World League for Freedom and Democracy

World League for Freedom and Democracy
Formation	1966
Founder	•  John Singlaub •  Elpidio Quirino •  Syngman Rhee •  Chiang Kai-shek
Interests	Illegal drug trade
Interest of	Lev E. Dobriansky, Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation

The World League for Freedom and Democracy (WLFD), founded in 1966 as the World Anti-Communist League (WACL), was described by former member Geoffrey Stewart-Smith as a "largely a collection of Nazis, Fascists, anti-Semites, sellers of forgeries, vicious racialists, and corrupt self-seekers." In addition, a remarkably high percentage of members were connected to international drug smuggling.

Own Description

The WLFD is an international non-governmental organization and a member of the United Nations Department of Public Information NGO branch. The WLFD has more than a hundred national chapters around the world. On the stated principle "to advocate freedom, democracy and human rights as well as to support the cause of world peace", the WLFD states that it works in a joint endeavor to pursue freedom, democracy, and human rights for all mankind without distinction as to race, sex, language, religion, nationality, political affiliation, or occupation to preserve world peace and prosperity.

Ideology

The ideology of the League, in accordance with its original name, is based on uncompromising anti-communism . The containment, rejection and destruction of communism was considered by the creators of WACL as a necessary condition for the survival and development of mankind. The solution to these problems belonged to the immediate historical perspective. In this case, communism was understood not only as a Marxist-Leninist ideology , a system of "real socialism" and communist parties. This concept included everything that could one way or another promote the advancement of communism, like Social Democracy -and even liberalism.

Methods

WACL methods had practically no restrictions: from the scientific and theoretical conferences of Suzanne Labin to the terrorist reprisals of Mario Sandoval Alarcon. The far-right mentality considers violence an ordinary way of realizing political goals.

The composition of the leadership and asset of the WACL reflected the main areas of activity:

• state policy, including military, directed against the communist parties , the system of "real socialism", allied left and "indulging" liberal forces
• the formation of anti-communist structures in civil society
• far-right anti-communist propaganda
• economic support of anti-communist politics
• sociological, political and economic studies and political studies refuting the theoretical constructs of Marxism-Leninism
• direct violence against communists and left-liberal "fellow travelers" .

World Anti-Communist League also provided financial support to various right-wing organizations and anti-communist militias, for example, by providing training in psychological warfare at the Political Warfare Cadres Academy in Taiwan. It also supplied arms to anti-communist rebel movements in southern Africa, Central America, holy warriors in Afghanistan and the Far East.

Adrian Zenz, one of the sources for the claim in 2019 that China imprisons 1 million Uighurs, is Senior Fellow at the think-tank Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, which has close connections both to the CIA and the World Anti-Communist League.

History

Asian Peoples' Anti-Communist League

The WLFD is descended from the Asian Peoples' Anti-Communist League. To secure their grip on power, Chiang Kai-shek of the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan, Elpidio Quirino of the Republic of the Philippines, and Syngman Rhee of South Korea founded the APACL in Jinhae, the wartime capital city of South Korea (ROK) on 15 June 1954, presumably with good help from the CIA. The other participating states and areas, including South Vietnam, Thailand, Okinawa, Hong Kong, and Macao, also sent representatives.

One of their early propaganda schemes was the World Freedom Day, a memorial day celebrated on 23 January in Taiwan and South Korea. The event marks the return of some 22,000 ex-communist war prisoners of the Korean War (1950–1953) that were dragooned to Taiwan, instead of to the People's Republic of China, for whom they had been fighting.

World Anti-Communist League

In 1966 the memberships of the APACL had increased to 27 organizations, in Asia, Australia, and Africa. At its 12th Conference in Seoul on 3 November 1966, a committee eventually decided to set up a new anti-communist organization, including the APACL, regional organizations, and an international anti-communist organization. On 7 November 1966, the delegates adopted the “Charter of the World Anti-Communist League” at the plenary session. It also resolved that the Republic of China Chapter was in charge of organizing the first General Conference.

During the 1980s, WACL was particularly active in Latin America, primarily by supporting Contras in Nicaragua.During this period, WACL was criticized for the presence in the organization of neo-Nazis, war criminals, and people linked to death squads and assassinations, including to Corazon Aquino from the right-wing in the Philippines and for supporting the Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO) movement in Mozambique.

Drug Smuggling

The foundation in 1966 coincides with the US taking over the world drug market from competitors like the French. Danish journalist Henrik Krüger have theorized that the WACL was used by the US as the central node for organizing drug smuggling all around the world, to fund these allied right wing groups. In any case, a remarkably number of member organizations are connected to the drug trade, from Laotian war lord Vang Pao,the South-Vietnamese government, South American militias (like the Nicaraguan Contras), dictators and intelligence services, exile-Cuban organizations,Afghan and Pakistani war lords and Turkish extreme right wing groups. The WACL was based in Taiwan (Republic of China), a notorious center in the international drug trade.

