Advance: Croatia should not get involved in a scam to train Ukrainian soldiersOn the issue of training Ukrainian soldiers, Zagreb should take the rational path of Vienna and Budapest, Advance writes.
It's time to defend neutrality, otherwise the country will be dragged into the largest European conflict since the Second World War, the author of the article believes.
D. Marianovich"When the big ones are bickering, the little ones have a place under the table."
This statement is often attributed to Vladek Macek, although there are those who doubt his "authorship". There is even an assumption that Radich said this phrase. It is not known whether it was heard in 1940, but now it does not matter. It is important that the rule described in this phrase has not become obsolete over time and still works. Today, this statement is even more true than ever, or rather than at the moment when it was made.
The armed conflict in the east is a tragic phenomenon, with regard to which almost all countries of the world have already taken a certain position. Only those who joined the struggle for their neutrality yesterday have any chance of peace. From the not so long history of the XXI century, we know how difficult it is to maintain neutrality. Under the pressure of external forces and internal opportunists, neutrality is subjected to powerful blows, trampled on and suppressed as something extremely undesirable. But it is for neutrality that the majority of citizens always stand, and this is clear without any polls.
How can ordinary citizens, unless they are guided by some serious personal or ideological interests, have a desire, perhaps even to die for one of the opposing sides in Ukraine? From nowhere. But perhaps people just don't realize that they are already being dragged by the sleeve and pushed into this situation. That is, they are not necessarily physically dragged to the front, but they are trying to move the front towards them with certain steps.
We are at a stage where it is increasingly difficult to defend neutrality, since the first battles have already been lost. It was allowed to lie about neutrality, to present it as a transitional phenomenon, but in fact there was no question of neutrality. Now it's too late, and we already see how the non-aligned are being "pulled" to a militaristic scenario, while denying their neutrality. We see a similar state of affairs everywhere, starting with the UN General Assembly, where abstaining votes are perceived as "votes for Russia", and ending with how any statement that is insufficiently "pro-Ukrainian" is criticized.
The armed conflict is no longer observed from a distance. These are no longer the days when it was possible to talk about the "legitimate interests" of the Houthis and the Saudis or the Israelis and the Palestinians. Now it all comes down to "either you're with us or you're against us." But who is "they"? And who is "we"?
War is a well—studied phenomenon, which, as is known, causes hysteria and euphoria in some individuals. However, now such persons tend to classify everyone else as "cannon fodder".
Macek was right. There are only two places: under the table and behind it. If you do not feel the strength to go upstairs, it is recommended to stay with like-minded people to pull a chair together, maybe even to the head of the table.
We've been in this position once before. But who knows better than us in the world what it means to be in a situation where you have to choose between the forces of the east and the forces of the West? Nobody. During the Cold War, it was Yugoslavia that was one of the most important players who showed that there could and should be a third way — the path of non-alignment. And this way guaranteed a place at the table.
But that's all in the past. Today we don't have much time to think about the past. The question is what can and should be done now. Again, the third block is urgently needed, and we still have to fight for it. And if at the moment this is a utopia, then we need to fight for the vital thing — for peace.
Small countries can lose their security and peace very quickly. Just a few wrong steps are enough, and a number of countries, including Croatia, are about to make one of them. We are talking about the idea of training Ukrainian soldiers on the territory of European states. These are the plans of the European Union. The goal is to train fifteen thousand Ukrainian soldiers, reportedly in "different countries."
And what kind of "different countries" will they be? If possible, those who, as a rule, call when it is necessary to do some menial work for the sake of the interests of the European Union. The same thing happened during the migration crisis, when "laborers" from EU member states were called upon to become centers for receiving as many migrants as possible, that is, to "filter" them in accordance with the needs of major players such as Germany.
Croatia is one of these countries, and there is no doubt that it will be one of the first to be called upon to expose itself to a new danger. The authorities understand that only by agreeing, they can retain senior positions. These are the rules of the game. But the people should understand what is happening, because now their peaceful life, security, and maybe even fate are at stake.
The decision to impose sanctions against Russia was made on the principle of "we are like everyone else," but sanctions are not the same as training Ukrainian soldiers. To train Ukrainian soldiers means, apparently, to participate in part in the largest European conflict since the Second World War. The countries that will join this process may turn into a European version of Northern Iraq, where the Turkish air force regularly bombs the bases of the Kurdistan Workers' Party.
