Month: March 2023

On Saturday, in what some critics say sounds more like an April Fools’ joke than reality, Russia will take over the rotating presidency of the U.N. Security Council for the month, and no one can prevent it.

With Russia’s war in Ukraine entering its 14th month, an arrest warrant being issued by the International Criminal Court for President Vladimir Putin, and Moscow planning to deploy tactical nuclear weapons to neighboring Belarus, critics are questioning how Russia could helm the U.N.’s most powerful organ.

“The question is very clear: Can the war criminal head the U.N. Security Council?” Andrius Kubilius, a Lithuanian member of the European Parliament, asked during a session Wednesday, referring to Putin.

On March 17, The Hague-based ICC issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader for his alleged role in the abduction and unlawful deportation of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia.

“I think that people are seeing it the wrong way round. I think that people should understand that this month is more of a headache than an advantage for the Russians,” Richard Gowan, U.N. director for International Crisis Group, told VOA.

“If they try and use the presidency to try to stir up trouble for the Ukrainians, or push their narratives about the war, they will just get an enormous amount of blowback,” he added.

The 15-nation Security Council is the U.N.’s most powerful organ. It can authorize military action, deploy peacekeepers, sanction nations and individuals, and refer possible war crimes cases to the International Criminal Court.

Council members take turns as president according to alphabetical order (by English spellings). The last time Russia came up in the rotation was February 2022. On the 24th day of its presidency, Putin launched his “special military operation” into Ukraine, in a flagrant breach of the U.N. Charter and international law — also in the middle of a council meeting hoping to prevent it.

The only time in recent history when a country missed its presidency was in 1994 in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide, according to Security Council Report, a think tank that studies the council’s transparency and effectiveness. At the time, Rwanda was a non-permanent council member.

Rwanda’s council seat was vacant for six weeks from mid-July, when Pasteur Bizimungu became Rwanda’s president, until September, when Rwanda should have been council president.

“But clearly the new government had just taken up the seat; they didn’t have time to prepare. They just had experienced the genocide and they had a new government,” Security Council Report told VOA. “So, they skipped Rwanda, and the seat went to Spain, which was next in alphabetical order.”

The council decided that Rwanda would get its chance, once the alphabetical rotation had been completed, and it did sit as president in December 1994.

As for Russia’s presidency, no one can prevent it.

From the White House podium on Thursday, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that a country that “flagrantly violates the U.N. Charter” and invades its neighbor has no place on the council, but there is “no feasible international legal pathway” around that.

“As unpalatable as it may be to see Russia presiding over the council, the reality is this is a largely ceremonial position which rotates to council members month by month in alphabetical order,” she said, adding that the U.S. encourages Russia to conduct itself professionally so the council can carry out its work.

“Russia is a permanent member,” said one council diplomat. “While they are misbehaving gravely on Ukraine and just tearing the [U.N.] Charter apart, my expectation is they will do this presidency in a professional manner.”

Ukraine is outraged that Russia is on the council, much less chairing it. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Moscow’s presidency is a “bad joke.”

Kyiv argues that Moscow should have formally applied for U.N. membership after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and since it has not done so, it does not have the legal right to be on the council, much less a permanent, veto-wielding member.

“Russia’s presence in the U.N. Security Council is the result of the largest diplomatic fraud of the 20th century,” Kuleba said Thursday at a Chatham House discussion of Russia’s war. “We should delegitimize Russia’s presence in the U.N. Security Council first, by exposing the truth to everyone.”

Regardless of optics or opinions, U.N. observers say there is little Russia can do to exploit its position as council president.

“It’s not like the G-20, G-7 or EU presidency where you chair six months or a year and where you inject your own agenda,” the council diplomat said.

“I think the role of the council president is a bit overrated,” Crisis Group’s Gowan said. “Most of it is just chairing meetings and shuffling paper.”

Among Russia’s planned meetings in April will be a ministerial-level debate chaired by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the defense of the U.N. Charter.

Moscow also plans to hold an informal council meeting early in the month on the issue of Ukrainian children abducted and forcibly deported to Russia, which Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said was planned before the ICC issued its warrant for Putin. The envoy has described the issue of the children as “totally overblown.”

And on April 10, Russia has scheduled a meeting on Western arms transfers to Ukraine. Western nations say they are sending equipment, weapons and ammunition to Ukraine as it is fighting in self-defense. They accuse Moscow of obtaining illegal arms transfers from Iran and North Korea.

