US Government Gives Award to Hong Kong Agitators it Funded

September 18, 2020 (Tony Cartalucci - LD) - After previously denying any role in supporting protests in Hong Kong - Freedom House - a subsidiary of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) who had been funding Hong Kong protest groups for years - will be showering Hong Kong's opposition with awards. 

If there was any doubt about how deeply involved the US government is in funding and backing political subversion not only in Hong Kong, but around the globe - in addition to its multiple illegal wars, invasions, occupations, and other "hard power" interventions - the US government-funded NED through its subsidiary Freedom House has just awarded Hong Kong's mobs its 2020 "Freedom Award." 

Image: A previous Freedom House event in 2015 would feature "umbrella revolution" leaders Joshua Wong, Benny Tai, and Martin Lee being "honored" in Washington DC. Despite this open display of support, plus financial support provided by the US government to various organizations linked to each leader, the US would later attempt to deny any role in Hong Kong protests which eventually led to violence and arson.   

It is full circle for the US-regime change pipeline - albeit unsuccessfully- where the US government helps create, fund, and sustain unrest in a targeted country, props it up across the Western media, then showers all involved with "awards" afterward not only to bolster their morale, but to encourage other US-funded agitators elsewhere to continue their work. 

"Freedom Award" Exposes Global-Spanning Political Interference

Freedom House's website in a post titled, "Freedom House Presents 2020 Freedom Award to Hong Kong and Sudan Protesters," would claim (emphasis added): 

The special online Freedom Awards event will feature special remarks from former Belarusian presidential candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.

Hong Kong’s prodemocracy movement and two groups from Sudan—the Sudanese Professionals Association, represented by Samahir Ali Othman Almubarak, and the Organization of the December Revolution Martyrs’ Families, represented by Dr. Amira Babiker Ahmed Osman—will receive the 2020 Freedom Award at Freedom House’s annual awards event on September 16, beginning at 6:45 p.m. EDT. 

The mention of Belarus opposition figures only further boosts already clear evidence that the US is involved in political meddling in that nation as well - a nation sitting right on Russia's borders. 

Image: Previous Freedom House guest Joshua Wong (left) and speaker at Freedom House's 2020 "Freedom Award" event Nathan Law (right) in Washington DC lobbying and receiving US government support for their mobs in Hong Kong, China. 

Freedom House also notes that Hong Kong opposition figure Nathan Law - who had previously visited Washington DC to solicite and receive US government backing - would be speaking at the event: 

Prominent activist and former legislator Nathan Law will speak about the movement for democracy in Hong Kong. Special remarks will also be delivered by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, recent Belarusian presidential candidate; Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the US House of Representatives; and Marco Rubio, US senator from Florida. Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights under Law, will offer reflections on the US protests for racial justice.

Were there any doubt that the US was behind Hong Kong's unrest and in contact with the protest's core leadership, the US government-funded Freedom House organizing an event in which actual protest leaders are participating should help shed it.  

In order to help those struggling with why US meddling in places like Hong Kong, Belarus, and elsewhere is wrong, first consider the UN Charter itself - Chapter 1, Article 2 which states: 

All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.

An opposition group funded and run by a foreign country is a direct attack on the political independence of any nation such groups are operating in or against. Hong Kong's mobs in particular were demanding "independence," meaning that US-funded opposition groups were attacking the territorial integrity of China as well. 

And if that isn't convincing enough, just consider if nations like Russia or China were involved in similar behavior - dispersing money and support to opposition groups in the US aimed at ousting the current government, rewriting America's constitution and laws, or just simply, violently destroying America's infrastructure - then holding "award" ceremonies in which these agitators would literally fly out of the country to attend in either Russia or China. 

UN Report on Venezuela "Abuses" Written by Investigators Who Never Visited Venezuela

September 16, 2020 (Tony Cartalucci  - LD) - The Western media is touting the results of a so-called "Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela" conducted through the United Nations. 

AFP in an article titled, "Venezuela president behind crimes against humanity: UN probe," would claim: 

In their first report, a team of investigators tasked with probing a slew of alleged violations in Venezuela said they had found evidence that state actors, including President Nicolas Maduro, were behind serious international crimes.

It is only until the ninth paragraph that AFP finally admits (emphasis added): 

The three-person team was unable to visit Venezuela, but based their findings on 274 remote interviews with victims, witnesses, former state officials and others, and analysis of confidential documents, including legal case files. 

