Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Aufruf zum Berliner Ostermarsch 2014

Krieg wird gemacht – Wir stellen uns dagegen

Aufruf zum Ostermarsch 2014

in Berlin am 19.04.2014 ab 13h (Treffpunkt folgt)

Vor 100 Jahren: Ausbruch des 1. Weltkriegs, vor 75 Jahren: Ausbruch des 2. Weltkriegs.

Ausbruch? Kriege brechen nicht aus, Kriege werden geplant und durchgeführt (und offen vorbereitet, so auf der Münchner Silo von Bundespräsident Gauck, Außenminister Steinmeier und Frau 'Verteidigungs'- Ministerin von der Leyen)

Die erschreckenden Folgen der beiden Weltkriege haben eine internationale Friedensordnung hervorgebracht, die in der UN-Charta und dem Völkerrecht festgeschrieben wurde.

Heute bezeichnet sich die Bundeswehr stolz als „Armee im Einsatz". Seit der Aggression gegen Jugoslawien beteiligt sich die Bundesrepublik direkt und indirekt an zahlreichen Kriegen. Die seit 20 Jahren verfolgte Ausrüstung der Bundeswehr zu einer weltweit interventionsfähigen Armee steht vor dem Abschluss.

Die CDU/CSU/SPD-Regierung will nun den Rest von Zurückhaltung aufgeben und „die globale Ordnung aktiv mitgestalten“. Sie spricht vom „Schutz" der Bevölkerung hierzulande und will angesichts „neuer Risiken und Bedrohungen" NATO und EU militärisch stärken. Wir lassen uns nichts vormachen: Eine Regierung, die im Interesse der Großindustrie und Banken den Sozialabbau zuhause und in der EU vorantreibt, sucht auch weltweit diese Interessen zu schützen. Es geht um die Sicherung und Ausdehnung des Zugangs zu Rohstoffen und Märkten. Diese Interessen sehen NATO- und EU-Staaten besonders bedroht durch die wirtschaftlich aufsteigenden und von den westlichen Bündnissen unabhängigen Länder.

US-Präsident Obama erhielt den Friedensnobelpreis für seine Vision einer Welt ohne Atomwaffen. Aber er lässt weltweit die US-Atomwaffen modernisieren und in Asien ein Raketenabwehrsystem aufbauen. Die Bundesregierung unterstützt den Aufbau eines NATO-Raketenabwehrschirms in Osteuropa. Es ist gegen Russland gerichtet und provoziert ein erneutes Wettrüsten.

