Statement for Sub-Committee on Human Rights of the European Parliament on the situation in Russia

Prof. Dr. Robert van Voren
Postbus 1282
1200 BG Hilversum (NL)
tel.:+31-651534123 / e-mail rvvoren@gmail.org / http://www.robertvanvoren.com
Chamber of Commerce Hilversum, NL No. 53660994 – BTW/VAT No. NL0034521059

Statement for European Parliament
Sub-Committee on Human Rights

April 1, 2014

Since the outbreak of the Ukrainian crisis, the former Soviet Union is again daily front-
page news. The rapid sequence of events has led to an atmosphere that is very
reminiscent of the heydays of the Cold War. In Russia itself it has led to a hunt for
“national traitors” and “foreign agents” and observers both inside the country and
abroad fear for a return to full-scale Soviet repression. For the outside world this may
come as a surprise, human rights activists have been ringing the alarm bells already for
quite a few years. Ever since Russian President Vladimir Putin took power, the human
rights situation deteriorated and more and more liberties were curtailed. One of the
warning signs was the return of the use of psychiatry for political purposes to “prevent”
social or political activism or to ostracize an activist from society.

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National hysteria in Russia and those who stay sane

By Robert van Voren

A few days ago Lev Shlozberg, member of the council of the Pskov region, stood up and addressed a silent audience. They all listened in awe. He attacked the prevailing mood in Russia, comparing the attacks on “people’s traitors” and the mass patriotic hysteria with the atmosphere in the 1930s under Stalin. And if that was not enough, he continued to expose the corruption in the governor’s office, the deal and tricks that allowed the ruling class to enrich itself and keep the rest of the population in poverty. “These are the real people’s traitors,” he said, “these are the people that ruin our country.”

Lev Shlosberg Addressing Governor Andrey Turchak About the Real Enemies of Pskov Oblast, Russia

A few days ago Lev Shlosberg, member of the council of the Pskov region, stood up and addressed a silent audience. They all listened in awe. He attacked the prevailing mood in Russia, comparing the attacks on “people’s traitors” and the mass patriotic hysteria with the atmosphere in the 1930s under Stalin. And if that was not enough, he continued to expose the corruption in the governor’s office, the deal and tricks that allowed the ruling class to enrich itself and keep the rest of the population in poverty. “These are the real people’s traitors,” he said, “these are the people that ruin our country.”

Dear colleagues. Over the last week, in our country and namely in Pskov oblast, the high-ranking government officials, including the acting governor, for the first time in decades, spoke about the enemies of the society, of the enemies Russia, about the fifth column and the traitors. This attempt to restore dictatorship means that the country turns into a machine eager to destroy those who think differently. This is a disturbing fact, because resurrecting the former repression matrix demonstrates that the Russian government is on the way to destroy those who dare to disagree.

Ukraine’s Security Service and Interior Ministry Give until 6pm to Stop Stand-off Threatening Harsh Action

Ukrayinska Pravda

The heads of Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) and the Interior Ministry called on the leaders of the opposition to calm down protesters and return to the negotiating table, giving them two hours.

This joint statement, released on Thursday, 18 February,  maintains that “the extremists from the opposition have crossed the line: they are killing innocent people on the streets of the capital, torturing women, burning and exploding buildings and cars.”

The SBU states that chaos is ensuing in the center of Kyiv and that the “leaders of the opposition are choreographing these crimes over the phone.”

Numerous Ukrainian Judges File their Resignations

The Supreme Council of Justice (SCJ) will file a memorandum to the President and the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on the dismissal of 38 judges based on their resignation applications, along with a number of applications to the President to appoint 24 initial judge nominees.

This was announced by Oleksandr Lavrynovych, head of the SCJ, after a meeting held on 11 February 2014, reports High Castle daily.

Yuriy Andrukhovych: How others perceive Maidan and why it must continue

 

Yuriy Andrukhovych never tires of speaking about Maidan or offering his own views on how to find a way out of the crisis. In an interview with Espreso.TV, the well-known Ukrainian writer shared his thoughts on who should become the next president and why what is happening on Maidan is hugely important for the country and should not be forgotten.

The price of freedom

Ukrainians value their freedom. The ‘Dictatorship laws’ caused mass indignation and radicalised protests. 9 of the 11 laws were just revoked in the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament). But the initiators of the repressive laws and those that falsified the voting results pretend that everything is normal, that 6 people haven’t died, tens are not missing, hundreds not arrested, and two thousands are not injured. The government proposes to give an “amnesty” to those that came to defent the rights and freedoms of ALL as if they are villains.
Source: texty.org.ua 

Як можна отримати доступ до Інтернету у разі введення цензури

Привіт, Україно!
Трохи ІТ-підтримки від далекої Данії. Нижче я ознайомлю вас із інструментамі , які можуть допомогти у доступі до Інтернету у разі часткового блокування або цензури. Вони були винайдені у Китаї, але якщо Янукович коїть щось подібне, немає ніяких причин, чому б їм також саме добре не спрацювати в Україні.
Я наполягаю на тому, щоб ви встановили їх СЬОГОДНІ, бо після того, як блок увімкнеться, їх буде набагато складніще отримати.

How to possibly access internet in case of introduction of censorship

Hi Ukraine

A bit of IT support from far-away Denmark. Below I am introducing tools that may aid in accessing the internet in case of a partial block or censorship. They were made for China, but if Yanukovich is trying something similar, there is no reason they should not also work well in Ukraine.

I urge you to install them today, as they may be hard to get once the blocking is on.

Standoff in Ukraine: Mafia Regime vs. Mobilized Citizens

At first glance, the world appears to be coming to an end in Ukraine: President Yanukovych is still in power, he’s signed a neocolonial deal with Russia, and he approved a whole raft of repressive legislation on January 16th. But wait: Take a deep breath, examine all the evidence, and you may conclude that things aren’t quite as bad. Ukrainian society has been going through profound transformation during the last two months. Will it be enough to counter the expansion of Putin’s authoritarian regime?
Find out>>>