Other articles announcing the "investigation" including CNN's "Venezuela's government accused of committing crimes against humanity in UN report," make no mention at all of the fact investigators never set foot in Venezuela before drawing their conclusions. 

Zero Credibility 

It would be unimaginable for police to never bother visiting a crime scene before carrying out and concluding an investigation based on " remote interviews" with people who claimed to be witnesses. Likewise, it is unimaginable that any legitimate investigation into Venezuela's internal political affairs can be conducted by "investigators" who never bothered to even visit the country. 

And of course, the UN investigation is not legitimate. Interviews and accusations are where investigations begin, not where they end. The collection of actual evidence is required to substantiate such claims - a collection of evidence the politically-motivated interests behind this latest investigation and its public promotion have no interest in carrying out.

UN "Investigation" Enables, Not Exposes Abuse  

As to why there are efforts to accuse Venezuela of "crimes against humanity" without carrying out a real investigation stem from ongoing efforts by Washington and its European allies to overthrow the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and install their handpicked proxy Juan Guaido.

In addition to this blatant example of political interference in Venezuela's internal political affairs - announcing an opposition figure "president" of a country outside of said nation's own political processes -  the US has spent millions of dollars annually funding opposition groups in an attempt to undermine Venezuela's political independence. 

Thai Protest Leader Anon Nampa Lies About US Funding

 Substantial documented evidence and even admissions by his organization's own founder confirm the foreign funded nature of his "activism." 

September 16, 2020 (Tony Cartalucci - ATN) - Anon Nampa, billed by the Western media as a "core leader" of Thailand's ongoing US-backed anti-government protests, has recently lied about receiving any money or support from the US government.

In a recent Thai/English interview with Pravit Rojanaphruk for Khaosod - a newspaper owned by the family of billionaire opposition leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit - he denied receiving any money from abroad. 

Pravit failed to show Anon Nampa documented evidence proving otherwise and instead simply repeated and reinforced Anon Nampa's lie. 

Anon Nampa did - however - admit that he spends at least 100,000 Thai Baht a month on his political activities, but did not disclose who his donors were. For a point of reference, the average minimum wage worker in Thailand earns about 10,000 Thai Baht.  

Anon Nampa's Thai Lawyers for Human Rights is US Funded  

Anon Nampa's Frontline Defenders profile claims (emphasis added): 

Arnon Nampa is a human rights lawyer who volunteers with the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR). TLHR was established in 2014 to provide legal assistance to alleged violators of lèse-majesté and human rights defenders targeted by the authorities following the military coup of 22 May 2014. 

Anon Nampa's organization - Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) - is listed as a recipient of US government money via the notorious US National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and has been funded by the US government since it was created in 2014.

READ MORE: What is the US National Endowment for Democracy (NED)?

In 2014, the US NED listed TLHR by name - archived here - as receiving nearly 1 million Thai Baht a year. The NED Thailand 2014 page notes (emphasis added): 

Access to Justice and the Protection of Human Rights under Martial Law: To promote and protect human rights. The Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, hosted by the Union for Civil Liberty, will provide legal assistance to those affected by martial law rule. Activities will also include monitoring and documentation of human rights violations across the country.

TLHR being hosted by the Union for Civil Liberty (UCL) is important to note, because the US NED website has since deleted mention of TLHR and instead includes its funding under the UCL which receives a staggering 4 million baht a year from the US government. The UCL lists TLHR - among other US NED grantees - as a member of its union at the bottom of its official website.

In addition to funding TLHR the US State Department had awarded another TLHR lawyer - Sirikan “June” Charoensiri the 2018 "International Women of Courage Award" presented by US First Lady Melania Trump.

The US Embassy in Bangkok - now denying any involvement with US NED-funded groups like TLHR - would at the time openly praise TLHR in a statement celebrating the award, exclaiming:

The U.S. Embassy in Bangkok is proud of Sirikan “June” Charoensiri’s work as a lawyer and human rights defender, and for being recognized by the Secretary of State as an International Women of Courage award recipient.

Ms. Sirikan is a co-founder of Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), a lawyers’ collective set up to provide pro bono legal services for human rights cases and to document human rights violations.

