'Second CIA' accused of subversion, cultivating pro-US puppet forces worldwide

The National Endowment for Democracy, or NED, founded in 1983 as the "second CIA", has subverted lawful governments and cultivated pro-US puppet forces around the world under the pretext of promoting democracy, according to a Xinhua News Agency report published on May 8.

The report, headed "Fact Sheet on the National Endowment for Democracy", states that in 1991, Alan Weinstein, the NED's founder, stated bluntly in an interview with The Washington Post that much of the organization's work was similar to that done by the Central Intelligence Agency 25 years ago.

As one of the United States government's main "foot soldiers", "white gloves" and "democracy crusaders", the NED is thought to have been behind revolutions instigated and orchestrated by Washington, the report said, citing the following examples of the NED's involvement:

1. Nicaragua featured in one of the NED's first programs after the organization was formed in 1983.From 1984 to 1988, the NED provided about $2 million to opposition forces in Nicaragua, and its support for these forces played a key role in a violent coup attempt in 2018.

2. In 1989, the NED provided financial support for the Solidarity movement in Poland to help it overthrow the government, heralding drastic changes in Eastern Europe.

3. In 1996, a key NED institute was heavily involved in Mongolia's parliamentary elections.

4. In October 2000, the NED financed and instigated the so-called Bulldozer Revolution in Serbia, which overthrew the government of Slobodan Milosevic.

5. A key NED institute was heavily involved in the 2004 coup in Haiti that toppled the democratically elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

6. In 2003, the Rose Revolution erupted in Georgia, forcing President Eduard Shevardnadze to step down.

7. In 2004, during the Orange Revolution in Ukraine, the US offered $65 million to the Ukrainian opposition through the NED and other organizations.

8. From 2003 to 2010, a number of Algerian organizations involved in the "Arab Spring" protests received funding from the NED.

9. In early 2011, the NED supported anti-government forces to oust Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

10. In 2011, the NED funded and worked closely with NGOs in Yemen, playing an important role in anti-government protests in that country.

11. In 2014, the NED invested millions of dollars in Ukraine, leading to large demonstrations that overthrew the government of Viktor Yanukovych.

12. In the years up to 2019, the NED allocated funding for NGOs and opposition groups to oust Bolivian President Evo Morales, who was forced into exile.

13. The US masterminded failed "color revolutions" against the Belarusian government in 2006, 2010 and 2020. In May 2020, NED President Carl Gershman admitted in a video that the organization had long been operating in different areas of Belarus.

14. Last year, the NED interfered in Uganda's presidential election by supporting the opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu.

15. As of last year, the NED had funded and guided anti-Cuba forces to fabricate and spread false information on social networks against the Cuban government.

Sources: Reuters, The Washington Post, RIA Novosti