Karstein Volle

A few hours after the mass shooting in New Zealand’s two mosques in Christchurch town, the New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern issued a statement; “It is clear that this can now only be described as an act of terror”. 50 people were killed by a group of white shooters.

The New Zealand police force acted with courage and an amazing level of proficiency. They made safe several cars planted with explosives. They captured four of the suspects alive, one of whom is a woman. Hopefully we are dealing with a rare case, once the proper investigation is carried out and all the links, connections and instigators of this atrocity are established. According to some reports, the main suspect, Brandon Tarant, a citizen of Australia and the author of a 73-page manifesto, has been apprehended alive too.

Bellingcat journalist Oleksiy Kuzmenko notes in his Twitter account that the title page of the Manifesto, allegedly linked to the shooter in Christchurch, features the “black sun” symbol – widely used by white nationalist extremists worldwide, including the Azov Movement in Ukraine – which runs its own magazine «Чорне Сонце» (Black Sun). He also writes that the shooter claims in his manifesto that he travelled to Poland and the Ukraine.

One may say it does not prove an immediate link between the increase of far-right militarised groups in the Ukraine and their speedy outreach to the far-right groups in other parts of the world. But it does provide links between the heinous advance of far-right ideology throughout the world.

But it does provide links between the heinous advance of far-right ideology throughout the world

Just a day before the tragedy in Christchurch, Andrey Biletsky, the Ukrainian neo-Nazi ideologist of the National Corps political and military force (which is reportedly up to 20,000-people strong), was interviewed by the Apostrophe website.  Among other things, this Ukrainian politician, deputy of the parliament and leader of the ultra-far-right armed formation, refers to the current trend of bringing far-right parties to mainstream politics, both in the U.S. and Europe.

What is the difference between Biletsky and “Knight Breivik” who allegedly “gave his blessing” to the terrorist? Breivik is in prison. Biletsky is in power. Do they share anything in common? Both have quite a powerful outreach to like-minded haters. Both speculate on motives for their own people as a motif for their hatred.

I highly recommend those who justify “positive” nationalism, who permit neo-nazi gatherings in Estonia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, etc. and all those Transmarinus, Etnofutur and Awakenings, to look at the outcome of their blindness. It’s not hard to find. It’s in front of your eyes.

…look at the outcome of their blindness. It’s not hard to find. It’s in front of your eyes

Antonio Tajani appraises Benito M for his “good deeds”. Latvia washes the holocaust from Herberts Cukurs. “These are different swastikas, not the bad ones” – this rhetoric is common talk by defenders of “our not-so-bad nationalists”. This time with the “black sun” symbol on the military gear of the shooter in Christchurch and the official symbol of the Azov neo-nazi military formation, the same song is sung: “it is a different black sun, not the bad one” – as a way to disguise the spread of hatred from which post-Maidan Ukraine originates.  When we keep silent on the far-right trends there, when we ignore the white supremacist agenda of Biletsky, when we don’t ask questions why far-right organisations from the U.S,  Canada and Europe travel to Ukraine, we permit the “black sun” to shadow us all.