West Should Drop Trade Barriers with Russia, Not Raise Them! (de Volkskrant, The Netherlands)
"If we want to build bridges to the Russian population, we
should counter restrictions on the free movement of people and goods, abolish
visa requirements and remove import tariffs on Russian goods. The gap between "us
and them" is precisely what nationalist politicians like Vladimir Putin like.
Freedom can put an end to that. Freedom can put an end to that. ... The long history
of economic sanctions is one of failure. In contrast, freedom is the most
humane, peaceful, and in the long run, effective strategy for squashing the 'us
versus them' mentality. Let's give freedom a chance."
After
the tragic crash of Flight MH17 over Ukraine, the war propaganda has been in full
swing. Russian media is trying with all its might to minimize Russia's role in
the conflict. The Malaysian plane didn't crash in an area occupied by
pro-Russian separatists - no, it crashed in "eastern Ukraine." Other
Russian media assert that the Ukrainians shot down the plane having mistaken it
for the presidential plane of Vladimir Putin.
Dutch
media already know who is responsible for the crash. De Telegraaf's front page headline on the
day after the accident said "Murderers," with a photograph of some of
the pro-Russian separatist leaders. Today, there is even speculation about
sending Dutch troops to the disaster area.
In any
case, what is certain is that the media wants to see strong action taken
against Russia. De Volkskrant
said that, "it is high time that Europeans made it clear to Putin that his
cynical calculations are no longer valid." In Trouw, the call was made for a
boycott of Russia. One NRC Handelsblad columnist wrote
for Politico that, "the
Netherlands is a small country, but we have powerful friends, and are part of
the most powerful alliance in the history."
Nevertheless,
there are precious few specific proposals about what should be done. It seems that
sanctions are seen as an end in themselves. This is an unwise reaction. Decades
of sanctions against countries like Iran, Cuba, and North Korea, have achieved no
positive change. What effect could we hope to achieve by applying them on
Russia? And how is it fair to penalise ordinary citizens for the actions of
their government?
Posted
By Worldmeets.US
I think the
objective should be to narrow the gap between east and west, while widening the
one between the Russian government and its people. Economic sanctions have precisely
the opposite effect, because they counteract voluntary interactions between
east and west.
If we
want to build bridges to the Russian population, we should counter restrictions
on the free movement of people and goods, abolish visa requirements and remove
import tariffs on Russian goods. The gap between "us and them" is
precisely what nationalist politicians like Vladimir Putin like. Freedom can
put an end to that.
Allow
more Russian students to study in Europe, make it easier to travel here and
create opportunities for Russian companies to enter the European market through
the removal of trade restrictions. This way we will maximize contact with the
Russian people, whereby they will learn more about our perspective and values.
The long
history of economic sanctions is one of failure. In contrast, freedom is the
most humane, peaceful, and in the long run, effective strategy for squashing
the "us versus them" mentality. Let's give freedom a chance.
*Imre Wessels is regional campaign coordinator of the Libertarian
Party.
