The West Versus Russia
After a day of the world seeing with their own eyes some of the atrocities left by the Russians, how can NATO and the UN sit on their hands any longer?
The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting today as requested by Ukraine regarding Bucha. Yesterday, they received two letters of request from Ukraine and Russia for emergency meetings.The Russian request was not denied as claimed, but was resubmitted with claims that the UK presidency was biased and was abusing its power because it did not hold a meeting the next day. The UK holds the presidency for April followed by the US next month. Was it a surprise that Russia held the presidency in February when the invasion began?
You may ask why is Russia on the Security Council and can they be removed? How can you have a terrorist state governing at times and making decisions while they are at war? This is another flaw in the UN, for to be removed they must be removed from the General Assembly first. When creating these bodies with their charters and articles, they failed to install safety measures because they believed they had the power to prevent conflicts and wars.
I will update this article later in the day as there is much to ponder, but more in terms of how Russia is attacking the West and are trying to play the victim. The stories of the Russian soldiers looting dead bodies and breaking into homes now has evidence to prove that it happened.
A Belarus post office handed over CCTV footage of Russian soldiers sending parcels back to Russia, complete with what they sent, and their names and addresses.
We have seen the horrific images of burnt bodies, and families executed and piled into a corner. I think the one that has shocked most people around the world is of a 3 year-old girl who was dumped naked after being raped onto of the rest of her murdered family. Those in NATO and the UN sitting behind their desks, sending emails, making calls, and writing statements for the press need to think about the consequences of their lack of actions. An innocent small child who can barely read or write is not a Nazi, and no one protected her rights while she was at home with her family who did no harm to anyone. She did not deserve to suffer and die in the most heinous manner at the hands of Russian soldiers. Her name was Arina.
It is time for the UN and NATO to find a way to act to protect the world. Those who defended NATO stating that it wasn’t for them to get involved have changed their tune since seeing the Bucha images. Mariupol, we already know will be far worse. Much of this reticence to act stems back to the end of the Cold War, when the administrations then appeased the Russians in order to unify Germany. Assurances that NATO would not expand East were made, but administrations change as does the world, and each must adapt as NATO must.
The time for the UN and NATO to rewrite how they operate is now, and also to implement safety nets for it is clear that Russia is trying to abuse the systems in place. Removing Russia from the UN is a start, but there is red tape obviously that takes time and no doubt China and client states would create obstacles.
I watched parts of the UN Security Council meeting, and it is clear that many members do not feel that the Security Council is effective and needs to speak as one and to act. Zelenskyy calls on them to act or to dissolve. Kenya also criticized the Security Council for their words have not changed since the start of the conflict and need to be defensive and protective.
I also listened to the Russian Federation giving their version of events, that they were on a peacekeeping mission to rid the Donbas region of Nazis that they are afraid would spread to Russia. They blame the western media and Ukraine for false images and claim that they have not harmed any civilians.
We can go around in circles with this, but the fact is bodies lie in mass graves and in the streets and have done for weeks. Witnesses have seen people being killed, and so the Russian version of events is in compatible with the evidence available. Brazil took a neutral tone, while highlighting the humanitarian issue they did not condemn Russia but asked for a ceasefire and peace deal, and an independent body to investigate the war crimes. That’s all well and good but who will prosecute these war crimes?
Russia, like many dictatorial states does not recognize the ICC, therefore, even if there is an arrest warrant and evidence of crimes they can never be prosecuted if they remain on Russian soil, for they cannot be arrested there. You can see why all this talk of the ICC and ICJ is all for political gain and to appease the masses, but we all know that these cases are rarely successful, therefore, there is no real justice. The bodies are going through the motions so that on paper that can look as if they attempted justice.
With Bucha and other towns in mind, there is the suggestion of a Nuremberg type of trial set up specifically for this war, where it should be held in an independent city and be internationally accountable. That seems the best solution, but who will form this and monitor it? The UN Security Council under the UK presidency may make headway in this, but it should be done to serve as a deterrent too. Nuremberg was held 11-12 weeks after the end of the Second World War, and it had to be done swiftly due to the aggressors escaping and also preserving evidence. We know that this is an ongoing process as Nazi war criminals have been prosecuted recently, where a 93-year -old man was arrested and convicted in 2021.
Any such special tribunal needs to be set up immediately and be a central point for all parties to present their cases (such as Ukraine’s domestic prosecutors, and the ICJ and ICC). At times, too much bureaucracy benefits the aggressor as there is so much red tape that they can slip through the net. Most of us know that Putin and his minions will never be prosecuted by the ICC, simply because they cannot be arrested in Russia as the ICC has no jurisdiction.
The knock on effect this is having in the world is a concern to poorer nations, in terms of food supplies, and energy supplies. We must also remember that China is still struggling with Covid-19 where Shanghai is on lockdown and deaths in Hong Kong are at an all time high. Other countries face similar issues, but people don’t want to talk about Covid-19, but in the UK, another round of booster jabs are set for the vulnerable and over 75s.
