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Top Danish Independent Radio Interviewed Jens Jørgen Nielsen, on Ukraine Blacklist

Aug. 8, 2022 (EIRNS) Copenhagen–The Danish Russia-Ukraine expert Jens Jørgen Nielsen, a speaker at the Danish-Swedish Schiller Institute May 25, 2022 online conference who is on the Ukraine blacklist, was interviewed Aug. 3 for 13 minutes on Radio 24/seven (24/syv) about his appearance on the list. Radio 24/seven is the leading Danish national private radio. That was followed by an interview with Søren Liborius, a Danish leading consultant for the EU’s joint foreign ministry, and former information and press director in the EU foreign ministry office in Russia. They are interviewed by Nicolai Dandanell. Here is a summary of his remarks:

Jens Jørgen Nielsen: The people on the list have different opinions, even one who is for sending weapons to Ukraine. [Nielsen did not mention the Schiller Institute in this connection, although he has done so in other media].

Nielsen said that he is not spreading Russian propaganda, but he is critical of sending weapons to Ukraine, and critical of the narrative that Ukraine is a flowering democracy. That the leader of the disinformation office labeled the people on the list “information terrorists,” who should be tried before a military court, is absurd. The office is supported by the U.S. State Department. He said that he disagrees with the Russian decision to invade, but there has to be a serious discussion, because this is the most dangerous crisis since WWII.

Zelensky has banned 11 parties, and put people under house arrest without a court decision. It is not, as the narrative goes, a battle between democracy and dictatorship.

What does the list mean? Nielsen said he doesn’t think there will be consequences, but will agents come to my house to bring me before a war criminal tribunal?

There is no problem for people to discuss the content of what I said.

This may lead to a comment from the Danish Foreign Minister [who is now required to answer two written questions posed by, Marie Krarup, a member of the Danish Parliament’s Foreign Policy Committee, in a “Consultation” before the committee.]

The fact that Ukraine is threatening Western citizens with being brought before a war criminal tribunal is crossing all red lines. Putting us in connection with war criminals from Yugoslavia and Rwanda, mass murderers, is absurd.

 When asked if he is spreading Russian disinformation, Nielsen replied that most of what is in the press is disinformation, from the Ukrainians, the Russians also do it, and in the West. There is no objective narrative in war. I am an historian, and there is war propaganda on all sides.

I understand that Ukraine is afraid of Western war fatigue – will they continue to send weapons? Is it money out of the window? I and others are asking: Can Ukraine win? Can they win without a nuclear war? It is necessary to pose these questions.

I was accused of saying that Ukraine had sent 30 times the previous amount of bombs into the Donbass in the week before Feb. 24. But I have this figure from the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe). Are they saying that the OSCE is on Putin’s disinformation pay list?

What are the consequences of being on the list? I want to go to Ukraine at some point. Will they let me in? Will I be arrested? Will I be attacked by Ukrainians who live here [in Denmark]? Sometimes I translate for Ukrainian refugees. I can’t imagine that they will come to my house and attack me.

Søren Liborius: Danish head consultant for the EU’s joint foreign ministry, former information and press director in the EU foreign ministry office in Russia.

Program headline: Ukraine’s blacklist is an expected part of the information war being fought between Ukraine and Russia.

He says that Ukraine is in a fight for its existence, and is responding to the Russian disinformation campaign, which he is not surprised about.


Jan Oberg’s Response to the Ukraine Blacklist

July 28, 2022 (EIRNS) Copenhagen–Today Danish peace policy leader Jan Oberg responded to being put on the Ukraine blacklist, issued July 14. He was a speaker at the Schiller Institute’s May 25, 2022, online conference from Denmark and Sweden, and three of the other speakers were also put on the list. His posting follows below and is available at this link.

Ukraine Smears People Around the world as Part of the Disinformation War
28 July, 2022

The government of Ukraine runs a Center for Countering Disinformation. It seems to be tasked with telling the world who carries the truth and who are spokespeople who are pushing a rhetoric that is in tune with Russian propaganda.

I’m included in a list issued by the Center together with around 70 people, many of whom I am honored to be grouped with. The Center published the list on its Facebook page with a rather weird text about how they have put us all in three categories: the third, for instance, “condemn Russian aggression, but inclined Ukraine to negotiate and oppose the supply of weapons to our state (20%).” Condemning Russian aggression and being in tune with Russian propaganda. Oh, well!

