UAE – 2020 Year of preparation for the Golden Jubilee

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UAE – 2020 Year of preparation for the Golden Jubilee

By H.E. Ms. Hissa Abdulla Ahmed Alotaiba, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates.

HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai and HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, recently announced that 2020 will be the “year of preparation for the Golden Jubilee” through Launching the largest national strategy of its kind to prepare for the next fifty years of the UAE in 2021, stating that all Emirati community spectrum; including citizens, residents, the public, private and community sectors, will participate in shaping life in the UAE the next fifty years.

During the past five decades, the Emirates managed to win the admiration, appreciation and respect of the world, through accomplishments whose main pillar was a leadership that invested in the human being and harnessed all efforts to empower them.

The year 2021 is the golden jubilee of the UAE, a milestone that calls for setting the new development model for the country. The UAE looks forward to making the country – during the next fifty years- the most distinguished and top quality in terms of living standards globally, by creating a vision that encompasses all groups of society, and preparing all the ingredients to ensure the achievement of the goals of the Emirates Centenary, as HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan assures that:

 «The UAE is on the verge of an important stage in its modern history, as it prepares to reach its golden jubilee, full of hope and ambition, to put its own civilized mark on the path of human history. ”

For that purpose, two committees will be formed affiliated with the Council of Ministers, the first of which will be the committee to set the comprehensive development plan for the next fifty years headed by HH Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs. And another committee to supervise the activities of celebrating the golden jubilee of the UAE, headed by HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to prepare with various sectors and entities to implement the giant strategy and enter the second phase of the union’s life, keeping pace with the aspirations of a country that knows no impossible.

This approach establishes a culture of excellence and participation in decision-making, and enhancing the spirit of initiative in building the country and achieving this vision through active participation in the upcoming development and qualitative leaps in the national economy, in addition to consolidating the soft power of the UAE.

The successful and inspiring experience of the UAE exceeds its geographical limits to the world, and it is a source of hope and a catalyst for people and governments on the international scene, and this unique experience is a model of human and cultural progress achieved during a short period of time, which will be transferred to the world through a national project to innovate and design a visual identity for the Emirates.

It embodies the historical, cultural, human and economic elements of its people, translates its value system, transmits its inspiring story to the world, shares its exceptional experience as a country that has no ceiling for its aspirations, dreams and ambitions. Its goal is to motivate people to take inspiration from the Emirates experience in their development process, as HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum says: « We seek to establish the beautiful image of our homeland in the global mindset. Designing a media identity is a new step in the journey to establish a global media presence for the UAE.” Adding:

“In 2020 we want to build the UAE of the future as one team. Our team is one. In the spirit of the union, in the spirit of Zayed, with a spirit that belongs to peaks and thrive on building. Our ongoing building battle continues and it will remain.”

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Photography by Catherine Dailey.

Belarus is Turning to a New Decade

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Belarus is Turning to a New Decade

By Dr. Stanislav Vassilevsky, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the Republic of Belarus in the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Belarusian-Dutch bilateral political dialogue in recent years has become more active and promising, since a higher level of contact reflects a strong common interest and a broader agenda. We have held two informative sessions of political consultations at the level of Deputy Foreign Ministers and organized the first ever visit of the Dutch parliamentarians to Belarus in 2019 communicating regularly at the multilateral fora. Recent developments have created a favorable background for further intensification of contacts.

We welcome the positive trend in our bilateral trade and investment cooperation and strive to raise the awareness of the Dutch business community about investment opportunities in Belarus. A number of joint projects have been already implemented, such as in beer (Heineken), lamp (Philips) or robotic milking systems production (Lely Industries), while other FDI projects are being presently considered. The priority areas are logistics, agriculture, IT, energy, petrochemistry, pharmaceuticals, etc. It is especially relevant given the favorable geographical position and membership of the country in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), a spacious growing market of 180 mln. people, where Belarus presides in 2020 – 2023.

Apart from geographical position, other benefits of entering Belarus include unique privatization opportunities, attractive taxation environment, well-developed logistics infrastructure and highly qualified workforce. Recently, to facilitate communication, we introduced a 30-day visa-free regime for the Dutch and other citizens of 80 countries arriving in Belarus through the international airport of Minsk. 

We regard the Eastern Partnership (EaP), a joint policy initiative of the EU and six Eastern European post-Soviet states, as a tool for pragmatic cooperation building bridges and developing interpersonal contacts.

Belarus has developed its own vision of the improvements that need to be made to the EaP and which, in our opinion, would be in the interests of the Netherlands and all EU partners. We pay special attention to the economic sector. Both Belarus and partners are particularly interested in comprehensive cooperation in trade including certification of exporting enterprises, standardization, metrology, harmonization and mutual recognition of compliance systems, as well as in simplification of trade procedures like sanitary and phytosanitary regulations in agricultural production. 

It is time to think about a comprehensive approach to border improvement, taking into account the security and mobility of people and goods, including the further modernization of customs checkpoints and information exchange between the customs services. We believe that both sides would benefit from closer cooperation in customs administration and easier terms of cargo transportation and control.

We suggest making technological innovations a priority in cooperation. To this end, Minsk is ready to host an Eastern Partnership IT School to train digital sector specialists for all its partners. 

