On 16 May, in the Senate of the Italian Republic, in the Hall of the Fallen in Nasiriyah, a presentation of the human rights project of the Anti-Imperial Bloc of Nations was held, dedicated to the real enemies of the Putin regime who are in Kremlin prisons: Ukrainians and representatives of nations enslaved by Russia. The presentation was organized at the initiative of Senator Filippo Sensi and the Christian Society of Ukrainians in Italy.
Opening the event, Senator Sensi stressed the importance of continued attention from civil society and Western politicians to the Kremlin regime’s horrific repression of those who try to oppose it.
“I believe that the most important topic today and in general at all times is the topic of freedom and democracy, the right of people to express themselves and resist violence,” Senator Sensi emphasized. “Putin’s regime is a disgusting, criminal regime that attacks freedoms, destroys people, ethnic groups, cultures and religions. We need to provide an opportunity to learn the names and stories of those who resist this imperialist, aggressive and cruel model of relations between people.”
The head of the Christian Society of Ukrainians in Italy, Oles Horodetsky, focused on the state of affairs of Ukrainian military and civilian prisoners in Russia. According to the testimonies of the Russian prisoners themselves, Ukrainians are treated with the greatest cruelty. Together with representatives of the families of military and civilian prisoners, the society has repeatedly appealed to the Holy See, the Italian Foreign Ministry, and the Italian Red Cross with a request to facilitate the release of political prisoners. The community of ethnic Ukrainians in Russia, which numbers about 3 million people, has no school, library, or newspaper, and is under constant pressure based on nationality. Ukrainians support the struggle of the enslaved nations of Russia for freedom and independence, since they themselves have been fighting Russian imperialism for centuries.
“We are here to raise a topic that is practically not talked about in the West – the real Russian opposition, in particular representatives of indigenous peoples enslaved by Russia, who strive and fight for their independence,” said Oles Horodetsky. “It seems to me that one of the keys to the Ukrainian victory, and, in general, the triumph of freedom, is precisely giving a voice to those peoples who were enslaved for centuries by the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and Putin’s Russia. They have the right to self-determination, and that is why Putin sees them as the greatest threat and persecutes them the most.
“We want the world to know not about fake oppositionists who then speak on Western platforms and repeat Putin’s narratives under the guise of anti-Putin ones,” emphasized Oles Horodetsky. “We want access to the voice of the real opposition, which is fighting against the regime. And this opposition deserves support.”
Vice-President of the Italian Federation for Human Rights, Eleonora Mongellini, elaborated on human rights violations in Russia, in particular against the Crimean Tatar people, as the most well-known case in Western society. The abuse, humiliation and torture applied by the Russian authorities to opponents of the regime, which the organization has been monitoring and describing for many years, contradict all international norms. Ms. Mongellini recalled that the victims of the regime are specific people, families, and entire ethnic groups that need the support and protection of the civilized world.
The President of the Anti-Imperial Bloc of Nations, Oleh Medunytsya, presented an exhibition dedicated to political prisoners of enslaved peoples.
“Italy has become the nineteenth country where the exhibition is being presented,” said Oleg Medunitsa. “We are conducting a world tour in support of political prisoners of the Putin regime, who represent the national liberation movements of enslaved nations. Very little is known about this in the West, just as they do not know that every second Russian soldier is not an ethnic Russian. Russia is at war with Ukraine, both with the human resources of the nations it has enslaved and with the natural resources of these nations, which it uncontrollably plunders and then converts into a war not only with Ukraine, but also with the entire civilized world, including the West. The Muscovite Empire uses previously enslaved nations for new wars of aggression. The colonization of peoples began with the rewriting of history, the eradication of their language and culture, the absorption of the economy and natural resources, the enslavement of the population – all that we have seen in the history of Ukraine and “We are observing it now in the occupied territories,” emphasized Oleh Medunytsya.
The President of the Anti-Imperial Bloc of Nations also noted that many people think that changes will come to Russia with the removal of Putin from power. This is a false idea. “To change the situation, it is necessary to destroy Russian imperialism. The threat of Russia to Europe and the world will disappear when the Russian empire disappears from the world political map, and the enslaved nations finally gain freedom. There is no need to be afraid of this: the collapse of the USSR showed that this is possible and the consequences will be much better than those if the empire were preserved,” Oleh Medunytsya concluded.
As part of the presentation, the event organizers also answered questions from journalists and spoke with Italian public figures and human rights activists.
