Blatant Interference in Ukraine's Internal Affairs
George Allen



Canadian embassy in Ukraine sheltered anti-government protestors.

An ongoing investigation has unearthed more facts about how armed anti-government protestors entered Canada's embassy in Kyiv on February 18, 2014 and used it as a hideout, during the U.S. and European Union-instigated coup against the elected government of Ukraine at that time ("Euromaidan"). Roman Waschuk, the current Canadian ambassador in Kyiv, when confronted in a recent interview confirmed that the protesters camped in the main lobby of the embassy for at least a week, something that the Harper government has never revealed. The whole set of events constitutes blatant interference in Ukraine's internal affairs by the Harperites.

The Harper government and its monopoly media tried to dismiss the event as a minor incident. News reports at the time pitched the numbers involved as low as possible, from "a handful" of demonstrators that entered the embassy[1]to "about a dozen anti-government protestors."[2]

The Canadian embassy was closed on February 19 and remained closed throughout the events that culminated February 22[3]with the coup against Ukraine's former President Victor Yanukovych. The fact that numerous anti-government protestors in Kyiv stayed in the Canadian embassy for seven days during this period exposes the Harperites as active participants in regime change, not just the providers of "shelter."

The government's unofficial justifications for allowing the protestors to camp in the embassy are completely bogus. The Harperites claim that the first protestor in "waved a Canadian passport," then others followed him. The government also claims that since all the demonstrators were pro-European Union (EU) and anti-Russia they must have been "pro-democracy," even though it is well-known that neo-Nazi groups participated in and helped to instigate the protests.

Media at that time reported "Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird's office says they are peaceful and have not caused any damage or harm to staff." Canadian embassy spokesman Adam Hodge said, "We hope that the situation improves quickly so that they can safely leave the embassy premises at the earliest possible opportunity." He said, "We expect these individuals to be able to leave the embassy safely, free from intimidation, arrest or further harassment."[4]

One can only imagine the uproar from the Harperites if a foreign embassy in Toronto had sheltered anti-G8 protestors for a week in 2012 or, more recently, Idle No More activists. The country involved would have been publicly denounced for interfering in Canada's internal affairs, their embassy closed and the representatives sent packing.

Canada's role models for what happened at the Canadian embassy in Ukraine are U.S. embassies that have long interfered in the internal affairs of sovereign countries, to make and keep governments pro-U.S., including bringing about regime change by force. CIA agents run embassies under diplomatic cover. One example is the role played by the U.S. embassy in instigating the 1973 military coup against Chile's Allende government. Another is the current effort by the U.S. embassy in Venezuela to overthrow that country's anti-imperialist Maduro government.

The February Maidan events toppled former president Viktor Yanukovych after he rejected a wide-ranging free trade agreement with the European Union in favour of mutually beneficial relations with both Russia and EU-member countries. This eventually led to the June 7 presidential appointment of pro-EU and anti-Russian billionaire Petro Poroshenko, whom the virulently anti-communist Harper government fully supports. At Harper's invitation, Poroshenko addressed Canada's House of Commons on September 17, 2014, one day after signing an agreement with the European Union and a few days before meeting with U.S. President Obama. The Harper government has also signed off on a $200 million loan to Ukraine, promised military equipment and more anti-Russian sanctions; in all, Canada has lent close to three-quarters of a billion dollars to Ukraine in recent years. Currently, the Harper government is sending 200 military personnel to train the Ukrainian military which is well-known to include Azov and other neo-Nazi battalions.

The embassy events are also part of the wider issue that the Harper government has deliberately and consistently played a disruptive role in the region rather than representing the will of the Canadian people by helping to mediate the ongoing conflict between the Poroshenko regime and Russia as well as the people of eastern Ukraine under attack by the Kyiv government. While it is in the interests of the people of Ukraine and Russia and the people of the rest of the world to settle disputes in the region in a peaceful manner through negotiations, the Harperites seem hell-bent on causing as much trouble as possible with their belligerent posturing.

No doubt the Harperites hope for a payoff in the form of votes in the upcoming federal election from the 1.2 million Canadians of Ukrainian heritage (whom the Harperites erroneously assume are all supporters of fascism) plus major trade benefits for the monopolies that Harper represents. On July 14, Canada announced the signing of the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA) which will generate "significant commercial benefits for Canadian businesses."[5]After the signing, Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk called on Canadian businesses to play a major part in the massive privatization of Ukraine's state assets involving 342 state-owned companies, including the publicly-owned energy sector.

Note

1. CBC, February 18, 2014.

2. Globe and Mail , February 18, 2014.

3. Canadian Press, February 18, 2014.

4. CBC, July 12, 2015.

5. The text of CUFTA can be found here.

(TML Weekly No. 29, July 18, 2015)