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Tuesday June 27, 2023

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday June 27, 2023

Putin, Prigozhin, and Lukashenko, Engaging in a Barbaric Dance of Bloodshed

June 1, 2023

The recent illegal invasion of Ukraine orchestrated by Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, and Alexander Lukashenko has brought to light the depths of their collective depravity. This trio of criminals has choreographed a hideous slavic dance of bloodshed, leaving a trail of destruction and despair in their wake. It is imperative that we direct our disdain towards these individuals and hold them accountable for their heinous actions.

The events surrounding Yevgeny Prigozhin’s revolt against Vladimir Putin were shocking and unexpected. However, the future remains uncertain, and we must remain vigilant, focusing our attention on Minsk, the Belarusian capital, where Prigozhin has reportedly sought refuge. The outcome of this drama depends not only on Prigozhin’s position in Minsk but also on how Putin and his cohorts manage the fallout within Russia.

From the moment Prigozhin ordered his 25,000-man-strong paramilitary force to march from Rostov-on-Don, it became apparent that Putin’s grip on power was slipping away. The fact that the Wagner Group managed to reach striking distance of the Kremlin unimpeded is a testament to the fundamental weakness of Putin’s regime. This armed uprising resulted in the loss of 15 Russian servicemen and sent shock waves across the globe.

Analysis: What just happened in Russia?  

March 4, 2022

Prigozhin has blamed Russia’s Minister of Defence, Sergey Shoigu, and Chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, for the march, citing ammunition shortages and their mishandling of the war effort. However, the root cause of this disastrous situation and the Kremlin’s failure to contain the threat lies in the unchecked corruption that Putin has allowed to flourish. Putin and Prigozhin share a history dating back to the lawless days of St. Petersburg in the 1990s. While Putin was immersed in mafia violence, Prigozhin catered to gangsters, secret agents, and political power brokers.

Putin’s rise to power opened doors for Prigozhin, earning him the nickname “Putin’s Chef” as he organized state dinners. Putin further facilitated Prigozhin’s ascent by securing him billions of dollars in defense contracts. Since Russia’s incursion into Ukraine in 2014, Prigozhin has become the face of Putin’s military adventurism.

Alexander Lukashenko, known for his oppressive regime, played a role in brokering a temporary truce between Prigozhin and Putin. This is not the first time Lukashenko has been involved in such negotiations. Minsk has served as a regular stopover for Russian paramilitary forces, and Lukashenko himself claimed that Wagner mercenaries were sent to overthrow his government. His recent revelations about attempting to broker a deal between Putin and Ukraine’s President Zelensky regarding Crimea further raise suspicions.

January 22, 2022

Prigozhin, wanted in the United States for interfering in the 2016 presidential elections and subject to international sanctions, may face trial for war crimes if he escapes assassination attempts. His fate remains uncertain, but it is likely that he will be used as a pawn in a new round of Belarusian chess. The question that remains is who will be sacrificed next on the path to a potential Minsk III agreement. The bargaining over Prigozhin’s future is far from over.

The trio of Putin, Prigozhin, and Lukashenko has unleashed a wave of destruction and suffering through their illegal invasion of Ukraine. Their disdain for human life and their disregard for international norms and laws cannot be tolerated. It is crucial for the global community to condemn their actions and ensure that they face the consequences for their crimes. Only then can we hope for justice and a brighter future for those affected by their atrocities. (AI)

 

Wednesday April 6, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday April 6, 2022

In Bucha, death, devastation and a graveyard of mines

March 12, 2022

The Russian forces had not been in town for long before they came to the home of Volodymyr Avramov, a resident of Vokzal’na Street in the quiet Ukrainian suburb of Bucha.

Three Russians kicked in the doors and threw in a grenade, the 72-year-old Avramov said. Inside were Avramov, his daughter, and his son-in-law, Oleh.

They dragged Oleh outside and made him kneel – then shot him in the head as Avramov and his daughter watched, he said. The two then had to shelter in a basement for weeks as the fighting continued.

“Oleh was laying on the street for a month. I could not come close or bury him, nothing,” he said.

Images of dead civilians lining the streets of Bucha have shocked the world in recent days and heightened concerns that Russian soldiers are committing war crimes in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called it genocide.

March 1, 2022

“There were piles of dead corpses lying here, without arms, without legs, without skulls,” Avramov said. “You wouldn’t see it in a nightmare. It’s horror.”

Stories resembling the one told by Avramov have been documented by Human Rights Watch, which found evidence of execution-style killings of civilian men in multiple Ukrainian cities, including Bucha.

Now Ukraine has intensified its calls for the West to provide more military aid and take greater action against Russia, in hopes of tipping the scale as the fight shifts from Kyiv to eastern Ukraine.

“If we had already got what we needed – all these planes, tanks, artillery, anti-missile and anti-ship weapons – we could have saved thousands of people. I do not blame you — I blame only the Russian military. But you could have helped,” Zelenskyy said in a speech Monday.

February 20, 2014

As part of the effort, Ukrainian authorities have organized tours for foreign journalists to see the extent of Russia’s devastation of Bucha: Destroyed homes, blackened buildings, blown out windows, and the apocalyptic Vokzal’na Street – a half-mile-long graveyard of burned out tanks and cars.

Amid the ruins, members of a demining crew showed journalists some of the explosives that have been recovered from homes in the city. About 4,000 were found on Monday alone, officials said, a mix of mines, ammunition and unexploded missiles.

The bodies of some 200 civilians have been recovered so far in the Bucha area, officials say, and more are uncovered each day as crews work to remove mines and clear rubble. (NPR) 

 

Saturday February 12, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday February 12, 2022

Flying the Maple Leaf

After the first full week of Winter Olympic competition in Beijing, Team Canada has won a total of 12 medals: one gold, four silver and seven bronze. (The Globe & Mail) 

July 22, 2021

Meanwhile, an expected protest at the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie, Ont., has police, border services, public health and politicians watching closely, fearing it could endanger people or further business woes.