Die Friedensnobelpreisträgerin Europäische Union hat ihre Mitglieder zum militärischen Beistand und zur Aufrüstung im Lissabonvertrag verpflichtet. Schon jetzt stehen eine 80.000 Mann starke „Schnelle Eingreiftruppe“ sowie „Battle-Groups“ für Interventionen bereit. Die Bundesregierung will die EU noch weiter militarisieren, ausdehnen und gleichzeitig militärisch abschotten gegen Flüchtlinge, die sie durch ihre Wirtschaftspolitik im wachsenden Maße schafft.
  • Keine deutsche Interventionsarmee!
  • Sofortiger Rückzug aus allen Auslandseinsätzen und Abrüstung der Bundeswehr!
  • Keine Raketenabwehrschirme! Atomwaffen verschrotten!
  • Entmilitarisierung der EU!
  • Raus aus der NATO!
  • Krieg darf kein Mittel der Politik sein!
Die Bevölkerung hierzulande ist für Krieg (Gott sei Dank!) nicht zu begeistern. Das weiß die Regierung und will deshalb „den Dialog der Bundeswehr mit der Gesellschaft" – also ihre Propaganda für weltweite Interventionen – verstärken. Hierzu soll die Bundeswehr in Schulen, Hochschulen, Arbeitsagenturen und auf Volksfesten Jugendliche für sich gewinnen und als Soldaten rekrutieren. Selbst Universitäten, die sich mit einer sogenannten Zivilklausel gegen Forschung und Lehre zu militärischen Zwecken verpflichtet haben, werden insgeheim dafür missbraucht. Der Unterstützung der Bundeswehr dienen auch die vermehrten Auftritte ihres Musikkorps in Kirchen.
  • Bundeswehr raus aus Schulen, Hochschulen und Kirchen!
  • Weg von Jobbörsen und Volksfesten!
  • Keine öffentlichen Gelöbnisse und Zapfenstreiche!
Angela Merkel ist die Meisterin der schaurigen Rekorde. In ihrer Regierungszeit wurden mehr Kriegswaffen und militärische „Kleinwaffen“ exportiert als je zuvor. Länder wie Saudi-Arabien, Katar, die Emirate und Algerien werden mit Waffen überflutet, um ihr Militär zu „ertüchtigen“ und ihre despotischen Regierungen im deutschen Interesse zu sichern. Merkels Motto: Tausche Waffen gegen Rohstoffe und strategischen Einfluss. Die „restriktive“ Handhabung der Rüstungsexporte bleibt ein Fremdwort, die Achtung von Menschenrechten Schall und Rauch. Es geht um Macht und Profit.
  • Rüstungsexporte verbieten!
  • Rüstungskonversionsprogramme für zivile Produkte durchsetzen!
Die Verhandlungen um das iranische Atomprogramm eröffnen die Chance, auch die Konflikte zwischen Israel und den Palästinensern und den Krieg in Syrien am Verhandlungstisch zu lösen. Ein Scheitern der Verhandlungen mit dem Iran könnte nicht nur das „Pulverfass“ des Nahen und Mittleren Ostens in Brand stecken, sondern auch die ganze Welt erschüttern.
  • Die Bundesregierung muss eine Waffenruhe und eine politische Lösung in Syrien unterstützen!
  • Patriots und AWACS aus der Türkei abziehen!
  • Waffenexporte in die Region einstellen! Sich für eine Massenvernichtungswaffen-freie Zone im Nahen und Mittleren Osten einsetzen!
Unter Duldung der deutschen Regierung spielt der US-Stützpunkt Ramstein eine Schlüsselrolle bei allen illegalen US-Drohnen-Ermordungen in Pakistan, Afrika und im Jemen. Die afrikanischen Drohnen-Opfer werden sogar im Afrika-Kommando der USA in Stuttgart selektiert. Statt diese Kriegsverbrechen zu verbieten, möchte die Bundesregierung dabei sein: Sie forciert die Entwicklung von Kampfdrohnen auf EU-Ebene und will US- oder israelische Überwachungsdrohnen kaufen, die später bewaffnet werden können.
  • Schließen aller US-Basen in Deutschland!
  • Sofortige Beendigung jeglicher Beihilfe für die gezielten Tötungen durch US-Drohnen!
  • Stopp der Entwicklung und der Beschaffung von Kampfdrohnen für die Bundeswehr!
  • Die Bundesregierung muss sich international für die Ächtung dieser neuen Art von Waffen einsetzen!
Mutige Whistleblower wie Assange, Manning und Snowden haben geheime, rechtswidrige Aktivitäten, Kriegsverbrechen und den massenhaften Machtmissbrauch der US-Regierung an die Öffentlichkeit gebracht. Die Bundesregierung und bundesdeutsche Geheimdienste kooperieren bei der umfassenden Bespitzelung nicht nur der Bevölkerung hierzulande. Gleichzeitig ist nicht mehr zu leugnen, dass Neonazis hunderte von Morden und Gewalttaten auf dem Gewissen haben und die Geheimdienste sie nicht nur gewähren lassen, sondern zum Teil massiv unterstützen.
  • Schluss mit der Schnüffelpraxis!
  • Freiheit für die Whistleblower!
  • Nicht sie gehören auf die Anklagebank, sondern diejenigen, die die von ihnen aufgedecktenVerbrechen und den Machtmissbrauch begehen!

Krieg wird gemacht! Wir stellen uns dagegen!

Kommt zum Ostermarsch!

Mobilisiert Kollegen und Kolleginnen, Freundinnen und Freunde!

