Anyone who knows my blog, knows I tend askew using it as platform for expressing my polticial opinons. I recognise that folks who come here, don’t come for a lecture on international or domestic events. So this is unusual departure from me, and I’m hoping it will be last time I feel so motivated to express them here. Personally, I find the political venting that goes on place like Facebook tiresome, although I admittedly I’ve been known to lapse into that myself.
This blogpost is really here to express my dismay over the way events are unraveling in the aftermath of downing of the plane in Ukraine. I feel our poltical leadership here in Europe has lost sight of what really matters – the victims of the atrocity itself. Although there were many nationalities on that fateful flight, its fair to say our cousins in the Netherlands have born the worst in terms of grief and loss. It’s to that countries credit that its people have shown such restaint, dignity and fortitude – which is in such stark contrast to the way our leadership are behaving.
I’m speaking of the British Prime Ministers recent spat with the French administation; the way our opposition here has chosen to sabre-rattle over party funding by Russian donors of the Conservative Party. These two situations have been unedifying examples of how our latest crop of professional career politicans put their positions before those who they were elected to serve. On the opposite side of the fence we have all observed obstrifcation and vacilation by both the Seperatists and Putin’s administration. In particular Mr Putin has been more concerned with protecting his position, whilst at the sametime trying to throw sand in the eyes of the International Community. If Mr Putin had condemn the incident, and promised to everything in his power to bring those responsible to justice then perhaps I would have been more forgiving. Instead he has opted to ride out international commendation in the hope that it will just all blow over. Judging by the lack of European unity over the situation, he just might be right…
I’ve no doubt that Mr Putin himself played no direct role in the event that occured last week. Although I think its fair agrument to say he created the circumstance within which the chance of horrible incident like this could occur. Of course, in Putin’s eyes the seperatists are gallant “freedom fighters” struggling for national free-determination. I doubt very much he feels the same way about the rebels in Chechen, who are of course “terrorists”. And I do wonder what Russia’s response would have been had it been Aeroflot flight down in Chechen, by rebels armed with Western missles. The boot would have been decidely on the other foot. Such is the state of politics in our post 9/11/War on Terror era. Where nation states are capable of labelling such groups “terrorists” or “freedom fighters” as it suits their needs.
Finally, I do think as Europeans we have make choice here. Do we stand by the principles that so many of countrymen faught for some 100 or 70 year ago? Or do we allow the economic relationship with have newly solvent Russia – the cheap gas, and the miltrary deals – to be more important than the fact its citizens were accidently executed at 37,000 feet? Personally, I feel we have in recent year blinked to often, and we should not look away again.