OPINION: Sanctions and Retaliations: Simply Unconscionable
By <
http://www.ipsnews.net/author/somar-wijayadasa/> Somar Wijayadasa
Somar Wijayadasa is a former representative of UNESCO and UNAIDS at the
United Nations in New York
NEW YORK, Sep 5 2014 (IPS) - The crisis in Ukraine is a man-made disaster
created by world leaders who have been trying to pull Ukraine apart - either
towards Europe or Russia.
As geo-political tensions in the world rage unabated, world powers rush to
impose sanctions that cause unintended consequences.
A Washington Post editorial, 'The Snake Oil Diplomacy: When Tensions Rise,
The US Peddles Sanctions', published as far back as July 1998, stated, "No
country in the world has employed sanctions as often as the United States
has. it has imposed economic sanctions more than 110 times."
Historically, the League of Nations, United Nations, United States and the
European Union have resorted to mandatory sanctions as an enforcement tool
when peace has been threatened and diplomatic efforts have failed.
During the 1990s, we witnessed a proliferation of sanctions imposed by the
U.N. and U.S. against Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Liberia, Somalia, Cambodia,
Haiti - to name a few.
These sanctions brought disastrous consequences - where those in power
thrived and the poor suffered.
A few countries such as Iran, Iraq and North Korea scoffed at U.S. sanctions
as they had resources or the will power to survive. Sanctions against China
and India failed to change the leadership or hinder the country's economic
drive and growth.
But in most countries, especially Cuba, Iraq and Haiti, sanctions
deteriorated their economic, social and healthcare systems.
At times, sanctions were used as an ulterior motive for "regime change"
which is a violation of the U.N. Charter and the basic norms of
international law.
Such a devious practice has nothing to do with protecting human rights, and
promoting democracy and freedom.
Now, the sanctions against Russia - over the crisis in Ukraine - have
boomeranged.
By April, "Maidan" protests ousted Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovytch.
U.S. missiles near Russia and NATO's efforts to expand into former Warsaw
Pact countries angered Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia was blocked
out of the G8.
The U.S. and the EU imposed sanctions on Russia when Crimea joined Russia
after the Crimeans held a referendum to declare independence based on the
right of nations to self-determination that is stipulated in Article 1 of
the U.N. Charter.
The right to "self-determination" was applied when former Yugoslavia and
Czechoslovakia were divided, and when several small states like East Timor
declared independence.
People in East Ukraine - 70 percent of who are ethnic Russians - felt
violated when the Ukrainian Government decided to ban the Russian language
from its official status.
They too invoked their right to self-determination and held a referendum to
establish their own State.
The U.S. broadened sanctions when the Malaysian plane was downed in East
Ukraine. No evidence surfaced from the black boxes, satellite images or OSCE
inspectors' revelations to prove culpability - unless it was a deliberate,
pre-meditated act to blame a warring faction.
Also Western leaders claim that Russia provides weapons to the rebels in
Ukraine. It may be true, but again the U.S. has not provided any evidence
and Putin denies the charge. It's like Iraq's WMDs all over again.
More U.S. and EU sanctions against Russia froze the assets of Russians in
power, banned their travel to EU countries, restricted Russian banks' sales
of debt or stocks in European markets, and targeted Russia's defense, energy
and financial sectors - to name a few.
On Aug. 7, in a radical response to Western sanctions, Russia retaliated by
banning imports of beef, pork, poultry, fish, cheese, dairy products, fruit
and vegetables from the European Union, United States, Australia, Canada,
Norway, for one year.
Russia's agriculture minister, Nikolai Fyodorov, said, "We now have the
unique chance to improve our agricultural sector and make it more
competitive." He said that Russia has already identified other non-Western
countries to import banned food items, and that he is confident that
Russians will use locally available food.
>From what we hear, European growth has slowed down; some countries creeping
back into recession; U.S. investors have withdrawn over four billion dollars
from Euro stocks; European farmers and Norway's fishermen are affected and
the EU has set aside 167 million dollars to compensate farmers for their
loss of revenue; and companies that transport cargo to Russia have come to a
halt.
While it is difficult to predict how this tit-for-tat will ultimately affect
both Russian and Western economies, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban
said that the sanctions have, in fact, harmed the West more than they have
hurt Russia. He said, "In politics, this is called shooting oneself in the
foot."
Also the toll on human suffering is increasing. The U.N. claims that the war
in Ukraine has already killed over 2,500 and injured nearly 5,000 people.
According to UNHCR, over 730,000 Eastern Ukrainians have fled to Russia. The
Ukrainian government acknowledges that over 300,000 of its citizens are
displaced inside Ukraine.
The U.N. Charter and international law provide for settling conflicts
between states through negotiations based on mutual respect for each other's
independence, sovereignty and non-interference in the internal affairs of
the other.
This disaster can be resolved only if power-hungry world leaders renounce
their arrogance and interventionism, and help Ukraine become a prosperous
but neutral buffer nation between Western Europe and Russia. If not, the
partition of Ukraine will be inevitable.
Received on Fri Sep 05 2014 - 08:44:42 EDT