Treffpunkt 13h, der genaue  Ort der Kundgebung und Demo werden nach Anmeldung bekannt gegeben.
rot: Bloggerin/ Es fehlt ein deutliches Wort zur Deeskalation gegenüber Russland

No to War Drums: A Call To Europeans’ Sense of Self-Preservation and Reason!



by Paul Craig Roberts, foreignpolicyjournal.com 13.03.2014 | 00:13

Americans have not experienced political leadership or an independent media for such a long time that they will be amazed at the straightforward answers from the Russian President and by media asking real questions, some of which show the influence of Washington’s propaganda.
Americans will also be struck by how greatly the facts of the Ukraine situation diverge from the constant stream of lies that flow from Washington, its European puppets, and presstitute media.
Putin’s calm leadership, the absence of provocative statements and threats, and his insistence on legality and will of the people stand in stark contrast to the West’s threats and support for violent overthrow of a democratically elected government.  It is astonishing that the only leadership the world has comes from Russia, China, and three or four countries in South America. The Western world no longer has diplomatic capability.  Instead, the Western world relies on propaganda, threats, force, and schemes to overthrow governments that it first demonizes.
Notice that Putin repeatedly asks why the West created the crisis in Ukraine.  He makes the important point that in post-Soviet countries, legality and democracy are fragile. Democracy and legality are not furthered by overthrowing democracy before it has taken roots and placing in office an unelected government by force and illegality.  It is impossible to argue with this point.  Why, indeed, did the West murder democracy and constitutional order in Ukraine?
The fact that Putin asks the question does not mean he does not know the answer.  He does not give the answer, because he is a diplomat and still has some hope for common sense and good will to prevail.  He knows that the West supported the overthrow of the Ukrainian government as part of its strategic thrust against the sovereignty and independence of Russia. Aligning Ukraine with NATO means US missile bases in Ukraine.  Remember how terrified Americans were of Soviet missile bases in Cuba.
Putin knows that Washington in pursuit of world hegemony is driving the world to a dangerous war in which neither side can accept defeat.  Thus, nuclear weapons would be unleashed. Putin knows that the reason Washington withdrew from the anti-ballistic missile treaty and installed anti-ballistic missiles in Poland is to degrade Russia’s nuclear deterrent.  Putin knows that the reason Washington changed its war doctrine to permit preemptive nuclear attack is to carry out a first strike against Russia.
Putin also knows that only Europe can prevent this final devastation. Therefore, Putin does not make provocative statements or take strong actions. He hopes that Europe will notice his reasonable behavior in contrast with the reckless behavior of Washington and realize that Europe and NATO must cease enabling Washington’s pursuit of hegemony, a pursuit that is driving the world to its destruction. Putin hopes that Europeans’ sense of self-preservation will prevail over their lust for Washington’s money and invitations to dinner at the White House.
By taking this humane and rational approach, Putin has established himself as the true leader of the world. Washington counters Putin’s leadership with demonization.  Putin’s leadership frustrates Washington and makes Putin a candidate for assassination.
by Paul Craig Roberts, foreignpolicyjournal.com