Obviously, transport and energy infrastructure is vitally important for both the EU and its partners. The focus should be made on the development of international digital transport corridors. We hope that a similar action plan will be soon developed to invest in energy inter-connectors in the EU. It is also of particular importance to bring into line transportation networks of the EAEU, the EU and the Belt and Road project initiated by China.

Belarus is in favor of establishing a permanent format of dialogue between the EU and the EAEU. We oppose any new dividing lines in Europe. The idea of cooperation of integrations is about making the EU – EAEU cooperation a systemic process aimed at achieving meaningful and appreciable results for both unions. Such a rapprochement will help build trust and dismantle the myth about incompatibility and rivalry of the eastern and western systems. Let`s share a common vision of the future of Eurasia as a single space of peace, cooperation and interaction, realizing a free, fair, non-discriminatory, transparent and predictable trade and investment environment.    

Belarus is a member of the EaP initiative that also comprises another EAEU participating state, Armenia, and also a EAEU observer state, Moldova. Therefore, Belarus suggests using the EaP format for looking for solutions to the most burning issues at the junction of the two unions and cooperation forms. These tasks will be high on the agenda of Belarus’ chairmanship in the EAEU.

We are very interested in promoting the new and positive agenda for international relations in Belarus and invite you to Minsk.

Four Centuries of Ghana-Netherlands Relations: A Historical Perspective

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Four Centuries of Ghana-Netherlands Relations: A Historical Perspective

By H.E. Ms. Sophia Horner-Sam, Ambassador of the Republic of Ghana to the Kingdom of The Netherlands.

The Republic of Ghana and the Kingdom of the Netherlands have maintained a long-standing and occasionally intricate economic, historical, political and cultural relations that have evolved between the two countries since 1598 when the Dutch established a trading post, Fort Nassau in Moree, a seaside resort now located in the Central region of Ghana. The Dutch then fortified its position by conquering the Elmina Fort from the Portuguese in 1637 and established the Dutch Gold Coast (a portion of contemporary Ghana) which it administered for about two centuries until 1872 when the Fort and the Gold Coast were ceded to the British.

Central to Dutch contact was the desire to gain a secure foothold into West Africa for the Dutch West Indian Company and to enhance its trading interests. In the competition with other European companies on the coast, having a powerful ally in the interior was of great importance. To this end, the Dutch formalized and enhanced the Netherlands-Gold Coast bilateral ties by sending the first European envoy in the person of David Van Nyendael of the Dutch West Indian Company, to the royal court of King Osei Tutu of the Asante Kingdom in Kumasi in November, 1701 to establish economic and diplomatic  relations between the Asante Kingdom in the interior and the Dutch on the coast, that was to endure for over 170 years and marked the formal beginning of the existing relationship between the two countries. 

Although Ghana and the Netherlands have been trading in many products for centuries, the commodities involved have varied over time. In the 16th century, the trading relationship flourished on the exchange of Ghanaian gold, ivory and spices for Dutch textiles, firearms, gunpowder, metal ware and alcoholic beverages. As the transatlantic slave trade took centre stage by the 18th century, slaves rather than gold became the most valuable commodity for the West Indian Company until its abolition in the 19th century and then followed a decline in bilateral trade.

In spite of the sordid past, the relations withstood the test of time and by the mid-20th century legitimate trade between the two sides rejuvenated and imports of Dutch commodities shifted to processed foods, alcoholic beverages, textiles and footwear. Today, Ghanaian ritual and social life is incomplete without Dutch alcoholic drinks particularly, schnapps, gold, timber logs, rubber, and palm oil became Ghana’s major exports to the Netherlands. 

At the onset of 21st century and in recent times, the Netherlands has become the fifth destination for Ghana’s exports for cocoa beans and cocoa products, wood, aluminum, fruits, vegetables, oil seeds, fish and fish products as well as flowers valued at US$ 829.4 million in 2017. Conversely Ghana is the Netherlands’ fourth export destination in sub-Saharan Africa for used vehicles and parts, electrical and electronic equipment, machinery, nuclear reactors, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, textiles and food products which amounted to US$667.1 million in 2017.

The Netherlands and Ghana have retained largely uninterrupted and cordial diplomatic relations since 1701 andthroughout the political changes in Ghana to date.  From 1982 to 1997, Ghana closed down its Mission in The Hague due to a re-alignment exercise of Ghana’s diplomatic Missions at the time. However, the critical and deep rooted relationship between the two countries could not sustain the absence of a diplomatic mission in The Hague, leading to the reopening of Ghana’s Mission in 1998. The Netherlands, however, had kept its Mission in Accra opened at the level of Charge d’ affaires until 1991, when it was upgraded to the Ambassadorial level.

Development cooperation advanced to a level where the Netherlands became one of Ghana’s most important development partners, benefiting from the Dutch government’s loans and grants for healthcare, education, the environment, gender advocacy, good governance, budget support, and technical assistance critical for Ghana’s economic growth.

The healthy economic growth in Ghana and its resultant transformation to a middle-income economy status, necessitated a policy shift from the Dutch government in which, the relationship between Ghana and the Netherlands  is now speedily moving from aid to trade, with the two countries working together to achieve sustainable economic development for Ghana, while phasing out official development aid (ODA). This new Dutch policy indeed, is in line with the “Ghana Beyond Aid” Policy initiative of the Government of Ghana, which seeks to harness effectively, Ghana’s own resources to finance its development and economic growth, whilst minimising or completely eliminating the country’s reliance on ODA.