Boycott

There have been some calls for nations to boycott Russia’s presidency, including a nascent online petition campaign. Ironically, the only council member ever to boycott council proceedings was the former Soviet Union.

In 1950, the USSR boycotted council meetings for more than six months over the issue of China’s U.N. representation. Moscow had recognized the Communist People’s Republic of China as the legitimate government and wanted its representative to replace the Nationalist Chinese delegation.

“They did come back into the council on August 1, 1950, which was their presidency,” Security Council Report told VOA. “The reason why they came back was because that was during the Korean War and all these votes on U.N. engagement in Korea were being adopted because they were not there to veto them. So they realized it was disadvantageous to them to not be sitting in the council.”

Source: Voice of America

Vasyl Kryachok continued to lead a normal life in February 2022. The conductor didn’t believe Russia would launch a major military offensive and he continued to prepare for concerts scheduled to take place at the Mariupol Chamber Philharmonic in March. In the week before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, he and his Mariupol Chamber Orchestra “Renaissance” presented an evening of classical music. It turned out to be his last concert in the city.

Hundreds sought shelter in the orchestra hall

“Even on February 24, things were more or less normal in the city. We were used to such situations,” Kryachok said. “Mariupol had been hit now and again during eight years of war,” he added, referring to the period since the annexation of Crimea and ongoing fighting in eastern Ukraine.

“That’s why no one thought there would be a major war. From February 24 to March 1, everyone assumed it would all be over in two or three weeks, a month at the most. But when Russian troops encircled the city, it became clear to us all.”

He recalled how the Russian occupiers had gradually destroyed more and more of Mariupol. Increasing numbers of civilians were dying and it became extremely dangerous to go outside. That is why people spent so much time in basements. Hundreds sought refuge from the Russian attacks in the city’s theater — which the Russians then bombed on March 16 — but also in the orchestra hall.

“People came to the Philharmonic because they were not alone there. There were roughly 1,200 residents in the building. Business people as well as others who had stayed in the city helped out with food. At that point, there was neither electricity, nor water, nor heating. When it snowed, it was collected and melted; then we boiled it,” said Kryachok.

Mariupol’s Philharmonic has no cellar: “If the occupiers had dropped a bomb on it, as they did with the theater, none of us would have survived,” says KryachokImage: Alexander Ermochenko/REUTERS

He tried to find space for everyone and to give them support and hope. The building was not destroyed, he said, but shock waves damaged the doors and windows. If the Russians had bombed the building, nothing of the simple structure would have remained.

Kryachok also explained that it could not serve as a real bomb shelter as it did not have a basement: “The Philharmonic has 380 seats, and there were between 300 and 350 people there. If the occupiers had dropped a bomb on it, as they did with the theater, none of us would have survived. The Philharmonic is much smaller than the theater, it would simply have been erased.”

‘The Russians murdered mercilessly’

The conductor stayed in the besieged city for two months. During that time, he saw Russian troops commit horrific crimes. He often saw dead civilians while walking between his home and the orchestra hall.

“I saw corpses every day as I walked through courtyards. Temperatures were around -10° to – 12° Celsius (14°-10° Fahrenheit). It was cool in March and April, so the bodies didn’t decompose too quickly. When possible, shallow graves were dug and bodies were covered with earth. The Russians murdered mercilessly,” Kryachok said.

Several of his acquaintances were killed during the first months of the Russian occupation, some before his very eyes.

The Mariupol Theater was destroyed by Russian forces. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and Amnesty International classified the attack as a war crimeImage: Peter Kovalev/TASS/dpa/picture alliance

Every day, it became increasingly dangerous to move about the city. One could not only be killed by bombs or mortars, but also by snipers, or by stepping on a mine that the Russians quite literally peppered the city with.

“We walked in the tire tracks when we went outside,” he said. “That is how we tried to protect ourselves. Once I saw a person blown up when they stepped just a couple of feet outside the tire tracks and a mine exploded. There was nothing left of that person.”

Kryachok will never forget what he experienced.

From Mariupol to Kyiv — via several countries

Vasyl Kryachok was able to leave Mariupol in late April. It took him almost a week to get to the occupied Donetsk region, and then he went on to Russia, Latvia, Poland and ultimately Germany. The journey to Donetsk alone took nearly eight hours.

