Call on government to recognise Putin’s new “totalitarian and hateful ideology”
A protest of Ukrainians living in Portugal has taken place in front of the Russian embassy in Lisbon today, calling on the Portuguese parliament to ‘follow Ukraine’ in recognising Putin’s “Ruscism” as a new totalitarian and hateful ideology.
Pavlo Sadokha, president of the Association of Ukrainians in Portugal, addressed the crowd made up of men, women, teens and children, stressing that a letter has been sent to parliament asking for this support.
Explains Lusa, “through the resolution of May 2, elected representatives of the Ukrainian people want the international community to recognise Russian state policy as a “set of dangerous and destructive ideas aimed at undermining the international order and its principles, namely the recognition of the equality and sovereignty of all states and the primacy of human rights”.
The Ukrainian parliament’s resolution also calls on the United Nations, the European Parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, as well as the governments and parliaments of foreign countries, to condemn “Ruscism” as an ideology and political practice.
Some of those in the crowd held placards alluding to the “shame” of the Russian war and Putin’s “terrorist state”, while others displayed enlarged photographs of war crimes, with images of charred civilians and cars in the middle of roads or on pavements of Ukrainian cities.
Speaking to journalists, Pavlo Sadokha stressed that tomorrow Europe celebrates the end of the Second World War – a war in which “eight million Ukrainians died” as the world focused on erasing Nazi ideology.
“Now, in the 21st century, we have another ideology that threatens not only Ukraine but the whole world – ‘Ruscism’, Putin’s totalitarian ideology.“
Sadokha reiterated that this ideology amounts to the genocide of the Ukrainian people
Asked whether he believes there is any hope for peace in the current conflict, he responded that Putin’s policy is against peace, and that his regime refers to the invasion of Ukraine as a “holy war”.
After announcing the request made to the parliament, demonstrators raised a huge flag in the colours of Ukraine and marched peacefully towards Clube Estefânia, where a pro-Russian organisation is reportedly promoting a concert.
Says Lusa, the plan is to “demonstrate displeasure at the existence of Russian propaganda in Portugal”.
Pavlo Sadokha assured the protest will be peaceful, “serving only to show indignation”.
LUSA