In this regard, the Dutch policy focuses on the promotion of the private sector in order to enhance mutually beneficial trade and investments between the two countries. Incentives in the form of new financing and business models are being rolled out within the period 2019-2022 to encourage businesses, especially, among young entrepreneurs to invest in Ghana in sectors where Dutch companies could impart expertise and technological innovation. Ghana envisages that such interventions will go a long way to help to achieve aspects of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Similarly, the Government of Ghana continues to promote incentives to support micro and small businesses which constitute over 70 percent of all businesses in Ghana to enable them to become competitive locally and internationally and contribute to the socio-economic development of the country. Under the presidential Business Support Programme for instance, 1,350 entrepreneurs across all the 16 regions of Ghana have received training and financial support to start or scale up their businesses.

Additionally, the current Government under the leadership of H.E. the President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has embarked on priority programmes to speed up Ghana’s developmental process. Notable among these initiatives are the “one district, one factory” (1D1F), “planting for food and jobs” (PFFJ), and the digitalisation of the economy. The private sector has also been positioned as the main actor and a beneficiary of these initiatives, which it is believed will lead to efficient delivery of goods and services and increase productivity in the economy. 

It is undeniable the fact that, the longstanding relationship between Ghana and the Netherlands which began with Dutch traders frequenting the shores of Ghana, triggered reverse migration from Ghana to the Netherlands from the last quarter of the 20th Century, mostly driven by the same economic motives that attracted the early Dutch traders to sail to the Gold Coast 400 years ago. Whereas an estimated 800 Dutch nationals currently live in Ghana, an approximately 20,000 Ghanaians are legally resident in the Netherlands, comprising diverse professionals, workers and students who not only contribute to push the wheels of the Dutch economy but also assist to keep alive a relationship that began four centuries ago. 

In recognition of the significant contribution of the Ghanaian diaspora to the national economy, the Government of Ghana, through the Ghana Embassy in The Hague, has continued to collaborate with other organisations to employ and channel the potentials and resources of Ghanaian expatriates for the socio-economic development of Ghana as well as for their own benefit. Furthermore, the two governments keep up cooperation to address challenges relating to cases of undocumented Ghanaian migrants and illegal migration.

As Ghana continues to make strides towards the advancement of its economy, the country no doubt is still confronted with some challenges relating to among others, the modernisation of agriculture and agro-processing, expansion of the industrial and manufacturing base, infrastructural, real estate development, waste management as well as railway development but which are all surmountable.

Ghana seeks external partnerships to team up with Ghanaian companies and new investors to take advantage of the numerous investment opportunities in the country. It is against this background that Ghana values the new initiatives with the Netherlands to attract Dutch direct investments into Ghana. 

Ghana is certainly a favourable destination for investments and trade for several factors notably:

  • Ghana is a beacon of democracy, political stability and peace in Africa,
    • Ghana is endowed with rich natural resources such as gold, diamonds, bauxite, limestone, oil, timber, wildlife, marine resources and vast expanse of arable land that offer investment opportunities in all the key sectors, 
    • There is an already existing industrial base coupled with a burgeoning and competitive start-up sector that is ripe for investment in areas ranging from IT solutions to agriculture,
    • There is abundant, adaptable and easily trainable labour force, the people are hospitable and friendly,
    • Ghana’s strategic location, with excellent sea and air connections with Europe and USA, provides access to the ECOWAS market of 349 million people, and potential market of 1.3 billion in the newly created African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), headquartered in Ghana’s capital city of Accra, 
    • Above all Ghana is among the fastest growing economies in the world.

As Ghana and the Netherlands continue to share similar aspirations and developmental goals, the bilateral relations between the two countries can only grow from strength to strength and trade will remain an important medium of cooperation in the 21st century and beyond just as it was in the 16th century.

Being Free Is Always Better Than Not Being Free

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Being Free Is Always Better Than Not Being Free

By Igor Rybakov.

(From the address at II Media Forum 2019, ‘Journalist freedom in the context of human right, new technologies, and international information security’, November 20-22, 2019, Prague, the Czech Republic)

It is at least strange to hear of any crisis of liberalism here in the Czech Republic, at the European venue, where there was recently celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of the Tender Revolution which had marked the conscious choice of the Czech people to build a new democratic parliamentary republic with priority of human rights and personal freedoms limited by the Constitution.

The ideas and foundations of liberalism were laid by Locke, Montesquieu, Voltaire, Rousseau, Franklin, Jefferson, Smith, and implemented by the American and French Revolution with the most demonstrative documentary embodiment in the U.S. Constitution, in the Bill of Rights, in the French Declaration of Human and Civil Rights, in most constitutions of modern states, and finally in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by resolution 217 A of 10.12.1948 at the third session of the UN General Assembly.

In today’s world development there is nothing more important than the protection of an individual and ensuring natural human rights and freedoms. There is nothing more precious than a particular human life, and there is not a single idea that could justify the death of people or an individual. To understand this, it is enough to walk along the Valley of Heroes in Tienza, the Bronze Shoe Quay in Pest, visit the Czech Lidice or Polish Oswiecim, see the memorials on Arlington or in Beslan with your own eyes. 

Protection of an individual, enforcement of human rights and freedoms, including freedom of speech, guarantees of civil rights, the establishment of equality of all citizens before the law, the establishment of a free market economy and enforcement of government responsibility and transparency of public authorities are fundamental principles of liberalism. They will never die and should be pursued by any open society based on pluralism and democratic governance, subject to respect for the rights of minorities and individual citizens within the framework of the basic law developed by that society and called the Constitution.

