<
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/inside-the-network-setting-global-right-wing-agenda/>
"Charlie Gard was just two months old when he was admitted to London’s Great
Ormond Street Hospital with breathing difficulties in October 2016. He would
remain there up until the day before his death in July 2017, when the High
Court ruled – against the wishes of his parents – that his life support machine
should be switched off as the brain damage caused by his rare genetic disorder
was too severe for any hope of successful treatment.
Gard’s case captured the attention of Agenda Europe, a network of more than 400
ultra-conservatives, who had spent the previous four years working together to
oppose abortion, equal marriage, divorce and contraception, and had links to
the Kremlin, Donald Trump and far-right MPs across Europe.
One member of Agenda Europe emailed others to encourage them to target the
British authorities and the hospital, a month before doctors switched off
Gard’s life support. Three weeks after the call for action, the Metropolitan
Police was forced to launch an investigation into a torrent of death threats
and abuse targeted at the hospital staff, including on social media.
Another member, Gregor Puppinck, of the European Centre for Law and Justice,
responded to the email by Toni Brandi, of Italian anti-abortion organisation
Pro Vita, to reassure members that his organisation had sent the case right to
the top of the United States’ government.
The centre’s chief counsel, Jay Sekulow, had “intervened with Trump” on Gard’s
case, Puppinck’s email said. That same day, in July 2017, then-US president
went on to tweet that he wanted to help the British infant – an unusual step
for a head of state in another country. Trump’s office did not respond to
openDemocracy’s request for comment.
These leaked emails are just two of thousands exchanged between Agenda Europe
members that have been seen by
openDemocracy and a small group of European
journalists.
They reveal for the first time how US, Russian and European anti-abortion,
anti-LGBTQ+ activists and politicians were in constant contact, offering
support on local and national campaigns. The group’s actions include
campaigning on referendums that successfully prevented equal marriage rights,
challenging calls to end gender-based violence, and influencing the rise of
anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQ+ feelings and policy-making in multiple European
countries.
As the following shows, these emails illustrate the emergence of a coherent and
organised counter-narrative to the liberal world-view that was, until recently,
generally espoused by an increasing number of democracies around the world.
Agenda Europe, and its successor, Vision Network, served as a gathering place
where conservative thought in its many disparate strands came together into a
coherent worldview."
Via Christoph S.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
