The Global South media on the war in Ukraine (26.05 – 02.06)

1. Perspectives on conflict resolution

 

Kompas, an Indonesian national newspaper,  published on its website on May 30 the article “Ukraine Affirms No Need for Peace Mediators”, supplemented by a video commentary. According to it, the Ukrainian authorities chose to reject all the offers to assist the beginning the peace negotiations and intend to continue the hostilities until Russia is forced to comply with the Ukrainian conditions.

 “The Ukraine peace plan is the only way to end Russia’s war in Ukraine and the time for mediation efforts has passed, said a top aide to President Volodymyr Zelensky. Chief diplomatic adviser Ihor Zhovkva told Reuters that Ukraine was not interested in a ceasefire that would allow Russia  to retain its territorial gains. His country prefers implementation of the Ukrainian peace plan, which demands a complete withdrawal of Russian troops.”

https://video.kompas.com/watch/620567/ukraina-tegaskan-tak-butuh-mediator-damai

(Translated from Indonesian by Google Translate)

 

2. Economic problems caused by the war in Ukraine

 The Hindu, an Indian English-language daily newspaper, published on June 1 the article “India-Russia joint venture on Vande Bharat trains hits hurdle”, in which it was reported that due to Western sanctions imposed on Russia, following the Russia-Ukraine war, the Russian-based corporation Transmashholding (TMH) is facing problems in the relations with spare parts suppliers for the Vande Bharat trains. TMH won the bid for the production, supply and maintenance of 120 Vande Bharat Express trains.

“The joint venture (JV) between Russian transportation giant Transmashholding (TNH) and Indian public sector undertaking (PSU) Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) to manufacture Vande Bharat Express train sets, valued at nearly $3.63 billion, has run into problems. The issue involves sanctions imposed on Russia, following the Russia-Ukraine war, by multiple countries that are spare parts suppliers for Vande Bharat trains. The Indian Railways awarded the JV deal to the TMH-RVNL consortium after it emerged as the lowest bidder in March earlier this year”. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/manufacture-of-120-vande-bharat-trains-by-tmh-rvnl-consortium-runs-into-troubled-waters/article66916153.ece

 

The Standard, one of the largest newspapers in Kenya, published on June 1 the article “Kenya gets 34,400 tonnes of fertilizer from Russia”. It is stated in the article that 34,400 tonnes of fertilizer received by the Kenyan government as a donation from Russian corporation Uralchem-Uralkali Group will help to increase agriculture production and improve financial situation of the Kenyan farmers.

The government has received 34,400 tonnes of fertiliser in raw form as a donation from Russia to boost agriculture. The fertiliser being discharged at the port of Mombasa will be reformulated to produce 100,200 tonnes and distributed to farmers under the Fertiliser Subsidy Programme through outlets owned by the Kenya National Trading Corporation and National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB). While receiving the donation comprising potash, urea and NPK, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi said the fertiliser will not be sold beyond Sh3,500 per bag.

“This is a great step to address cost of production. President William Ruto is committed to bringing cost of production down. Fertilizer tops the cost of production at 30 per cent,” he said.

The fertiliser will be reformulated and bagged at the Grain Bulk Handlers Limited facility in Mombasa before being transported by Standard Gauge Railway and made available to farmers in the next two weeks. It was donated by the Uralchem-Uralkali Group of Russia and shipped in with the help of the World Food Programme on board Mv BBG Baise.

“The Russian company has committed itself to donating 300,000 tonnes of mineral fertilizer to developing countries to prevent crop loss and spread of famine. The CS said the country now has enough fertilizer and the focus has turned to addressing storage and post-harvest losses. Mr Maksimychev, the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Kenya, said the fertiliser donation will address effects of hunger and malnutrition in Kenya. “Russia has donated the fertiliser to friends to address the challenge of hunger on the ground. It is basically an effort to support friends in Kenya,” he said, adding it will be blended in accordance with Kenyan standards. He said the fertiliser will contribute towards achievement of sustainable development. “The Russian Federation is proud to contribute to this consignment of fertilizers, which are crucial for global agriculture,” he said. https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/business/article/2001474201/kenya-gets-34400-tonnes-of-fertiliser-from-russia

 

3. Impact of the war on the Global South relations with Russia, China and the West

 Le Quotidien d’Oran, a dail French-language Algerian newspaper, headquartered in Oran, Algeria,  published on June 1, the article “Occident: quand la médiacratie légitime l’assassinat politique” (“West: when mediacracy legitimizes political assassination”), in which it is suggested that the Western political circles are breaking the moral rules in order to preserve the Western geopolitical hegemony.

“In recent days, mainstream media in the West have been heavily promoting Putin’s assassination plot. The pretext was provided by the the Ukrainian secret service. It announced, in broad daylight,  that it is trying to accomplish this project. Ant it doesn’t seem to have any uneasy feeling or doubts about such a decision. Vadym Skibitsky, the deputy director of the Ukrainian military intelligence service (the GUR) said in his interview with the German newspaper Die Welt, on May 25,  that the death of the Russian president has become at the moment his “top priority”. And it was no mistake or misunderstanding, because to make sure that his remark was noticed, he repeated it the same day again”.

