Rise of the Iron Curtain and UN’s 75^th

From time to time, the United Nations, which is observing its 75^th anniversary this year, makes a noteworthy statement that properly assesses the situation in the Russian empire that also benefits Ukraine and the other former captive nations.

A few years ago the vaunted global institution located on Manhattan’s Eastside declared Russia to be an aggressor state because of its invasion of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea. (See my blogpost on December 20, 2016, https://thetorncurtain1991.blogspot.com/2016_12_18_archive.html)

The United Nations, an institution that does not readily censure a member-state as powerful as Moscow, had officially denounced Russia, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, as an “occupier” of foreign lands just like Nazi Germany and other tyrannical empires were – my clarification.

Last week, while discussing the deplorable and dangerous situation in Belarus, Anaïs Marin, UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus, at the Urgent Debate on the situation of human rights in Belarus Human Rights Council 45th session, urged the global community to help the small country before an iron curtain again descends on Eastern Europe.

The reference was to the infamous iron curtain, the impenetrable barrier between East and West, between Soviet Russia and Europe, between the free world and the captive world, between good and evil, that was erected by the Kremlin at the end of World War II. It was among several visible signs of Soviet Russian oppression along with the red star and hammer & sickle.

After the war, Britain’s Prime Minister Winston Churchill coined the well-known phrase in his Fulton speech: “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an Iron Curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of central and Eastern Europe.”

Until 1991, when the former captive nations declared their independence from Soviet Russian subjugation, the iron curtain meant no one on the eastern side can leave the so-called workers’ paradise. Indeed, those countries’ ultimate bold move to freedom and democracy after centuries of domination was hailed by many as the destruction of the nefarious iron curtain.

I created The Torn Curtain 1991 blog in 2012 as a signal that the Kremlin’s wall has not been demolished as many regarded because Russia’s desire for aggression, belligerence, invasion, subjugation and repression has not abated. The iron curtain has merely been torn by the newly-independent states and is subject to repair by Moscow in order to perpetuate its 1,000-year-old empire.

Thus the insinuation by Anaïs Marin.

Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland and other former captive nations have made their break from Russian dominance though they are regularly compelled to fight for their independence with Kyiv facing a bloody life and death battle with Moscow every day. However, the small, unfortunate captive nation of Belarus, which is administered by the Kremlin’s gauleiter Aleksandr Lukashenko, is still firmly hogtied by Russia. The Belarusian nation has been engaged is its own momentous fight for its national existence since mid-summer. Hundreds of thousands of people have faced Lukashenko’s well-armed militia with thousands of peaceful protesters beaten and arrested.

Marin said in her address that the “catastrophic human rights situation” in Belarus that continues to “deteriorate.” She charged that “the authorities have denied Belarusian citizens their legitimate right to participate in public life.”

“The whole world has seen how the repressive capacities of the law-enforcement and judicial systems are used in Belarus to harass, threaten, punish or otherwise silence any dissenting voice. Deaf to domestic and foreign calls to engage in an honest dialogue with the opposition, the Authorities cynically brought charges against members of the Presidium of the Coordination Council,” Marin stated.

She concluded by urging the free world to stand up and be counted in Belarusian nation’s corner: “I call on the authorities to shed full light on these tragic events and to guarantee the right of victims of torture to obtain redress. Given the abuse they suffered, these victims are in such a state of post-traumatic shock that they still require urgent humanitarian aid.

“Excellencies, Let’s not allow another Iron Curtain to descend on the European continent. Border closures will not stop international scrutiny. In view of the seriousness of the reported abuses, let me recall that human rights violations are not an internal affair: they are of interest to the international community. I therefore reiterate my call on the Belarusian leadership to reason, and to exercise restraint. The only possible way out of this crisis is dialogue, which must be open, honest, and inclusive, involving all stakeholders, including in particular opposition and civil society leaders.

“To conclude: Belarusian society has changed considerably over the past years, and in recent months it developed a capacity for civil resilience, and inventive ways to demand respect for human rights. Belarusians showed how eager they are to see, and take part in, democratic changes, in order to build a better country for themselves and their children.”

Marin’s statement on September 18 received a lot of media attention all over the world. Sadly, though, since then her words have evaporated amid the noise of other global issues. But they are remarkable and must be remembered along with Churchill’s prophetic homily. They are also extraordinary because they were uttered in the United Nations headquarters by a UN official. They should be remembered because they warn of another Russian-built iron curtain that can rise in Europe and enslave peoples for generations to come.

For the record, the 71st General Assembly adopted on Monday, December 19, 2016, a resolution on human rights in Crimea, titled “Situation of human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (Ukraine),” which was initiated by Ukraine and supported by the UNGA Third Committee. Seventy-three UN member-states, including Ukraine, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and others backed the document, 76 abstained, and Russia plus 22 others voted against it. The resolution cited four times the word “occupier” in relation to Russia’s enslavement of Crimea. Most importantly, the resolution condemned “the temporary occupation of part of the territory of Ukraine —the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (hereinafter “Crimea”) — by the Russian Federation.” It also notably reaffirmed its “non-recognition” of Russia’s unlawful annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea after a fabricated and rigged referendum. It’s on the record for future generations to read.

Hopefully, the member-states speaking at the General Debate of the 75^th UN General Assembly that is currently underway will remember to promote the permanent freedom and independence of the former captive nations by taking a sledge hammer to Moscow’s rising iron curtain.