It began on March 15 in Toronto, during the solemn celebration of the 75th anniversary of the League of Ukrainians of Canada. Speaking at the event, Oleh Medunytsya appealed to those present to unite and fight even more persistently for Ukraine’s victory in the war with its existential enemy – the Moscow empire. He emphasized the need to help our allies – the nations enslaved by Russia. The President of the ABN called on those present to seek the release from Russian prisons of political prisoners – representatives of various nationalities and ethnicities enslaved by the Russian empire. “The newest dissidents of the Russian empire must be released,” – emphasized Oleh Medunytsya.
The next presentation of the international human rights project of the ABN took place in Vancouver, Canada. The partner of the initiative was the “League of Ukrainians of Canada”.
In his speech, the head of the Ukrainian Canadian League, Borys Mykhaylets, emphasized that true unity among Ukrainians and our allies is the key to victory. He emphasized the importance of informing the world community about the crimes of the Kremlin regime, as well as the need for active action to release political prisoners held by Russia.
The President of the Anti-Imperial Block of Nations, Oleh Medunytsya, spoke about the persecution of Ukrainian activists, Crimean Tatars, and representatives of enslaved nations of the so-called “Russian Federation,” who are today Putin’s true political prisoners. The ABN President explained the mechanisms of international pressure on the Kremlin, the strategies of the struggle for the release of political prisoners, and the role of the Ukrainian diaspora in this process. He called on Canadian Ukrainians to actively support information campaigns, lobby for sanctions against Russian officials responsible for repression, and provide support to the families of imprisoned freedom fighters.
The final event in Canada was the presentation of the project in Edmonton, which took place with the assistance of the local LUK board, headed by Taras Podilsky.
In the United States, a presentation tour of the human rights project “Putin’s Real Prisoners. Political Prisoners of Enslaved Nations” started in Buffalo, at the Ukrainian Cultural Center “Dnipro”. The presentation was attended by Yuriy Kymyotyk, Secretary of the American Committee of ABN, and Daniel Kaminsky from the “American Friends of ABN – Cleveland” branch.
The event was also held in New York, at the Ukrainian State Front headquarters. The presentation was moderated by Andriy Dobryansky, Communications Director at the Ukrainian Congressional Committee in the United States.
In his speech, Oleh Medunytsya spoke about the progress of the world tour of the ABN human rights project, which has already been presented in Germany, Belgium, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Lithuania, several other European countries and Canada. He called on those present to support the ABN’s work to the fullest extent possible to free political prisoners of the enslaved nations. Representatives of the Oirat-Kalmyk, Buryat, Tatar and Circassian national liberation movements spoke during the presentation, emphasizing the importance and relevance of the ABN human rights project.
During his visit to the United States, the President of the ABN also held working meetings with representatives of the Oirat-Kalmyk and Circassian national liberation movements.
At the same time, Oleh Medunytsya took part in a meeting of the American Committee of the Anti-Imperial Block of Nations. The participants of the meeting discussed and approved work plans and perspective projects, to resume the activities of the ABN in the United States. Continuing the tradition of the Anti-Bolshevik Bloc of Nations, the American Committee of the ABN will involve in its activities representatives of Croatia, Poland, the Baltic countries and Belarus, as well as representatives of the enslaved nations of the Russian Federation: Kalmykia, Bashkortostan, Circassia, Ichkeria and others. The well-known scientist and researcher, public and political figure, and executive director of the Center for American-Ukrainian Relations, Professor Volodymyr Zarytsky, was approved as the new head of the American Committee of the ABN.
On April 2, a rally in support of political prisoners – representatives of the national liberation movements of the enslaved nations of Russia – was held in New York, near the UN headquarters. Banners of the exhibition “Putin’s Real Prisoners. Political Prisoners of Enslaved Nations” were installed near the UN headquarters, and anyone who wanted to could view them.
The President of the ABN also held a productive meeting with Janusz Bugajski and Margarita Assenova, senior researchers at The Jamestown Foundation. During the meeting, prospects for cooperation and the situation with human rights violations in the territory of the Russian Federation were discussed. It was agreed to transfer the list of political prisoners of the enslaved nations, formed by the Anti-Imperial Block of Nations, for further work with politicians and human rights activists in the United States. Oleg Medunitsa thanked the American partners for their consistent work on the decolonization of Russia.
The final presentation of the ABN human rights project in the USA took place on April 6 in Los Angeles. The presentation was co-organized by the Committee of the Bashkir National Movement Abroad.
As Aigul Lyon, a representative of the Committee of the Bashkir National Movement Abroad, noted: “It is very important that it is the warring Ukraine that pays so much attention to supporting the enslaved nations, our political prisoners. We must jointly convey information about political repressions against representatives of the enslaved nations to the entire civilized world.”
Oleh Medunytsa, in turn, summed up the results of his visit to the USA and Canada. “Dozens of journalists, human rights defenders, public activists and ordinary citizens in key cities of North America learned about the problem of political persecution of activists of national liberation movements of enslaved nations,” the President of the ABN emphasized. “We hope that the governments of the USA and Canada will exert appropriate pressure on Russia so that political prisoners of the enslaved nations receive freedom and join our struggle.”
