How much invaded land will need to be sacrificed to appease Russia? - Carl Les
Two events dominated the news media last week and one runs into this and no doubt subsequent ones. The first was the commemoration, celebration even, of the 80th Anniversary of VJ Day, that day in 1945 bringing to a final end the world-wide conflict that had been fought across the majority of the world`s continents.
A conflict brought about in large part by a warped sense of racial superiority, but also in the majority part by a desire for territorial acquisition and the acquired wealth that goes with it – minerals and oil, land, water, food production, labour.
The national commemoration event was well done, with dignity, with the participation of an audience of 33 veterans, aged between 96 and 105 years old, a cohort from the forgotten army and a forgotten conflict, forgotten no more.
We played our part at County Hall by the raising of the VJ flag, by Chairman, Leader and Armed Forces Champion together, and by observing a two minute silence in the workplace at 12 o’clock. Many other events took place across the county area.
Lessons were learnt from that conflict, in Asia and in Europe, of brutality and depravity especially in captivity, of a lack of dignity and humanity. Our local parish priest, Father Banks, a prisoner of war in Burma himself, told my father that the biggest personal challenge of his ministry was to try to forgive the Japanese guards for how they made their captives suffer.
Sadly those lessons often appear to have been forgotten in the 80 years since. Fortunately the double use of the then most potent weapon of mass destruction has been limited to the necessary ending of that war and has not been repeated, although now threatened by the present Russian leadership as a weapon of ‘tactical’ not doomsday value. How much this is posturing remains to be seen.
Posturing appears to be the main outcome of the summit between Presidents Trump and Putin in Alaska, labelled by one newspaper of weight as the Alaskan Fiasco. Russian Foreign Minister Labrov even wore a t-shirt with CCCP (USSR) emblazoned on it, a throw-back to a failed construct that well-suited the Russian hierarchy but did not suit the subject populations.
President Putin claims it as a most useful meeting and his rehabilitation on the world stage must be most useful to him. The Dealmaker-in-Chief is also claiming successes, but we can see the Emperor has no clothes even if he can’t or won`t. He applauded the aggressor for coming - out of the exile we have placed him in because of his aggression. They are now on first name terms. In the last infamous round of duplicitous appeasement, can you imagine Chamberlain saying ‘I’ve spoken to Adolf and we’ve agreed…’
Agreed what? That Germany had a right to invade the Sudetenland because some of its population spoke German. That Poland should give up the Danzig Corridor, because it suited Nazi Germany to have another passage to the Baltic and then give up without resistance when invaded.
History has a danger of repeating itself. Perhaps in 1939 Holland should have rolled over, surrendered and given up its territory because Germany was bigger, that “they should do the deal” like Ukraine is being advised to do now.
I am writing this before Trump has spoken with European leaders and before President Zelensky has visited the White House. What deal is going to be exposed? Whatever it is, it doesn`t feel right that the bully wins or that dealmaking is only about size and power, not principles.
How much invaded land will need to be sacrificed to appease the aggressor? Speculation in the Sunday press is that it will be more than that already taken by force. Will a security guarantee be on offer? Certainly if European leaders are heeded. This could then involve troops from North Yorkshire, infantry, instructors, engineers being deployed at risk of harm with single parent family consequences at home. We will need to stand with them.
The hope is that President Trump appears to modify his deal-making following the last person he listens to. President Zelensky and the European leaders gave him the desired approbation for chasing a peace settlement. Now since Friday it is no longer a ceasefire with threatened sanctions, but a pursuit of the end of the (present) conflict with no pressure on Russia.
Can they persuade him that a land grab should be resisted as much as possible and that “next time in Moscow” is a delaying tactic and PR stunt for Putin’s domestic audience, and that a security guarantee is necessary, even if it is not full Nato membership, as this is only the present conflict.
The new Pope, Leo, in his inaugural address to the Catholic world, featured a passage particularly for young people – the future. The substance of his words were “be not afraid”. I think they have every reason to doubt his well meaning sentiment. Along with all the other conflicts in the world, we should all be very afraid.
Carl Les is the Leader of North Yorkshire Council.