For Ukrainians the world over, the current crisis in Ukraine is tragic. It has captured the attention and concern of thinking people everywhere. It’s been dubbed the greatest threat to world security in the 21st century. World leaders have been weighing in on the matter since late November 2013 when the first grass roots protests began in Euromaidan, Kyiv’s central square.
The protests arose over exiled President Viktor Yanukovych’s refusal to sign an agreement with the European Union as he slithered ever closer to Putin’s Russia. The number and frequency of outraged comments from world leaders, historians, and thinkers has increased in direct proportion to the irresponsible actions of Russia.
Canadians can be proud of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s loud and increasingly pointed, personal attacks on Putin and his actions. Cynics may say he’s playing to the 1.2 million Canadians who claim Ukrainian heritage. Whether or not that is a factor is immaterial in my opinion. In this, he is taking a leadership role that overshadows the apparently weak Obama response. Of course it remains to be seen if all the rhetoric, sanctions and harsh threats of increasingly strong responses penetrate the blockhead Putin.
For a man who seems to care so much about what the world thinks of him: think spending $50 billion on the Sochi Olympics, Vladimir Putin is surprisingly oblivious to what the entire globe is saying to him. Getting kicked out of the G8: big deal. Being sanctioned and denounced by the United Nations General Assembly: another day at the office. Joining the company of Kim Jung-Il, Chavez, Mugabe, al-Qaddafi, Berlusconi and other tyrants: you misunderstand.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel who has spoken on the telephone with Putin several times has told the media that he appears ?delusional.? The now G7 leaders have moved their June meeting from Sochi to Brussels. Putin has brushed off the freezing of assets and restricting travel by Russian politicians as meaningless.
I spent some time listening to a live stream of the UN debate about a resolution urging a peaceful resolution to disputes and conflicts. In virtually every case the individual speakers spoke of the rule of law and the sovereignty of a nation’s borders and the unacceptable actions of Russia.
I don’t want war. I don’t want violence. I don’t want anyone to be hurt. Well, except Putin and his ilk. Better men than him have been assassinated while monsters like this live on in affluence; terrorizing and killing hundreds or thousands of innocents. The corruption of these tyrants is legendary. I wonder if Yanukovych will ever finish building his 8000 square meter mansion on the Black Sea. After all a guy needs a break from his primary palace, doesn’t he?
I’m sick of the corruption, the entitlement, the insanity, the big talk and the impotence of civilized society to fix things. God alone knows what will happen next, from where I sit.
Hazel Anaka’s first novel is Lucky Dog. Visit her website for more information or follow her on Twitter @anakawrites..
