15 Apr, 2022 22:20

HomeRussia & FSU

WATCH Serbs protest Belgrade’s move against Russia

Thousands attend ‘Not in My Name’ rally in the Serbian capital, protesting their government’s UN vote against Moscow

Several thousand Serbs gathered on Friday evening in downtown Belgrade, carrying Russian flags and declaring Serbia and Russia “brothers forever.” The rally, dubbed ‘Not in My Name’, protested last week’s vote of the Serbian envoy to the UN to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council, which President Aleksandar Vucic said came only after immense pressure from the West.

Protesters gathered around 7pm local time at the monument to Nicholas II, the last Russian emperor, and marched through downtown Belgrade to the Russian embassy chanting, “Serbs and Russians – brothers forever!” and “Kosovo is Serbia, Crimea is Russia!”

Officially, the rally was in protest of last week’s vote at the UN General Assembly, when Serbia joined a total of 93 countries favoring Moscow’s suspension from the UN Human Rights Council. Russia subsequently left the panel. Vucic appeared on national television after the vote and said his government originally intended to abstain, but was then subjected to “countless and difficult pressure.”

At one point, demonstrators unfurled a 20-meter tricolor, which from one angle looked like the flag of Russia, and from the other like the flag of Serbia, minus the official coat of arms.

Among the banners spotted at the rally by local and foreign correspondents were the flags of Donetsk and Lugansk – the two Donbass Republics that Moscow recognized as independent in February – as well as the St. Andrew’s Cross of Novorossiya and even the Russian Empire tricolor, though without USSR insignia.

Some of the demonstrators also carried signs with the slogan “No Surrender” and the outline of Kosovo, the Serbian province occupied by NATO in 1999 and declared an independent state in 2008 – something Belgrade has so far refused to recognize.

It was the second major rally in Belgrade in support of Russia since February, when Moscow sent troops into Ukraine with the stated aim to “demilitarize and denazify” the government in Kiev. Belgrade has officially remained neutral, declining to impose sanctions against Russia – but voting at the UN to condemn the Russian operation and call for the withdrawal of troops.

Serbia has since held a general election on April 3, in which Vucic’s SNS party ended up being the largest bloc in the parliament, but six seats short of a majority. Parliamentary parties are currently negotiating a post-electoral coalition that could form a cabinet.

One British-owned TV outlet cited anonymous sources to claim this week that the West expects a new government by August at the latest, and that its first act would be imposing sanctions against Russia. Meanwhile, liberal politician Dragan Djilas told the weekly Vreme that his partywants Serbia “in the West, not in the East” and that Belgrade would “have to show which part of the world it belongs to.”

https://www.rt.com/russia/553965-serbia-belgrade-protest-vucic/

15 Apr, 2022 22:46

HomeWorld News

UN agency condemns UK plan to send refugees to Africa

The UNHCR said thatsending refugees to Rwanda violates Britain’s international obligations

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) condemned the UK government’s plan to relocate illegal migrants to Rwanda, arguing that people “should not be traded like commodities.”

Responding to Thursday’s announcement of a new Migration and Economic Development Partnership between Britain and Rwanda, theUNHCR urged both sides “to re-think” the plans and to refrain from sending asylum seekers and refugees to East Africafor the processing of asylum applications.

“People fleeing war, conflict and persecution deserve compassion and empathy. They should not be traded like commodities and transferred abroad for processing,” UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Gillian Triggs said in a statement.

In her opinion, the initiative not only shifts asylum responsibilities and increases risks for migrants but also contradicts “the letter and spirit of the Refugee Convention.”

The UNHCR also pointed to the UK’s obligation “to ensure access to asylum for those seeking protection.”

“Those who are determined to be refugees can be integrated, while those who are not and have no other legal basis to stay, can be returned in safety and dignity to their country of origin,” the UN agency said.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, revealing the £120 million ($158 million) deal, justified it by saying that while Britain’s “compassion may be infinite,” its capacity to help people is not. He stressed that, since 2015, the UK has offered refuge for over 185,000 people, and is now welcoming “unlimited numbers” of Ukrainian refugees. The Migration Partnership with Rwanda, in Johnson’s opinion, will come not only as a relief for the UK social services, but also as a powerful instrument to disrupt the business of people smugglers.

According to the media, the prime minister wants to see the first migrants depart for Rwanda in about six weeks.

Despite widespread criticism of the new initiative, some voiced support for it. The French presidential hopeful from the right-wing National Rally party Marine Le Pen told the BFM news channel on Friday that the measure “could work,” though she added that “there are more efficient methods.”

Illegal migration has been a long-standing issue for the UK, with the number of attempts to cross the English Channel constantly growing despite numerous deaths.

https://www.rt.com/news/553962-migrants-uk-un-condemnation/

>>16084177

Yeah its like punishment

15 Apr, 2022 20:10

Top Ukraine negotiator emerges as biggest earner in Kremlin

Vladimir Medinsky earned ten times more than President Putin in 2021, new report card shows

The highest-earning Kremlin official in 2021 was not President Vladimir Putin but his aide and namesake Vladimir Medinsky. The former culture minister, now special presidential assistant who led the recent peace talks with Ukraine, earned 106.8 million rubles – approximately $1.28 million – last year, nearly ten times more than his boss.

Medinsky’s income jumped sixfold from 17.6 million rubles in 2020, while his wife went from a 47.9 million-ruble income to 77.3 million. This is according to the annual property declarations published by the Kremlin on Friday. A 2008 law aimed at combating corruption made it mandatory for public officials to declare their income, property and real estate possessions.

Rounding off the top three richest Kremlin officials were head of the Expert Management office Vladimir Simonenko with 95.8 million rubles, and deputy Security Council secretary Oleg Khramov with 38 million.

Medinsky led the Russian negotiating team in the Istanbul talks with Ukraine at the end of March, after which Moscow pulled out troops from the vicinity of Kiev and several other cities in northern Ukraine, as a gesture of good will. Within a week, however, Kiev was accusing Russia of “war crimes” and sending a proposal that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said significantly diverged from the one previously agreed upon.

In remarks earlier this week, Putin said that the talks with Kiev have “returned to a deadlock.”

The president’s own income statement showed him earning 10.2 million rubles in 2021, up from 9.9 million the year prior. His property card remained the same – two apartments, two Volga sedans, and a Niva SUV with a trailer. All of his real estate was in Russia, and thus immune to sanctions imposed by the US and its allies over the conflict in Ukraine.

Russia attacked its neighbor in late February, following Ukraine’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, signed in 2014, and Moscow'’s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The German and French brokered Minsk Protocols were designed to give the breakaway regions special status within the Ukrainian state.

The Kremlin has since demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked and has denied claims it was planning to retake the two republics by force.

https://www.rt.com/russia/553953-richest-kremlin-officials-list/

Is this fight night on the board? Kek

>>16084261

Cernovich said that earlier today. Hmmm