Andre Vltchek

André Vltchek (Russian: Андре Влчек, [ɐnˈdrɛ ˈvɫ̩t͡ɕɛk], 29 December 1963 – 22 September 2020) was a Soviet-born American political analyst, journalist, and a filmmaker.[1][2] Vltchek was born in Leningrad but later became a naturalized U.S. citizen after being granted asylum there in his 20s.[3][4] He lived in the United States, Chile, Peru, Mexico, Vietnam, Samoa, and Indonesia.[2]

André Vltchek
Born(1963-12-29)December 29, 1963
Leningrad, Soviet Union
DiedSeptember 22, 2020(2020-09-22) (aged 56)
Istanbul, Turkey
NationalityAmerican
OccupationJournalist, writer, filmmaker
Websiteandrevltchek.weebly.com

Vltchek covered armed conflicts in Peru,[5] Kashmir, Mexico, Bosnia, Sri Lanka, Congo, India, South Africa, East Timor, Indonesia, Turkey, and the Middle East.[1][2][6][7] He traveled to more than 140 countries,[3][6] and wrote articles for Der Spiegel, Japanese newspaper The Asahi Shimbun, The Guardian, ABC News and the Czech Republic daily Lidové noviny.[2][7] From 2004, Vltchek served as a Senior Fellow at the Oakland Institute.[7][8]

He appeared on television and radio shows, including those broadcast by France 24,[1] RT,[9] China Radio International,[10][11] the Voice of Russia,[12] Press TV,[13] CCTV, Ulusal Kanal (Turkey), Al Mayadeen (Pan-Arabic network), Radio Pacifika, Radio Cape, among others. Vltchek was interviewed by publications including the People's Daily,[14] China Daily[6] and the Tehran Times.[3]

Commenting on Vltchek's book Oceania, published in 2010, American linguist Noam Chomsky said that it evoked "the reality of the contemporary world" and that "He has also not failed to trace the painful — and particularly for the West, shameful realities to their historical roots".[6]

Biography

André Vltchek (pronounced "vultchek") was born in Leningrad (present-day Saint Petersburg), the Soviet Union, in 1963.[15][16] His father was a Czech nuclear physicist and his mother a Russo-Chinese painter.[15] He was raised in Central Europe. Until his death, he was based in Asia and Africa.

On September 22, 2020, he died, seemingly in his sleep, whilst being chauffeured in his car in Istanbul, Turkey. His death was deemed suspicious by the police and an investigation is still ongoing.[17][16]

Documentaries

In 2004, he produced and directed a documentary film about the Indonesian mass killings of 1965–66, Terlena – Breaking of The Nation.[18][2][19] Right after a devastating earthquake that shook Chile in February 2010, Vltchek travelled to Chile and produced a documentary titled Chile Between Two Earthquakes.[20]

For UNESCO, Vltchek wrote and directed a film Tumaini about social collapse and devastation caused by HIV pandemic in communities around Lake Victoria in Kenya.[21] In 2012, he wrote and directed the documentary One Flew Over Dadaab to depict the 20-year long tragedy of Somali refugees in the largest refugee camps in the world (Dadaab, in Northern Kenya).[22][23][24]

In 2013, Vltchek produced and directed the documentary film Rwanda Gambit,[25] broadcast by Press TV. It aims at reversing the official narrative on the 1994 Rwandan genocide, exposing the Rwandan and Ugandan plunder of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on behalf of Western imperialism.

In March 2019, Vltchek was the keynote speaker for the "No to NATO and War — Yes to Peace and Progress" meeting and rally, held in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada,[26] and interviewed on Regina Community Radio.[27]

Publications

Non-fiction and investigative journalism
  • China's Belt and Road Initiative: Connecting Countries Saving Millions of Lives. PT Badak Merah Semesta. 2019. ISBN 978-602-509-548-1.
  • China and Ecological Civilization: John B. Cobb, Jr. in Conversation with Andre Vltchek. PT Badak Merah Semesta. 2019. ISBN 978-602-509-545-0.
  • Por Lula (Portuguese ed.). PT Badak Merah Semesta. 2018. ISBN 978-602-509-542-9.
  • Revolutionary Optimism, Western Nihilism. PT Badak Merah Semesta. 2018. 286 pp. ISBN 978-602-509-541-2.
  • The Great October Socialist Revolution: Impact on the World and the Birth of Internationalism. PT Badak Merah Semesta. 2017. ISBN 978-602-735-439-5.
  • Exposing Lies of the Empire. PT Badak Merah Semesta. 2015. 822 pp. ISBN 978-602-700-586-0.
  • Fighting Against Western Imperialism. PT Badak Merah Semesta. 2014. ISBN 978-602-700-582-2. — about the rise of Western imperialism
  • On Western Terrorism: From Hiroshima to Drone Warfare. With Noam Chomsky. Pluto Press. 2013. ISBN 978-0-7453-3387-8.CS1 maint: others (link) — a discussion on Western power and propaganda with Noam Chomsky
  • Oceania: Neocolonialism, Nukes and Bones. Atuanui Press. 2013. ISBN 978-0-9922453-3-7. — an in-depth analysis of the entire Pacific region and its "destruction" by traditional and neocolonial powers
  • Indonesia: Archipelago of Fear. Pluto Press. 2012. ISBN 978-0-7453-3199-7. — about post–1965 Indonesia, a collapsed state
  • Exile: Conversations with Pramoedya Ananta. With Rosie Indira and Nagesh Rao. Haymarket Books. 2006. ISBN 1-931859-28-0.CS1 maint: others (link) — conversations with the Southeast Asian writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer
  • Western Terror: From Potosi to Baghdad. Mainstay Press. 2006. ISBN 0-9774590-3-9.

