Roger Waters, co-founder of Pink Floyd, spoke before the UN Security Council on Wednesday at Russia’s invitation. He denounced Russia’s invasion of its neighbor as illegitimate but said that he thought it was provoked and called for a truce.
In order to discuss the shipment of weapons to Ukraine, Russia called a meeting of the Security Council on Wednesday and requested that Waters give a briefing. In a letter that he posted on his website in September, Waters opposed the Western delivery of weapons to Kyiv.
Commenting on Waters’ speech, Albania’s UN Ambassador Ferit Hoxha, while addressing the 15-member Security Council said, “He is lucky to be in New York, in a free country, speak his mind, say whatever he likes, including about the Russian aggression and how wrong that is. If he had been in Russia, with what he said, he might have been in custody by now.”
Hoxha’s comments were refuted on Wednesday by Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia’s deputy UN ambassador, who asserted that his nation upholds the right to free speech.
Russia quickly enacted stringent new regulations against spreading “misinformation” about the conflict or defaming the Russian army following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Russia refers to its efforts in Ukraine as a “special military operation” that aims to “denazify” and demilitarize the nation. The invasion, according to Ukraine and its Western backers, was an unprovoked act of aggression meant to seize territory.
Richard Mills, the deputy US ambassador to the UN, acknowledged Waters’ “strong credentials as a recording artist,” but said it was “less obvious” whether or not he was qualified to comment on matters of arms control or European security.
Waters faces criticism for his speech
Roger Waters in his speech condemned Russia’s action as well as found fault in Ukraine.
He said, “The invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation was illegal. I condemn it in the strongest possible terms. Also the Russian invasion of Ukraine was not unprovoked. So I also condemn the provocateurs in the strongest possible terms. The only sensible course of action today is to call for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine.”
But Ukraine criticized Waters for his “unprovoked” comment. Ukraine’s UN ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya before the Security Council slammed the 79-year-old musician by invoking Pink Floyd’s well-known song “Another Brick in the Wall ”. Speaking at the UNSC he said, “How terrible for his former followers to see him taking the role of merely a brick in the wall – the wall of Russian disinformation and propaganda.”
Even the enormous pink inflatable pig that frequently appeared in the performances of the progressive rock band was mentioned by the Kyiv spokesperson.
He expressed amazement that Waters had not set it up to float in the Security Council chamber.
“What could it have been this time Mr Waters? Pigs with swastikas and the hammer and sickle?” Kyslytsya spoke during the bizarre conversation.
In September last year, after his concerts in Poland’s Krakow were canceled due to his support for the war, Waters was dubbed “persona non grata” by the city.
In an open letter that same month, Waters argued that the West should stop arming Kiev, denounced President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for promoting “extreme nationalism,” and urged him to “put an end to this tragic war.”
Polly Samson, a Pink Floyd lyricist, referred to Waters in a tweet this week as “anti-Semitic” and “a Putin apologist.” Waters tweeted “refutes entirely” in response to Samson.
