Obama is hostage to Congress, yet he will feel the negative effects of the law, Pushkov believes.RT: How big of a blow is this spat for relations between Russia and the United States?Aleksey Pushkov: I think it is quite a blow. The Magnitsky Law when adopted by the US Congress and signed by the US president – it was already a blow. And we warned the United States about this. But somehow I think the message did not go through. The feeling in Washington was that they can adopt any laws they want, any type of laws that will interfere in Russian domestic affairs and Moscow will swallow this. Well, Moscow didn’t swallow this, and I think that the setting for Mr. Thomas Donilon, the national security adviser for Obama, is very negative indeed. I think that this exchange of ‘black-lists’ is not something that will really do a lot of good to the already ailing Russian-American relationship.RT: Ultimately, the US started this row by introducing the Magnitsky Law and publishing its list of Russian officials, do you think Russia was correct to almost stoop to that level? Some might say Russia is even making it worse.AP: No, Russia didn’t make it worse. Russia was responding. Everybody knows that in international politics there is a rule: when you are being attacked politically, you respond in the same way. And there is no way for Russia not to pay attention to what is going on in the US Congress, not to pay attention to what is being done by the US administration. Russia did not make it worse. Russia took the only possible step for a country that is a great power and a member of the Security Council. So, if people in Washington thought that Russia would not react, that these are just words and that America can do whatever it wants without Russia responding, that was a very wrong calculus.RT: The US administration is saying there is a secret black list that has not being published yet, but there are reports it contains more serious names, for example the head of Russia’s Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov.AP: I think the meaning of the black list is to forbid the entry to the United States to a certain number of Russian citizens. And I heard there are some important personalities on that black list. But the irony of all of this is that president Obama has become hostage to this list, has become hostage to the anti-Russian elements in the US congress, because basically Obama needs cooperation with Russia, be that on North Korea, on Iran, on so many other regional and global issues. He needs cooperation if he wants to make progress in the cuts to nuclear armaments and so on. By having signed this law and by having enlarged the list he has become a hostage to a very negative dynamic in the relationship. It’s like shooting oneself in the leg. I don’t really see the rational for that from the point of view of the Obama administration which claims to be an administration that is paying attention to multilateralism, to international partnerships. Well, I can say that by having enlarged the list, Obama administration is definitely narrowing the possibilities for such partnership with Russia.RT: Russia says it has its own secret black list. Perhaps you know some names on that list?AP: No, I don’t. I suppose you have to look at categories of people that were mentioned by the Russian foreign ministry back in December, who are supposed to be on such a list according to the law that was adopted by the Russian parliament in December. These are the people connected with secret prisons, with tortures, also those who have damaged rights of Russian citizens abroad and so on. I don’t know the names, but I know the categories of people who can be targeted by such a secret list. … Read More
Gene Healy Lists the Five Worst Op-Eds of 2012
For
three years running, Gene Healy has closed the Old Year with a
seasonal burst of bile, his annual Five Worst Op-Eds column.As before, this year’s malicious listicle rewards bad arguments
and bad writing, with extra points for warped values.View this article. … Read More
Thousands of Hungarians protest against compiling lists of Jews posing ‘security risk’ (VIDEO, PHOTOS)
Thousands of Hungarians protest against compiling lists of Jews posing ‘security risk’ (VIDEO, PHOTOS)
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Published: 03 December, 2012, 12:13
TAGS:
EU,
Protest,
Human rights,
Israel
Hungarian citizens take part in a demonstration in front of the parliament building in Budapest on December 2 , 2012 against anti-Semitism in Hungary. (AFP Photo/Attila Kisbenedek)
Over 10,000 have come out to an anti-Nazi rally in Budapest to demonstrate against a proposal of a far-right leader to draft lists of Hungarian Jews who may represent a “security risk”. The government and opposition parties both joined the protest.
Over 10,000 attended the protest outside the parliament building and crowds chanted “Jobbik go away!” according to Hungarian media.
Other protesters were seen holding billboard-size portraits of Gyongyosi with a Hitler mustache and “Heil Marci” wording underneath, referring to WWII-era German greeting.
The rally was led by politicians from both the government and opposition parties.
Parliamentary faction leader of the governing Fidesz party Antal Rogan addressed the crowd.
“I came because in this situation I cannot stay quiet,” Rogan said. “Hungary defends its citizens.”
Rogan said he is planning to take his two sons to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, where it is estimated that one-third of the Nazis’ victims were Hungarian.
He added that “genocide is always preceded by lists,” arguing that it was unacceptable that “people should fail to learn the lessons of the past 100 years.”
A young girl holds a placard of Hungarian far-right parliament representative Marton Gyongyosi during a demonstration in front of the parliament building in Budapest on December 2 , 2012 against anti-Semitism in Hungary. (AFP Photo/Attila Kisbenedek)
The Israeli and American ambassadors also attended the rally.
The US embassy said in a statement BosNewsLife pointing out that these were not the first anti-Semitic comments that came out from the Hungarian parliament.
“The recurrence of anti-Semitic and other racist statements in the Hungarian parliament demonstrates the need to further empower voices of tolerance and peaceful coexistence in Hungary,” the statement reads.
Reportedly, Jewish people have been attacked or threatened during the past few months and several Holocaust monuments and Jewish grave yards were vandalized in Hungary.