Social media posts show people opposed to continued pandemic mandates have plans to bring transport trucks and crowds of people to the border crossing that connects southern Ontario to Buffalo.

Currently, protests are ongoing in border cities like Coutts, Alta., Emerson, Man., and Windsor, Ont., as rallies that started in Ottawa two weeks ago continue. (CBC) 

Nobody is threatening gridlock or shutting down the U.S.-Canada border as groups are in Ottawa and at northern crossings over the past few days.

Saturday February 20, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday February 20, 2021

MPs vote to label China’s persecution of Uighurs a genocide

Parliament today accused the Chinese government of carrying out a campaign of genocide against Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims.

February 12, 2021

A substantial majority of MPs — including most Liberals who participated — voted in favour of a Conservative motion that says China’s actions in its western Xinjiang region meet the definition of genocide set out in the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention.

The final tally was 266 in favour and zero opposed. Two MPs formally abstained.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and almost all of his cabinet colleagues were absent for the vote. Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau was the only cabinet minister present. When it was his turn, he said he abstained “on behalf of the Government of Canada.” 

The motion also calls on the government to lobby the International Olympic Committee to move the 2022 Winter Olympic Games out of Beijing.

It was passed over the strenuous objections of Chinese Ambassador to Canada Cong Peiwu, who denounced the vote as meddling in China’s internal affairs.

June 3, 2015

Media reports and academic and UN experts have accused China of imprisoning Uighurs in concentration and “deradicalization” camps and targeting them for forced labour, sexual violence, population control methods and sweeping surveillance. China’s foreign ministry has denied the accusations.

The motion calls on the government to officially adopt the position that China is engaged in genocide, and to coordinate a response with the U.S. and other allies.

While it’s not clear what impact — if any — the non-binding resolution will have on the Liberal government’s approach to China, it threatens to inflame relations between the two countries at a time when they’re already tense due to the arrest of Huawei CEO Meng Wanzhou by Canadian authorities over two years ago, and China’s subsequent imprisonment of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor.

In a statement posted to the Chinese embassy’s website prior to the vote, Cong insisted the reports of Uighur persecution are based on lies.

November 20, 2020

Bob Rae, Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations, called on the United Nations in November to investigate whether China’s persecution of ethnic Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang constitutes genocide.

Despite these calls, Prime Minister Trudeau and his cabinet ministers have been reluctant to use the word “genocide” to describe China’s actions against the Uighurs. Last week, Trudeau said the word is an “extremely loaded” one and he is not prepared to use it at this point.

In question period today, Garneau said the government takes allegations against China “very seriously” and has raised its concerns directly with the Chinese government.

Garneau said Canada wants independent investigators to go into China to document abuses and is working with international partners to gain access to the region. (CBC) 

 

Tuesday December 8, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday December 8, 2020

Canadians must never forget ‘the two Michaels’

If any Canadians still wonder why their country isn’t ready to become one of China’s best bosom buddies, this week should remind them.

November 20, 2020

As of Thursday, Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig will have suffered for two full years in Chinese jails where they were almost certainly locked up for political, rather than legal, reasons.

Just think back to Dec. 10, 2018 and consider all the things you’ve done, all the places you’ve been, all the people you’ve seen and all the freedoms you’ve savoured since then. Then remember the men who are now widely referred to as “the two Michaels.” 

While both have had only restricted contact with the outside world, we know they’ve endured months of daily interrogations in deplorable, solitary confinement-like conditions where the lights were kept on 24 hours a day. And while for a time Spavor and Kovrig were at least allowed an occasional, brief visit from Canadian consular staff, the Chinese are now using the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to make them even more unreachable — and alone.

That this constitutes cruel, inhumane treatment should go without saying. But it is also egregiously unjust and underlines the stark difference between Canada’s adherence to the rule of international law and China’s inclination to make up the rules that suit its fancy. 

December 12, 2018

The Chinese incarcerated the two Michaels just days after Canada’s house arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, who is wanted on fraud charges in the United States. While Spavor and Kovrig languish in cramped cells, Meng is out on bail, living comfortably in Vancouver where she divides her time between her two mansions. While Spavor and Kovrig have been denied proper legal representation, Meng has access to the small army of lawyers she hired to fight her extradition to the U.S.

From the day of Meng’s arrest two years ago, the Canadian government clearly explained a legal agreement with the U.S. compelled it to take action against her. In contrast, while China has formally charged Spavor and Kovrig with espionage, its real motive for arresting them is different. 

July 25, 2019

This is hostage diplomacy, plain and simple, a blatant attempt by a global superpower to force Canada to bow to its commands. The Chinese themselves basically confirmed this is the case in June. That’s when Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said it was “within the rule of law” for China to release Spavor and Kovrig — if Canada freed Meng first.

Of course, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was right not to buckle to the pressure on him to interfere with Canadian courts and free Meng. If you give in to a bully once, the bully will inevitably be back again to twist your arm into doing something else. And this is the same bully that has also arbitrarily blocked its imports of Canadian farm products, all while badgering Canada to allow China’s Huawei Technologies Co., equipment to be used in Canada’s 5G wireless networks.

China is a country that, because of its political power and economic prowess, Canada must engage. But its aggressive dealings with Canada, including sending over state agents to intimidate Canadian citizens who publicly criticize China, mean we should keep a wary distance — and keep it out of our 5G network. 

Such a relationship should be reserved for a true friend. But a true friend wouldn’t have kept Spavor and Kovrig behind bars for two years. (Hamilton Spectator Editorial)