I suppose I am in that category since I distanced myself from the Russian invasion of Ukraine but also believe that the present arming of Ukraine is utterly counterproductive and will have unspeakably destructive consequences for Ukraine in particular. But, sadly, the US and NATO countries are united – so far – in (mis)using Ukraine as the battlefield to weaken Russia and “win” over it. That is, as a proxy – fighting for itself and Ukraine to the last Ukrainian. See my article on that here.

On the list are a series of diplomats, professors, politicians, media people and even former CIA people and some of them have already expressed their surprise at seeing themselves on that list – for instance, Edward Luttwak who has lobbied NATO governments to send weapons to Ukraine and is generally known as a hawk.

In summary, it is one of those intellectually and morally poor attempts, of course, to smear people who have a balanced view or are not 100% on your side. It’s based on a simple twofold table and not a fourfold table – as I say in the video below. The Center’s employees have no idea about how one makes a professional conflict analysis and choose to do what many do these days: Attack your position without understanding analytical content.

The whole thing appears bizarre, hilarious. Unintentionally comic.

[Jan Oberg continues with a reference to his interview with RT about the list.]

Russia TodayRT – is the Russian equivalent to, say, CNN or BBC. But unless you have a proxy server, you cannot see their articles and programs because numerous Western countries have prevented access to it – in violation of your human rights, but that doesn’t bother them. They wanted to do a report and panel discussion and approached me as one of the participants. The other participant is Bradley Blankenship who is also on the Ukrainian list.

Let me be very clear – also with reference to my principled media policy: If a Ukrainian TV channel had done the same, I would of course be pleased to accept its invitation too. Let’s see whether they dare do a face-to-face with the people they have smeared on their list – best Joe McCarthy 1950 style.

I hope the link below works for you, if not here is the link to RT on Yandex: https://disk.yandex.ru/d/DGF7e1ijMBsJKw


You know, RT has been thrown out of YouTube…Enjoy!


Linking Up Scandinavia and Europe to the Belt and Road via Pakistan

STOCKHOLM, April 29, 2021 (EIRNS)–The Zoom webinar meeting of the Belt and Road Institute in Sweden, together with the Embassy of Pakistan in Sweden, and the Embassy of China in Sweden, was an extraordinary success. More than 130 participants were present at the height of participation. The first part of the program was moderated by the Commercial Counsellor of Pakistan for Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland. The focus was on the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the tremendous potential for European and Scandinavian business interests to invest in Special Economic Zones (SEZ) that are connected to the current industrialization phase of CPEC.

There were welcoming remarks by the Ambassadors of Pakistan to Sweden and Denmark, and by the Ambassador of China to Sweden. The Chinese-language website of the Foreign Ministry the next day highlighted the BRIX event, printing the greetings of Chinese Ambassador Gui Congyou at the event.

There were several leading governmental agencies from Pakistan, like the Board of Investment, as well as regional officials, who outlined the great potential for investments and business in all areas when the basic infrastructure, especially electric power, is built. There were also important presentations from Business Sweden, Innovation Norway, and the Trade Council of Denmark to welcome and provide support and help for Scandinavian businesses that are ready to invest in Pakistan. The significance of Pakistan’s cooperation with China on the BRI was highlighted, and many business interests from China also participated.

The second part of the webinar was focused on the importance of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and how the work of the Belt and Road Institute in Sweden continues to present truthful and accurate information on BRI, despite deliberate distortions by Western media and other institutions.

This section was moderated by Stephen Brawer, the Vice Chairman of the Belt and Road Institute in Sweden, and the responsible leader of BRIX for webinars and seminars. His preliminary remarks summarized three of the most important points on the BRI as a global development policy, open to all nations, and the necessity of eliminating extreme poverty worldwide as has been achieved in China in 2020. He also noted the importance of the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia, as a principle for cooperation, in which the interests of the other are primary, as opposed to only serving your own interests, i.e., geopolitics.

There were four speakers in the afternoon session. Professor Michele Geraci of Italy pointed to the primacy of commercial relations behind the much discussed and dramatic geopolitical controversies. Mr. Henry Tillman of the UK reported from his own investigations the meteoric rise of the Chinese pharma industry in just one year, showing how China and India are now the main suppliers of vaccine to the world, as the USA and Europe have limited their deliveries to their domestic markets. In the UK the entire vaccine production has been kept 100 percent for the British people.

Dr. Maria Sultan of Pakistan situated the CPEC in the global landscape of container trade and digital transmissions, showing the tremendous growth in the Asia-Europe and Asia Pacific corridors with the Pakistani ports of Karachi and Gwadar in the crossroads. Hussein Askary of the BRIX highlighted the Health Silk Road as the only possible approach to counter the current and future pandemics, providing the necessary infrastructure needed for a modern health system.