By Max Jones / Original to ScheerPost
On April 20, 2023, ScheerPost writer/editor Max Jones attended a panel hosted by the University of Southern California’s Center for Political Future featuring former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Gordon Brown. In a Q&A with the former prime minister and other panelists, Jones questioned a statement Brown made during a 2022 media appearance in which the politician advocated for the International Criminal Court to prosecute Russian President Vladimir Putin for crimes of aggression.
You can also make a donation to our PayPal or subscribe to our Patreon.
The written question has been transcribed below:
- You [former Prime Minister Gordon Brown] have said that “If we were to acquiesce in any way [in regards to prosecuting Putin for war crimes] none of us could ever take freedom for granted ever again or be sure that democracy or peace would triumph over totalitarianism.” When speaking of democracy and peace in Ukraine, it’s important to note that the U.S. government backed oppositional neo-nazi politicians/parties linked to fascist paramilitaries like Svaboda in Ukraine in 2014 that then overthrew the democratically elected President Victor Yanukovych Even Victoria Nuland was caught on the phone picking the next leader of Ukraine after Yanukovych’s fall. Or we can describe the U.S. role in Yanukovych’s overthrow as Senator Chris Murphy did when he said, “With respect to Ukraine, we [meaning the U.S.] have not sat on the sidelines, we have been very much involved, members of the Senate who have been there, members of the State Department who have been on the square…the Obama administration passed sanctions…I really think that the clear position of the United States has in part been what has helped lead to this change in regime.” So, do you oppose the actions and position of the United States that, in the words of Senator Murphy, helped lead to regime change of the democratically elected former president of Ukraine Victor Yanukovych?
Max Jones
Max Jones is a student at USC studying communications and screenwriting. He practices screenwriting, filmmaking, and journalism. He is a staff writer at ScheerPost.