War Path: Western States Block Diplomacy over Ukraine



Finian CUNNINGHAM *| 13.03.2014 | 00:00

The US and its European allies are moving ever recklessly to a war footing with Russia over the crisis in Ukraine. Military maneuvers, inflammatory rhetoric and the readying of economic sanctions against Russia are creating an ominous momentum for confrontation – one that precludes even a modicum of diplomatic options to try to resolve the escalating tensions.
Washington and Brussels are condemning Russia for «aggression» and «violation» of Ukrainian territory without the slightest due consideration for the political background to the crisis, or for Russia’s legal rights to defend national interests in the Crimea Republic under a long-standing bilateral agreement. 
US secretary of state John Kerry earlier this week rebuffed an invitation from his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, to hold an urgent meeting in Moscow. Instead, with disturbing alacrity, Washington has sent fighter jets, spy planes, warships and troops to the Baltics, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and along the border of Ukraine. 
The US congress voted this week to condemn Russia and to impose a range of sanctions unless Russian military forces withdraw from Ukraine. Similar calls for sanctions against Moscow have been made by the leaders of Britain, France and Germany. French foreign minister Laurent Fabius said sanctions could be implemented within days, while British premier David Cameron gave the go-ahead for RAF reconnaissance planes to join NATO forces in Poland
Meanwhile, Washington and its NATO allies have declared a forthcoming referendum to be held in Crimea this weekend on whether the autonomous republic should secede from Ukraine and join the Russian Federation as «illegal». This high-handed dismissal of Crimean self-determination by the NATO powers is in tune with the view voiced by the new Western-backed authorities in Kiev who have also denounced the Crimean Parliament’s declaration of independence.
Ominously, the Western powers are shunning any path for a diplomatic solution. Washington and Brussels are imposing impossible demands on Moscow to fulfil. And yet despite this truculence, Washington is accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of not showing seriousness in engaging in a diplomatic discourse.
It is not Putin who is not serious about diplomacy. It is Washington and its NATO allies. 
For a start, Russia has not «annexed» Crimea as the West provocatively claims. Under the bilateral military agreement between Russia and Ukraine, Moscow is permitted legally to have up to 25,000 troops on the Crimean Peninsula, attached to the naval base at Sevastopol, which is the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Russia pays for this facility with an annual fee of $100 million. The arrangement was renewed in 2010 for a further 25 years. So how can Russia have annexed territory where it is legally entitled to be present?
Bereft in any Western statements is cognizance of the fact that the parliament of the autonomous Crimean Republic made an official request for Russian military protection of its majority ethnic Russian population in the wake of violent unrest in Kiev. That unrest led to the overthrow of an elected government on February 22 by self-declared neo-Nazis and paramilitaries espousing anti-Russian threats. Subsequently in other parts of Eastern Ukraine, such as the cities of Donetz and Kharkov, several pro-Russian people have been shot on the streets by unknown armed men, and many others have been injured in clashes.
Western ultimatums to Moscow to withdraw security forces from Crimea in this dangerous and volatile context are therefore not only legally unfounded; the ultimatums are a provocative demand for Russia to surrender its national interests in an area that is contiguous with Russia’s borders and which has centuries of shared history and heritage. Does the West really expect Moscow to stand idly by while the lives of its compatriots are threatened? We don’t have to imagine too hard what Washington, London or Paris would do in a similar situation.
Moreover, it is the demand from Washington and Brussels that Moscow must engage in talks with the new regime in Kiev that is especially untenable. America’s top diplomat John Kerry and other Western leaders are saying that Moscow is not demonstrating seriousness for diplomacy because the Russian government is refusing to dialogue with Kiev. This is tantamount to the West forcing Russia to legally recognize the Western-backed cabal that seized power in Kiev from the elected president Viktor Yanukovych at the end of last month.
This is an unreasonable demand asserted by the Western powers. Russia has every right to withhold its recognition of sovereign legality and legitimacy to the self-appointed rulers in Kiev. The evidence is incontrovertible that the new regime, led by Arseniy Yatsenyuk and the so-called interim president Oleh Turchynov, came to power through violence and massive intimidation of the incumbent elected authorities. There is also disturbing evidence that many of the deaths among protesters and police officers during the Maidan demonstrations were actually caused by snipers working covertly for the opposition. These allegations must be investigated by an international commission, not brushed aside and ignored, while the alleged perpetrators of mass murder are lionized as Ukraine’s «fledgling government».
The self-declared rulers in Kiev, heavily comprised of the neo-Nazi Svoboda party, are soundly opposed by Moscow as unconstitutional, if not criminal. Their rise to power is legally defined as a coup d’état using violence and terrorism. As made clear by Wayne Madsen and other commentators, the coup in Kiev is the result of Western covert destabilization in Ukraine, going back to the early 1990s, with the express objective of orchestrating pro-Western regime change. That regime change is aimed at giving Western capital unfettered access to Ukrainian resources and at expanding NATO’s military encirclement of Russia. 
Washington and its NATO allies are thus asking Russia for an impossible political concession in demanding that Moscow bestow official recognition to a wholly illegal and inimical regime in Kiev. 
The reception afforded to Kiev’s self-styled prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk by US president Barack Obama in the White House this week is not only a tendentious celebration of lawlessness, it is a barefaced snub to Russia as a major international power. 
Coincidence or not, but the self-styled president Oleh Turchynov was also given a platform in the New York Times this week, with an opinion column in which he once again denounced Russian «aggression» and, ironically, accused Moscow of acting like «Somali pirates» over its recent security moves in Crimea. 
This is top-level American offensiveness towards Russia that shows a boorish disregard for international protocol and norms of relations.

