PEDRO MZILENI | peace mission necessary to resist Nato’s imperialist agenda

The week of June 12-16 2023 will mark 68 weeks since the conflict began in Ukraine, just as the world was recovering from the pandemic. The economic connectedness of Russia and Ukraine with the rest of the world has resulted in a global living-cost crisis. Without Ukraine’ primary foods such as grain, and Russia’s energy options,  many economies have been crippled.

Although Germany and Japan are allies of the G-7 Nato alliance and support Ukraine, they remain trading partners with Russia. Japan signed the recent G7 Hiroshima Summit statement that condemns Russia, yet it continues to purchase oil from Moscow. Germany has spent €6bn (about R120bn) by April 2023 purchasing Russian oil and gas – yet it has sent military aid and weapons to Ukraine.

These examples showcase the nuances underlying the international relations of the modern era. Countries can adopt strong ideological positions and political alliances to achieve their geopolitical ends, but people’s livelihoods ultimately come first. In this regard, the question of trade relations, exchange rates and living costs serves as a paradigm to view the geopolitical landscape. This is precisely why Donald Trump’s war talk against China remained symbolic given the dependence of American jobs and food prices on China’s industries.

The African peace mission to Kyiv-Moscow announced by the presidents of Comoros, Uganda, Egypt, Senegal, Zambia, and SA should therefore be seen in this light. The persistence of this war and its possible escalation towards a nuclear war with China will cripple Africa and her people.

Since the pandemic began in SA, the prices of bread, electricity, fuel and maize have increased significantly. Rates of unemployment and poverty have also increased. These issues, coupled with the global recession under way, become life-threatening for the African majority who won’t be able to help themselves. Internal domestic measures adopted to rescue the situation are also unsustainable.

In SA, inflation targeting mechanisms implemented by the Reserve Bank, a declining currency, and persistent power cuts are driving people into poverty. The only option is to embark on an international peace mission to try to secure positive outcomes for the African economy. If these livelihood problems are allowed to continue in these countries, they are likely to cause domestic instability and changes of government. This is one of the biggest fears facing these African heads of states.

But the fundamental problem behind this conflict is that these African countries consistently refused to be swayed by Ukraine’s imperialist agenda.

These African nations have taken non-aligned positions at the UN calling for a ceasefire, peace, negotiation, and justice. They have refused to condone Nato’s proxy war at the expense of livelihoods.

Nato’s racist geopolitical agenda  would maintain a unipolar world dominated by Western finance capital. This neocolonial arrangement has succeeded in creating “international” bodies such as the International Criminal Court (ICC) to target leaders, states and groups who stand opposed to imperialism.

From March 2014 to February 2022, the Ukraine government has been driving a racist genocidal attack in the Donbas region against Russian people. Zelensky referred to this Russian population in Donbas as “not humans”. No prosecutor from the ICC initiated charges against Ukraine and Nato for these war crimes – similar to how it remained quiet on Nato’s invasion of Libya.

Russia then decided to initiate a special military operation in Ukraine to defend the Russian-speaking population in Donbas. Suddenly, the ICC and imperialist institutions began to be engaged in aggressive condemnation – which has resulted in an unnecessary war that is crippling all economies.

The Africa peace mission scheduled must use this opportunity to call for peace, reconstruction and justice. The ordinary people of Ukraine and Russia are at the receiving end of this war and harm is being caused in the Global South. Yes, peace must prevail but the truth behind the imperialist agenda of Empire must be exposed for justice to triumph.