Volodymyr Zelensky spoke by video conference in the Portuguese Parliament on Thursday (21), almost two months after the start of the war in Ukraine. But not everyone liked the invitation to the Ukrainian president, a position that is not unique in the world.
Spain: four deputies refused to applaud
In Spain, not all parliamentarians welcomed the invitation given to Volodymyr Zelensky. On April 5, the President of Ukraine addressed the Spanish Parliament.
When it expected all applaud Zelensky, the moment turned out to be boycotted by four members: Enrique Santiago, the coalition United We, Mireia Vehi and Albert Botran, the Popular Unity Application, and Néstor Rego, the Galician Nationalist Bloc.
To the Spanish newspaper El Confidencial, these parliamentarians explained that they participated in the event only out of “institutional respect” and that they did not applaud the Ukrainian president for disagreeing with some of the positions taken by Zelensky since the beginning of the war, such as the outlawing of opposition parties and their “tolerance towards Nazi groups” in Ukrainian troops.
Like Enrique Santiago, leader of the United Left and member of the Unidas Podemos coalition, Álvaro Aguilera, secretary general of the Communist Party of Madrid, expressed himself in the same way through Twitter.
“Sorry, but no. Not that. Zelensky is a danger to peace and to his people. Heir of a coup that outlawed the Communist Party and other 11 parties. There should be a debate in the organs. Not in my name, “he wrote.
France: Marine Le Pen’s indecision
The presence of Marine Le Pen in Parliament opposing Emmanuel Macron in the French presidential elections, to watch the Zelensky speech also came to be denied.
When he learned that the Ukrainian president would be, by videoconference, the French Parliament on March 23, the candidate of the extreme right said he had “prior commitments”. Le Pen – whose party has links with Russia – said initially she did not feel it was necessary to demonstrate their support for Zelensky.
‘No wonder particularly Mr. Zelensky, “said the presidential candidate for France Info, justifying that” thought he was just behaving like a head of state and should not arouse any admiration but normal behavior. “
However, after controversy rebound, Le Pen decided to cancel the “prior commitments” and be present during the speech, but ensuring that did not by media pressure.
Italy: extreme right against speech
In Italy, a small group of deputies criticized the permission given to Volodymyr Zelensky to address parliament on March 22, arguing that the Ukrainian president’s appearance would do nothing to restore peace.
At least 20 lawmakers have ensured that they would “despise” the video conferencing Zelensky and criticized the decision to allow discoursing in both parliamentary chambers, an honor that until then had only been given to the King of Spain Juan Carlos and the Pope John Paul II.
Gianluigi Paragone, a former member of the 5 Star Movement and founder of the group against Italian membership in the European Union called Italexit, told Reuters that he would not pay attention to the Ukrainian president’s words.
“We have heard the sermon Zelensky and, if we do what he wants, it would lead immediately to a war in Europe,” he said.
In the vote, the vast majority of parties were in favor of the speech, but dozens of deputies did not attend, including several from the Northern League, the far-right party led by Matteo Salvini, which has come to praise Putin in the past.
At least one politician Northern League, Vito Comencini, confirmed to Reuters that it would not be present in Zelensky speech. He declined to explain the option, but a week earlier he visited St. Petersburg and delivered humanitarian aid to the people of the Donbass region, for whom he showed support.
“These are people who live in a war zone since 2014 guilty for demanding that their demands be recognized,” Comencini published on social networks during the visit.
Israel: Boycott of the Third Major Political Force
In Israel, it was the Joint List bloc made up of four parties led by mostly Arab Hadash party, which boycotted the speech Zelensky president.
On March 20, moments before the Ukrainian leader began speaking via video conference, the party, the country’s third-largest political force, announced that its members would not be present at the “Knesset”.
Ofer Cassif of Hadash, explained the position taken: “We hear in the Western press, and also here, day and night that this is a war between the sons of light and sons of darkness, but it is not. For years, there have been crimes against the Russian minority in Ukraine. In Ukraine, the system works on the arm and without shame with neo-Nazi militias as the Azov Battalion. There are sons of light and sons of darkness here, “he accused.
Japan: The Pearl Harbor References That Caused Outrage
When addressed the US Congress, Zelensky used the attack on Pearl Harbor as compared to Ukraine invasion. In the perspective of the Ukrainian president, both were unprovoked attacks against countries with which the attackers were not at war.
The statements went down badly in the more conservative wings of Japanese politics. There was even a set of right-wing deputies who claimed that Zelensky should only address the Japanese parliament after taking classes on what “really” preceded the attack on Pearl Harbor.
However, on March 23, the speech by the President of Ukraine took place without any difficulty.
Greece: Azov Battalion Greek Testimony
In his speech to the Greek Parliament on April 7, Zelensky exhibited the testimony of a soldier from the Azov Battalion. In the video, the fighter, of Greek nationality, appealed for Greece’s solidarity with Ukraine during the Russian invasion.
“I address you, I am Greek by origin. My name is Mikhail, my grandfather fought the Nazis and now I am in defense of Ukraine through the Azov Battalion, “the paramilitary.
The Militant Front of All Workers (PAME), a union movement, the Communist Youth of Greece and other leftist groups criticized the incident. They stated that the Greek solidarity with the Ukrainian people should not become a support for a “puppet regime NATO” led by Zelensky and the “neo-Nazi groups” it supports.
In response to the speech, former finance minister and founder of the European Realist Disobedience Front (MeRA25), Yanis Varoufakis, pointed out that Greece “did not invite a Nazi, it invited the president of Ukraine”.
“It was the president of Ukraine who brought a Nazi. And, yes, it was the President of our Parliament, to not intervene, not defended our Parliament, “he finished.
Cyprus: Events in Greece spark controversy
In Cyprus, after the intervention of Mikhail, a member of the Azov Battalion, in the Greek Parliament, the Progressive Party of the Working People decided to miss Zelensky’s speech, which took place on the same day, 7 April.
Source: CNN Brasil
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