The ongoing rapid military build-up by NATO from the Baltics to the Black Sea, the pointed refusal to engage in diplomatic discourse about the real causes of instability in Ukraine, and the festooning of the Kiev power-grabbers by Washington and Brussels – are all sinister signs that the Western powers are pushing headlong for a confrontation with Russia.
The pre-empting of diplomacy by the US in particular has resonances with how it recklessly spurned political alternatives to war on Afghanistan and Iraq in 2001 and 2003, and with Iraq before the First Gulf War in 1991.

This could all be a wild gambling bluff by Washington in the Last Chance Saloon in an attempt to intimidate Russia into NATO submission. But the worrying thing is that Washington’s intoxication with its own arrogance and lawlessness makes for a highly dangerous situation in which bluffing blocks any alternative to destructive action.

*

Finian Cunningham

Originally from Belfast, Ireland, Finian Cunningham (born 1963) is a prominent expert in international affairs. The author and media commentator was expelled from Bahrain in June 2011 for his critical journalism in which he highlighted human rights violations by the Western-backed regime. He is a Master’s graduate in Agricultural Chemistry and worked as a scientific editor for the Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, England, before pursuing a career in journalism. He is also a musician and songwriter. For many years, he worked as an editor and writer in the mainstream news media, including The Mirror, Irish Times and Independent. He is now based in East Africa where he is writing a book on Bahrain and the Arab Spring.He co-hosts a weekly current affairs programme, Sunday at 3pm GMT on Bandung Radio. Finian Cunningham is a frequent contributor to international media, including PRESS TV and nsnbc, where he began contributing in 2012.
http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2014/03/13/warpath-western-states-block-diplomacy-over-ukraine.html
Tags: European Union Russia Ukraine US Kerry

Peace Loving and conscientious people must voice their objections!

Wider den illegalen Putsch in der Ukraine - ein Ruf zur Besinnung und zur Rückkehr zur Diplomatie !



 In der Ukraine fand am 22. Februar ein gewaltsamer, illegaler Putsch statt. Völkerrechtlich hat die gegenwärtige, mit offen faschistisch auftretenden "Ministern" bestückte Regierung, keine Legitimation. Die Einmischung seitens des deutschen Außenministers und die Haltung der EU verurteilen wir. Wir anerkennen, dass es das Recht der autonomen Republik Krim und ihres eigenen Parlaments  ist, darüber befinden zu lassen, ob die Republik Krim weiterhin zur Ukraine gehören will oder nicht. Das für den 16. März  angesetzte Referendum entspricht einer zu befürwortenden demokratischen Verfahrensweise. Die Präsenz der russischen Truppen auf der Krim  ist vertraglich einwandfrei geregelt, insofern ist die Hysterie unserer Medien nicht nachvollziehbar. Wir fordern im Sinne einer Kultur des Dialogs eine gemäßigtere Tonart  der Politik im Umgang mit Russland und  bestehen auf dem Respekt vor dem Völkerrecht. Wir lehnen Sanktionen ab, mit denen wir uns wirtschaftlich nur selbst schädigen.

Als Friedensorganisation verurteilen wir illegale, faschistoide Gewaltmethoden und wenden uns gegen eine unausgewogene, diffamierende, das Völkerrecht  und rechtsstaatliche Verfahren missachtende Berichterstattung.

