Dear CCI Friends,

While we are deluged with news, commentary, opinions and political bombast from all sides on the subject of the war between Russia, Ukraine, NATO and the US, it is almost impossible to detect the voices of the people living in the center of the  maelstrom – the people of the Donbass.  Considering that it was their rejection of the 2014 coup in Kiev that precipitated the conflict, we feel it is important that we hear them.

Alexander Korobko, filmmaker and citizen of Donbass, has created a video – a docu-drama – based on the career of Alexander Zakharchenko, the leader of the ‘Donetsk Peoples’ Republic’ from the time of its creation immediately after the coup until his assassination in 2018.  

In describing his film Mr. Korobko has said, “The film presents an untold story of a conflict that is becoming increasingly globalised, one that is otherwise overshadowed by two opposing agendas – Russia’s and Ukraine’s/NATO’s. It might be considered politically incorrect by some on either side, but its spirit is categorically anti-war.”

We hope you will find the time to view this perspective and let us know your thoughts.

Sincerely,

Paula, Pam and Krishen
Center for Citizen Initiatives

Dear CCI Friends,

Scott Ritter, a former US arms inspector and opponent of the Iraq War, has long believed in a more constructive relationship between the US and Russia. He has had the courage to challenge the US government narrative about the origins of the war in Ukraine, the presumption that it was ‘unprovoked’, and has not only travelled to Russia but also shared his views with Western audiences about the dangers of Russophobia and the risk of escalation.

For these views, which differ from the US government and mainstream media narrative, Scott has been subjected to considerable criticism and scrutiny. Nonetheless, Scott has persisted in his beliefs and continues to work for better relations between the US and Russia. 

In the article below, Scott comments on the raids on his home, the confiscation of his passport, and the suppression of dissent that has become an unfortunate reality in US politics today. For those among us who believe, like Scott does, in the right of free speech and the importance of better US Russia relations, we would like to share Scott’s article with you. 

Please give it your consideration and let us know your thoughts.

The Directors
Center For Citizen Initiatives

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“There Can Be No Freedom Without Free Speech”

August 22, 2024

By Scott Ritter

The Department of Justice has launched a broad investigation which implicates the First Amendment free speech rights of not only those Americans, such as me, caught up in this web, but all Americans, because if the government succeeds in silencing free speech through its unlawful application of the Foreign Agent Registration Act, it won’t stop until it silences all dissenting voices in America.

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Dear CCI Friends,

Professor John Mearsheimer is a renowned scholar of international relations, is a graduate of the US Military Academy, and has taught extensively at the University of Chicago. He has also written on the interaction between great powers and how it affects global relations. The article below about the Ukraine war and some of its causes may be of interest to our listserv, and is being enclosed.

As always, we welcome your thoughts and feedback.

Respectfully,

The Directors
Center for Citizen Initiatives

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“Who Caused the Ukraine War?”

August 5, 2024

By John J. Mearsheimer

The question of who is responsible for causing the Ukraine war has been a deeply contentious issue since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022.

The answer to this question matters enormously because the war has been a disaster for a variety of reasons, the most important of which is that Ukraine has effectively been wrecked. It has lost a substantial amount of its territory and is likely to lose more, its economy is in tatters, huge numbers of Ukrainians are internally displaced or have fled the country, and it has suffered hundreds of thousands of casualties. Of course, Russia has paid a significant blood price as well. On the strategic level, relations between Russia and Europe, not to mention Russia and Ukraine, have been poisoned for the foreseeable future, which means that the threat of a major war in Europe will be with us well after the Ukraine war turns into a frozen conflict. Who bears responsibility for this disaster is a question that will not go away anytime soon and if anything is likely to become more prominent as the extent of the disaster becomes more apparent to more people.

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Dear CCI Friends,

Charles Heberle visited Russia as a CCI delegate in 2015, the year that CCI (comprised of only one person by then, Sharon Tennison) resumed its original mission of bringing Russian and American citizens together in peace and friendship. It was not his first experience in the country – far from it. In the early 2000’s Charles was recruited by the Russian government to “teach democracy” in a country that had, by the admission of its own experts, experienced nothing but authoritarian governmental control for 1000 years. Moving to democracy, as they were and are intent on doing, created some challenges.

With a solid knowledge of American history, Russians were curious to learn how a relatively small group of 17th century Europeans managed to get themselves out from under monarchial control, come to a virtually unexplored continent and, over the next 120 years (from the time of their arrival until the American Revolution) teach themselves how to govern themselves via a form of direct democracy that was, and still is, unique. Put in that perspective, Americans today should be as amazed, impressed and curious as the Russians.

I met Charles a few weeks ago in a coffee house in Portland, Maine, where we spent a fascinating afternoon (for me!) while he described his background (helicopter pilot, Vietnam, career in the army, ‘retirement’ career in international organizations) and his eight years in Russia implementing his program, “You the PEOPLE.” It was an enormous undertaking covering the Republic of Karelia and centered in its capital, Petrozavodsk. If you haven’t seen it yet, please watch the video interview with Charles made by Mel Van Dusen, another 2015 CCI delegate, to catch the flavor of the complexity of that program.

One thing that struck me as Charles described how he guided the Russians to learn the art of democracy was that we, modern Americans watching our shining example become tarnished by hatred and corruption, could stand to take a lesson from the Russians; perhaps it’s time we (re)learned democracy, too?

As always, we look forward to your thoughts and feedback.

Paula

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“You The PEOPLE”

October 10, 2015

Mel Van Dusen Interviews Charles Heberle 

[Continue to Video Interview]

Dear CCI Friends,

CCI Board member Krishen Mehta offers his analysis of the emerging capability of the Global South to counter the impacts of the Western Corporate Tax Structure.  This Tax Structure is, in and of itself, a form of sanction and as such, many countries in the world understand how significant it is that Russia has been able to withstand those sanctions, albeit in a different form, levied on it.  

Krishen is a former partner at PwC, and now a Senior Global Justice Fellow at Yale University. He is also a co-editor of a book, Global Tax Fairness, published by Oxford University Press. 

Please let us know your thoughts.

Respectfully,

The Directors
Center for Citizen Initiatives

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The Blunt Instrument of Western Sanctions

ACURA EXCLUSIVE  July 9, 2024

By Krishen Mehta 

As of this writing, the US has placed sanctions on over 30 countries, close to one-third of the world’s population. When the pandemic started, the US vetoed the $ 5 Billion emergency loan that Iran had requested from the IMF to buy equipment and vaccines from the foreign market. The Caesar sanctions against Syria, put in place in 2020, have caused a tremendous humanitarian crisis, with 80% of the population having fallen below the poverty line. Studies show that the sanctions on Iraq in the 1990’s caused the death of almost half a million children. The US has repeatedly sanctioned Venezuela’s food distribution program, CLAP, in an effort to bring about the overthrow of the Government of Nicolas Maduro.

Assets being frozen is another extension of Western sanctions. In 2021, about $ 9 Billion of reserves held by Afghanistan in banks across the US and Europe were frozen when the Afghan government fell to the Taliban that year. Since the Revolution in 1979, Iranian assets blocked by the West and which remain in Western financial institutions are estimated at about $ 100 Billion. Venezuela’s gold remains frozen in the Bank of England in spite of repeated appeals by the Government of Nicolas Maduro to have the gold returned. And more recently, Russia’s sovereign wealth of about $ 300 Billion has been frozen by the collective West.

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