Could the Ukraine be a new Sarajevo one hundred years on? It is a conflict between two separate power blocs. It is of course much nastier than Sarajevo was, which consisted of a political assassination which lit the fuse. And such parallels should always be taken with a pinch of salt.
Nevertheless, Russian troops are arriving on the border, ostensibly for military exercises, but quite obviously in preparation for a very possible military intervention. The West appears all gung ho in favour of the revolutionaries who are in favour of “Europe” and against Russia.
They are also in favour of the suppression of all minority languages including Russian, of the out lawing of the Communist party and in short their underlying ideology is of the extreme right, some even describe it as Nazi. And that, for them, is Europe.
And what is Europe? A bastion of right wing neo liberal suppressive policies slashing welfare, healthcare, riding rough shod over populations. And what is European foreign policy well… does even Katherine Ashton know? Or is she even responsible? Well no. Europe is what Henry Kissinger disparagingly described it. Who the hell do I call to speak with Europe?
This of course is changing and it is now much more obvious who to call. Frau Merkel. However, ever since the wars of Yugoslav succession this has been quite obvious, long before Frau Merkel arrived on the scene.
Nevertheless Frau Merkal is emblematic. She is as East German going to the other extreme. Ban the Communist party! Impose the harshest capitalism! And that is what Europe now represents. And whereas it might be to a degree understandable to find this attitude in the ex Communist states, the core of what used to be western Europe can hardly sympathise with this. Yet the peoples of Europe under this new post cold war regime have no rights left as shown by the whole troika travesty.
But beyond these, very serious matters, there is another matter that bears scrutiny, in light of the Sarajevo parallel. Europe has incited this Unkrainian “revolution” to a great extent, yet what is Europe? Russian troops are gathering on the border. Europe has no such equivalent. There is of course NATO, but this is under US hegemony. What about diplomacy? Katherine Ashton? She has no such mandate. The Foreign Minister of the presiding European state? No way. No mandate either. Besides the gentleman in question is a joke.
The German foreign minister? Well, he does appear to be taking a more active part, yet he is limited too. For all this tragic re branding of the EU as German Europe and don’t you forget it! But the way Germany has miss handled all these crises it is most unlikely that the rest of Europe at least what used to be the West will line up behind her.
Europe blundered into the first world war incurring the worse carnage in history. Let us hope that 100 years on the Ukraine will not be the mighty blunder to trigger off something just as bad and destructive.