Irene Eckert  für den Vorstand des  Arbeitskreis für Friedenspolitik  - atomwaffenfeies Europa e.V. (AKF)

"Serial Rape of 'International Law'" By Pepe Escobar

           
The new Great (Threat) Game in Eurasia - THE ROVING EYE
By Pepe Escobar  -  pepeasia@yahoo.com

In Ukraine, the West supported an unconstitutional putsch against an elected government perpetrated, among others, by fascist/neo-nazi storm troopers (Svoboda, Right Sector) instrumentalized by US intelligence. After a Russian counterpunch, US President Barack Obama proclaimed that any referendum in Crimea would "violate the Ukrainian constitution and violate international law."

This is just the latest instance in the serial rape of "international law". The rap sheet is humongous, including; NATO bombing Serbia for 78 days in 1999 to allow Kosovo to secede; the 2003 US invasion and subsequent trillion-dollar occupation and civil war creation in Iraq; NATO/AFRICOM bombing Libya in 2011 invoking  R2P ("responsibility to protect") as a cover to provoking regime change; US investment in the secession of oil-wealthy South Sudan, so China has to deal with an extra geopolitical headache; and US investment in perennial civil war in Syria.

Yet Moscow still (foolishly?) believes international law should be respected – presenting to the UN Security Council classified information on all Western intel/psy-ops moves leading to the coup in Kiev, including "training" provided by Poland and Lithuania, not to mention Turkish intelligence involvement in setting up a second coup in Crimea. Russian diplomats called for an unbiased international investigation. That will never happen; Washington's narrative would be completely debunked.
Thus a US veto at the UN.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also called for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to objectively investigate those snipers shooting everyone on sight in Kiev, as revealed by Estonia's foreign minister to EU foreign policy supremo Catherine "I love Yats" Ashton. According to Russia's ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin, "a completely different picture would be drawn compared to what is being depicted by American media and, unfortunately, by some American and European politicians." Needless to say, there will be no investigation.

Hi, I'm your good neo-nazi

Everyone remembers the "good Taliban", with which the US could negotiate in Afghanistan. Then came the "good al-Qaeda", jihadis the US could support in Syria. Now come the "good neo-nazis", with which the West can do business in Kiev. Soon there will be "the good jihadis supporting neo-nazis", who may be deployed to advance US/NATO and anti-Russian designs in Crimea and beyond. After all, Obama mentor Dr Zbigniew "The Grand Chessboard" Brzezinski is the godfather of good jihadis, fully weaponized to fight the former Soviet Union in Afghanistan.

As facts on the ground go, neo-nazis are definitely back as good guys.

For the first time since the end of World War II, fascists and neo-nazis are at the helm of a European nation (although Ukraine most of all should be characterized as the key swing nation in Eurasia). Few in the West seem to have noticed it.

The cast of characters include Ukrainian interim defense minister and former student at the Pentagon Ihor Tenyukh; deputy prime minister for economic affairs and Svoboda ideologue Oleksandr Sych; agro-oligarch minister of agriculture Ihor Svaika (Monsanto, after all, needs a chief enforcer); National Security Council chief and Maidan commander of Right Sector neo-nazis Andry Parubiy; and deputy National Security Council chief Dmytro Yarosh, the founder Right Sector. Not to mention Svoboda leader Oleh Tyanhybok, a close pal of John McCain and Victoria "F**k the EU" Nuland, and active proponent of an Ukraine free from the "Muscovite-Jewish mafia."

As the Kremlin refuses to deal with this bunch and the upcoming March 16 referendum in Crimea is practically a done deal, Team "Yats" is fully legitimized, with honors, by Team Obama, leader included, in Washington. To quote Lenin, what is to be done? A close reading of President Putin's moves would suggest an answer: nothing. As in just waiting, while outsourcing the immediate future of a spectacularly bankrupt Ukraine to the EU. The EU is impotent to rescue even the Club Med countries. Inevitably, sooner or later, threat of sanctions or not, it will come crawling back to Moscow seeking "concessions", so Russia may also foot the bill.

