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Category: US coup

  • How Bob Parry Covered Odessa Fire That Sparked A War

    On May 2, 2014, Neo-Nazi gangs massacred 48 people who had rejected the U.S.-backed overthrow of a democratically-elected government in Kiev earlier that year. The deliberately-set fire in the Trade Unions Building in Odessa has never been satisfactorily investigated by Ukrainian authorities.

    Eight days later two ethnic Russian majority oblasts in the east declared independence from Ukraine, leading to the U.S.-backed war against them by the unconstitutional government. Eight years later Russia intervened in the civil war.

    This is how Robert Parry, founder of Consortium News, reported the story on May 10, 2014. He emphasized the effort by the U.S. government and media to bury the U.S. role in the 2014 unconstitutional change of government and the part played by Neo-Nazis in Ukraine, which the U.S. government, corporate media and their “anti-disinformation” allies are still trying to hide.

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  • Lawfare In Perú: Trial Of Rupture

    On March 4, José Pedro Castillo Terrones, Peru’s first Indigenous rural president, went before the Supreme Court in what he, his lawyers and supporters have called a “show trial” for the supposed crime of rebellion. Since being overthrown in a 2022 coup, Castillo has spent the past two years in Penal Barbadillo (a prison) in conditions described as torture. He is said to be under pre-trial detention, itself a violation of his human rights.

    Shortly after Castillo gave an announcement that he would pursue closing Congress , a primary demand of the Peruvian masses for years, Congress swiftly moved to impeach him. In a chain of procedural missteps, Congress rammed through (illegally, as his lawyers argue) the impeachment of Castillo.

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  • Sectarian Violence Sweeps Syria

    At least 147 people have been killed in Syria in the past two days, as security forces from the country’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – led government carried out a series of massacres and extrajudicial executions against Alawites in the country’s coastal regions as part of a broader security campaign to target remnants of the former Syrian Arab Army (SAA).

    Videos of many instances of extrajudicial killings have been posted to social media showing HTS militants from the government of Ahmad al-Sharaa, the former Al-Qaeda in Iraq commander, killing unarmed Alawites in cold blood.

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  • Yes, Ukraine Started The War

    Donald Trump has been flayed alive by Western media and leaders for saying Ukraine started the war. Here are facts, not myths.

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  • United States’ Role In The Coup Attempt And Effort To Reignite The Korean War

    On December 3, President Yoon Suk-Yeol attempted to impose martial law in South Korea as part of an effort to take more power and reignite the Korean War. Social movements took to the streets en masse and stopped the coup. Legislators then successfully voted to impeach President Yoon, who is refusing to resign. Clearing the FOG speaks with Ju-Hyun Park of the Korean diaspora organization Nodutdol about long-term US intervention in South Korea, how the coup attempt was thwarted, alleged plans to create a false flag event implicating the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and what happens next.

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  • How To Understand The Change Of Government In Syria

    Just over a decade ago, Assad’s government remained in power largely because of support from Iran and Russia, but also because of the involvement – to a lesser extent – of neighbouring Iraq and Hezbollah (Lebanon). Assad did not have the stomach for the contest. He became president in 2000 after the death of his father, Hafez al-Assad, who took office through a military coup in 1971. Bashar al-Assad had a privileged upbringing and studied to be an ophthalmologist in the United Kingdom. When the rebel armies neared Damascus in December of this year, Assad fled to Moscow with his family, claiming that he wanted to retire from politics and resume his career as an ophthalmologist.

    The post How To Understand The Change Of Government In Syria appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • Compatible Left Joins Imperialism In Celebrating Defeat Of Syria

    It may be no surprise that the “mainstream” corporate news media have turned into advertising agencies for US government policy. But it still surprises that what the CIA called a compatible left – those on the left it deemed compatible with maintaining imperialist rule – celebrates another US successful “regime change,” this time, Syria.

    Portside ran an article, Liberation in Syria Is a Victory Worth Embracing, which criticized “some self-styled Western ‘anti-imperialists’” for their lack of enthusiasm for the “victory.” While it does note Israel bombed Syria 220 times up to mid-November this past year, one finds no mention of the long US blockade imposed on Syrians. 

