Published: Less than 40 min ago
The head of Amnesty International in Ukraine has resigned in protest against a controversial report from the organization. But Amnesty Sweden still stands behind the report, with criticism of the Ukrainian military.
– We have been able to establish that the Ukrainian military exposed the civilian population to danger through its military strategies, says Anna Johansson, Amnesty Sweden’s secretary general, to Svenska Dagbladet.
Amnesty International’s report, released on Thursday, criticizes the Ukrainian military for firing from bases in residential areas with schools and hospitals. At the same time, Amnesty emphasizes that this does not justify the Russian attacks. But Amnesty’s criticism has stirred up bad blood. The Ukrainian head of Amnesty, Oksana Pokaltyuk, has resigned, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyg accuses Amnesty of trying to “shift the responsibility from the attacker to the victim”.
– All parties have an obligation to respect international humanitarian law and to the extent possible to protect civilians. In this case, it is about specific places and times where we believe that Ukraine’s military should have protected civilians in a better way, says Anna Johansson.
She says she understands why the report provoked strong reactions, but emphasizes the importance of conveying the facts.
– In the longer term, it would have been more serious if it turned out that we observed this, but chose not to report on it, she tells SvD.
– This time we have chosen to unilaterally criticize Ukraine. But it must be put in relation to the other investigations and reports we have published about Russia. We don’t go about Russia’s affairs, she says to Dagens Nyheter.