Meanwhile, in Pipelineistan …

Meanwhile, the New Great (Threat) Game in Eurasia advances unabated. Moscow would willingly compromise on a neutral Ukraine - even with neo-nazis in power in Kiev. But an Ukraine attached to NATO is an absolute red line. By the way, NATO is "monitoring" Ukraine with AWACS deployed in Polish and Romanian airspace.

So as the much lauded "reset" between the Kremlin and the Obama administration is for all practical purposes six feet under (with no Hollywood-style second coming in the cards), what's left is the dangerous threat game. Deployed not only by the Empire, but also by the minions.

That monster collection of Magritte-style faceless bureaucrats at the European Commission (EU), following on the non-stop threat of EU sanctions, has decided to delay a decision on whether Gazprom may sell more gas through the OPAL pipeline in Germany, and also delay negotiations on the legal status of South Stream, the pipe-line under the Black Sea which should become operational in 2015.

As if the EU had any feasible Plan B to escape its dependency on Russian gas (not to mention eschew the very profitable financial game played between key European capitals and Moscow). What are they to do, import gas on Qatar Airways flights? Buy LNG from the US - something that will not be feasible in years to come? The fact is the minute a gas war is on, if it ever comes down to it, the EU will be under immense pressure by a host of member-nations to keep (and even extend) its Russian gas fix - with or without "our (neo-nazi) bastards" in power in Kiev. Brussels knows it. And most of all, Vlad the Hammer knows it.

AsiaTimes online – Central Asia – March 12, 2014 
------------
sent in from:
Martin Zeis
Kiefernweg 4
D-70597 Stuttgart
phone: 049 - (0) 711 - 3586 191

Information Warfare about Crimea and Ukraine: New Face of Cold War





Today one could only guess what the recently started, unprecedented in scope, anti-Russian campaign may lead to as mainstream Western media outlets are getting more and more involved in the effort. Russia has taken resolute steps to defend its vital interests in Crimea and Ukraine as the West unleashed a new form of cold war – information warfare…   
The unanimity of German media condemning Russia evokes concern calling to mind historic precedents. A hundred years ago the Kaizer Germany unleashed the First World War; the German elite unanimously supported the government those days.   As the issue of war expenditure was put to Reichstag, Karl Liebknecht happened to be the only Member of Parliament to abstain. (1) Military hysteria spread on political elite and creative intelligentsia including such well-known personalities as Richard Strauss, Thomas Mann and Hermann Hesse.  Friedrich Meinecke, German historian who lived in the first half of last century, wrote that the people of Germany were deeply and irreversibly convinced that the war was imposed from outside and the people had their homes to defend in the most broad sense of the word. Reading these lines one can understand that the massive brainwashing campaign has made almost ¾ of Germans known to be frugal ready to support the new regime in Kiev while 12% believe it is acceptable to offer military aid. Over one third of respondents favor sanctions against Russia (1).
The Berlin’s stance on Crimea and on Ukraine in general by and large coincides with that of the United States, though a bit more restrained.  For instance, it took Germany some time to support the idea of excluding Russia from G8; it didn’t rush to make calls for urgent sanctions against Russia. With Germans obviously lacking fervor, Senator McCain started to rebuke them for being too passive. But don’t get taken in. Berlin sees Ukraine as a testing ground for the recently announced new, more assertive foreign policy.  Angela Merkel does not find it possible to go on with the preparations for G8 summit. The German government has adopted a phased plan of imposing sanctions against Russia.  Even German business elite hesitate when it comes to sanctions.  For instance, Martin Wansleben, Managing Director of the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), told  Deutschlandfunk, «I don’t believe we can allow ourselves to impose any sanctions, it’s not our option. No matter that, the European Union must launch it».  (2)
It would be an exaggeration to say that Germans are under the spell of those who accuse Russia of committing an act of aggression. There are some things that prevent the mass psychosis, like new information technologies making it possible to watch footages showing the attacks by Maidan militants against Berkut soldiers or provocations by «unknown snipers»…

