Crimea: Right for Self-Determination or Memory Losses Striking Germans

[DV RULES]

Russia and the West are divided by deep differences concerning their vision of what’s going on in Ukraine. The West believes that the country is going through a transitional period and the incumbent government needs support. Russia defines the events as an anti-constitutional coup.

The West does not even bother to recognize the new authorities in Kiev and treats the Yatsenyuk «interim» government as if it were the government of the United States or Germany. The West keeps on reiterating that the Ukraine’s territorial integrity should be guaranteed and scare with new Yugoslavia emerging in Europe as if it was not the West but someone else who dismembered the Yugoslavian state and gave green light to starting wars on its territory. Let me remember that Hans Dietrich Gensher, then Minister of Foreign Affairs, was the first politician to recognize the independence of republics that were parts of Yugoslavia. Being the right hand man of Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who united Germany, he kept in high esteem the right of peoples for self-determination. The West has defended this right, including the right of secession; referendums have been used many times to define final solutions. That’s how South Sudan and Eritrea became independent countries. The leading Western states believed that the division of a country based on the results of referendum was a clue to political crisis settlement. If it were Uyghur or Tibetans, they would be guaranteed strong support in the West. But the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina or Kosovo Serbs are deprived of this right. Kosovo Serbs are told to integrate into the structure of self-proclaimed state not even recognized as yet by a number of European Union member-states. In case of Germany it’s nothing else but egregious hypocrisy, the prosperous and self-complacent country admits the failure of the policy aimed at immigrants’ integration.

With Kosovo experience, Germans know well what immigration is like. In April 2004 the soldiers of Bundeswehr watched indifferently as the slaughter in Mitrovica, Kosovo, went on. The crime was committed by Kosovo Albanians. Former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer made statements calling for making Serbs «stand of their knees». As the President of the United States has recently said the political problems should be resolved on the basis of concepts that democratic leaders adhere to instead of the norms of international law. Felons, for instance, also live according to their own rules constituting concepts of what’s right or wrong. Let’s be grateful to the Nobel Peace Prize winner for making this explanation. Democratic leaders are not confused by schizophrenic reaction of Turkish politicians when it comes to the right of peoples for self-determination: the Turks living in Northern Cyprus do possess such a right, but forget about it if you are a Kurd.

Germans appear to suffer from lapses of memory. The politicians have forgotten the way their country was united. They were adamant and ready to go to any length to achieve this goal making cede the resistant France and Great Britain. They even agreed to introduce the single currency as risky as it was to say farewell to the strong German mark - French President François Mitterrand used the currency argument as the last trump card to prevent the speed gathering unification of Germany.

Any predicaments on the way were overcome those days under the slogan Wir sind das Volk – We are one People! Russia supported the aspiration to unity. Now why Berlin refuses the right of Russians living in Crimea to join the Russians living across the Kerch Strait? The German Chancellor joins the choir of other Western leaders saying that what is happening in Crimea is annexation. Why?

The G7 statement calling on Russia to stop annexing Crimea was made public the next day after the Crimean parliament adopted the declaration of independence. Declaring the referendum illegal (illegitimate) Western politicians are fiddling with the right of those who live in Crimea to express freely trying to deviate the subject and make it a grey area issue. This approach is no better than inappropriate comparison of the referendum with the «Soviet days elections» or the talks about the referendum being unauthorized as held under the barrel of a gun. That’s what is espoused by the Ukrainian experts who have taken the side of the new regime in Kiev. Angela Merkel said that Russia was trying to annex Crimea and it should not be allowed to do it. But could the people of Crimea be allowed to take their fate into their own hands?

Back in history the allies allowed the people of Saar to become part of Germany after a referendum. Those days the allies had other preferences: France wanted to see the Saar as an independent state, Great Britain and the US wanted it to be part of France. Till 1957 the land had been a French protectorate. The people of Saar made their choice. Has this choice become unacceptable for German politicians now?

Natalie Meden - Crimea: Right for Self-Determination or Memory Losses Striking Germans - Strategic Culture Foundation - on-line journal > Crimea: Right for Self-Determination or Memory Losses Striking Germans > Strategic-Culture.org - Strategic Culture Foundation

 

[A.P. Richelieu]

Listened to an "expert" on international conventions, and according to him, a referendum
has to be approved by the government of the country, from where a region wants to depart.
Only exception is if there is significant repression/civil war, in which case a referendum is acceptable.
National Sovereignity is more important than the wish of the people of a local region.

According to this Scotland is a good example of the first condition, and Kosovo on the second.
So is South Sudan and Eritrea.
Don't remember the details about Yugoslavia, so I wont comment that.
Saar referendum was accepted by the allies and Germany so again the first category applies.

Crimea does not fall in either category, according to him.

I personally would put Catalonia in Spain in the same category as Crimea, so for that referendum to be OK there,
Spain has to give its blessing.

What is definitely not acceptable, is for Russia to take over and install a puppy government
followed by annexion.

Based on recent events in Thailand, Egypt and Ukraine there seems to be a need to establish
rules how to handle the if/how/when a democratically elected government can be forced to resign
by popular discontent.

 

[Parul]

"Then there’s the bigger problem: the referendum seems inconsistent with the Ukrainian constitution ..."

I'd say the bigger problem is that the government in Kyiv has acted against the constitution - by coming to power in a coup and then bungling the impeachment of its president through the wrong process and using a rump parliament.

So if Kyiv does not respect the constitution, why should the Crimea?

 

[MarkusS]

Yanukowitch was a russian slave puppet. He was kicked out of office smply because the masses demanded it. He run. So Ukraine got a new government. Thats the simple reality. And germany will not accept the crimean referendum. Why should we? Its irrelevant and the outcome will not be respected from germany or any other european country.

But what if we go that way? A region of Belgium Eupen & Malmedy is mostly german and they want be part of germany. Should we make a referendum there against the will of Belgium?

beside that the Referendum in Crimea is unjust and unfair. It was hushed in in a few days. There is no option to vote, just that you join russia. Unidentified forces beat up any oppossition. Ukrainians and Tartars fear genocide in future. That can not and will not be accepted.