Vanessa Beeley

UK Column News - Ukraine, Syria, Online Harms bill and more

With Vanessa Beeley, Mike Robinson, Patrick Henningsen and Iain Davis:

A conversation with the Ambassador of Abkhazia in Damascus

In October 2020 Damascus hosted the grand opening of the Embassy of the Republic of Abkhazia in the Syrian Arab Republic. The Ambassador of Republic of Abkhazia to Syria, Bagrat Khutaba recalled and celebrated the historic relations between Syria and Abkhazia:

"Our Diaspora in Syria has participated for centuries in the development of the Syrian Arab state and in ensuring the defense and security of the country. Thanks to our common efforts, we will continue to support and develop these relations"

Abkhazian Foreign Minister at the time, Daur Kove emphasised that:

"Abkhazia was for Syria - a bridge that opens up prospects for cooperation with other countries. Today we can say that diplomatic relations have officially been established between our countries and I am sure these relations will develop, not only on the political plane but also in all other spheres"

In 2018 Syria officially recognised the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. NATO-backed Georgia immediately severed ties with Syria claiming that President Assad was condoning Russian "military aggression, occupation of the two break-away states and ethnic cleansing" - a statement that will be deconstructed in this article.

Washington also unsurprisingly condemned Syria's recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia claiming that these states belonged to Georgia. A claim to be dismissed by Bagrat Khutaba the Ambassador of Abkhazia in Damascus.

Meeting the Ambassador in Damascus

On the 9th June I visited the Abkhazian Embassy and met with the Ambassador - His Excellency Bagrat Khutaba. The Ambassador is a retired freestyle wrestler, an International Master of Sports and the former Chairman of the State Committee for Physical Culture and Sports of Abkhazia.

Mr Khutaba is the son of Rash Khutaba, also a heavyweight freestyle wrestler who won the European title in 1982. Mr Khutaba was world champion in Manchester, UK in 1998, Bronze Medallist at the French World Championship 2001, Bronze Medallist at the Uzbekistan World Championship 2002.

Mr Khutaba started the conversation by talking about the eleven year US-led war against Syria:

"It is certain that the strong leadership of President Bashar Al Assad has kept Syria safe during this war. Despite all the devastating consequences of the war the State has remained intact and steadfast"

More than 400 Syrians have settled in Abkhazia since 2011 fleeing the persecution of all minority sects in Syria by the US/UK/EU/Turkey and Gulf State- backed terrorist factions dominated by Al Qaeda and ISIS both assets of the US Coalition.

After the US-engineered fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 Abkhazia wanted independence from Georgia and to maintain their autonomous statehood or to remain part of the Soviet Union. Georgia wanted independence from the USSR. Georgia denied Abkhazia even partial autonomy.

On 14th August 1992 superior Georgian forces attacked Abkhazia seizing large swathes of territory profiting from the element of surprise. The Abkhazian capital of Sukhum was captured. Khutaba told me:

"At this time Abkhaz were the minority in Abkhazia, their own country, as a result of the 60-year USSR pro-Georgian migration policy in the region. In 1988/89 the government of Georgian SSR had banned the Abkhazian language and were eroding the rights of the Abkhaz citizens. When the war came in 1992 100,000 Abkhaz faced five million Georgians yet we are accused of ethnic cleansing"

The volunteers from the North Caucasus and Russia came to their aid and "supported by the ethnic Russian and Armenian minorities in Abkhazia" the successful fight back began. Ceasefire agreements were established but were regularly broken primarily by Georgia. Mr Khutaba explained:

"Is the US not ashamed of backing the war criminals who attacked our country? I remember when on the early morning of August 14th 1992 the Georgian forces started the war against our people. A vicious aerial and artillery bombing campaign that would last 13 months killing thousands of soldiers and injuring hundreds of civilians.

What weapons did we Abkhaz have? Five Russian BTRs (troop transporters) and Molotov cocktails against Georgian tanks. The odds were not in our favour."

Mr Khutaba told me that the Georgian military numbers were increased by the release of prisoners to join their ranks including rapists, murderers and violent thugs. He remembers a case where the Georgian troops entered the house and killed a baby in front of his father. Women and children were forced inside large water pipes and the ends were sealed to form an airless prison in which most of these victims perished from suffocation according to the Ambassador.

Following a surprise attack on two fronts on 30th September 1993 the Abkhaz expelled all Georgian soldiers from Abkhazia. This led to their declaration of independence which to this day is disputed by Georgia and its backers in the West.

Abkhazia and Ossetia have remained in the US Cross-hairs in the South Caucasus as part of the build up to the war in Ukraine - targeted to further weaken and encircle Russia and to dismantle the Russian Federation.

In 2008 Georgia provoked another war in the region and Russia was compelled to enforce peace on Tblisi. Dmitry Medvedev told Voice of Russia in 2010:

"Speaking of the events of two years ago, I would like to point out that I see all the decisions made then as absolutely justified and as ones that have proved their efficiency. Russia came to the rescue of the peoples of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in a critical situation, when the two nations' identity and their very right to existence came under threat. Russia protected the Abkhazians and South Ossetians. Those voicing concern about Russia's moves could since make sure that the moves in question had been prompted only by the desire to save the lives of the people that happened to be the target of aggression."         