Thus - an organization carefully cultivated by the US government for years - propped up financially and politically and even awarded for carrying out Washington's agenda in Thailand - is now leading protests aimed at overthrowing the elected government of Thailand, and lying about the nature of their foreign funding.

TLHR's Own Founder Admitted to Foreign Funding Multiple Times 

Admissions by TLHR staff itself in the past has made it clear the foreign-funded nature of its activities. 

The Bangkok Post in a 2016 article titled, "The lawyer preparing to defend herself," would admit (emphasis added):

...[TLHR] receives all its funding from international donors including the EU, Germany and US-based human rights organisations and embassies of the UK and Canada.

In an interview with likewise US NED-funded media portal Prachatai titled,  "Interview with Head of Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, on receiving human rights award from French Embassy," TLHR founder Yaowalak Anupan would fully admit (emphasis added):

We have to thank many organizations which support us, such as iLaw, Cross Cultural Foundation, International Commission of Jurists, United Nations, European Union, British Embassy, Canadian Embassy, among others. 

It should be noted that iLaw (Internet Law Reform Dialogue) and Cross Cultural Foundation (page 31, PDF) are also both funded by the US NED and are listed on NED's past and current Thailand webpages.  

There is absolutely no doubt that Thai Lawyers for Human Rights is funded by the US government via the National Endowment for Democracy - an organization created by the US government, funded annually by the US Congress, and overseen by both the Congress and the US State Department - according to its own "About Us" page and despite dishonest attempts to still portray itself as "nongovernmental" and "private."  

Anon Nampa has lied blatantly to the Thai/English-speaking public. Pravit Rojanaphruk and Khaosod have helped repeat that lie - rather than confront Anon Nampa with the documented evidence and even TLHR's own previous admissions confirming his organization is funded by the US government - among other foreign interests. 

While attempts might be made in the future to eventually excuse or explain this foreign funding by Anon Nampa, the fact that Anon Nampa and his supporters are now openly lying about it means they know what they are doing is wrong and are attempting to hide it from the public for as long as possible. 

Twitter Censors Blog After Exposing US Funding Protests in Thailand

 September 15, 2020 (Tony Cartalucci - LD) - After exposing US funding behind Thailand's current anti-government protests and the US Embassy responding not once, but twice to growing awareness among the Thai public - Twitter moved to censor links to my Thai-centric blog, AltThaiNews. 

READ MORE: US Embassy Denies Funding Thai Protests Groups Listed on US NED's Own Website

Attempts to post on Twitter any link from AltThaiNews results in an error message noting that the link was blocked because Twitter determined it was "harmful." 

US Embassy denials of funding Thai anti-government organizations are as easy to debunk as simply visiting the US National Endowment for Democracy's (NED) own official website and seeing core opposition groups listed directly on it.

The US NED is funding organizations supplying the protests with core leaders like Anon Nampa (listed as Union for Civil Liberty).

It is also funding organizations involved in calls to rewrite Thailand's entire Constitution (listed as Internet Law Reform Dialogue also known as iLaw). 

The US NED is also funding media platforms promoting the protests on a daily basis (Foundation for Community Educational Media also known as Prachatai) as well as organizations that supply actual protesters to the rallies themselves (listed as Thai Poor Act also known as Assembly of the Poor).  

READ MORE: The Complete Guide: US Government Role in Thailand's "Student Protests"

It is only a matter of time before similar measures are put into place on Facebook who together with Twitter banned my social media accounts on the same day in a coordinated act of censorship a while back. 

That blogs simply exposing information found on the US government's own official websites is grounds for censorship on Twitter and Facebook demonstrates that these US-based tech giants function more as propaganda tools, methods of managing public perception, and even weapons of information warfare than actual social media platforms used to connect people and share information. 

The fact that Facebook and Twitter already censored me by deleting my accounts but still failed to prevent this information from reaching the public illustrates just how badly the West is losing the information war. The deleting of accounts, the blocking of links, and even Google erasing these blogs themselves will only lead to more innovative, effective, and most importantly - more determined efforts to overcome this censorship. 

Since Facebook and Twitter are managing their platforms as weapons of information warfare, nations outside of the US and more specifically those targeted by US coercion and pressure should consider restricting or removing these services entirely from their information space and replacing them with domestic alternatives. This will not only help protect national security and stability but will create jobs and income that were otherwise previously enjoyed mainly by Silicon Valley. 