“But this interview just provided an occasion  (or rather the pretext) to resume the promotion of this idea. It is not the first time that this issue has been covered in the media, it has been transmitted through the main Western media in a loop. Western propaganda has not been confined with  repeating this message, it has been disseminating it on a large scale. It has been trying to gain an advantage from this criminal project and make it legitimate. Worse, it has been trying to make it look common.

“Couldn’t Putin be responsible for this war? Isn’t he a dictator? “It is known, they say, the death of a dictator changes everything, because his power is absolute and that he is determined to go on with this this war”. “Isn’t Putin also charged with a crime against humanity and therefore a terrorist?” These are two arguments used for justification of this project in the TV propaganda.  The experts of all kinds are stimulating the viewers’ imagination in order to make them certain that if Putin is a terrorist, his execution should be considered to be a matter of self-defense. Moreover, his death would bring the end of the war, would spare innocent people’s lives and that therefore his assassination would be…moral (sic!). I don’t invent anything. These are the arguments exploited in the media. On one of the shows, a recognized representative of the elite of French political thought, Dominique Moisi, a special adviser to the Institut Montaigne, explained in a sweet tone, that there is no contradiction.

“The best solution”

The the highest point of this campaign was reached when Hélène Carrère d’Encausse, the Perpetual secretary of the French Academy, temple of French culture, supported these arguments and explained to us that it is “the best solution” for everyone, including Russia. It is no longer a question of international law which makes the assassination of a head of state contrary to the principle of state sovereignty and to the law of international relations. It is no longer a question of the fundamental basis of general principles of law which forbid anyone to take justice into his own hands. The West proclaims Lynch’s law and justifies it. One could argue that these are just discrepancies, appeared due to the exacerbation of the conflict in Ukraine and the hatred that results from it. But we should not deceive ourselves. No, it is not, alas, quite the contrary: political assassination has long been a traditional method for maintenance of Western domination.

The West is sick.

The West is sick, completely sick with the fear of losing its global hegemony. When it feels it necessary, it just ignores moral rules. “The end justifies the means”, – these words remain his main motto, and ultimately his real moral principle and his way of crisis management. And nowadays, it is the President of the Republic of the Russian Federation who has been declared the target of a political assassination project. I have intentionally written down this long title of Vladimir Poutin to  emphasize the enormity of this plan. In order to conceal its atrocity from the public opinion, the terms “dictator”, “Putin’s regime”, “mafia state” are being deliberately used in the Western media, to avoid mentioning the president of the Republic .

It allows to dismiss for ideological reasons all the requirements of the international law, which prescribe that a head of state in office cannot be attacked because he represents national sovereignty. By legitimizing Kiev’s horrid plan to assassinate President Putin, by “understanding” and justifying it, both the Western media and the Western governments are becoming accomplices of this project. We have faced with a flagrant violation of international law which should worry the International Criminal Court”.

“I reread this article, and I realize that it is an indictment against the West. But can we do otherwise? When will the West finally try to become a civilization among other civilizations, and no longer a synonym of yoke and oppression?” http://www.lequotidien-oran.com/index.php?news=5321577 (Translated from French by IISWU)

 

Dawn, the largest English newspaper in Pakistan, published on May 31 the article “Never say die”, in which it is stated that the US is using the same tools to preserve its global domination as in the time of the Cold war.

”Kissinger, often viewed as a war criminal, marked his 100th birthday last Saturday amid the usual accolades of the high and mighty, alongside a few barbs from others with a more realistic view of what his realpolitik entailed. Those hosting the soirées, however, tend to overlook the blood on the hand that cuts the cake. Kissinger served as national security adviser and secretary of state in the Nixon and Ford regimes, and had been a consultant to the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. His advice has been sought by every US government since he last held public office in the mid-1970s. In many ways, he is a key architect of the world in which we live. It may be fairly remarkable that his intellect remains intact, and his recent interventions on questions such as Russia/Ukraine and China/Taiwan are more nuanced than the bluster of the Biden administration”.

“The ultimate aim in both cases, however, is pretty much the same: maintaining US hegemony in a world where alternatives exist. Kissinger faced a somewhat similar dilemma during his years in power — it isn’t uncommon to view him as effectively a co-president in what has been dubbed the Nixinger administration”.

“Contrast those underhanded compliments with the opinion of the late celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, who wrote in 2001: “Once you’ve been to Cambodia, you’ll never stop wanting to beat Henry Kissinger to death with your bare hands … and you will never understand why he is not sitting in dock at The Hague next to [Serbian leader Slobodan] Milosevic.”

https://www.dawn.com/news/1757023/never-say-die

International Institute for study of the Consequences of the war in Ukraine