Ottawa, Canada - Russia’s invasion of Georgia has made public the brutal face of the Russian bear. Again, Russia has set out to crush independence, undermine sovereignty and mock the democratic aspirations of its former vassal states. The disintegration of the Soviet Union had set back the Russian bear only momentarily, its weakness and lies exposed. But the Russian bear has returned menacingly and turned the clock back to 1968 when it crushed the Prague spring as it is doing today in Georgia.
Canada and the West will not militarily confront the Russian bear, any more than it did in 1968. But it will be a show of moral cowardice and an undermining of our own security if the West acquiesces to Russia’s criminal use of force to strangle Georgia as it embraces democracy and looks toward Europe as a model for its future progress. It will be even worse if the West concedes to Moscow’s argument that Russia has the right to determine the politics of its former vassals and in doing so cravenly becomes a party to the re-division of Europe.
An exhausted West did not resist the emergence of Russia’s Iron Curtain when it could in 1945, and thereby laid the groundwork for over 50 years of Eastern European enslavement and the threat of Soviet nuclear annihilation hanging over us all. We must not repeat that mistake.
Canada and the West must decide how they will deal with the Russian menace as Moscow turns the clock back to its brutal Cold War methods. Diplomacy can only be meaningful if it is backed by credible display of strength and moral courage. The West needs to send a strong message to Moscow that it will not accept Russia’s blood-soaked invasion of Georgia. Unless we want such naked aggression to become Russia’s foreign policy of choice, the bear must not be rewarded for its present belligerence.
The Canadian Coalition for Democracies (CCD) urges Ottawa to show moral leadership through concrete steps that include:
• Recalling the Canadian Ambassador from Russia for urgent consultation,
• Proposing a suspension of Russia from membership in the G-8,
• Demanding an unconditional restoration of status quo ante in Georgia,
• Demanding that a team comprising G-7 members proceed immediately to Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital, to evaluate the destruction of lives and physical assets caused by the Russian invasion for which Moscow must be held responsible.
CCD recognizes that expecting UN actions for defending the rights of Georgia is delusional given Russia’s veto in the Security Council. CCD strongly believes it is our collective responsibility to send a clear message to our friends around the world and in Georgia that the West will not abandon them to the renascent forces of authoritarian power.
If we do less, then we signal the Putins, Mugabes and Ahmadinejads of the world that brutality will be rewarded, and our own national security will be dangerously undermined. History has shown over and over that the time to stop a bully is now, and that delay brings only greater death and destruction.
For more information, please contact
Prof. Salim Mansur, Senior Fellow, CCD +1-519-472-0893