Freedom of speech is an essential tool for the protection of all human rights. As far back as two centuries ago, Article 11 of the Declaration of Human and Citizen’s Rights stated that ‘The free communication of thoughts and of opinions is one of the most precious rights of a man: any citizen may, therefore, speak, write and publish freely, except what is tantamount to the abuse of this liberty in the cases determined by Law’. 

This wording is still relevant today for the relations between an individual, society, and the state. 

The natural and inalienable human right to freedom of speech is first and foremost realized in the world through Media, the main task of which is to guarantee truthful and reliable information to the citizens through an honest and neutral representation of objective reality and events in the world. 

From the perspective of modern liberalism, the key to ensuring freedom of speech is private ownership and non-interference by a state in private business activities, including the media. Such key not only puts a barrier to state censorship, removes most of the reasons for self-censorship (when media outlets impose preemptive restrictions for fear of losing substantial sources of income from the state founders), but also opens up additional opportunities for the dissemination of independent opinions, including private publishing houses and press advertising.

Only free media can truly exercise freedom of speech. At the same time, Media liability should be limited only by law. Standard legitimate restrictions are related to the protection of national security, justice, confidential information and the rights of others, and are known to everyone in this room. 

In terms of liberalism, every professional journalist should exercise freedom of speech truthfully, accurately and objectively, being guided by ethical standards and norms, one of the best examples of which is the BBC’s Editorial Values and Standards for TV journalists. 

One of the main rules of professional journalism is: ‘Information must state facts. It should be verified by the best specialists available. The selection should be based on a comprehensive reflection of the different viewpoints of the participants and interested organizations, but the position of a good journalist should remain neutral. It should provide the viewer and listener with an intelligent and informative report that allows them to form their own opinion. Reporters can exercise their professional judgments, but not offer their own opinions.

The audience should not judge events based on the professional opinions of presenters and reporters. Good journalism helps people from different social strata to get their own perspective on what was happening. 

Is this possible to stay neutral and impartial? In 2004, Deborah Scranton, a journalist who participates in our Forum, distributed video cameras between American military men, who have been departed to Iraq, and a year later, from the uncut material they filmed, she produced ‘Military Films’, which in many ways turned around the conceptions of war and military journalism.

The Media may have different looks at the developments, such as Trump’s policy and the impeachment procedure that was initiated, like Fox News or Washington Post have, but none of them attempts to distort or refute the facts. None of them allows in their text such phrases as some foreign journalists use on the pages of one of the media outlets accusing their fellow journalists literally in ‘an opportunity to ‘give a jingle about themselves’ in the general campaign of the media from the liberal ‘mainstream’ against President Trump. 

We all see the same picture, but how do we present it? In my opinion, such comments, or journalism, which is characterized by subjective style of first-person narration, are unfortunately have nothing in common with professional journalism and today have different terms of ‘gonzo-journalism’, propaganda, disinformation, and so on. And, unfortunately, many media do it today. 

There are subjective interpretations or distortion of facts. And here we see that Iranian General Kasem Suleimani, terrorist number 2 in the world, who coordinated the actions of terrorist groups of ‘Hezbollah’, personally led the ‘Hyena’, and was included in the UN black list of those involved in the development of Iran’s nuclear program, suddenly becomes a hero of the civil war in Syria.

Hacker Alexey Burkov accused of stealing money from at least 150,000 card accounts of foreign citizens and openly bragging about this online, becomes in some media a person worthy of regret and injured for political reasons. A young woman, who organized drunken, fancy-dress orgies with senators in a famous restaurant in the capital of one of the states and voluntarily admitted her guilt in violation of the laws of this state, is excused as a person who suffered from national phobia and witch hunting. And there are, alas, many such examples. 

Unprofessionalism and the desire to show only one side of the coin lead to mistrust, the construction of a new ‘Berlin Wall’ between the Media and fellow journalists from different countries. And now an excellent professional Russian journalist and decent man Roman Babayan, who for many years showed the blood and mud of war and terror, is declared by other ‘journalists’ to be an active member of disinformation forces and a person responsible for lawbreaking and violations of international law. And the Russian journalists from Deutsche Welle, who organize the International Summer School of Journalism and Socio-Cultural Studies named after Boris Nemtsov in Prague, are afraid to let their former colleagues in. For some reason, we began to forget that we are all journalists, media workers are colleagues, not soldiers at war on different sides of the front. 

It is in the mouths of non-professional media that the word ‘liberalism’ became a ‘negative’ and their colleagues became ‘representatives of liberal media’.

As well as you, I read Daniel Hallin and Paolo Mancini and their ‘Comparison of media systems. Three models of media and politics’. But as a former journalist and a government official for many years closely associated with the media, I do not know what liberal media are. Media are a priori free and carry the same ‘liberalism’ or freedom of speech to citizens. 

Liberalism may be not the best philosophical school of thought and socio-political trend, except for all the others. It is alive and will never die, because being free is always better than not being free.

We should always keep this in mind. While having different opinions and positions, we should communicate more often at professional venues such as this one, and to cherish our human and journalistic honor and reputation, regardless of whether we share liberal views or not.