The NATO "occupied by Russia" rhetoric still prevails according to Ambassador Khutaba:

"How can we (Abkhazia) be occupied by Russia if Russia is the first UN member-state to recognise the Republic of Abkhazia and to establish bilateral relations based on principles of mutual respect and equality?

Georgia and NATO fail to mention that what they call occupation is, in fact, cooperation of two sovereign states, based on international agreements in different spheres and the Treaty on Alliance and Strategic Partnership between the Republic of Abkhazia and the Russian Federation.

Sure, we have shared economic interests. It is also worth mentioning that when many countries refused to recognise our independence and denied entry to Abkhazian passport holders - Russia provided our citizens with Russian passports.

While Georgia enforces an economic blockade, Russia provides humanitarian aid. Russia supports us, Georgia stands against us as a weapon of the West.

Georgia and the West know the real meaning of 'occupation'. When Ukrainian President Zelensky visited the borders of Georgia and Abkhazia one year ago he described our territory as Russian-occupied. He should take care of his own territory de facto occupied by NATO."

"According to a 2019 Rand report titled "Overextending and Unbalancing Russia," the US goal is to undermine Russia just as it did the Soviet Union in the cold war. Rather than "trying to stay ahead" or trying to improve the US domestically or in international relations, the emphasis is on efforts and actions to undermine the designated adversary Russia." wrote journalist Rick Sterling.

For NATO Abkhazia is part of the "overextending and unbalancing" scheme. After the launch of the Russian special operation on February 24th both NATO and Georgia have been increasingly belligerent. In March NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg said:

"I believe that one of the lessons we all should learn from the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, is that it is important that all of those also believe in democracy, the rule of law need to provide support to close and highly valued partners like Georgia. It's better to support them sooner than later. [..]Russia controls part of Georgian territory, and we will look into how we can provide more support both when it comes to everything from cyber to secure communications, capacity building, and other ways to strengthen Georgia in resisting the pressure from Russia. NATO's door remains open."

NATO member state, Turkey, a long time ally and terrorism incubator for the US Coalition in Syria has recently been fostering deeper ties with Georgia. During a meeting between the Georgian Interior Minister and his Turkish counterpart, Suleyman Soylu in Georgia in April, Soylu voiced strong support for Georgian 'sovereignty' while denying Abkhazian sovereignty by claiming "twenty percent of the country is occupied by Russia" - toeing the NATO party line.

Georgia's long term push for NATO membership has intensified since Russia began the special operation in Ukraine. These aspirations are written into Georgian constitution.

Georgia's status as an "enhanced opportunity partner" of NATO was recently renewed for another three years. That status has been given to six non-NATO countries – Georgia, Ukraine, Sweden, Finland, Jordan and Australia – with which NATO is comfortable holding military exercises. Globe and Mail

Ambassador Khutaba responded by saying:

"If Abkhazia is under threat we will respond and we will resist. We remind the Georgian authorities that we have two demands only - the signing of a treaty providing assurances of no military force and the recognition of the independence of Abkhazia. Russia is not seeking war, rather Russia is trying to ensure peace and stability. Russia's honest approach towards the West has been met with ridicule and disregard.

The people of the US, UK and EU must know that the Imperialist mindset is very dangerous for their own countries. Any leader must put their own country first, if they do not do this they should not be considered a leader"

The Ambassador told me that Abkhazian troops are fighting in Donbass alongside the forces of the Lugansk and Donetsk Peoples Republics. The countries that recognise Abkhazia are Russia, Syria, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru, Vanuatu and Tuvalu.

The US envisioned global primacy and "rules based global governance" - aka the US rules and the world complies or suffers the consequences - is being challenged by non-aligned alliances that are becoming more powerful and more united. The end of US supremacy and hegemony is definitely in the sights of these besieged and battered nations who understand what a future without a just power balance and international law-based security really means for them.

A new world is indeed evolving and the old-new-world-order is dying.

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Exposing the Nazi connections to Ukraine, Syria, Russia and China narrative management

Vanessa Beeley is an independent journalist who is exposing the shocking propaganda around the Uigher oppression in China. You might be stunned to learn the truth you've never heard before. Clayton Morris sits down with Vanessa to talk about the government campaign to turn China into enemy number one.

The BBC China Deception, UK PPE Scandal, Ukraine, Syria and more

UK Column News with Vanessa Beeley, Patrick Henningsen and Mike Robinson:

'Lviv is packed full of Nazis, Fascists and Mercenaries' - interview with Steve Sweeney

I interview Steve Sweeney, International Editor of The Morning Star, anti-imperialist journalist, Founder of Media Workers for Palestine - an old fashioned journalist who goes where he writes about including to the NATO hub of military training, weapon trafficking and Nazi/Fascist elements in Ukraine - Lviv.

