Remember Odessa 2014!

by New Worker correspondent
 
On Saturday 3rd May members of International Ukraine Anti Fascist Solidarity and several other organisations held a vigil in solidarity with the families of those who died in the Odessa massacre of 2014 outside the Ukrainian embassy in London.
They carried signs saying "Remember Odessa 02.02.2014" in English, Russian and Ukrainian. After the vigil they laid flowers at the gate of the embassy, and a letter addressed to ambassador Valery Zaluzhnyi was left by New Communist Party of Britain general secretary Andy Brooks.
Eleven years after the tragic events of 2nd May 2014 no-one has been brought to justice for these crimes, and no independent, local or international inquiry has ever been held. And according to the European Council an investigation by Ukrainian authorities in November 2015 “had lacked "institutional and practical independence".
On 13th March 2025 the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the Ukrainian authorities had failed to prevent or end the violence on that day or to “ensure timely rescue measures for those trapped in the fire,” and said that since 2014 the Ukrainian authorities had “failed to institute and conduct an effective investigation into the events”.
The court ruled that these failures were in violation of Article 2 (right to life/investigation) and Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
While the ruling was widely covered by the Russian and Ukrainian media it appears to have been totally ignored by leading Western media outlets, including the BBC, Reuters and CNN.
However the virulently pro-Ukrainian website EUvsDisinfo dismissed the ruling as "recurrent pro-Kremlin narrative about the Odessa tragedy and about Nazi Ukraine". EUvsDisinfo is run by "a team of experts" called the "East Stratcom Task Force", which operates under the EU High Representative. Kaja Kallas, a former Estonian prime minister.

Boycott Barclays Now!

by New Worker correspondent

Palestinian solidarity campaigners were outside Barclays Bank’s Annual General Meeting in London this week to call out their complicity with Israel's genocide in Gaza while others, inside the hall, disrupted the meeting to protest against the bankrolling of Israeli terror in Palestine.   
Barclays holds over two billion pounds-worth of shares and provides £6.1 billion in loans and underwriting to nine companies whose weapons, components and military technology are being used by Israel in its attacks on Palestinians.
This week, Israel has committed to intensifying its genocide in Gaza by sending yet more troops into the Palestinian enclave. An Israeli government minister has said Gaza is "to be entirely destroyed". We must respond by escalating our campaigning against corporations that enable Israel's atrocities. 
Barclays has an agreement with Israel to act as a 'primary dealer' for its government bonds. This means it directly helps Israel sell bonds to raise money to fund its genocide against the Palestinians. Barclays has underwritten at least £500 million of Israel government bonds since October 2023. 
In addition, Barclays provides investment and loans worth billions to arms companies supplying Israel with the weapons and military technology it uses in its crimes against Palestinians. There must be no business-as-usual for companies like Barclays while they enable Israel's genocide.  

Remembering Neil Harris

by New Worker correspondent

Neil Harris, a leading member of the New Communist Party, sadly passed away in March 2018 following a long battle against cancer. Neil always wanted his ashes scattered at the Kremlin where Lenin’s tomb and Stalin’s ashes, together with hundreds of other honoured citizens from Soviet times, remain. This was raised by Theo Russell, the NCP delegate to the international anti-fascist forum in Moscow, last week only to be told that the scattering of ashes anywhere near the Lenin Mausoleum is, in fact,  strictly forbidden by the Kremlin authorities. But he asked our comrades in the Communist Party of the Russian Federation for advice and with their help Theo scattered Neil’s ashes into the Moskva river from a boat as it passed the Kremlin. Many comrades who have fond memories of Neil Harris  will be pleased to hear that his last wish has now been granted.

May Day in London

by New Worker correspondent

London comrades and other activists from the International Ukraine Anti Fascist Solidarity campaign joined the May Day march through central London this week with banners calling for justice for the families of those murdered at the Odessa Trade Union House on 2nd May 2014, and for solidarity with the many thousands of political prisoners in Ukraine, many of whom have been beaten, tortured, or murdered. Many organisations at the march expressed their support for the banners. Many photographers also took pictures, some of which have already appeared on British social media channels.