Members

Numerous Nazi collaborators and Latin American death squads were active in the World Anti-Communist League. Prominent members included:

• Dsmitryj Kasmowitsch, the Belarusian Nazi collaborator policeman of Smolensk, who was responsible for very brutal counterinsurgency operations
• Yoshio Kodama, behind-the-scenes power broker and Yakuza crime lord from Japan
• Theodor Oberländer, Oberleutnant of the Ukrainian SS Nachtigall Battalion
• Park Chung Hee, military dicator in South Korea
• Ryōichi Sasakawa,active both in finance and in politics, actively supporting the Japanese war effort, including raising his own paramilitary units.
• Otto Skorzeny, SS General and leader of post-WW2 international Nazi networks
• Alfredo Stroessner, dictator of Paraguay
• Ante Pavelić, Poglavnik of nazi puppet state Independent State of Croatia during World War II
• Yaroslav Stetsko, leader of Stepan Bandera's Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), from 1968 until his death.
• US Senator Republican John McCain
• President of South Vietnam Nguyen Van Thieu
• Thai Prime Minister Tanom Kittikachon
• Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos
• Paraguayan dictator Alfredo Stroessner
• Argentine President Jorge Rafael Videla
• Bolivian dictator Hugo Banser
• Vice President Founder of Mano Blanca Terrorist Organization Mario Sandoval Alarcon
• Former Costa Rican President Jose Figueres Ferrer
• Costa Rica Freedom Movement Leader Bernal Urbina Pinto
• The leader of the National Republicans and the death squads of El Salvador , chairman of the *Constitutional Assembly, Roberto d'Aubusson
• Mexican far-right leader Tecos University lawyer Raimundo Guerrero
• Mexican corporate leader and activist Jorge Prieto Laurens
• Cuban dissident , sister of communist rulers Juanita Castro
• Member of the Government of Lesotho Bereng Sekhonyana
• Kuomintang prominent figure Dr. Gu Zhengang (Ku Chenkang)
• Activist of the French terrorist organization SLA Yves Gignac
• US Congressman Democrat Larry MacDonald (killed in the KAL007 incident in Soviet airspace on September 1, 1983 )
• British American Anthropologist Roger Pearson
• French writer and political scientist Suzanne Labin
• American economist, political scientist and military strategist, professor at the Hoover Institute Stefan Possoni

• American Security Council
• Australian League of Rights
• British League of Rights
• Croatian Liberation Movement
• Western Goals Institute
• Western Goals Foundation
• TheLebanese Phalanx movement

Actively collaborated with WACL:

• The Unification Church of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon
• US National Security Council Officer Colonel Oliver North.
• Angolan FNLA leader Holden Roberto.
• Mozambique RENAMO Leader Afonso Dlacama.
• Leaders of the right wing of Nicaraguan terrorist organization Contras.
• Members of the Saudi royal family and close representatives of the Saudi business elite.

Neither the Croatian Liberation Movement or the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists were originally creations of the American intelligence agencies. These organizations were created by anti-Soviet rebels in Eastern Europe, former Nazi collaborators. Likewise with similar groups created by ruling circles of East Asia, ultra-right politicians and militants of Europe and America. However, the CIA and the US National Security Council quickly established operational contacts and had a serious influence on their activities. This was primarily the responsibility of the Taiwanese CIA residency led by Ray Klein.

In 1978, Roger Pearson became the World Chairman of the WACL. Pearson was described in a Washington Post article as having neo-Nazi associations

United States Council for World Freedom

The US chapter was founded by intelligence operative and former South Korean Chief of Staff, General John Singlaub in 1981, as the United States Council for World Freedom. The chapter became involved with the Iran–Contra affair, with ppAssociated Press[[ reporting that, "Singlaub's private group became the public cover for the White House operation".

In Europe

In Sweden, a department of WACL has been established since 1967. The Swedish organization has been characterized by strong participation among exile Estonians, often with WW2 Nazi ties. Among the member organizations in the late 1960s were Democratic Alliance (Sweden), Baltic Committee, Nordic War and UN Veterans Association and the Committee for a Free Asia. The National League of Sweden was also linked to the organization for some time. Swedish chairman has been Birger Nerman (1967–70), Arvo Horm (1970-1984), Birger Hagård (1984–88) and Åke J. Ek (1988-2011).

The number of members in Denmark is unknown, but several politicians have or have been connected to the organization. Progress Party leader Pia Kjærsgaard participated in 1988 as WACL's guest at the organization's congress in Taipei. The Danish WACL leader has been municipal politician Erik Dissing.

The French chapter was formerly headed by nominally socialist Suzanne Labin. Now (2020) the president of the French section is Michel Hunault.

The president of the German section as of 2012 has been Axel Fischer.

Funding

In addition to the WACL headquarters in Taipei, given to it by the Taiwanese government, with facilities in Peitou, used for paramilitary training, the League owns the Freedom Center office block in Seoul; the KCIA (Korean Central Intelligence Agency, close to the US CIA) significantly supported the WACL under the dictatorial regime of Park Chung-hee (1963-1979). The two states would each fund WACL up to $ 75,000 a month.

WACL was also supported by the US CIA, at least under Reagan, and received funding from private individuals in Saudi Arabia as well as the wealthy Moon sect, where Reverend Sun Myung Moon was a friend of Sasakawa and a member of WACL.

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References

This page imported content from Wikipedia on 19 February 2020.
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