Conflict leads Russian, Ukrainian governments to sign harsh laws criminalizing speech, expression
By jdheyes // 2022-03-25
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Both the Ukrainian and Russian governments are keenly aware that a majority of citizens in both countries do not support the current conflict, and are now taking measures to prevent people from speaking out against it. In Russia, for instance, President Vladimir Putin signed a law earlier this month that calls for prison sentences of up to 15 years for anyone found guilty of distributing "false news" about the military – and of course, "false news" will be an arbitrary thing that the Russian government will determine even if the news is 100 percent correct. Radio Free Europe provided additional details: "The Kremlin said it needed a "harsh" new law to tackle such reports due to the current 'information war.' The law and other aspects of the current Russian clampdown on independent domestic and international media outlets covering Moscow's ongoing unprovoked invasion of Ukraine have already prompted Russian and international closures and suspensions." The law caused several major Western media companies and broadcasters, including the BBC, CNN, Bloomberg, CBS and Germany's ARD and ZDF to suspend their operations from within Russia. In addition, a number of web-based outlets – RFE/RL and the BBC among others – have also been blocked by Russian regulators claiming they were putting out "erroneous" reports. In addition, Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor has blocked social media platforms including, most recently, Facebook, Radio Free Europe reported. The organization ordered media outlets around the country to only publish information spoon-fed them by the Russian government and its various regional organs. The enforcer also bars describing Moscow's unprovoked attack on Ukraine as an "invasion" or act of "war," insisting instead that they are collectively dubbed "special military operations. In Ukraine, meanwhile, the government of President Volodymyr Zelensky is also cracking down on the country's citizens. As reported by Big League Politics: "Zelensky signed a decree claiming that 'cooperation with the aggressor state,' which includes pro-Russian statements, could result in up to 15 years in prison." "First Deputy Parliament Speaker Oleksandr Kornienko even wants over 20 'unpatriotic' members of Parliament who have been forced to flee the country jailed for having pro-Russian views," the outlet added. According to some, the war in Ukraine is really just a proxy battle between nationalists fighting to maintain statehood and globalists who seek to establish a tiered world order that they control. For instance, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò published a lengthy op/ed for LifeSiteNews in which he lays out his view that the Russia/Ukraine conflict is a globalist plot to "establish the tyranny of the new world order." Vigano wrote: "If we look at what is happening in Ukraine, without being misled by the gross falsifications of the mainstream media, we realize that respect for each other’s rights has been completely ignored; indeed, we have the impression that the Biden Administration, NATO [North Atlantic Treaty Organization] and the European Union deliberately want to maintain a situation of obvious imbalance, precisely to make impossible any attempt at a peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian crisis, provoking the Russian Federation to trigger a conflict. "Herein lies the seriousness of the problem. This is the trap set for both Russia and Ukraine, using both of them to enable the globalist elite to carry out its criminal plan. It is dismaying to see with what hypocrisy the European Union and the United States – Brussels and Washington – are giving their unconditional support to President Zelensky, whose government for eight years now has continued to persecute Russian-speaking Ukrainians with impunity, for whom it is even forbidden to speak in their own language, in a nation that includes numerous ethnic groups, of which those who speak Russian represent 17.2 percent. "And it is scandalous that they are silent about the use of civilians as human shields by the Ukrainian army, which places anti-aircraft positions inside population centers, hospitals, schools and kindergartens precisely so that their destruction can cause deaths among the population." It is impossible to know what is really going on in Ukraine, and what is in play unless you're from there. Sources include: RFERL.org BigLeaguePolitics.com LifeSiteNews.com
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