“It was only 120 kilometers (74.6 miles) but we traveled through villages because there was heavy fighting in the region. I had three small dogs with me. We spent the night in Donetsk,” the conductor said.

He explained that he was able to get his hands on papers for his dogs, as well as the so-called “filtration document” — an ideological affidavit — that he needed in order to enter Russia as a Ukrainian.

“Of course, I never would have passed the real filtration test,” he exclaimed. “I was always pro-Ukrainian.”

Musicians from Mariupol, Luhansk and Kharkiv have so far joined Vasyl Kratchok in helping him realize his dream to revive the Mariupol Chamber PhilharmonicImage: DW

“From Donetsk, we were taken to Russia. We drove for 39 hours, straight through Russia to Latvia, and then on to Poland. Ultimately, I arrived at my daughter’s place in Germany,” he said, noting that this was the only way for him to escape occupied Mariupol. The only other way to reach Kyiv-controlled territory from the Donbas would have been by foot, under constant threat of death.

Nevertheless, most of his colleagues remained in Mariupol: “Those who wanted to flee and could, left. Some made it to Ukrainian-controlled areas, others stayed in Russia, or traveled through Russia to Georgia or the EU. Three Chamber Orchestra musicians stayed and now play with the so-called Donetsk State Conservatory set up by the occupiers. The Mariupol Philharmonic no longer exists as such.”

Most of the musicians from the brass band and the folk music orchestra stayed behind, said Kryachok, shocked that they would cooperate with the occupying forces.

Dreams of a Mariupol concert

All the stress has left Vasyl Kryachok with heart problems, yet that hasn’t kept him from dedicating himself to music again. He has since moved to Kyiv, where he is putting his orchestra back together. Five musicians from Mariupol, as well as others from Luhansk and Kharkiv, have joined him in the Ukrainian capital, and roughly 10 musicians from other orchestras are also working with “Renaissance” until a full orchestra can be assembled.

Vasyl Kryachok and his musicians are preparing a tour of Ukraine and Europe. “Life goes on,” says Kryachok. “We are starting from square one. What else can we do?”Image: DW

“Life goes on,” says Kryachok. “We are starting from square one. What else can we do? We don’t want to die. I think I’ll live and work for another 20 years. Seventy isn’t old for a conductor or for creative people, it is a time of maturity. The main thing is to stay healthy, and for the enemy to leave our country.”

At the moment, Vasyl Kryachok and his musicians are preparing a tour of Ukraine and Europe. But the conductor’s biggest dream is to once again take the stage at the Philharmonic, in a peaceful, Ukrainian Mariupol.

Source: Deutsche Welle

The International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) ruling to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in international competitions was met with a mix of shock and anger during a conference call this week.

Athletes from the two nations were banned from most international competitions in February 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and following the IOC executive board’s recommendation.

Dozens of athletes and Olympians immediately railed against the decision, including two-time Ukrainian Olympic skeleton competitor Vladislav Heraskevych, who labelled the recommendations as “absolutely wrong”.

“The war originally started in 2014, when Russia hosted the Olympic Games”, said the 20-year-old from Kyiv. “They occupied our territories and the Olympics helped to increase Russia’s image on a high level. It was completely wrong to state that sports is outside of politics then, and it is also wrong to say that now.”

According to Heraskevych, the Ukrainian National Olympic Committee Athletes’ Commission only heard from the IOC last week, having heard nothing from them for almost a year.

Ukrainian skeleton racer Heraskevych Vladyslav says Russia has no place in international sportImage: picture-alliance/AP

“The Russians use sports as a progaganda tool to brainwash and encourage more Russian people to participate in the war and commit genocide against Ukrainians”, said Heraskevych. “They have no place in international sports.”

Thomas Bach met with criticism

On Tuesday, IOC president Thomas Bach outlined new guidelines that would allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals, paving the way for their return.

A host of athletes from all over the world have criticized Bach’s claim that the inclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes has already been shown to work in other sports and competitions, such as tennis.

The tennis governing bodies ATP and WTA have allowed for players from those two countries to compete under a neutral flag since March 2022, stating that “the players compete as individuals to earn their place in tournaments based on their rankings”.

As an example, Bach identified Ukrainian player Marta Kostyuk’s ATX Open final against Varvara Gracheva from Russia. Kostyuk didn’t boycott the game, but refused to shake Gracheva’s hand after winning her first WTA title.