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About the author: Igor Rybakov is the Head of the Rossotrudnichestvo Representative Office Department in the Czech Republic, expert of the International Academy of Television and Radio (IATR), ex-journalist.

Revisiting the Ukraine-Russia-EU triangular dynamics

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Revisiting the Ukraine-Russia-EU triangular dynamics

By Tanvi Chauhan.


With the narrative that floats around, one is tempted to think that the Ukraine crisis is all about Crimea; that it started and ended there. So what about the internal oblasts like Odessa, Kharkiv, Luhansk, and Donetsk (the South- Eastern regions) where a protracted conflict broke out? Are they not part of the resolution to the Ukraine crisis? But before any party decides on how to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, it is crucial to understand what needs to be resolved. 

What needs to be Resolved?

First, the negotiating status. Formal peace talks began with the Minsk-I ceasefire in September 2014 but Kyiv refused to engage with rebels as negotiation partners, even while Kyiv’s negotiators had no official status, proceeding to brand rebels as ‘terrorists’ (Matveeva, 2018, p. 260). For as long as the insurgents are not considered cohorts in negotiating a peace deal and power sharing arrangements, the Ukraine crisis will not resolve.

Second, the political fate of the insurgent territory. At the crisis’s outset, Donbas seemed to concord with Russia about the federalization idea (Davies, 2016, p. 737), but as the conflict progressed, rebels’ aspirations were geared either towards complete independence or irredentism with Russia – the former, Ukraine would never give, and the latter, Russia did not want. The ‘Special Status’ option running into a political impasse coupled with Ukrainian civil activist efforts against Minsk agreements meant that the crisis was not ripe for peace from Kyiv’s side.

On the split side, the Donbas rebels’ dissatisfaction with Moscow and Kyiv for neglecting rebel wishes also meant that the crisis was not ready to be resolved from their side either. All parties were dissatisfied with the outcomes. It is not wrong therefore to say that Ukrainian nationalism and monist identity approach was only becoming stronger with rebels’ resistance to Kyiv’s biddings. Thus, for as long as the rebels are not awarded some sort of autonomy or freedom to live their “Russianness,” the crisis will not be resolved. At the same time, for as long as the rebels are firm on irredentist motives instead of attributing some form of loyalty to Kyiv, the SE-Ukraine crisis will prolong and cannot be resolved.

It goes without saying that the resolution needs to be political, not military. As with any conflict, ceasefires are only temporary arrangements for until a greater political plan is formed. As the many (failed) ceasefire attempts indicate, Ukraine needs to seriously determine a political solution for the conflict to truly stop.

Ukraine Crisis and European Security 

No matter how the Ukraine crisis is resolved, some things from the crisis serve as important notes for European security. First, the Donbas conflict is a strong reminder that for regional stability and order, it is necessary to devote attention to grassroots rebellions instead of single-mindedly fantasizing over the “all-Putin” narrative. Crimea was the tip of the iceberg; it is possible that such dormant grassroots rebellions could foment and induce a regional domino effect throwing the fragile balance off the continent. Second, it is unreasonable to take insurgent groups’ military organization and political aspirations for granted. Within Ukraine, rebels have showed the skill and experience needed to spontaneously mobilize and acquire modern warfare methods, which means, that such revolutions can very much happen despite state defense methods.

Was (is) Ukraine prepared for this? Are Kyiv’s European friends prepared for this? Furthermore, when grievances are addressed in the form of violent conflict, a pro-war culture unites people with similar ideologies. How can Europe stop European fighters from fighting in Donbas? The moment that a cultural war becomes war-culture is indeed tricky – so Europe needs to take into account the strength of identities, symbols, and beliefs, and how that can affect the fragile security in the region, instead of brewing the ‘Russia-orchestrates-all’ beverage.

Lastly, with whatever political resolution that Ukraine comes up with, European security and stability is only possible with Russia’s cooperation. Antagonizing Russia will not help integrate pro-Russian factions within pro-West states like Ukraine. This would mean not only cooperating with Russia for further regional stability, but also not isolating it. Russia’s past attempts of halting the Novorossiyaproject in Donbas, postponing elections in rebel territories, enthusiasm for peace prospects including suggesting UN peacekeeping troops cannot be simply rewarded with more economic sanctions. That defeats good faith from Russia. This causes Russia to turn away from cooperation with the EU, and with it, induce its pro-Russian supporters (scattered all over the FSU) to imitate the same.

Ukraine Crisis and Russian Security 

If a political-military resolution is found to end the Ukraine crisis, it has some implications on Russian security too. First, Russia needs to be prepared for calls to the ‘Russian World.’ A population who was driven to go to war because they had faith Russia would repeat Crimea means that such dormant attitudes maybe present within other FSU populations. Matveeva (2018, 286) states that “Russia does not have a universalist approach to regional conflicts,” and Donbas is a clear example of that.

Whatever the resolution is agreed upon for Ukraine, a big question that looms over Russian security is about how it would take care of regional military confrontations. Russia uses a bilateral and multilateral approach in order to bind states into a regional order, but the aspect about a military confrontation remains unanswered (Slobodchikoff 2014). Whether we look at CIS or some other multilateral organization, there needs to be some forum which either addresses collective security operations (actual military confrontations) or allows Russia to intervene as necessary.