Interview with Brian Berletic - a pivot towards multi-polarity and understanding China

Today I had the privilege to speak with Brian Berletic, an outstanding analyst and researcher who has covered US UK-led Imperialist wars for years and is now well placed to comment on the coming war against China while Russia is securing its borders in Ukraine. We go into the disinformation complex that is waging insidious propaganda wars against target nations that threaten US/UK global primacy and discuss how current world events affect our future.

Brian's work can be followed at The New Atlas on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/c/TheNewAtlas

Nazi-linked Uighur propaganda managers in West's war against China

UK Column News - 1st June 2022 with Brian Gerrish, Vanessa Beeley, Mike Robinson, Debi Evans: (Apologies YouTube removed the video so below is the Odysee link)

Odysee

The BBC Uighur Deception, China, Ukraine - UK Column News

Brian Gerrish, Mike Robinson, Debi Evans and Vanessa Beeley:

After Ukraine - reappraising US role in the Middle East

By Peter Ford

But the seismic impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine requires the United States to reconsider its role not just in Europe, but in that perennial graveyard of foreign policy, the Middle East. While the bar for success in the region is low, the Biden team has made no irretrievable mistakes, responded well to its one crisis (the 2021 Hamas-Israel outbreak), and embraced Trump's biggest success (the Abraham Accords). It has withdrawn troops where it should have, from Afghanistan, however messy the execution, and kept them where needed: Iraq, Syria and in the Gulf States.   - James Jeffrey

Writing in Al Monitor, James Jeffrey, Mike Pompeo's point man on Syria and now strap hanger in a pro-Israeli Washington think tank (where else?), pontificates on the need for the US to refocus on Middle East issues in light of Ukraine. Predictably this centurion of the American empire draws the opposite of any sensible conclusions. 

Any objective policy adviser would be asking whether poking the Russian bear and eventually providing Russia with another opportunity after Syria to confront and make gains against what Jeffrey calls euphemistically the 'US collective order' (i.e. empire) was a great idea. But no, Jeffrey, in common with most of Washington, sees Ukraine on the contrary as an illustration of the validity of the 'US collective order', and the setback in Syria as a reason to double down. 'With Ukraine has the world not now come together to realise how important it is to belong to the US-led 'global order'?  

Actually no, outside Western Europe not by a long chalk, and Jeffrey is forced to concede that those pesky Gulf states (and Turkey) which have been conspicuously refusing to join in the hybrid war against Russia must be brought to heel, because collective security is a two way street. They must be brought 'to vote the right way' at the UN, join in imposing sanctions, and help in the West's boycott of Russian oil and gas. 

In return, the US should be more attentive to the Gulf states' concerns over Iran and stop nagging them over human rights. 

Raising briefly our hopes of a little realism kicking in, the former ambassador to Turkey goes on to say that the US in the new post-Ukraine environment should  dial back on seeking 'transformational  interventions' in the Middle East, which he acknowledges have largely failed and brought ('inadvertent') devastation to Iraq, Syria and Libya. 

Ah, so does this mean pulling US troops back from North East Syria and halting efforts to balkanise and destabilise Syria? Far from it. Jeffrey applauds the Biden administration's leaving of troops in both Syria and Iraq and sees a need to keep America's knee on Syria's neck, not least to thwart Iran. 

Jeffrey lets his pro-Israeli views come further into focus when he advocates halting the expenditure of efforts on bringing Israel and the Palestinians to some form of agreement (as if any serious such efforts had been going on!).

He has warm words for the Abraham accords, whereby the Gulf states have washed their hands of the Palestinians and pacted with Israel against Iran. It does not occur to Jeffrey, or Washington generally, that poking Iran might have consequences too.

The former ambassador advocates in fact abandoning efforts to revive the nuclear accord with Iran (JCPOA) allegedly because with the passage of time its value has declined. He does not consider what conclusions Iran might be drawing from Ukraine. After all, with much of Washington visibly salivating at the possible prospect of a debacle in Ukraine leading to regime change in Russia, and Russia only protected in the last analysis by its possession of nuclear weapons, might Iranians not reasonably draw the conclusion that the sooner they get their own the better?

Washington of course has long been way out at the end of the autistic spectrum in terms of appreciating that other countries might see things differently, and might not relish the prospect of becoming another cog in a global order designed always to put America's interests and obsessions first.

There never was much chance that Washington would draw any cautionary lessons from Ukraine and Jeffrey's article only goes to confirm that.    

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China: The Belt and Road Initiative with Matt Ehret

"One of the most consequential landmarks in Chinese-Arab relations is the 'Arab Policy Paper' released by China in 2016. The paper emphasised historic cooperation, peaceful relations and the openness of each civilisation towards the other. [..] noticeably it encouraged China and the Arabs to work together on 'building a new type of international relations' that would safeguard state sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity."

Excerpt from a research paper produced by Wathiqat Wattan Foundation in Damascus, Syria.

In this conversation Matt Ehret clarifies the relevance of China's Ancient Silk Road to the modern day geopolitical power games that are playing out globally. Western propaganda designed to criminalise China is dissected and while not all questions are answered as the world hegemonic schisms are being revealed to us, this conversation should bring insight and transparency to many legitimate concerns about our future.