“We have a ranking system in our sport. If I don’t participate I will lose my ranking and my career will be over,” said Kostyuk, who also refused to shake hands with Russia’s Anastasia Potava at the Miami Open a week ago.

“A lot has been said and I wanted to say from myself, we have not been doing it publicly, but for the last year we have been fighting to exclude Russians and Belarusians from our sport,” she added at the conference. “Unfortunately we are not independent players. We are working for the WTA and ATP, and we do not have a lot of power to make changes.”

Marta Kostyuk won her first WTA title in MiamiImage: ROB PRANGE/DPPI media/picture alliance

Tsurenko: ‘I had panic attacks’

Fellow Ukrainian tennis player Lesia Tsurenko concurred with Kostyuk’s view.

“Everything that Bach says is a clear manipulation,” said Tsurenko, who also didn’t hold back towards the tennis governing bodies. “The ATP and WTA are protecting the Russian athletes all the time and they don’t care about how the Ukrainian ones must feel. They are also trying to prevent any kind of action from Ukrainian players.”

Like many other Ukrainian athletes, Tsurenko is left to grapple with the consequences of the IOC’s decision. “It is an ethical conflict,” she said in the Wednesday conference of the possibility of being forced to compete against a Russian athlete. “I had panic attacks.”

German fencer Lea Krüger found herself in a similar situation when she noticed that the International Fencing Federation (FIE) had voted to overturn a ban on Russian and Belarusian fencers competing in its events.

“It was portrayed as if we, the athletes, took the decision that the Russians can come back to fencing,” Krüger said during the conference. “But it was the federation that took that decision and we have to deal with the consequences as athletes.”

Earlier this week, more than 300 active and former fencers wrote to the IOC urging the organization to uphold sanctions against Russian and Belarusian athletes, saying that allowing them entry back into international competitions would be “a catastrophic error”.

“They put the interests of Russia and Belarus before the ones of the athletes, especially the Ukrainians,” said Krüger. “We had to show the world that not all fencing athletes agree with this, that’s why we wrote that letter.”

IOC president Thomas Bach faces heavy criticism from athletes around the worldImage: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images

Boycott among the options

Fellow fencer Olga Kharlan from Ukraine found the FIE’s decision “very tough mentally and physically” and says it is hard to process that the IOC is going down a similar path.

“It looked like they were on the Russian side, there wasn’t a single word of solidarity with the Ukrainian athletes and people, which was quiet unbelievable.”

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s sports minister said in January that the country would consider boycotting the Olympics if Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to compete at Paris 2024. When asked this question, Vladislav Heraskevych didn’t rule out taking collective legal action against IOC, should they stand by their decision.

“We are not ready to make a big announcement, but we are looking at all of our options.”

Whilst Heraskevych doesn’t see a boycott as the solution for the situation, he paints a grim picture of the future, should Russian and Belarusian athletes be allowed to compete in upcoming competitions.

“We were trying to build bridges for eight years and it lead to a full invasion”, he said. “I am really scared what it will mean for the future if we have to compete with Russian athletes. Maybe it will lead to World War 3, you never know, especially with Russia.”

Source: Deutsche Welle

The sound of whirring, rattling and bleeping fills the springtime air as excavators and dump trucks prepare a vast stretch of land in eastern Hungary for its new purpose: to host one of Europe’s biggest electric vehicle (EV) battery factories.

Here, on the outskirts of the city of Debrecen, the scale of Hungary’s ambitions to adapt to the electric transition is visible. Chinese-owned Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) is building its new gigafactory, which will occupy over 200 hectares — over 280 football fields — once finished.

By the end of the decade, the factory will be churning out 100 gigawatt hours (GWh) of battery capacity each year. This would be enough to equip a million cars (based on current EV capacities) and make Hungary one of the main manufacturers in Europe — in line with the government’s plans to become “a great power” of battery production.

The strategic shift follows the trend in one of Hungary’s key industries: the automotive sector, which accounted for around 5% of the country’s GDP in 2021. As combustion engines are being phased out, Hungary does not want to be left in the dust.

Locals concerned water shortage will get worse

About a kilometer from the industrial zone, a bumpy dirt road leads to a handful of houses and a small farm. Albertne Lovas and her husband have been growing cabbage here for the past 35 years.

Now they are worried that the new plant will be a health hazard for their crops, as well as for people in the area, despite promises to monitor the environmental impact. Lovas is particularly concerned about the industrial water consumption in the already arid region: “We have not been able to irrigate with water from the river for five years now, because it’s been so dry,” she told DW.