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  • Ajamu Baraka On The US-Backed Coup In Syria And Anti-Anti-Imperialism

    On December 8, the United States and Israel, with support from Turkey, succeeded in overthrowing the Syrian government using Islamic jihadist militants as proxies. Some people in the United States are claiming this as a victory for the Syrian people even though the proxies are Al Qaeda terrorists. Clearing the FOG speaks with Ajamu Baraka about the coup, the history of resistance in Syria and in the region, and what this means for the Syrian people. Baraka discusses Israel’s immediate expansion of its occupation in Syria and its quest for a ‘Greater Israel.’ He also discusses a tendency for some Left forces in the United States to side with US imperialism and why it is important to have ideological clarity about what is happening.

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  • Curfew For Anniversary Of Odessa Massacre That Sparked Rebellion

    Authorities in the Ukrainian port city of Odessa have set a 24-hour curfew from May 1-3 to prevent protests commemorating the burning alive on May 2, 2014 of 48 people who had rejected the U.S.-backed coup in Kiev earlier that year.

    The city, which is  “(under the control of Ukrainian troops) announced the introduction of a ‘curfew’ in the city from 22-00 on May 1 to 5-00 on May 3. For the duration of the ‘curfew’ Odessans are not allowed to leave their homes,” said the group Repression of the Left and Dissenters in Ukraine in a Telegram post. “Obviously, this decision of the authorities is due to the fact that May 2 is a very important date for the inhabitants of Odessa.”

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  • May 2: International Solidarity With The People Of Odessa

    Now more than ever, in light of the escalating military and political confrontation between Western powers and the Russian Federation and its allies, we must remember what has led to the current crisis.

    On May 2, 2014, an event happened in Odessa, Ukraine, that has been called one of the worst civil disturbances in Europe since World War II. A right-wing mob led by openly neo-Nazi organizations chased a much smaller group of progressives into the city’s House of Trade Unions and then set the building on fire. At least 42 people died from the flames and smoke inhalation or by being beaten to death as they tried to escape the burning building. To this day, not one of the perpetrators has been punished, even though the attack was documented by scores of people who posted videos of the event online.

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  • When Did The Ukraine War Begin?

    Viewing the Ukraine war as starting with the current Russian invasion leads to very different conclusions than if you consider that the starting point of this war was the 2014 US-orchestrated coup in Ukraine. The coup, which had elements of an authentic popular revolt, has been used by outside powers to pursue geopolitical ends.

    The conception that the war started on February 24 of this year is like viewing the “invasion” by the US and its allies of Normandy in June 1944 against the “sovereign” and “democratic” Vichy French as the start of World War II. Never mind that the Vichy government was a puppet of the Nazis; that the opportunities to negotiate had long been rejected; that the war had been raging for years; and that the only option for stopping the Nazis was militarily.

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  • Russia, Ukraine And The US: The Background They’re Not Telling You

    In the winter of 2022, the news is dominated by growing tensions  between Russia and Ukraine. Reports that Russia has amassed some  100,000 troops on its border with neighboring Ukraine have brought  charges from the United States and NATO that Russia is planning to  invade its neighbor, with whom it has had increasingly tense relations.

    Will Russia invade Ukraine? And if it does, how will the United  States and NATO react? Already, the U.S. and its allies are threatening new sanctions against Russia, sending massive amounts of military  equipment to Ukraine and beefing up their military presence in bordering countries.

    How close are we to war in the region? And how would the U.S. be  involved?

    The post Russia, Ukraine And The US: The Background They’re Not Telling You appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

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  • 21st Century US Coups And Attempted Coups In Latin America

    During the 21st century, the US, working with corporate elites, traditional oligarchies, military, and corporate media, has continually attempted coups against Latin American governments which place the needs of their people over US corporate interests. US organized coups in Latin American countries is hardly a 20th century phenomenon.

    However, this century the US rulers have turned to a new coup strategy, relying on soft coups, a significant change from the notoriously brutal military hard coups in Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and other countries in the 1970s. One central US concern in these new coups has been to maintain a legal and democratic facade as much as possible. 

    The US superpower recognizes successful soft coups depend on mobilizing popular forces in anti-government marches and protests.

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  • Is Biden Looking To Reignite A Dirty War In Ukraine?

    On October 18, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to affirm U.S. support for Ukraine’s war against its eastern provinces.