The Czech Republic has been supplying tanks to Ukraine, and it is hoped that other countries will follow suit. While the UN talks of removing Russia from the UN Human Rights Council, it needs to go further and remove them from the General Assembly IMHO. Waiting for the UN to discuss and act has cost lives, and the world can see how useless the UN actually is in a time of crisis, and that its existence does not act as a deterrent. It is time for the UN charter to be rewritten and modernised, and that goes for NATO as well.
Day 41 (5 April)
The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting at the request of Ukraine on the mass killings in Bucha. The Russian’s claimed their request for a meeting was denied on Monday as the UK took up the April presidency of the Security Council, but 48 hours later the UK Ambassador stated that a meeting was offered within the 48 hours permitted. The UN does itself no favours by failing to counteract propaganda because it has little credibility.
The Russians accused the UK of abusing their power as Russia wished to claim that Ukraine was spreading false information about Russians killing civilians in Ukraine. In short, Russia was trying to get the UN to justify their claims that the footage and images of Bucha were fake in a flurry of tweets made in the early hours. It did not help the UN by not making a statement until 48 hours later stating they did not deny Russia a meeting, but gave them a choice to have one alongside the Ukrainian meeting or within 48 hours. Again, this is another flaw in the UN where they fail to make timely statements that allow for propaganda.
Germany expels 40 Russian diplomats.
France has also expelled a number of Russian diplomats.
Airbnb has pulled out of Russia and Belarus.
Putin congratulated Orban on his win in Hungary. From this we can see that Hungary is using the EU and NATO for protection but are not playing their part in defending Europe as they agreed to do.
Ukraine intelligence has published a list of the soldiers who are suspected of the war crimes.https://motolko.help/en-news/hajun-project-published-the-data-of-russian-marauder-soldiers-who-may-be-involved-in-crimes-on-the-territory-of-ukraine/
A post office in Belarus has handed over 3 hours of CCTV footage of Russian soldier sending stolen goods to Russia. They also provided their names, addresses, phone numbers and a description of the goods.
Lithuania has expelled the Russian Ambassador and has closed their consulate in Moscow.
Further images similar to Bucha are expected in Borodyanka, Mariupol and other towns near Kyiv.
The Russians refused to join in a minute of silence for the victims of Bucha as a special OSCE meeting today.
Italy expels 30 Russian diplomats, Spain expels 25, Sweden expels 3, and Denmark expels 15 in line with other countries. It is expected that Russia will retaliate and shut down their embassies in Russia.
There are reports of a Russian attack on a nitric acid tank that could be toxic for civilians.
There is more pressure for companies that still operate in Russia to cease as that is blood money such as Keurig, Evian, and Dr Pepper.
The Pentagon (US) seems to be reluctant to call the atrocities genocide, claiming there is no evidence that the Russians carried out the crimes, but is willing to call them war crimes.
Russia is fining Meta (Facebook) $24 million for allegedly spreading false information about the special military operation.
NATO, and Stoltenberg has made more ‘pointless’ statements that have been covered by everyone already, but has said that if Sweden and Finland wish to join NATO they are welcome and it is likely that all 30 member countries would approve. I’m thinking that he can’t speak for Hungary…
The Czech Republic has been sending old-style Soviet tanks to Ukraine to help them defend themselves. This is the first country to send tanks.
@EL and all - I am beyond gutted by this, not just the events themselves but the ongoing insistence of America and other nations that they're so afraid of Russia starting WWIII that they're prepared to allow Russia continuing to repeat atrocities comparable to those documents in WWII.
I would like to think that Bucha will change the minds of TPTB in NATO, but I am sorry to say that at this point, the carefully calibrated and tardy response that has characterised the West, not to mention its loudly trumpeted cowardice, has already made the West complicit in said atrocities.
I can hear them today, trying like hell to waggle fingers, make more threats of more sanctions (if those worked, those atrocities wouldn't have been committed), call meetings, and threaten to throw Russia off the Security and Human Rights Council
Putin does not now, nor has he ever, cared about sanctions, threats, rules, the truth, and civilised boundaries.
He IS getting away with it. If the West had shown enough muscle in the beginning, the holocaust taking place in Bucha and Mariupol might not have happened.
Even if he doesn't "take" Ukraine, he's still enough to force the West to wince at itself in the mirror.
I'm damned if I cut the West the slightest slack here given that this is happening on its doorstep, and any success the monster gets is going to make his case, not just for himself, but for other states, like China, curious to see just how far the West is willing to let this go. The contempt for the West behind closed doors will embolden others down the line.
There is no excuse for letting Putin get this far without anything more than sanctions and a bit of economic anxiety, whilst Ukraine denies him the quick victory everyone thought they could bemoan but be shet of as done and dusted - but at a price it should never have had to pay. And if armed properly, that price, by all odds, would have been much lower and Putin defeated more quickly.
Put up or shut up, NATO, America, Britain, France, Germany . . . don't ever expect me to listen to you lot and your panto about "values" ever again.
Yes, friends, I am that angry. TC
I have updated the article for the day, and Bucha has changed the minds of many who sat on the fence. It is important to establish an independent war crimes tribunal for this war ASAP because the ICC is powerless except to investigate.