The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) has been a good tool for Russia in integrating Eurasia against external threats (Hansen 2013), but has Russia seriously considered civil and transnational (internal) conflicts which can turn into full-blown civil wars if allowed? Even if Russia finds it pointless to entertain civil skirmishes like the one in Donbas, how can it ignore the fundamental drive – Novorossiya – which served as the rebels’ motivational catalyst? All this indicates that Russian security is invariably a matter of regional stability, very much taking into account Ukraine.

So, it is only in Russian security interests to mollify such uprisings using support from mainland governments and/or a multilateral security architecture, thereby standardizing its approach to such regional hostilities. Unless, of course, it is Russia’s wish to stay mysterious with its security approach. If that be so, such an approach does not bode well for regional security. Secondly, for any sort of crisis resolution to sustain, Russia will have to understand Kyiv’s perspective. Although it has to rush to aid its Russian World when she summons her, Moscow cannot overplay this cultural dimension so much as to explicitly challenge the West and thereby feed into the Western normative discourse. Ukraine will be more than unwilling to make any more concessions past Crimea, so Donbas’s resolution (when it happens), would require sacrifices on both fronts and acknowledgment of bitter history.  

Of course rebels in Donbas or Kyiv, the governments in Moscow and Kyiv, as also the wider continents of Europe and America would appreciate a true peace, but ‘peace’ cannot be viewed as an absolute dichotomy: either my way or the highway. A ceasefire may bring about a transient military resolution, but without a political one unanimously agreed by involved parties, it is unlikely that the Ukrainian crisis will end in spirit.  

In order to avoid such future conflicts, both Russia and Europe must understand how overlooked conflicts such as those in Donbas have security implications for both of them. For Russia, it means acknowledging the dormant (but very potent) society within the Russian World, as also Russia’s obligation as leader of that world – and while doing all of this, maintaining a delicate balance between itself and the West. For Europe it means acknowledging indigenous uprisings, giving due value to cultural enthusiasm uncontaminated by political conspiracies that feed in the all-Putin perspective, and faithfully cooperating with Moscow to attain regional stability.  

So as we see, there is much theoretical resolution to the Ukraine crisis and how that will affect Russian and European securities, but practically, one has to wait to see. As Matveeva (2018, 298) writes, “we can only hope humanity survived in those who went through it,” to which it would do well to add: I hope some foresight and rationality is present in those who are to resolve it. 

References:

Davies, L. (2016). Russia’s ‘Governance’ Approach: Intervention and the Conflict in the Donbas. Europe-Asia Studies, 68(4), 726–749.

Hansen, F. S. (2013). “Integration in the Post-Soviet Space.” International Area Studies Review 16(2): 142-59.

Kofman, M., Migacheva, K., Nichiporuk, B., Radin, A., Tkacheva, O., & Oberholtzer, J. (2017). Lessons From Russia’s Operations in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine. Santa Monica: RAND Corporation.

Matveeva, A. (2018). Through Times of Trouble: Conflict in South-eastern Ukraine Explained from Within. New York: Lexington Books.  

Slobodhikoff, M O. (2017). “Challenging US Hegemony: The Ukrainian Crisis and Russian Regional Order.” The Soviet and Post-Soviet Review 44: 76-95.

About the author: Tanvi Chauhan is a global studies scholar from the US-based Troy University. She is specialist on the MENA and Eurasia politico-military and security theaters. 

Fundamental legacy of The Nuremberg and Tokyo Trials (1945-1948)

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Fundamental legacy of The Nuremberg and Tokyo Trials (1945-1948)

Picture Nuremberg trials.

By Wedyan AlMadani .

These – rather unfortunate – days some voices in Europe are trying, in a quite ahistorical fashion, to question the very fundaments of the antifascist legacy. Dangerous and highly destructive equitation attempts are on the way. Still, this legacy is what finally made the Old continent human and peaceful – a role model to admire and for the rest of us to follow. 

Such regrettable equitations make it worth to revisit the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials, which are essential pillars of the Human Rights charter brokered right after under the OUN auspices. Consequently, a very legacy of these trials is extraordinary and far reaching. It represents a core building material of the house called Modern Europe – something that the Director of International Institute IFIMES, Dr. Zijad Becirovic repeatedly stresses in his media appearances, as one of the bold but rather rare voices of the right direction and historical responsibility awareness today. 

Conclusively, the importance of tribunals is hard to overstate. Its reaffirmation today is needed like never since the very end of the WWII.

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Noam Chomsky once said, “For the powerful, crimes are those that others commit.” This was not the case for Germany and Japan post-World War II. The victorious Allied powers established the first international criminal tribunals to prosecute political and military officials for war crimes and other atrocities committed during wartime. The four major Allied governments; the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the Soviet Union, set up the International Military Tribunal (Nuremberg trials) in Nuremberg, Germany, to prosecute and punish the major war criminals of the European Axis. 

The tribunal presided over a combined trial of senior Nazi political and military leaders, as well as several Nazi organizations. The less-recognized International Military Tribunal for the Far East was created (Tokyo trials) in Tokyo, Japan, soon after. The tribunal presided over a series of trials of senior Japanese political and military leaders to prosecute and punish Far Eastern war criminals. The Nuremberg and Tokyo trials differed in several important aspects including their origins, compositions, and jurisdictions. 

     The Allied powers established the policy that international tribunals in Europe and in the Far East after World War II would focus on, most importantly, a decision on individual criminal liability for crimes against peace. It will be a bold step toward organizing an international legal system for discouraging future aggressors and averting the sort of war devastation that the Axis aggression had caused. 

