Report # 234. Tragic anniversary of the Odessa massacre by neo-Nazi regime in Ukraine | Центр военно-политических исследований

May 2, 2023

1. Statement by the Odessa Solidarity Campaign on the 9th anniversary of the Odessa Massacre

Each year, the Odessa Solidarity Campaign has promoted actions on May 2 to mark the date in 2014 when a right-wing mob led by openly fascist organizations murdered at least 42 anti-fascists at the House of Trade Unions in Odessa, Ukraine.

The Odessa Massacre took place just a few months after the violent coup that replaced a pro-Russian president with a pro-U.S. one. Not surprisingly, the U.S. was heavily involved in promoting the coup.

Today Ukraine has an authoritarian government that openly collaborates with neo-Nazi organizations, incorporating them into its military and promoting the memory of Ukrainian fascists who shamefully collaborated with the World War II Nazi occupation of their country. The birthday of the notorious Nazi collaborator Stefan Bandera is now a national holiday. His image graces a national stamp. Major streets have been renamed in his honor and Bandera statues have replaced monuments to Soviet war heroes.

For years, relatives of those who were murdered on May 2, 2014, regularly visited the site of the massacre and kept repeating their demand for an international investigation into the atrocity, something the Ukrainian government has never allowed. Today it is impossible for them to come into the streets without risking arrest or physical attacks.

The Odessa Solidarity Campaign was founded in 2016 to support the anti-fascist people of Odessa, and now Ukraine as a whole. That was the year we traveled to Odessa to stand with the Council of Mothers of May 2 as they defied threats of attack by the same fascist organizations that had murdered their daughters and sons.

Today, as the world is inundated with pro-U.S. and pro-NATO propaganda about the war in Ukraine, we believe it is more important than ever to keep alive the memory of the Odessa Massacre and the fact that not all Ukrainians support the current reactionary government and its pro-U.S./NATO stance.

We are asking that all freedom-loving people everywhere please post this message on your websites and social media sites along with the above graphic that was created by a young Ukrainian to promote the anti-fascist message. Please make the graphic your Facebook image for the day and share it on your Instagram, Tic-Toc and Twitter accounts.

And as for the war itself, we call on the U.S. and NATO, which are responsible for provoking this devastating confrontation, to stop sending arms to Ukraine and stop using the Ukrainian people as cannon fodder in their proxy war against Russia.

Remember the Odessa Massacre!

U.S. Out of Ukraine! NATO Out of Existence!

If you or your organization post this message and/or graphic, please let us know:

ODESSA SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN
PO Box 23202, Richmond, VA 23223 - USA
Phone/Text: 1-804-644-5845

Note: 1) some witnesses during May 2, 2014 massacre claim that the number of killed was more than 42;

2) on May 2,2023 many demonstrators in Moscow marked that day with a motto “We will remember”.

2. Why the UN SG used a vague formula in the Grain Deal Memorandum?

There are no tangible results that would indicate that Russia's demands under the Black Sea Grain Initiative have been met, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said, speaking about the prospects for extending the deal beyond May 18, 2023. Russia is "being told about the efforts," he said, adding that the country appreciates the efforts, "but we need results, and there are no results."

The Black Sea Grain Initiative signed on 22 July 2022 in Istanbul has two documents. The first one is the Agreement between the Russian Federation, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Nations. The second one is the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Russian Federation and the UN Secretary-General or SG Antonio Guterres to facilitate unimpeded exports of Russian food and fertilizer to the world markets. The ideas on the MoU with Russia were formulated by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in such a way that he is not responsible for the implementation of the deal with the Russian side.

There are some major setbacks in the MoU.

In paragraph 2 of the respective MoU with Russia on deliveries of food and fertilizer it is written: “The [UNO] Secretariat agrees to continue efforts to promote transparent and unhindered deliveries of food and fertilizer ...”.

First of all, there is no word like “Russia” in the sentence “…unhindered deliveries of food and fertilizer ….”. Second, such formula is a very vague: “The [UNO] Secretariat agrees to continue efforts to promote transparent and unhindered deliveries ….”. The UN Secretariat can say everywhere that it continued efforts to promote transparent and unhindered deliveries of food and fertilizer. But it was useless due to other factors.

Till now, no one gram of Russian food or fertilizer have been delivered to

the poor nations in need. NATO and the EU still block the deal for Russia. Even when Moscow promised to deliver fertilizer free of charge

That is why the UN Note to Correspondents said on March 13, 2023: “The UN Secretary-General has confirmed that the UN will do everything possible to preserve the integrity of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and ensure its continuity”. Such empty statements can be repeated many times.

Paragraph 4 sounds very strange: “This Memorandum is not an international treaty, and does not create any rights or obligations under international law”.

Russia has twice extended the deal without any tangible results though in all cases the UN SG promised to bring it about

Can such MoU be implemented if it is not considered as an international agreement, and does not create any rights or obligations under international law?

There is a serious doubt that it will be implemented at all.

Written by Vladimir P. Kozin

03.05.2023