Moreover, there were accounts of Jobbik-linked groups marching through Budapest in uniforms and carrying flags used in Hungary’s Nazi-regime.
Jobbik party president Gabor Vona responded by saying that the rally was an “artificial campaign of lies” and was designed to take attention away from country’s economic problems.
Currently, the Jewish population in Hungary is estimated at about 100,000.
Orthodox Jews attend a demonstration against Nazism in front of the Parliament building in Budapest December 2, 2012. (Reuters/Bernadett Szabo)
Hungarian citizens hold up a placard reading ‘They devastated together the country’ ‘Once it was already enough’ ‘We don’t forget it’ during a demonstration in front of the parliament building in Budapest on December 2 , 2012 against anti-Semitism in Hungary. (AFP Photo/Attila Kisbenedek)
Hungarian citizens take part in a demonstartion in front of the parliament building in Budapest on December 2 , 2012 against anti-Semitism in Hungary. (AFP Photo/Attila Kisbenedek)
A young boy holds a Hungarian tricolor in front of a placard of Hungarian far-right
ffe
parliament representative Marton Gyongyosi during a demonstration in front of the parliament building in Budapest on December 2 , 2012 against anti-Semitism in Hungary. (AFP Photo/Attila Kisbenedek)
Hungarians shout slogans during a demonstration against Nazism in front of the Parliament building in Budapest December 2, 2012. (Reuters/Bernadett Szabo)
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It all started when Marton Gyongyosi of the of the Hungarian Movement for a Better Hungary (Jobbik), the country’s largest far-right party, stated that it was time to determine “how many people of Jewish origin there are here, especially in the Hungarian parliament and the Hungarian government, who represent a certain national security risk.”
Gyongyosi argued that this was needed because of the tensions after an eight-day attack on Gaza. He also said that Hungary’s Foreign Ministry had “rushed to make an oath of allegiance to Israel.”
After the statement, Gyongyosi issued an apology, but still reaffirmed that Hungary needs to be cautious of “Zionist Israel and those serving it also from here.”
The comments outraged much of the Hungarian population and led to the rally, organized by Jewish and civic groups.
Hungarians attend a demonstration against Nazism in front of the Parliament building in Budapest December 2, 2012. (Reuters/Bernadett Szabo)
Over 10,000 attended the protest outside the parliament building and crowds chanted “Jobbik go away!” according to Hungarian media.
Other protesters were seen holding billboard-size portraits of Gyongyosi with a Hitler mustache and “Heil Marci” wording underneath, referring to WWII-era German greeting.
The rally was led by politicians from both the government and opposition parties.
Parliamentary faction leader of the governing Fidesz party Antal Rogan addressed the crowd.
“I came because in this situation I cannot stay quiet,” Rogan said. “Hungary defends its citizens.”
Rogan said he is planning to take his two sons to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, where it is estimated that one-third of the Nazis’ victims were Hungarian.
He added that “genocide is always preceded by lists,” arguing that it was unacceptable that “people should fail to learn the lessons of the past 100 years.”
A young girl holds a placard of Hungarian far-right parliament representative Marton Gyongyosi during a demonstration in front of the parliament building in Budapest on December 2 , 2012 against anti-Semitism in Hungary. (AFP Photo/Attila Kisbenedek)
1002
The Israeli and American ambassadors also attended the rally.
The US embassy said in a statement BosNewsLife pointing out that these were not the first anti-Semitic comments that came out from the Hungarian parliament.
“The recurrence of anti-Semitic and other racist statements in the Hungarian parliament demonstrates the need to further empower voices of tolerance and peaceful coexistence in Hungary,” the statement reads.
Reportedly, Jewish people have been attacked or threatened during the past few months and several Holocaust monuments and Jewish grave yards were vandalized in Hungary.
Moreover, there were accounts of Jobbik-linked groups marching through Budapest in uniforms and carrying flags used in Hungary’s Nazi-regime.
Jobbik party president Gabor Vona responded by saying that the rally was an “artificial campaign of lies” and was designed to take attention away from country’s economic problems.
Currently, the Jewish population in Hungary is estimated at about 100,000.
Orthodox Jews attend a demonstration against Nazism in front of the Parliament building in Budapest December 2, 2012. (Reuters/Bernadett Szabo)
Hungarian citizens hold up a placard reading ‘They devastated together the country’ ‘Once it was already enough’ ‘We don’t forget it’ during a demonstration in front of the parliament building in Budapest on December 2 , 2012 against anti-Semitism in Hungary. (AFP Photo/Attila Kisbenedek)
Hungarian citizens take part in a demonstartion in front of the parliament building in Budapest on December 2 , 2012 against anti-Semitism in Hungary. (AFP Photo/Attila Kisbenedek)
A young boy holds a Hungarian tricolor in front of a placard of Hungarian far-right parliament representative Marton Gyongyosi during a demonstration in front of the parliament building in Budapest on December 2 , 2012 against anti-Semitism in Hungary. (AFP Photo/Attila Kisbenedek)
Hungarians shout slogans during a demonstration against Nazism in front of the Parliament building in Budapest December 2, 2012. (Reuters/Bernadett Szabo) … Read More
The Ingredients You Should NOT Have in Your Pantry
There are lots of lists out there about the foods you DO want in your stockpile, but what about the ones that you DON’T want? … Read More
