Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1508267
OK, let me get this straight. In February 2022, Russia shocked everyone by actually launching a ground invasion of Ukraine (in- stead of only ever 'threatening' to do so, like it had been doing for decades)... and how did the rest of the world react? 'Outrage!' 'Scandal!' 'Putin should be tried for war crimes!' Etc., etc., etc. And nowhere was this 'mor- al revulsion' more forcefully expressed, than among the 27 members of the Europe Union (an institution which – let's face it – has a habit of loudly pro- claiming its own, 'lofty' ethical standards, at every single oppor- tunity.) Not content with merely con- demning Russia's actions, like everyone else... the EU felt it had to go a step further. So, it de- clared that: a) it would impose sanctions on Russia; b) it would immediately seek al- ternative sources to Russia, for its own gas-supply (at a time when several of its members were ei- ther wholly, or partially, depend- ent on Russian gas); c) It would extend the Russian sanctions even to private Russian investments in Europe (Trans- lation: It would strip individual Russian 'citizens' – hereafter re- ferred to only as 'oligarchs' – of all their personal wealth, and as- sets.) And... well, so far, so good. Clos- ing an eye at a few reservations I may have, concerning some of those objectives – e.g., since when are private citizens ever held accountable, for the actions of their government? – I can on- ly welcome what is, at the end of the day, a universal, unequivocal 'condemnation of war'. Far be it from me, then, to crit- icise any of those 'horrified' re- actions; or to disagree with what (suddenly) seems to be a broad international consensus, that... um... 'War itself is WRONG', on principle; and therefore, Russia's actions with regard to Ukraine are utterly deplorable, and inde- fensible by any standard of hu- man decency. With that out of the way, how- ever: a teeny-weenie little prob- lem almost immediately swims into view (long before we even get to the latest twist in the saga.) Everyone, it seems, now agrees that Russia behaved execrably, by declaring an unprovoked war on another sovereign state. But... why only Russia? Why not any of the other countries, that have done more or less EXACTLY the same thing, over the past few years and decades? Here are just a few other exam- ples, off the top of my head: • In 2004, the United States of America and Great Britain joint- ly launched an invasion of Iraq, on the pretext – later proved groundless – that Saddam Hus- sein was manufacturing 'weap- ons of mass destruction'. This military invasion had no legal backing; it defied a direct Unit- ed Nations resolution; and it re- sulted in an illegal occupation of the entire country, for over 15 years. (Not to mention that both the war itself, and the ensuing 'insurrection', cost an arguably unquantifiable number of lives... obliterating Iraq's infrastructure, in the process). • In 2011, several NATO mem- bers – including the USA, Can- ada, Britain, and France – par- ticipated in a military action (justified by UN Resolution 1973) aimed at 'protecting Libyan civil- ians', during that country's civil war. In practice, however: "Although NATO may have had the ini- tial goal of protecting civilians, there is a substantial amount of evidence that suggests that the intervention was focused on re- gime change. This is very appar- ent from some of the military ac- tions that NATO authorised and executed." These included the bombing of Gaddafi's home-town, Sirte: "seen as largely unjustified, as the Gadd- afi military posed a negligible threat to the local population as the local residents were support- ing of the Gaddafi regime; and therefore, was a tactical decision focused on dismantling the man- power of the Libyan army, rath- er than the welfare of the Libyan people." ['To What Extent Was the NATO Intervention in Libya a Humanitarian Intervention?' Matthew Green, 2019] • In March 2015, Saudi Arabia (leading a coalition of nine other countries) invaded neighbouring Yemen, on the pretext of inter- vening in that country's civil war. Two months later, Human Rights Watch (HRW) wrote that the Saudi-led air campaign had "conducted airstrikes in appar- ent violation of the laws of war". And in February 2016, UN Secre- tary-General Ban Ki-moon him- self condemned the intervention, arguing that: "coalition air strikes in particular continue to strike hospitals, schools, mosques and civilian infrastructures [in Yem- en]." As recently as 25 March 2020, Human Rights Watch reported that the Saudi-led coalition has been "committing serious viola- tions of human rights [including] arbitrary arrests, torture, and en- forced disappearances." According to the UN, "over 150,000 people have been killed in Yemen, as well as estimates of more than 227,000 dead as a re- sult of an ongoing famine and lack of healthcare facilities due to the war." Ah... but what, you might be asking, did NATO members do about all these war-crimes, and atrocities, committed by their own ally (and business partner), Saudi Arabia? Well, this is what Wikipedia has to say: "The United States provided in- telligence and logistical support, including aerial refuelling, [and] also accelerated the sale of weap- ons to coalition states." "British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was accused of blocking the UN inquiry into Saudi war crimes in Yemen." "French President Emmanuel Macron voiced support for the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen, and defended France's arms sales to the Saudi-led coali- tion. France authorised $18 billion (€16 billion) in arms sales to Saudi Arabia in 2015." Right: I'll stop there, for now... on the assumption that the little 'problem' I mentioned earlier, is now visible to all and sundry. We can all see, with our eyes, that both NATO and the EU (or at least, individual member states) have occasionally been guilty of conducting 'illegal military opera- tions' of their own, here and there: including at least one – Iraq – that was arguably just as egregious a 'war-crime', as Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But... where are all the inter- national 'sanctions', against the USA, UK, Canada, France, Saudi Arabia, and all nine of its coalition partners? Why are 'warmongers' like George W. Bush, Tony Blair, Jens Stoltenberg, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Boris Johnson, and Emmanuel Macron, not fac- ing proceeding at the Internation- al War Crimes Tribunal, in The maltatoday | SUNDAY • 24 SEPTEMBER 2023 10 OPINION Will the EU now impose sanctions on Azerbaijan, too? Raphael Vassallo The EU has signed a gas deal with Azerbaijan