Official media never post such video clips in Internet.  Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung has already adopted the rule to avoid the stories about Ukrainian right-wing radicals and anything that pours water on the mill of Russian propaganda (3). Bruno Gollnisch, a French National Front activist, said France should not repeat the mistakes of the 1853 Crimean war fighting against Russia to serve the interests of Great Britain striving for world dominance (4).
The French right-wing National Front has no doubts that the fight for Ukraine contradicts the interests of the European Union. This view is shared by ultra-right parties of old Europe.   Bernhard Tomasitz, the editor-in-chief of the German People's Union’s media outlet, is sure that the new pro-Western regime has provoked the exacerbation of the situation. One of its first steps was striking Ukraine’s Russian speakers by rescinding the law on the status of regional languages. The European Union normally defends the rights of minorities but this time it turned a blind eye. (Russians are not a «minority» in Ukraine) (5). The ultra-right in France and Austria believe that the federalization is quite an acceptable way to settle the Ukraine’s crisis. According to Andreas Meltzer, the leading candidate of Austrian People's Party at the elections to the European Parliament, the division of Ukraine the same way it was done in the case of Czechoslovakia would be a better alternative to civil war. (6)   Andreas Meltzer is sure that Europe could get rid of the US influence and establish normal relations with Russia.  
   
In France only left-oriented media has reported that Dmitry Yarosh, the leader of Ukraine’s nationalists, has decided to run for presidency.  Only left-wing media informs about recruitment centers for volunteers to man formations to be sent to Crimea.

 Yulia Timoshenko has threatened the peninsula with a guerilla war. Left Junge Welt tells about Pravy Sector’s absolute power in Lviv. It also tells about armed groups demanding recompense «for revolution» on the roads of western and central Ukraine (7). 
Tagesspiegel is not that candid, it shies away from calling a spade a spade talking about imposters who said they belonged to «people’s control» and tried seize two German factories (8) to the west of Kiev. 

It’s worth to pay special attention on the articles reflecting the point of view of big business. Such renowned economists as Michael Hutter and Hans-Werner Sinn warn about negative consequences of economic sanctions. The businessmen with direct interest in Russian economy are alarmed.  

Eckhard Cordes of the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations and Volker Treier, Chief Economist for the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, together voice their concern over the sanctions against Russia calling it a risky business which may cost dearly. E. Shoppe, chairman of machine building union in the East, expressed concern over negative affect of possible sanctions for German machine building competitivity. According to him, in case sanctions are imposed Russia will buy the machines and equipment it needs in China (9). 

Those down to earth reporters who specialize on economy go beyond strict ideological restrictions openly say that for the majority of Germans Crimea is rather Russia than Ukraine (10).
 A Wirtschaftswoche weekly reporter believes the following conditions are crucial for normalization of the Ukraine’s situation: first, the country has to stand on its own feet so that the new election would not take place in the atmosphere of despair as a result of economic failure, second, emotions need to be cooled down, third, President Putin should not be demonized anymore (11). 
The concern of German entrepreneurs over the situation in Ukraine is understood, as well as their willingness to look for the ways to get things in order there.  Will it be enough to stop the further negative development of events? Striking Russian-German ties directly corresponds to the goals cherished by the initiators of Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement being pushed through by Washington.
(1) The results of the poll published on March 7 2014
(3) www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/ausland/europa/ukraine-die-extremisten-vom-majdan-12816972-p2.html
(4) www.marinelepen.fr,.03.07. 2014.
(5) National Zeitung,.03. 07. 2014.  The Verhovna Rada of Ukraine voted to rescind the law of February 23. A commission to work out a new legislature on language has already been formed in Kiev. One of the options for consideration is to cancel Cyrillic script for Latin.  
(7) Reinhard Lauterbach. Rechte machen mobil/ Junge Welt, 08.03.2014.
(9) dpa, 03. 07.2014.
(10) www.wiwo.de/politik/ausland/krise-in-der-ukraine-moskaus-geopolitische-arroganz/9560642-2.html. 
(11) Bettina Röhl. Krim: Keine Eskalation herbeireden!/Wirtschaftswoche, 04.03.2014.
Natalia MEDEN | 12.03.2014
Tags: Germany Russia Ukraine