Gabriel Levy: What’s your view of the international campaign, taking place in the run-up to the World Cup finals, to draw attention to the Ukrainian political prisoners in Russia and to demand their release?
Anthony McIntyre: It resonates with the human rights campaigning ahead of the World Cup final in Argentina back in 1978. The military junta under Jorge Videla was engaged in serious human rights abuses and when an opportunity presents itself like the World Cup, where the media will concentrate, it has to be seized. So, I think it is the thing to do.
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| A 1981 protest in support of the Irish Republican hunger strikers, ten of whom died |
AM: I think imperialism is a term that has been used much too liberally over the years by the Left. It now sounds like a slogan rather than something that is analytically descriptive. The prisoners are victims of an aggressive and intrusive power.
Whether that power is exercised on the grounds of pursuing markets and profit, or as part of the politics of power and security in a volatile world, is up for discussion, but its effects are catastrophic for those in Crimea.
Russia, given its geographic location and historical proximity to threatening powers, might expand outside its own borders but not necessarily for imperialist reasons as understood by Marxists. But that expansionism is necessarily unjust.
GL: There is a view widespread on the “left” that the Russian government can not be defined as imperialist, because of its anti-NATO and anti-US rhetoric. People in Ukraine, Chechnya and Syria, who have dealt with the Russian military at first hand, think otherwise. What do you think?
AM: The issue is of what drives Russian expansionism. For the victim, the difference is much like that between murder and manslaughter. Being anti-NATO and anti-USA alone do not suffice to give Russia non-imperialist credentials. Inter imperialist rivalry easily explains that. But imperialism as traditionally understood might not apply to Russia.
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| A picket in Kyiv last month in support of Ukrainian political prisoners |
GL: You started your political life in the Irish Republican movement and spent 18 years as a political prisoner. Do you see parallels between the injustice visited on Ireland by Britain and on Ukraine by Russia?
AM: Of course. The Russian state is a pretty brutal one. I recall the great work highlighting Russian atrocities in Chechnya carried out by Anna Politkovskaya, for which she was murdered.
GL: Some of the Ukrainian prisoners in Russia are now on hunger strike. Oleg Sentsov went on hunger strike on 14 May and others have followed. Participating in a picket to support the Ukrainian prisoners reminded me of protesting in support of the Irish hunger strikers in 1981. What do you think?
AM: I agree. I fail to see how we could have supported the Irish hunger strikers in 1981 but fail to support the Ukrainians today.
■ Anthony McIntyre now works as a journalist. He writes regularly at The Pensive Quill.
■ Updates on the campaign to support Ukrainian political prisoners here: #FreeSentsov #SaveOlegSentsov #TheyAreStillThere #LetMyPeopleGo.
When people nowadays say "the left" what they talking about? There's no international workers solidarity movements.Trade unions are greatly diminished and socialism is constanstly cited, usually by people, judging by their arguments, who haven't read any of it's litrature, but is not relevant. While many across western Europe benefit from socialist policies. I.e forms of nationalisation, state health care, state education, income tax etc they're very much corporate influenced economies. I think it's disingenuous to invoke the power of "left" without describing what your talking about, as Gabriel Levy did there. This "left" who ignore Putin's abuses is that because Putin is supposed to be left wing? Surely not. Aside from that enjoyed that. Didn't know these people were even inside never mind on hunger strike. Intend to look more into this
ReplyDeleteIt might have been more informative if the politics of some of these 'political prisoners' was explained in a bit more detail than simply stating their ethnic identities as 'Ukranian' or 'Ukranian Tartars'. I accept that they are indeed 'political prisoners' and that Russia is a brutal state, but Ukraine is also awash with hardline Nazis and fascists. That is not to excuse their incarceration, but simply supporting prisoners on hunger strike because they are 'political' is not an argument to show solidarity with them, their politics, or their hunger strike.
ReplyDeleteStephen L,
ReplyDeletesupport for them on hunger strike is not support for their politics but for their stand against grave injustice, torture, false imprisonment, meted out by a brutal state. It is also a rejection of the suppression of artists. A loyalist on hunger strike against the same things would also merit support.
I don't think it a strong enough argument to use the politics of some of them as justification for not supporting their stand.