Fiction

Vltchek was the author of several fictional novels and plays.

  • Aurora (1st ed.). Badak Merah Semesta. 2016. ISBN 978-602-735-436-4.
  • Plays: 'Ghost of Valparaiso' and 'Conversations with James'. Badak Merah Semesta. 2014. ISBN 978-602-700-585-3.
  • Point of No Return (2nd ed.). Mainstay Press. 2013. ISBN 978-0-9774590-7-0.
  • Liberation Lit. with Tony Christini. Mainstay Press. 2010. ISBN 978-0-9774590-6-3.CS1 maint: others (link)
  • Nalezený, a novel published in Czech

References
  1. "André Vltchek's 'Point of No Return'". France 24. September 6, 2010. Archived from the original on April 22, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
  2. Rajiva, Lila (January 30, 2006). "Getting to the Point of No Return: A Conversation with Andre Vltchek". MRzine. Archived from the original on November 1, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  3. Ziabari, Kourosh (September 5, 2012). "Freedom of speech has become a propaganda slogan: Andre Vltchek". Tehran Times. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014.
  4. Mathew, Binu (December 4, 2018). "How I Became A Revolutionary And Internationalist:Andre Vltchek". Countercurrents.org. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  5. Vltchek, Andre (February 6, 2015). "India's Shame". CounterPunch. Archived from the original on December 14, 2017. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
  6. Guangjin, Cheng (October 12, 2011). "China offers vital alternative to West". China Daily. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  7. Vltchek, Andre (February 1, 2005). "Aceh Abandoned: The Second Tsunami". Oakland Institute. Archived from the original on January 4, 2017. Andre Vltchek, a Senior Fellow at the Oakland Institute
  8. "Author: Andre Vltchek". CNN Travel. Archived from the original on January 4, 2017. Andre is also a Senior Fellow at The Oakland Institute.
  9. Amoah, Michael (March 25, 2013). "Rwandan model? RT — CrossTalk". RT. Archived from the original on April 23, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
  10. "China's Peaceful Development Exemplary for World: U.S. Writer". Xinhua News Agency. October 7, 2011. Archived from the original on April 23, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2016 – via China Radio International.
  11. "US Reporter Talks West's Anti-China Campaign". People's Daily. October 12, 2011. Archived from the original on April 23, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2016 – via China Radio International.
  12. Kerans, David (June 9, 2014). "American PR War Against Russia and China Accelerating in Asia". Voice of Russia. Archived from the original on July 28, 2014. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
  13. "West propaganda machine targets Russia: Journalist". Press TV. April 9, 2014. Archived from the original on April 12, 2014. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  14. "US novelist talks West's anti-China campaign". People's Daily. October 12, 2011. Archived from the original on September 5, 2013. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
  15. "Point de non-retour". Le Grand Soir (in French). September 1, 2010. Archived from the original on April 9, 2014. Né à Stalingrad en 1962, d’un physicien nucléaire tchèque et d’une artiste peintre russo-chinoise, Andre Vltchek (prononcer 'Voultchek') a grandi en Europe centrale puis a pris la nationalité américaine.
  16. "Turkey probes death of American journalist Andre Vltchek". Associated Press. September 22, 2020. Archived from the original on September 22, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2020 – via ABC News.
  17. "İstanbul'da Şüpheli Olay: ABD'li Gazeteci Andre Vltchek Aracında Ölü Bulundu" [Suspect in Istanbul: American Journalist Andre Vltchek Found Dead in His Vehicle]. Tamga Türk (in Turkish). September 22, 2020. Archived from the original on September 22, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  18. "Terlena: Breaking of a Nation | Movie Synopsis and info". Tribute. Archived from the original on April 22, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  19. "Film Screening: "Terlena: Breaking of a Nation" – Director Q&As and Book Signing with Andre Vltchek". Facebook Events. March 13, 2014. Archived from the original on September 24, 2020.
  20. Chile Between Two Earthquakes. Asia-Africa Kappa Productions. April 17, 2010. Archived from the original on January 30, 2018 – via YouTube.
  21. Vltchek, Andre (Director) (2010). Tumaini. UNESCO / Asia-Africa Kappa Productions. Archived from the original on August 4, 2016 – via YouTube.
  22. 'One Flew Over Dadaab' Trailer. Asia-Africa Kappa Productions. October 22, 2012. Archived from the original on April 15, 2016 – via YouTube.
  23. "One Flew Over Dadaab" (PDF). UNESCO. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 5, 2017.
  24. "Film Screening: 'One Flew Over Dadaab', followed by discussion with film director, Andre Vltchek". Wherevent. January 12, 2013. Archived from the original on January 5, 2017.
  25. Vltchek, Andre (Director) (2013). Rwanda Gambit. Asia-Africa Kappa Productions. Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved January 29, 2019 – via Vimeo.
  26. Tarasoff, Koozma J. (March 3, 2019). "No to NATO and War — Yes to Peace and Progress". Spirit-Wrestlers Blog. Archived from the original on April 6, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2019 – via Blogger.
  27. Morgan, Dave (April 2, 2019). "Listen Up!" (Podcast). 91.3FM CJTR Regina Community Radio. Event occurs at 11 a.m. – noon (minutes 25 to 54). Archived from the original on April 6, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
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