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On 01.06.2015 19:02, Louis Proyect via Marxism wrote:
On 6/1/15 12:39 PM, A.R. G wrote:
Re: "The Western Left" I have seen leftists in the West take many
different positions. It's true that a significant segment basically
threw in with Putin, although my guess would be that a significant
number did not even wade in.
I wish that was so. But for the most part, the Western left views
anybody who rallied in Maidan Square as either witting or unwitting
tools of American imperialism. As far as I know, I am one of the few
people in the USA who identifies politically with Chris Ford, a
long-time activist for Ukraine (he is proficient in the language and
has written for scholarly publications.) Chris is very involved with
the Ukraine Solidarity Campaign based in England and I invite
Marxmailers to bookmark its website:
http://ukrainesolidaritycampaign.org/
One of the problems I have with the article is that it seriously
distorts certain things about positions within DIE LINKE, where I know
the people and the positions they've taken in reality.
The article says, for example, that Andrej Hunko is regarded as an
expert on the Ukraine simply because of his name. This isn't true, he's
regarded as an expert because of years-long engagement with the politics
of the country and personal acquaintance with many of the political
actors. I must state an interest here - I've known Andrej for many years
and I consider him a political ally on many issues, while disagreeing
with him on his assessment of the Maidan. And as far as the notorious
photo with the rebel leader in the Eastern Ukraine is concerned, as
Andrej remarked in a personal conversation, if you are delivering
medical supplies to a hospital in a war zone and a leader of one of the
armed parties wants a photo you don't have much choice in the matter.
Quite rightl,y Andrej points to the fact that the current regime is
backed to the hilt by the US and the EU with the German government
playing a leading role in this - and it's undeniable that there are many
very unsavory political forces working in and with the Ukrainian
government. Again I stress that I don't agree with Andrej's position on
the Maidan but to describe him as being pro-Putin is a slander which has
its origins in the propaganda of the German CDU/CSU/SPD grand coalition.
Another leading figure in DIE LINKE who's slandered in the article is
Sahra Wagenknecht. She is quoted to suggest that she was/is in favour of
an alliance with the racist and xenophobic Pegida movement. While it is
true that within the party there was some discussion about how to reach
at least some of the people originally mobilised by Pegida, no member of
the party in any official position, including Sahra Wagenknecht, has
ever suggested holding talks with the leadership of this movement.
Indeed from the very start DIE LINKE has played a central role in the
mobilisations against Pegida in Dresden and similar movements elsewhere.
So while the article may make some valid points about the anti-imps and
RT, on the basis of the inaccuracies and distortions, whether deliberate
or otherwise, about individuals and debates I'm personally acquainted
with, I would tend to discount the article as an authoritative account
of anything.
Einde O'Callaghan
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