colony, worse than Nazi Germany, and will no doubt label it a "Stalinist dictatorship".
"Even now they are very likely laying preparations for future terrorist attacks and sanctions to destabilise and isolate a new Ukraine. So a genuinely democratic Ukraine may need our solidarity for many more years to come. I want to end with the words: No Pasaran! Sie werden nicht durchkommen! Nyet fascismu!”