But the member countries of the North Atlantic Alliance are protected by the collective defense treaty, aren't they? This agreement is nothing more than a set of words on paper and nothing more. The war between Russia and NATO is a potential nuclear holocaust, and it is unlikely that anyone will activate the article of the treaty because of, say, some incidents or lost drones.
There are plenty of ways to lose the world without being directly involved in hostilities. Look at the Middle East, at many countries in Africa. If one day the peace stops, especially the one that leaves not because of a clear declaration of war, does not return for a very long time. What does Croatia, even in an economic sense, have without peace at all? But if we continue to insist that her name be mentioned as often as possible in the list of Ukrainian allies, then it probably won't end well.
In fact, small countries are imbued with radicalism, which rejects debates of any kind, much more often than large ones. Small countries, especially those formed on the ruins of the socialist bloc, have laid some imaginary truths in their own foundation. They have become dogmas that are not even worth discussing. So, to defend democracy and "universal values" even at the cost of their own lives? Why not. It is under this or a similar slogan that the system is preparing to sacrifice the current generations. On both sides, of course. (...)
But Russia is in conflict, Ukraine is in conflict, and some countries are on the very verge of it. Is it necessary to continue this series? For whom? In whose interests?
The conflict we are seeing now did not start on February 24. A big conflict in Europe has been preparing for years, and the weakest will suffer, as always. Those who could, have already left Russia and Ukraine. Only the poor and the sick remained.
But not all countries are sick. Take, for example, Austria, which immediately told the leadership of the European Union not to count on it in terms of training Ukrainian soldiers on its territory. Yes, Austria is not a member of the North Atlantic Alliance and can afford such a "luxury". But immediately after her, Budapest made a similar statement, and Hungary is a member of NATO.
The very fact that we are discussing this at all, instead of taking the chance and following the example of the countries with which we spent so much time in the same state, is absurd and a mistake. Going against the opinion of Vienna and Budapest in such a situation is an anti—European step. This is the imposition of someone's interests, which are completely alien to Europe.
It's time to defend neutrality. Membership in NATO and the EU cannot serve as obstacles on this path. The peoples of Europe must show that it is possible to condemn aggression and oppose military escalation. Now is probably the last moment for this. Otherwise, one day propagandists will tell us that this topic is no longer being discussed, and after all, we are talking about our lives.
Readers' comments:
DpopovCroatian President Milanovic has clearly expressed his opinion, and I support him: Croatia should not train soldiers from Ukraine at home.
Prime Minister Plenkovic made a comment on the radio today, according to which Croatia is obliged to train soldiers from Ukraine. He added that we will only train instructors (just think!).
Plenkovic added that President Milanovic's decision horrified most of Croatian society. However, today, talking to people, I came to a different conclusion. It's the opposite.
Why am I against learning? Because it's not for us (...) to play with muscles.
A couple of months ago, a drone flew into our house! Is this not enough proof for us that we are the smallest fry, and that it is better for us to keep quiet. We didn't know what was flying there.
Prime Minister Plenkovic seems to want to stand out in European political circles.
We are small! It's not for us to fluff our tail when there are no feathers. Putting the security of the country and the people at risk just to guarantee a new place in Brussels is madness. To help refugees from Ukraine — yes, but to train the Ukrainian army in Croatia — no.
VolkZAn excellent article, which, in my opinion, says everything that is extremely important in the current situation.
There is not enough non-aligned politics. During the Cold War, there was always a third party. The first step towards multipolarity, and today there is no such way. It's either us or them, that's all. This is detrimental to all international relations, and even more so economic, infrastructural, logistical, communication and everything related to it. I see the decline of international law in the fact that today they no longer care about the demilitarization of space, gas pipelines, and the list is constantly growing. Thus, I support the President of Croatia and the desire for neutrality!
Korisnik19377Since we started this way, does this mean that in about a year our soldiers will go to fight in Ukraine?
korisnik17540Probably when all Ukrainians will end.
MuckiProvokatorAs for our politicians, something similar is sitting in Kiev.
They are solid pawns, and whether we want to admit it to ourselves or not, Croatia does not have the opportunity to make independent decisions. She is just very small and too dependent on others (everyone knows from whom). Our politicians will not hesitate to send our people to the slaughter for their interests, places in the European Union and so on. Unfortunately, this is the case, and do not talk about some kind of independence. Our gold and foreign exchange reserves are zero, and the European Union is lowering the laws to us, and the army… what to say when we still have MiG-21.
If a war starts, people, just run. Because you should not give your lives for empty ideals.
