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Russia v Ukraine: where are the mass protests?

BIScom Subsection: 
Author: 
Editorial Staff

In a world where hundreds, even thousands, turn up in public spaces to protest against whatever is the current fancy, there is question that needs to be answered: why aren't the large protest movements that can drive such action encircling Russian missions around the world? Where are their apparently tireless keyboard warriors? How come they aren't driving trending hashtags across social media?

Is the answer that they are, in some way, beholden to Russia and its money?

One thing is clear: since the end of the Cold War there has been a non-stop succession of broad-left groups making their mark, generally against what they claim is "unfair."

Extinction Rebellion made a statement about the Russian invasion: it says "the EU's dependence on Russian fossil fuels financed the invasion of Ukraine." It does not stand against the invasion.

There has been, so far as we can find, no comment from the poster-child of anti-capitalist groups, Occupy. Having said that, we can't find that Occupy still actually exists.

Sporadic protests are happening but there is no organisation, such as was seen in London last year when a disparate group of left-driven causes held an illegal rally partly to promote their view that woman are not safe in the streets (based on a particularly nasty but rare case).

Where are those who riot in the streets over a racial issue?

While anti-vaxxers sometimes come out in force, they are often joined by other broad-left causes.

Again, in the UK, the left-wing campaign group which has been credited with some resurgence in the Labour Party (now seemingly lost), claims that 11 Members of Parliament who signed a document heavily critical of the UK Government's actions which also criticised Russia has concentrated on the attitude of the current Labour leadership claiming that there is a factional war against them and saying "many of them have led the criticism of Putin’s act of aggression today, forcefully and without reservation." But it's too little, too late: the damage has already been done by tying the action in Russia to domestic politics. The Labour Party has long been funded, in part, directly or indirectly by Russian interests (all parties are funded by partisan money, to be fair). Also to be fair, the official position of the Labour Party is that Russia is an aggressor and should go home.

There is a question, then: if none of the protest groups are protesting, is it because they are funded, directly or indirectly, by Russia or its proxies?

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