Mélanie Joly to Kiev: “a friend” with fascists to reassure warmongers
The Communist Party of Canada condemns Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly’s recent visit to Kiev, as a provocation against Russia and a statement of support for Western imperialism’s warmongering. Through her visit, she has contributed to legitimizing a fascistic regime, with the aim of escalating tensions between NATO and Russia.
“I have come as a friend,” she stated to the Ukrainian Prime Minister. At the end of her visit, she reiterated Canada’s openness to Ukraine joining NATO as well as the possibility of trading arms with the Eastern European country. She is following through on a policy of unconditional assistance and support for Ukraine which is manifested, among other things, by the $785 million in aid programs since 2014 but above all by the presence of about 200 Canadian troops (and police) through Operation Unifier.
However, the question arises: “Who are these friends who benefit from this assistance?” When Canada says it wants to defend democracy against a despotic and imperialist Russia, what does it really mean?
The truth is enough to send a chill down the back of any democrat and progressive. Post-Maidan Ukraine is nothing less than a den of neo-Nazis and fascists who occupy key positions in the highest spheres of public administration and the state. It is to them that Mélanie Joly speaks when she says she comes “as a friend.” The facts bear this out.
In 2018, Operation Unifier officials were seen training neo-Nazi fascist militias from the Azov Battalion. This militia has been part of the Ukrainian National Guard since 2014 and is responsible for several human rights violations and crimes in the country. Its commander, Biletzki, has already declared that the destiny of Ukraine is to “lead the white races of the world in a final crusade against the Untermenschen semites.” This same person sits in the Rada (Ukrainian parliament). In addition, this battalion, which recruits white supremacist and neo-Nazi militants from around the world, has enthusiastically hosted NATO delegations and was commissioned to observe the presidential elections that brought Volodimir Zelensky to power.
As for the National Police, which the United States pledged to finance and train after 2014, it is also led by neo-Nazis like Vadim Troyan, veteran of the Azov battalion. With such a leader, the complicity of law enforcement with neo-Nazi militias is assured.
In addition to providing training, Canada will undoubtedly provide arms in the near future.
Andriy Paroubiy, President of the Rada from 2016 to 2019, is one of the co-founders of the neo-Nazi Social-Nationalist Party which, at the beginning of the 2000s, renamed itself Svoboda. His political ascent began when, after the Euromaidan episode, he was appointed Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council where he worked closely with Dmytro Yarokh, head of the fascist organization Pravy Sektor.
Since 2015, the perpetrators of the massacres of more than 100,000 Ukrainians (Jews, Poles, communists, trade unionists, anti-fascists, etc.), including what is undoubtedly the most famous of them all, that of Babi Yar, have been recognized as national heroes. Symbols and demonstrations that glorify Nazi-fascism are increasing, with the complicity and even financing from the government and security forces. For example, in Kiev, a shopping center on Bandera Avenue (formerly Moscow Avenue) did not hesitate to cover its staircase with a Nazi swastika on the same day that fascist militias paraded on this same avenue. The few remaining statues of Lenin, the liberator of the proletariat and the peoples, are being replaced by plaques intended to wash away the crimes of Nazi-fascism. Indoctrination camps are being organized and publicly funded to instill a fascist mentality in young Ukrainians.
The law protecting minority languages (Russian, Hungarian, Polish, Greek, etc.) was repealed in 2018 by a judicial decree in an attempt at forced assimilation.
The Communist Party, one of the main political forces in the country, has borne the brunt of persecutions, seizures orchestrated by the regime, constant attacks and raids. In 2015, a law criminalizing communist symbols (but accommodating to fascist and Nazi symbols) prevented the Party from standing for election. We also remember that in 2014 in Odessa, the Trade Unions House was set on fire on May 2 by pro-Maidan fascists, killing 46 people who opposed a Ukraine that NATO and the EU were serving on a silver platter to reactionaries and seditious groups.
During her visit, Joly declared that Canada defends Ukrainian sovereignty. But what kind of sovereignty is this, when the government has been put in place through the financing and support of the European Union, the United States and their allies? What kind of sovereignty are we talking about, when the police forces are trained by NATO mercenaries? And what kind of sovereignty is it when 200 Canadian soldiers are stationed there?
The truth is that the Euromaidan episode ended in a total abandonment of Ukrainian sovereignty, in favour of fascists subservient to Western imperialism which views Ukraine as no more than a game board on which the toiling masses are caught in the crossfire.
What Mélanie Joly, the Liberal Party and capital in general want is a Ukraine that plays the role of the spearhead of Western imperialism, of a power base against Russia. They only expect one thing from Ukraine: that it asks, “how high?” when told to jump. If this requires a regime in collaboration with fascist forces, so be it.
By falsifying history and by portraying fascistic post-Maidan Ukraine as a victim of Russian despotism, the Canadian government is trying to justify Western imperialist aims. It is reaffirming its commitment to Canada-U.S. monopoly interests and to the further integration of Canadian foreign policy with that of the United States. This places Canada in the vanguard of Western imperialism’s drive to war.
The facts are clear here as well. While Western governments cry foul when Russia moves its troops within its own territory, nobody seems overly concerned about the presence of 8,000 US troops in Europe or about NATO’s eastward expansion which increasingly threatens Russia’s sovereignty. But what would the US say if Russia were to open massive military bases in Canada or Mexico?
The fact is that the main danger to peace in Europe and throughout the world does not come from Moscow, but from Washington and NATO.
The Communist Party calls on the Canadian government to halt its militarist policy and to take action to de-escalate the crisis:
- Repatriate Canadian troops stationed in Ukraine and Latvia and stop deploying troops outside of the country.
- Cease all sales of arms and military equipment to Ukraine.
- Withdraw from NATO, an aggressive and murderous alliance, and adopt an independent foreign policy of peace, disarmament and international cooperation.
- Oppose NATO’s eastward expansion and call for the organization’s complete dissolution.
- Re-establish full and constructive diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation.
Only in this way can Canada truly support the Ukrainian people’s sovereignty and allow them to freely choose their future. The Communist Party calls on democratic forces in Canada – especially peace organizations and the labour movement, which has already taken positions against NATO – to mobilize against these provocations against Russia. It is urgent to oppose imperialism, which is the main enemy of the working class and the peoples of the world, and take a stand against the increased danger of war.
Central Executive Committee, Communist Party of Canada