© Reuters / Gleb GaranichMembers of neo-Nazi Azov battalion take part in Ukraine's Independence Day celebrations in Kiev, Ukraine, August 24, 2020.
A Russian resolution condemning the "glorification of Nazism" was passed by the UN General Assembly, on Wednesday, with overwhelming support, though, remarkably both the US and Ukraine made a point of voting against the motion
Equally noteworthy was the fact that all delegations from European Union member states, including Germany, abstained from the vote, with the United Kingdom following suit.
Many other European countries - such as Serbia, Moldova and Bosnia - supported the motion, as did Israel.
The UN General Assembly adopted the Russian draft resolution on "combating glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fueling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance" as part of its 75th General Assembly.The resolution called on member states to pass legislation to "eliminate all forms of racial discrimination," and condemned the "glorification, in any form, of the Nazi movement, neo-Nazism and former members of the Waffen SS organization," as well as "revisionism in respect to the Second World War."In an era of high tension between Russia and the West, the resolution may seem something all sides could agree on. After all, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and the United States worked together to defeat Nazi Germany. The defeat of the Nazis is still celebrated in Russia with a victory parade every year, while the mere hint of sympathy for the Third Reich once could end political careers in the US and UK.
Even so, the US was one of only two countries to vote against the resolution, along with Ukraine, while 51 countries - among them EU member states - abstained. Even Germany, which Chancellor Angela Merkel once said bears "everlasting responsibility" for Nazi atrocities, sat out the vote.
For Ukraine, the resolution was likely seen as a political barb. Neo-Nazi groups are wellrepresented in Ukrainian politics, and some have been accused of war crimes and torture during the civil war in the country's South East. At least one of these outfits, the Azov Battalion, has been armed with American weaponry.However, the US maintains that its opposition to the Russian resolution has nothing to do with its support for Ukrainian neo-Nazi groups. Russian officials introduce the same resolution every year, and the US has opposed it every time, arguing that forbidding the "glorification of Nazism" clashes with its First Amendment protection of free speech.
A month before the vote, the US mission to the UN
said that, while Nazism is "widely scorned by the American people," even "avowed Nazis" are protected by the First Amendment. Washington's diplomats also accused Russia of using the resolution to lend weight to its "disinformation narratives" about neo-Nazism in its neighboring nations.
Reader Comments
NASA had a slew of Nazis at one point.
Weren't the Nazis behind the building of our great Constitutionally unchartered agency the CIA.
Yep them damn Nazis everyone thought were gone still alive and well. The Nazis never lost WWII just went dark while they work within other countries to get us to Corona1984. National Socialist Workers Party still alive and kickin!
Oh if the people only knew the reality the Bush regime would have been hung long ago. . .
Have a nice day. Silver's up and the dollar is crashing.. . . Again . . . LOL
Time to get your shorts on silver in before they prop the dollar up again. Or not.. . One day Alice to the moon!
Supporting both sides in a conflict, an old strategy.
To open a bag you hold the top from both sides and pull!
However, this little gem may have been the clincher: " as well as "revisionism in respect to the Second World War." Russia knows an awful lot about the real 'causes' of World War (One and) Two, as well as how it/they really ended, and now that Russia is a respected player on the world scene, things may come out that could blow away the last shreds of Western credibility....not to mention shine a light on the parasites pulling the strings behind the scenes.