The Continuing Russia- Ukraine Story

I got some interesting reactions to last week’s article, most by email, pointing to the hypocrisy of the US and the West, and to NATO’s eastward expansion. One even hoped that I will reconsider my view. First of all, I have no apologies to make about that article.Anyone who has been a regular reader of my columns over the past twenty five years should know where I stand. I am against and have spoken out about foreign interventions in the affairs of other countries. I am not a supporter of American foreign policy and have been a critic of American democracy. What kind of democracy puts obstacles in the right of significant minorities to vote and has a judiciary whose rulings depend to a great extent on its politics? I have studied Latin American history, followed the Monroe doctrine of 1823 that gave the American ‘juggernaut’ rights over everything happening in this part of the world. Between 1900-1933 the US invaded Cuba four times, Nicaragua twice, Panama six, Haiti twice, Honduras seven times and Guatemala once. So, I understand the workings of America and agree with the Russian ambassador to the UN that America does not have the moral authority to speak on this issue.

I have opposed the US economic boycott of Cuba, the invasion of Iraq since I was convinced that there were no weapons of mass destruction there. I was also opposed to the intervention in Grenada. I was then in Canada. The only person from the region who seemed to be making sense to me then was Michael Manley, who I invited to give a lecture at the University of Western Ontario in my capacity as President of the African-Caribbean Forum.

A few people have repeated the proverb, “When elephants fight the grass suffers”. But there is more to it as Lee Kuan Yew, late Prime Minister of Singapore was fond of saying, “But when elephants make Love the grass also suffers.” This is not a call for us to stay silent and mind our own business because we live in a global village and what transpires there involves us. But we have to understand what’s happening with the elephants. My column last week is not the end of the story. As a columnist, I am restricted to 600 words but am often forced to go over that amount. I do not have to change my views. I am totally against the invasion of Ukraine.

But to bring up the hypocrisy and past actions of the US and the European countries should not be to rationalise what Russia is doing. Russia’s major problem is with the expansion eastwards of NATO. Ukraine is not a member of NATO but wants to become one. Should they not have the right to decide the direction in which they want to move? Is it that Russia wants to see it as a neutral ground between themselves and NATO, hence the talk of demilitarisation? But what guarantees would they have against Russian control?  Russia’s recognition of the two separatist states in the East of Ukraine as independent states goes against what was being contemplated by the 2014/15  Minsk agreement and has further complicated matters.

The invasion of Ukraine will certainly not cause its security concerns to disappear. As we look at what is happening in Ukraine, we should also be reminded of the Cuban missile crisis of 1962. I mention this to agree and accept the fact that Russia has legitimate security concerns. The invasion of Ukraine will not reduce or make those concerns disappear. Would dialogue at this stage not be effective now that Russia is raising the issue in a different forum?

Russia even though its overwhelming military might against that of Ukraine should allow it to prevail, it would have lost a lot of friends, could win the battle but lose the war . It underestimated the opposition in Ukraine and also the sympathies that have developed for the Ukrainians as the war is played out in the bedrooms of the rest of the world, except of course Russia where efforts have been stepped up to block out the images and conversations about the war. There is a lot to be said and we who are not elephants must speak out. Let us start with the condemnation of the invasion!

Dr Adrian Fraser is a social commentator and historian