Friday, March 28, 2014

Fond Memories of the USSR in the Village
Zimbabwe Defense Forces drill for Hero's Day.

March 28, 2014
Isdore Guvamombe, Opinion & Analysis
Zimbabwe Herald

FAR away from the land of milk, honey and dust or Guruve, beyond the bogey marshes, picturesque mountains in the land where snow falls in broad daylight and temperatures drop to zero in broad daylight, is a country called Russia, once a huge unitary republic.

Back in the village, as we sat around bonfires, this villager, then a spike-haired primary school pupil, used to cherish his ability to spell out the abbreviation, USSR – the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. It was quite a mouthful and a preserve of the learned. USA or the United States of America was the opposite of USSR in principle and ideology.

Zimbabwe, then a toddler crawling from colonialism, had high regard for the USSR, the country that had through very hard times given training, arms and moral support to the liberation of Zimbabwe, yet the USA and former coloniser Britain had used all tactics to suffocate the people’s struggle.

Even into Zimbabwe’s independence, the USA and its allies continued to subvert the people’s will while Russia remained Zimbabwe’s all-weather friend.

Later the USSR was to dismantle, much to Zimbabwe’s disappointment, a dismantling which much favoured the USA and left the imperialist capitol with a critical advantage, which it has abused over the years to bully all and sundry. But Russia, the core of USSR, has remained steadfast and gaining ground slowly, carefully and surely.

Even three decades into our independence, Russia had to veto a USA and British-sponsored bid to militarily attack Zimbabwe at the UN. What a friend!

The full import of this is that, recent events in Ukraine, the vast swathe called Crimea in particular, have left the USA clutching at straws. The USA seems not to know what hit it. Let’s call it a scoop. Russia scored big and the US was left at sixes and sevens.

When the situation started to change in Ukraine, the US, the self-appointed policeman of the world, intended to take full advantage of the crisis, developing that country to discredit Russia and to reinstate their recently lost status of an undisputed world power. Washington regards Russia as the major obstacle in its way to global domination for only Moscow can successfully resist its attempts to dictate its will to other countries, like Moscow did at the UN in 2009 over Zimbabwe. Thus, the US engagement in Ukraine should be considered as yet another attempt by the White House to dominate in Eurasia and interfere with Russia’s national interests.

The world watched the US actively exploit the UN, OSCE and NATO to condemn Russian’s actions in Ukraine as illegitimate but in the village we have not forgotten that the same NATO was used to murder Libyan leader Muammar Gad-dafi and was almost used against Zimbabwe had it not been for Russia and China.

Even the simplest of all villagers knows that the West itself openly supports the neo-Nazis in Kiev and by doing so spreads racism in Ukraine – a fact consciously ignored by the US and its allies.

The Barack Obama administration tries to achieve its goal by tagging Russia as an “aggressor” and “invader” but how many countries has the US and its allies invaded over the past decade? What gives US the guts and power to want to interfere in Ukraine, which is geographically attached to Russia and far away from US territory?

The US also attempts to bring together an anti-Russia front for the sole purpose of resurrecting the “Iron Curtain” in the same manner it brought together a coalition with Britain to bring the political and economic hiatus to Zimbabwe, through an illegal sanctions regime.

Fortunately for the US, both NATO and the EU are ready to go along with it. Thus it is obvious American politicians don’t care about Ukraine’s future but their own foreign interests, represented by a pro-American Ukraine, working against Russia.

Since Ukraine independence in 1991 the US has worked hard to cast the present situation, which can lead to civil war among the Ukraine’s people and to the rebirth of the “Cold War”. Shame on the US!

The US also attempts to create an international coalition against Russia, like it has done to many countries, including Zimbabwe, and to isolate it from the rest of the world. This has remained one of Uncle Sam’s tactics of rallying its allies on isolating targeted sovereign states.

This step is counter-productive, as one cannot ignore Russia, a leading world power, which also happens to be a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a vital player on the market of power resources.

Moreover, in this scenario both the transnational commercial system and the financial sector, which are closely connected to Russian economy, could slide to the edge of collapse.

There is danger that if the US succeeds in isolating and hounding Russia, the Americans might just become the force capable of effortlessly imposing their will and point of view to anyone. For countries like Zimbabwe, Russia remains critically important as a checkmate.

Without a vibrant Russia, the world will no longer be a place for national sovereignty, for an independent position, for own interests, etc. It will be a mono-superpower world. Very, very, very dangerous!

Therefore, each state – small or big – should realise that its participation in the anti-Russian campaign, crafted by Washington, will inevitably influence its own interests in the international community. In the end the US will impose anything it feels and force it down any country’s throat, unchecked.

Now that the people of Crimea have chosen their destiny, it is critical for the US to genuinely respect the will of the people, like it has always said. Let the US walk its talk of respecting human rights and the people’s wishes.

Back in the village, a man without checkmates is like a loose cannon. No one is safe. In Ukraine, Russia pricked the US’s softest spot.

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