Schiller Institute Denounces Ukrainian CCD Targeting of the Feb. 19 ‘Rage Against the War Machine’ Peace Rally

Feb. 16, 2023, 2022 (EIRNS)—The Ukrainian government’s Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD) today posted on its Telegram channel an attack on the Feb. 19 “Rage Against the War Machine” rally in Washington, D.C., under the headline “Anti-War Meeting Organized in U.S.A. with a Call To Stop Supporting Ukraine.” The CCD—which is known for targeting individuals internationally who are opposed to the war, whom they accuse of being “information terrorists” and of spreading “Russian propaganda”—also exchanges data and targets with the notorious Myrotvorets website, which publishes a hit list of enemies to be “Liquidated,” which they themselves state is taken in many cases from the CCD list. The CCD attack on the Feb. 19 rally ends by providing specifics of the date and location of the event.

Over recent months, the CCD target list has included dozens of Schiller Institute leaders and speakers at Schiller Institute events, some of whom have also been featured prominently on the Myrotvorets hit list as well—including Diane Sare, candidate for the U.S. Senate from New York, who is a scheduled speaker at the Feb. 19 rally, as are a number of other individuals on those hit lists.

The Schiller Institute responded to the new CCD posting by recalling that the CCD has been and continues to be financed by the U.S. government, specifically by agencies of the State Department. The Schiller Institute has also informed dozens of House and Senate offices, on both sides of the aisle, of the details of the CCD/Myrotvorets lists, urging that U.S. government funding be stopped and that their violent targeting of political enemies be prohibited.

The Schiller Institute takes the opportunity of this latest threat by the CCD to urge those Congressional offices who have been informed, and others responsible for oversight of such funding, as well as the relevant agencies of the federal government who have heretofore supported the CCD, to help ensure that the Feb. 19 rally proceeds peacefully, as a group of Americans of disparate political ideologies join to exercise their First Amendment rights, calling for “Not One More Penny for War in Ukraine” and “Negotiate Peace,” among other demands.

The full text of the English-language version posted by the CCD on its Telegram site follows:

“In the U.S.A., an anti-war rally is planned with the demand to stop military aid to Ukraine and start peace negotiations.

“The Libertarian and People’s Parties of the U.S.A. are organizing a rally called ‘Rage Against the War Machine.’ During the rally, the speakers plan to address President Joe Biden with a number of demands, in particular regarding the war in Ukraine. Among them are ‘ceasing the financing of the war’ and calling for a ‘diplomatic settlement of the conflict.’

“The ad contains Russian narratives that the expansion of NATO to the east provoked the Russian invasion, and the war against Ukraine led to the threat of nuclear war with Russia.

“Invited speakers include former politicians, journalists, activists and musicians who have previously expressed pro-Russian rhetoric, including former U.S. Democratic Party member Tulsi Gabbard and Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters.

“The rally is scheduled for February 19 near the Lincoln Memorial in the center of Washington.”