    Since the beginning of the conflict in 2014, the United States has provided more than $2.5 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, including $275 million in military aid that has been announced in the last ten months under President Joe Biden, a staunch champion of the war from its inception.

    In early November, President Biden dispatched CIA Director William F. Burns to Moscow to warn the Kremlin about its troop buildup on the Ukraine border and to try and force it to back off. Secretary of State Antony Blinken followed up this past week by threatening Russia further in a joint press conference in Washington with the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

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  • What Lies Ahead For Guinea After Coup By US-Trained Military Unit?

    Over a week after the coup in Guinea was orchestrated by a US-trained military unit, the military junta that seized power initiated a four-day-long conference with political parties, business leaders and traditional leaders on Tuesday, September 14. 

    The stated reason for this conference is to reach an agreement on the duration and arrangements for the transitional period before civilian rule can be restored. It was clear from the outset that few of the main opposition parties sitting opposite the junta on the table were keen on pushing for a speedy transition to civilian rule. Smaller political parties reportedly did not get through the registration to attend the conference. 

    “It’s very difficult to want to impose on (coup leader) Colonel (Mamady) Doumbouya a civilian president – but it would be desirable that the prime minister was a civilian…

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  • On Contact: American Coup d’Etat

    Dennis Kucinich served as a US representative from Ohio from 1997 to 2013, losing his seat after the state Democratic Party machine redrew Ohio’s 10th Congressional district, a redistricting designed expressly to oust him, although he is a Democrat, from his seat, which is what happened. He was also the 53rd mayor of Cleveland. As mayor he took on the entrenched power of the big banks and business interests, along with the mob, which controlled City Hall. His anti-corruption campaign included battling back against the efforts to privatize the city’s municipal electric utility, a scheme that would have jacked up utility rates for the city’s residents and netted millions in profits for the banks and the privately owned Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company.

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  • President Zelensky Says Ukraine ‘Ready’ For War With Russia

    Amid mounting tensions in the Black Sea region, President Volodymyr Zelensky declared on Tuesday night that Ukraine is “ready” for war with Russia. He warned that the country would “stand to the last man” in the event of a war.

    Zelensky also signed a law allowing the Ukrainian army to mobilize its reservists without notice within 24 hours. Those avoiding the draft will be subject to criminal prosecution. The new law had been proposed by the Ukrainian General Staff.

    Zelensky’s aggressive declarations came amidst reports of growing NATO activity near Russia’s borders.

    On Wednesday, the Russian press reported that two NATO aircraft, an American P-8A Poseidon and a British RC-135W, and an American drone had conducted reconnaissance flights for several hours near the Crimean Peninsula in the Black Sea.

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  • I Entered My Country’s House Of Justice And Found A Snake Charmer’s Temple

    On a Sunday night on 21 March 2021, gunmen stopped Juan Carlos Cerros Escalante (age 41) as he walked from this mother’s home to his own in the village of Nueva Granada near San Antonio de Cortés (Honduras). The gunmen opened fire in front of a catholic church, killing this leader of United Communities in front of his children. Forty bullets were found at the scene.

    Jorge Vásquez of the National Platform of Indigenous Peoples said that Juan Carlos Cerros had been threatened for his leadership of the Lenca peoples and their fight to protect their land. Carlos Cerros was killed, Vásquez said, ‘because of the work we do’. None of his killers have been arrested.

    Two and a half weeks later, on 6 April, Roberto David Castillo Mejía entered the Supreme Court in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras.

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  • Despite US’ Dirty Tricks, Bolivia Is Finding A Way To Stay Independent

    Sentiments in Bolivia for and against the coup d’etat of November 2019 are predictably along class lines. Those from more affluent sections felt that the socialist policies of the government of President Evo Morales (which was in power from 2006 to 2019) were eating into their authority. But these sections could not oust Morales at the ballot box because his policies of redistribution were wildly popular among the mass of the population. Morales won three elections, each of them with a decisive mandate: winning 53.74% in 2005, 64.08% in 2009, and 61.36% in 2014.

    Pressure to prevent Morales from running in the election in 2019 mounted early, but it failed. The opposition—with the full backing of the US government—tried to undermine the October 2019 election by painting it as fraudulent.