     In June 1945, the day of the signing of the United Nations Charter at the San Francisco Conference, delegations of the US, the UK, France, and the Soviet Union, negotiated in London on the regulating principles for prosecuting war criminals. 

In August 1945, the four major Allied governments signed the 1945 London Agreement, which established the International Military Tribunal. The Nuremberg Charter stipulated prosecution of the following crimes: Crimes Against Peace (planning and making war), War Crimes (responsibility for crimes during war), Crimes Against Humanity (racial persecution), and Conspiracy to Commit other Crimes. 

The tribunal held its opening session in the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg, and the trials lasted from November 1945 to October 1946. Twenty-two Nazi political and military leaders were indicted, including Hermann Goering, Rudolph Hess, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Alfred Rosenberg, and Albert Speer. The tribunal found nineteen individual defendants guilty and sentenced them to punishments that ranged from death by hanging to fifteen years of imprisonment. Three defendants were found that they are not guilty, one committed suicide before the trial, and one did not stand trial due to physical or mental illness.

     Unlike the International Military Tribunal, the International Military Tribunal for the Far East was not created by an international agreement, but it nonetheless emerged from international agreements to prosecute Japanese war criminals. By spring 1945, the war in Europe had ended but the war with Japan was continuing at the time the Potsdam Declaration was signed. 

     At the following Moscow Conference, held in December 1945, the US, the UK, and the Soviet Union with affirmation from China agreed to a basic structure to occupy Japan. 

     In January 1946, the US issued a special proclamation to establish the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. Similar to the Nuremberg Charter, it outlined the composition, functions, and jurisdiction of the tribunal. The Charter provided for the US to assign judges to the International Military Tribunal for the Far East from the countries that had signed Japan’s instrument of surrender: Australia, Canada, China, France, the Netherlands, the Soviet Union, the UK, and the US, as well as British India and the Philippines. 

     From May 1946 to November 1948, the International Military Tribunal for the Far East oversaw the prosecution of twenty-five Japanese political and military leaders. The Emperor of Japan Hirohito and his family were not indicted (he even retained his position on the throne, albeit with diminished status). The International Military Tribunal for the Far East found all defendants guilty and sentenced them to punishments ranging from death to seven years’ imprisonment.

     The Nuremberg and Tokyo trials contributed significantly to the development of international criminal law and served as models for a new series of international criminal tribunals that were established in the 1990s.  The conclusions of the Nuremberg trials also served as models for the Genocide Convention 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 and paved the way for the establishment of the International Criminal Court. 

In conclusion, the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials legacy itself is extraordinary, and its importance is hard to overstate. We cannot forget that the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials and, fifty years later, the establishment of the International Criminal Court aimed to safeguard peace in all regions of the world. The achievements of these great trials in elevating justice and law over inhumanity and war give promise for a better tomorrow by paving the way to deal with international crimes. 

About the author: Wedyan AlMadani is a Saudi scholar. She is Jeddah-based Legal Advisor, and specialist in international law and relations.

References

Bard, M. G. (2002). The Nuremberg trials. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press.

Brook, T. (2001). The Tokyo Judgment and the Rape of Nanking. The Journal of Asian Studies, 60(3), 673-700. doi:10.2307/2700106

Carnegie Endowment for international peace. (n.d.). The Potsdam declaration: August 2, 1945. New York.

Cho, J. M., Roberts, L. M., & Spang, C. W. (2016). Transnational encounters between Germany and Japan: perceptions of partnership in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

Crawford, J. (2012). Brownlies Principles of Public International Law. Oxford University Press.

Janis, M. W., & Noyes, J. E. (2006). Cases and commentary on international law. St. Paul, MN: Thomson/West.

Piccigallo, P. R. (2011). The Japanese on Trial: Allied War Crimes Operations in the East, 1945-1951. Austin: University of Texas Press.

Reydams, L., Wouters, J., & Ryngaert, C. (2012). The Politics of Establishing International Criminal Tribunals. International Prosecutors, 6–80. doi: 

10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199554294.003.0002

Taulbee, J. L. (2018). War Crimes and Trials: A Primary Source Guide. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, LLC.

United Nations, the Charter of the International Military Tribunal (Nuremberg Charter) retrieved from: https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/documents/atrocity-crimes/Doc.2_Charter%20of%20IMT%201945.pdf

United Nations, International Military Tribunal for the Far East (Tokyo Charter) retrieved from: https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/documents/atrocity-crimes/Doc.3_1946%20Tokyo%20Charter.pdf

[1] Reydams, L., Wouters, J., & Ryngaert, C. (2012). The Politics of Establishing International Criminal Tribunals. International Prosecutors, 6–80.

[2] Bard, M. G. (2002). The Nuremberg trials. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press.

[3] Piccigallo, P. R. (2011). The Japanese on Trial: Allied War Crimes Operations in the East, 1945-1951. Austin: University of Texas Press.

[4]Carnegie Endowment for international peace. (n.d.). The Potsdam declaration: August 2, 1945. New York.

[5]See as in reference 2. 

[6]See as in reference 1.

[7] Taulbee, J. L. (2018). War Crimes and Trials: A Primary Source Guide. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, LLC.

[8] United Nations, International Military Tribunal for the Far East (Tokyo Charter).

[9] The former Yugoslavia in 1993 and Rwanda in 1994.