BREAKING: US-funded Front Supports Thai Terrorist Sympathizers

US government-funded "Thai Lawyers for Human Rights" openly defends Thai terrorist sympathizers who burned Bangkok down in 2010. 

September 14, 2020 (Tony Cartalucci - ATN) - The US government-funded front - Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) - funded since its creation in 2014 by the US National Endowment for Democracy (NED), is at the center of current, ongoing anti-government protests in Thailand. 

TLHR's lawyer Anon Nampa is a core leader of the protests themselves and TLHR uses its platform to provide free legal services to other protest leaders as well as its strong social media presence to promote rallies. It is regularly cited by the Western media regarding alleged "abuses" protesters claim they face as they deliberately break laws and are then arrested by Thai police. 

Today, however, this already troubling foreign-funded sedition took an even darker turn.

"Thai Lawyers for Human Rights" Supporting Terrorist Sympathizers

TLHR posted its support for a group of terrorist sympathizers who faced legal issues surrounding their desire to hold a memorial for disgraced Thai Major General Khattiya Sawasdipol also known as "Se Daeng." TLHR would use a Thai language hashtag that roughly translates to "stop harassing the people" in defense of the terrorist sympathizers. 

Se Daeng openly led some 300 militants in 2010 known as "black shirts" in gun battles against Thai troops amid "red shirt" (also known as the UDD) rallies organized by billionaire fugitive Thaksin Shinawatra. The violence left nearly 100 dead and Thailand's capital of Bangkok in flames after a deliberate campaign of arson was carried out by his supporters. 

Australian newspaper The Age in an article, "'Red Commander' saw himself as Thai William Wallace," would admit (emphasis added): 

Sawasdipol was formerly a Thai ranger and recruited many former rangers to be security guards for the UDD tented city in Bangkok.

In one recent interview he declared that he had 300 armed men trained for ''close encounters'' and armed with M79 grenade launchers.

Reuters in its article, "Red means stop, and anger, in vibrant Thai protest," would cite the red shirt's official spokesman Sean Boonpracong, admitting (emphasis added): 

The red shirts’ international spokesman, Sean Boonpracong, told Reuters elements of the army are with their movement. They are known as “watermelons” -- green on the outside but red in the middle -- and they include the shadowy, black-clad men with military weapons that were seen at the April 10th crackdown.

Even though Human Rights Watch now denies any violence from among anti-government groups it is now clearly abusing its platform to support, its own 2011 report titled, "Descent into Chaos (.pdf)" would admit:

As the army attempted to move on the camp, they were confronted by well-armed men who fired M16 and AK-47 assault rifles at them, particularly at the Khok Wua intersection on Rajdamnoen Road. They also fired grenades from M79s and threw M67 hand grenades at the soldiers. News footage and videos taken by protesters and tourists show several soldiers lying unconscious and bleeding on the ground, as well as armed men operating with a high degree of coordination and military skills.

The HRW report would directly link the heavily armed militants to the red shirt protests by admitting (emphasis added): 

When the UDD refused to break up the protest camp on May 12, Abhisit withdrew his November election offer and warned of an imminent dispersal of the UDD camp.135 Kokaew Pikunthong, a UDD leader, warned on May 12 that a group of 400 to 500 hard-core militants under the control of Khattiya might resist any army attempt to retake the camp.

The same HRW report admitted that these same terrorists attacked journalists including storming the buildings of news agencies critical of the red shirt protests. The report noted (emphasis added): 

That afternoon, arsonists also tried to attack several media outlets that the UDD had criticized as being anti-Thaksin or anti-UDD, including Channel 3 television station, the Thai Post, Bangkok Post, and The Nation. They succeeded in attacking the Maleenont Tower complex, which houses the Channel 3 television station. Karuna Buakamsri, a Channel 3 news announcer, was live on-air when she was told her building was on fire. She later told Human Rights Watch how the presence of Black Shirts outside the burning building made it difficult to evacuate.

Karuna Buakamsri would note how the "black shirt" terrorists were firing war weapons outside her building, noting, "Black Shirts were outside with guns—they were burning cars in the parking lot."

 

Khattiya "Se Daeng" Sawasdipol was clearly a terrorist. He mobilized hundreds of militants who carried out a spree of murder, mayhem, and arson across Bangkok that left scores dead including soldiers, police, innocent bystanders, journalists, and counter-protesters.