Letters to the Editor

Hundreds of thousands of people have died on both sides in Ukraine so far. And the senseless killing continues unabated. What for? An oppressive question. The maltreated country will become even more impoverished and ultimately be divided. A proxy war is taking place on the territory of Ukraine. The united West is turning in blind rage against Russia, its archenemy.
  But it gets much worse when you realise the following: at the end of February 2022, the Ukrainian president made a proposal for negotiations. Moscow agreed. Not so the European Union. In the meantime, it has delivered a first tranche of weapons worth 450 million euros. In March 2022, Volodimir Zelensky offered talks again, and once again the Russians were open. But the EU blocked them once again. In the meantime, it provided Ukraine with a second tranche worth 500 million euros. Despite this, the negotiators in Istanbul almost reached an agreement. However, on 2 April, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on Zelensky by telephone to withdraw his proposals, otherwise the West would withdraw its aid. He doubled down on his visit to Kiev on 9 April. No negotiations, otherwise …
  It is important to bear in mind the facts mentioned above: It was exclusively the West, under the dictates of the US, that prevented negotiations with Russia and favoured mass murder on both sides.

Daniel Wirz, Zug

Source: Patrik Baab, “Auf beiden Seiten der Front – Meine Reisen in die Ukraine” (On both sides of the front – My journeys to Ukraine). Patrik Baab is an experienced journalist who has been practising this profession for over 40 years. His research into the assassination of Uwe Barschel, Olof Palme and William Colby has shown that Baab is not afraid to tackle sensitive subjects. His most recent journey took him to the war in Ukraine, to both sides of the front line. This is also the title of the resulting book that has just been published.

(Translation Current Concerns)

The fact that Current Concerns regularly allows voices from other parts of the world to have their say is a blessing for me as a counterweight to the day-to-day one-sidedness in our media. I would therefore like to thank you for summarising the speech given by the Foreign Minister of Burkina Faso, the “land of honest people”, at the UN in September. Bassolma Bazié, a committed representative of his country’s independence, emphasised that “state-run lies, the pursuit of profit and power” threaten human coexistence and the basic sense of community – especially today, when the world is in turmoil. Standing up for a more just world is urgent. Bazié cites Libya as an example of a country plagued by the violation of every human and international right. In his own country, the population has to defend itself in a war imposed on it against armed terrorist gangs. This civil defence is being vilified by some heads of government as a mercenary force, but it was only necessary because people had to defend their lives. Numerous European and American troops are still present in the Sahel: not to protect international law! “Let’s be honest, it’s mainly about Africa’s natural resources!” This is why the beleaguered states of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso are now taking the problem of their security into their own hands.
  And now to the “On our own account” of Current Concerns (and Switzerland’s neutrality):
  Such an independent, unbiased defence of rights must also be the guiding principle of every Swiss authority. I was all the more outraged by the breach of the law in the spying on Current Concerns – by the Swiss Federal Intelligence Service FIS. This is a blatant violation of the Federal Constitution. The “occasion” was an article on Swiss neutrality, allegedly Russian “propaganda”. Listen and be amazed. This scandal must stop, it must be resolutely opposed (by legal means). The constitution guarantees freedom of expression and information as well as freedom of the media. The actions of the FIS are fundamentally out of the question.

Renate Dünki, Oberwangen TG