Dr. Draheim welcomed Ambassador But

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Dr. Draheim welcomed Ambassador But

Plenipotentiary Dr. Antje Draheim and Ambassador Franc But – Picture by Embassy of Slovenia to Germany

Thursday, 30 January 2020, Representation of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Berlin, Germany: Slovenian Ambassador Franc But encountered Dr. Antje Draheim, Plenipotentiary of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania to the German Federation, at the premises of the Land’s Representation. 

During the tête-à-tête both parties expressed the mutual interest in cooperation in the fields of tourism, logistics, shipbuilding, medicine, health care, digitisation and start-ups.

For further information:
Representation of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania to the German Federation: https://www.regierung-mv.de/Landesregierung/stk/Landesvertretung/2.-MV-Sommerabend

Ambassador Hasanov introduced to the Saarland

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Ambassador Hasanov introduced to the Saarland

Ambassador Hasanov and Premier Hans – Picture by Embassy of Azerbaijan to Germany.

Tuesday, 28 January 2020, The Saarland: Premier Tobias Hans received the Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ramin Hasanov, for an inaugural visit to the State Chancellery.

After the official photo session and the entry in the guest book of the Saarland, the head of the Saarland government and his Azerbaijani guest held a discussion on current political and economic topics. Prior to this, Ambassador Ramin Hasanov visited the German Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI).

Afterwards he attended a business lunch at the invitation of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce. Afterwards he paid a visit to the Historical Museum Saar and took a look at the current exhibition “The 1920s”.

After studying at the Faculty of International Relations and International Law at the University of Baku, Ramin Hasanov began his diplomatic career in 1999 as an attaché in his country’s Foreign Ministry.

This was followed by posts at the Azerbaijani embassies in Germany and Switzerland. Before his appointment as his country’s ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany, Ramin Hasanov was head of the Department of International Law and Treaties in the Foreign Ministry in Baku until 2016.

For further information:


Government of the Saarland: https://www.saarland.de/SID-EE4E320D-32C96C9E/6767_253302.htm

Embassy of Azerbaijan to Germany: http://berlin.mfa.gov.az/news/4/3640

Tanger meets Bremen

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Tanger meets Bremen

Delegation of Morocco welcomed by State Counsellor Dr. Olaf Joachim (Bremen, in the middle) – Picture by Bremen Senatpressestelle.

20-23 January 2020, Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, Germany: A delegation from the region of Tangier, Kingdom of Morocco, paid a working visit to Bremen and Bremerhaven. The group from the North African state visited upon the invitation of the Chamber of Commerce in the two-city state.

The programme included a visit to the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DKFI), the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the container terminal and the Thuenen Institute of Sea Fisheries and Fishery Ecology in Bremerhaven. Bremen’s representative to the federal government, State Councillor Dr. Olaf Joachim, welcomed the group for a meeting at the UNESCO World Heritage Site Bremen City Hall.

The State Councillor: “It is part of Bremen’s self-image to maintain diverse contacts with various partners near and far. Bremen companies are already active in the Tangier region. Finding ways to intensify these contacts for the benefit of the people is our goal”.

On Monday, 20 January, the delegation had met with State Councillor for Economic Affairs Sven Wiebe. The meeting was about mutual ideas of the regions and their economic structure. The Tangier-Tétouan-Al Hoceima region has good contacts with France, Spain and China and is now looking to diversify. The North-West Region, Bremen and the Tangier-Tétouan-Al Hoceima Region have several similar industries (logistics, port, aviation, automotive, food) – therefore Bremen was chosen for this visit.

The hope of the four-day visit, organised by the Bremen Chamber of Commerce – Chamber of Industry and Commerce for Bremen and Bremerhaven, is to identify concrete project ideas for cooperation at the end of the visit and to agree on how to proceed. Possible options would be, for example, a return visit, projects in the field of training and skilled workers as well as research and development activities.

For further information:
Government of Bremen: https://www.senatspressestelle.bremen.de/detail.php?gsid=bremen146.c.329493.de&asl=bremen02.c.730.de&fbclid=IwAR0AeLAxkh7cG40_tRKLMetJgBqjhJ7tS_nRO1kVqTOxhesRWg7jP5s9R9s

Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco to Germany: http://www.botschaft-marokko.de/front

Bavaria solidifies ties to Russia

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Bavaria solidifies ties to Russia

President Vladimir Putin and Premier Dr. Markus Söder – Picture by Bayerische Staatskanzlei.

28-29 January 2020, Moscow, Russian Federation: Premier Dr. Markus Söder travelled to Moscow for a working visit. He was accompanied by Federal and European Affairs Minister Dr. Florian Herrmann and Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger from the Munich Security Conference. 

On Wednesday, 29 January, Premier Dr. Markus Söder paid a visit to the tomb of the unknown soldier, and laid a wreath at the memorial site (Aleksandrovsky sad, 125009 Moscow).

Mayor of Moscow Sergej Sobjanin and Premier Dr. Söder – Picture by Bayerische Staatskanzlei.

At 11.00 a.m., Dr. Söder encountered the Mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin, in the City Hall for a discussion on bilateral affairs. 

In the framework of the visit Dr. Markus Söder met the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, for a meeting on intensifying relations between the two countries. 

For further information Government of Bavaria: https://www.bayern.de/ministerpraesident-dr-soeder-reist-nach-moskau/https://www.facebook.com/bayern/videos/211887533307707/

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