The German Chancellor and the President of Russia are due to meet shortly in Minsk. Let us hope that they can find a settlement to the Ukrainian civil war.
What is wrong with we Europeans? This is the 100th anniversary of the the beginning of World War 1: millions of Germans, French, British and Russians died. The first world War lead directly to the second World War when untold millions died again. Millions of Russian, Ukrainian and Germans perished and most of them were civilians.
Europe has been the most barbaric continent when it comes to war. We have nothing to be proud of in this respect.
Two thousand civilians have been killed in the Ukrainian civil war so far and hundreds of thousands of have been displaced. We should be ashamed ourselves to allow this to happen. The loss of life on both sides is too costly for the war to be allowed to continue.
Eventually there has to be a settlement so why not achieve it immediately?
The Ukrainian government is committing $3 billion to finance the war. This is money it does not have. This is money that should be better spent on repairing the infra-structure of the whole nation. Soon the people of the Ukraine will live in a country, divided or otherwise, which is saddled with intolerable debts.
The Crimea is lost to the Ukraine and Western influence, so why not accept the situation? There is a solution which can be found for the rest of the Ukraine and that is in a confederation.
When peace finally arrives the European Union, Russia and the US will have to show some generosity to help rebuild the whole state. There is no reason why there cannot be free trade and movement of people between the peoples of the Ukraine, the EU and Russia; this is better than war and will ultimately benefit everyone.
The Ukraine and Russia used to be close friends; why not start the process of rapprochement?
Sometimes I despair for the human species, for if we carry on like this there is probably no hope for us and we shall end our brief appearance on the planet in another horrible World War. Remember, we now have nuclear weapons too.
There is no need to plan for a famine, climate change or an asteroid to end our existence; we are perfectly capable of destroying ourselves because we cannot use reason to control our actions.
Monday, 25 August 2014
Wednesday, 20 August 2014
Gaza
It seems that all peace efforts are doomed to failure and that Gaza will continue to be attacked. I cannot understand why Israel does not show some sort of mercy if not magnanimity.
The Palestinians are defeated and Israel will continue to be dominant for the foreseeable future. The Palestinians have had to suffer exclusion from their original homeland and occupation and victor settlement on the West Bank.
The Gaza strip is blockaded by both Israel and Egypt and this is causing misery for the Palestinians that live there. The inhabitants of Gaza probably feel that they have little to live for. In reality they are almost powerless to improve their living conditions. It is no wonder that there is resentment and resistance.
The Palestinians are behaving in exactly the same way as any other country would behave. They are trying to repel their adversaries as best they can.
During the second Word War, France was invaded by a superior military power and the Maquis used unconventional war to try and defend their nation. Did that make the Maquis terrorists? In the eyes of the invaders - yes. In the eyes of the British and the French it made them heroes.
Of course, it is wrong for Hamas to fire missiles into to Israel to try to kill civilians. However, Israel can defend itself quite well against such attacks. If it is wrong for Hamas to fire missiles into Israel then it is equally as wrong for Israel to counter attack in such a disproportionate manner, so as to kill upwards of a thousand Palestinian civilians.
Israel claims the moral high ground but surely it is time for it to relent and allow the Palestinians to live in some form of dignity and peace.
It is time to lift the blockade of Gaza and negotiate a peace settlement. It is time to withdraw the troops from the West Bank and negotiate further peace. Someone must break the cycle of attack and counterattack and revenge killings. What is wrong with the most powerful combatant doing this? Their security is guaranteed but not their peace of mind.
Unfortunately, the status quo is set to continue and the Palestinians will suffer more and more.
The Palestinians are defeated and Israel will continue to be dominant for the foreseeable future. The Palestinians have had to suffer exclusion from their original homeland and occupation and victor settlement on the West Bank.
The Gaza strip is blockaded by both Israel and Egypt and this is causing misery for the Palestinians that live there. The inhabitants of Gaza probably feel that they have little to live for. In reality they are almost powerless to improve their living conditions. It is no wonder that there is resentment and resistance.
The Palestinians are behaving in exactly the same way as any other country would behave. They are trying to repel their adversaries as best they can.
During the second Word War, France was invaded by a superior military power and the Maquis used unconventional war to try and defend their nation. Did that make the Maquis terrorists? In the eyes of the invaders - yes. In the eyes of the British and the French it made them heroes.
Of course, it is wrong for Hamas to fire missiles into to Israel to try to kill civilians. However, Israel can defend itself quite well against such attacks. If it is wrong for Hamas to fire missiles into Israel then it is equally as wrong for Israel to counter attack in such a disproportionate manner, so as to kill upwards of a thousand Palestinian civilians.
Israel claims the moral high ground but surely it is time for it to relent and allow the Palestinians to live in some form of dignity and peace.
It is time to lift the blockade of Gaza and negotiate a peace settlement. It is time to withdraw the troops from the West Bank and negotiate further peace. Someone must break the cycle of attack and counterattack and revenge killings. What is wrong with the most powerful combatant doing this? Their security is guaranteed but not their peace of mind.
Unfortunately, the status quo is set to continue and the Palestinians will suffer more and more.
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