International commission, YCL-LJC
March, 2014
Recent events in Ukraine show the urgency for youth to fight for peace and genuine internationalism, and against imperialist alliances like the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. NATO and the European Union, supported by US and Canadian imperialism, are backing reactionary elements in Ukraine, dangerously threatening the stability of the region and the world.
The Western corporate media and the Harper Conservatives are portraying the new Ukrainian government as democratic; however, the real story is that an ultra-right coalition including fascist groups staged a “regime-change” coup against a democratically elected government.
Ukraine was hit hard by the economic crisis, suffering vast economic losses hurting the youth and working people. Already poverty had exploded since the 1990s as Ukraine was shoved from socialism backwards to capitalism. Due to this desperate economic situation, propaganda from the West, a historical tendency for fascist activity and wealthy far-right interests, there is a growing social base for fascist movements, racism, and xenophobia fuelling “revenge mobs” which are tearing down anti-fascist monuments as well as historic symbols of the achievements of the Soviet Union.
Fierce competition exists between the United States and the European Union, on the one hand, and Russian capital, on the other, over control of markets and natural resources. The US has spent billions on Ukrainian NGOs. The International Monetary Fund and German capital are already on the ground in Kiev. NATO seeks to incorporate Ukraine into its illegal alliance. US and European imperialism is dangerously sabre-rattling as developments in the Crimea unfold. US Secretary of State John Kerry hypocritically spouted: “You just don’t in the 21st century behave in 19th century fashion by invading another country on a completely trumped-up pretext.” Prime Minister Harper is refusing to recognize Crimea’s referendum. The Ukrainian people are only an afterthought.
The communists of Ukraine reject this direction, as well as class collaboration with big Russian capital. The communist youth are a growing force. The Communist Party of the Ukraine is one of the largest opposition parties in parliament with over thirty deputies. Their offices and some members’ homes have been ransacked and the new coup government is attempting to make them illegal, because the Communist Party and communist youth oppose the exploitation, racism, persecution, and anti-Semitism that the ultra-right groups are trying to implement.
The YCL-LJC expresses full solidarity to all genuinely democratic forces, especially the communist youth, who are struggling against the neo-Nazis and their allies. We condemn the Canadian government’s rapid recognition of the right-wing coup in Kiev. Sanctions against Russia could be a dangerous prelude to war. The conflict must be resolved diplomatically, by the Ukrainian people themselves without imperialist interference.
Canada would make a better contribution to global solidarity by immediately withdrawing from NATO and adopting an independent foreign policy based on peace, environmental sustainability, and disarmament.