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  • Nicaragua And The Western Human Rights Industry

    Every area of reporting has become increasingly shaped by corporate funding either directly or else indirectly, via government bodies strongly under corporate influence. The Western intellectual managerial classes have generally abandoned basic reporting standards. This is self-evident to anyone who has tried to challenge false received wisdom in relation to NATO country aggression against sovereign nations from Cuba and Venezuela to Libya and Syria.

    Western organizations and institutions claiming to be accountable and transparent are not – neither UN bodies nor regional institutions like the Organization of American States, nor any of the major international NGOs. Practically invariably, reporting by these kinds of agencies systematically omits facts inconvenient to their findings, denies relevant actors a fair chance to make their case, and systematically avoids corroboration of their findings by genuinely independent sources.

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  • Western Media: Prosecuting Coup Leaders Is Worse Than Leading A Coup

    One can imagine an editor of the London-based Guardian (3/17/21) shaking her head sadly as she typed the headline: “Cycle of Retribution Takes Bolivia’s Ex-President From Palace to Prison Cell.”  The subhead told readers, “Jeanine Áñez’s government once sought to jail the country’s former leader Evo Morales for terrorism and sedition—now she faces the same charges.”

    The Guardian article by Tom Phillips wants us to lament an alleged incapacity of Bolivian governments to stop persecuting opponents once they take office.

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  • Former Interim President Jeanine Añez Arrested In Bolivia

    The Bolivian government announced on Saturday the arrest of Jeanine Áñez, who will be prosecuted for the overthrow of Evo Morales in November 2019, in an action described by the former president as “abuse and political persecution”.

    “I inform the Bolivian people that Mrs. Jeanine Añez has already been apprehended and at this moment she is in the hands of the Police,” Eduardo del Castillo, Minister of Internal Affairs, wrote on his Twitter account. The arrest, at a time and place not immediately disclosed, was announced hours after the release of an arrest warrant issued by two prosecutors who are processing a coup complaint against those responsible for the 2019 democratic disruption, from which the administration emerged.

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  • Bolivia: Right Wing Threatens The Recovery Of Democracy

    After a full year of racist and repressive horror perpetrated by a de facto government resulting from a coup, the people of Bolivia went to the polls on October 18, 2020 and stunned their own country and the world by giving Evo Morales’ MAS-IPSP party candidate, Luis Arce, a landslide. The coup d’état that installed a racist regime led by Jeanine Añez, was engineered by OAS secretary General, Luis Almagro, carried out by fascists in November 2019, and of course, supported by the US.1

    The specifics of the landslide reveal the size of the defeat of the de facto extreme right wing regime: the MAS-IPSP won the presidency with a 55% of the votes cast, against 28% of right-wing Carlos Mesa, and 14% of extreme right-wing Luis Camacho. This was a much improved performance compared to the election in November 2019 when their candidate, Evo Morales won with 48% against right wing Carlos Mesa’s 36%.

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  • Coup-Supporting Academics Spread Lies To Censor The Grayzone

    A collection of coup-supporting academics are lobbying to censor The Grayzone’s factual journalism exposing Ecuador’s presidential candidate Yaku Pérez. Pérez is a self-declared environmentalist from a US government-backed party who has supported numerous right-wing coups in Latin America, advanced xenophobic conspiracies, and demonized poor people in his country.

    The academics have published a deceptive and distortion-laden open letter that egregiously misrepresents my factual reporting and absurdly smears me as “racist and misogynist,” based on absurd insinuations and outright falsehoods.

    Besides deploying a litany of baseless ad hominem smears, the academics resorted to a wild array of demonstrably false claims that were contradicted by the very same article they are seeking to censor.

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  • Lessons From The November 2019 U.S.-Backed Coup In Bolivia

    In October of 2020, the Movement Towards Socialism (acronymed MAS in Spanish) returned to power 11 months after the U.S.-backed far-right coup regime of Jeanine Áñez ousted Evo Morales and his government during Bolivia’s November 2019 elections. The MAS party restored majority control over Bolivia’s legislature, and MAS candidate Luis Arce won the presidential election by a landslide victory, earning about 55% of the vote against the two main anti-MAS candidates, center-right ex-president Carlos Mesa (who received almost 29%) and far-right Luis Camacho (who received only 14%).

    The right-wing opposition had expected the vote to be close enough to force a run-off election, in which the hope was that the anti-MAS vote would consolidate to elect Mesa over Arce.

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