Many locals share her worries. Making batteries is a water-intensive business, and in recent years droughts have been getting more frequent across Hungary.

Local farmers, who have dealt with droughts in Hungary for five years, are worried the gigafactory will make the situation worseImage: Ferenc Gaál/DW

Residents struggle to obtain information

It’s unclear just how much water the plant will eventually need. That’s because reliable information on the project is hard to come by and is only released in fragments, Marton Volgyesi complains. A chef by profession, he is one of the organizers behind a local initiative called ‘Debreceners against the battery factory.’

“When it’s about popping champagne, the plant is 220 hectares. When it comes to regulation, it’s suddenly 65 hectares,” Volgyesi claimed, referring to the different construction stages of the project being approved separately. “We want to see information on the capacity of the whole investment, not just parts.”

Intransparent communication is a key point of frustration for locals, who feel the decision for the investment was made without their consent. According to a recent survey, almost two-thirds of residents view the battery plant critically.

Many of them are taking to the streets, demanding the project is halted, or at the very least put to the vote. “The aim is to get a referendum and to at least stop the further expansion of the plant,” says Volgyesi. His group handed in a petition in February and is still waiting for an answer from the city hall.

When contacted by DW, the mayor declined to comment. A CATL spokesperson told DW that they are observing the protests, but do not wish to comment on them, adding that resistance is largely based on misunderstandings and false information.

A recent survey of locals shows that two-thirds are critical of the gigafactory projectImage: Ferenc Gaál/DW

Fossil fuels and foreign interests concern critics

Residents and experts alike are also concerned about the amount of energy a plant of this size will need. While CATL says it is investing in renewables and aiming for carbon neutrality, with Hungary’s current energy infrastructure this will not be feasible anytime soon. Three new gas plants have recently been announced to supply the industry, which will continue to rely on Russian gas through 2050.

Apart from maintaining Hungary’s energy dependency on Russia, experts warn that the project in Debrecen will mean increased reliance on China. The plant is set to make China the second biggest foreign investor in the country, sparking fears that it could use its economic clout to exert political pressure.

Nonetheless, the government has dug deep into its pockets to attract Chinese companies: CATL alone has been promised €800 million ($870 million) in tax and infrastructural incentives — that’s over 10% of the total sum invested.

“This money is desperately missing from other areas, especially classic state responsibilities like education, health and social care,” says Dr. Dora Gyorffy, an economist at Budapest’s Corvinus University.

Such a “supportive governance environment” is one of the biggest advantages Hungary has to offer according to a government paper, and has contributed to a boom. Next door to CATL, Chinese battery component maker SEMCORP is building its new facilities, and BMW’s new all-EV factory is under construction on the other side of the town.

Protests in Hungary against Chinese plant

03:26

Chinese workers to get factory off the ground

But all these companies need workers. The battery plant alone will employ 9,000 of them. “One of the biggest problems is whether you can find enough workers,” says Dr. Márton Czirfusz, who analyzed the Hungarian battery industry in his recent study. Many jobs in these plants do not require specialized skills, he explains, meaning there is a risk they could siphon off employees from local enterprises.

But even that probably won’t be enough, as Hungary is struggling with a labor shortage. “I expect that there will be a high number of foreign workers in these factories,” Czirfusz said. The company contends that Chinese workers will mostly be needed in the first two years, to get the plant running.

The government has recognized this need and has been continuously easing immigration rules for several non-EU countries, particularly in Asia. This is in sharp relief to relentless anti-immigration campaigns in Hungary in recent years. The situation could yet backfire, as many locals are unhappy about the prospect of guest workers in their neighborhood.

The new gigafactory near Debrecen, Hungary is expected to produce enough energy by 2030 to power 1 million EVs a yearImage: Ferenc Gaál/DW

Opposition unites political spectrum

With such a long list of concerns, a number of opposition parties from Hungary’s Green Party to far-right extremists have come out against the project, too. But activist Marton Volgyesi would prefer to keep party politics in the background. “I think it’s much better if Debrecen’s civil society takes this into its own hands. And whoever wants to get behind it, can do so,” he said

So far, it seems the project will move forward as planned, despite calls to halt it. Cabbage farmer Lovas says she supports the local protests, but has little hope they will make a difference. To her, it’s clear that the government has put profit before people: “They sold the country to the Chinese,” she says.

Source: Deutsche Welle