Protests in Russia against Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Photo Copyright © 2022 by The Punch.
SOME BARBADIANS have criticized our Prime Minister, Mia Amor Mottley, for condemning publicly Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine February 24. Her comments came swiftly following the Russian president’s bombing of the country, including its capital, Kyiv.
In her statement, Mottley said in part:
The actions of the Russian Federation are a violation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and of the rule of non-interference in the internal affairs of another state. They are a violation of the prohibition on the threat or use of force, and of the rule that disputes between states should be resolved peacefully.
The Government of Barbados underscores the importance of the United Nations Charter, particularly Article 2 (4), according to which UN member states agree to refrain from the threat or use of force against another state.
The Government of Barbados therefore calls on the Russian Federation immediately to cease its hostilities and respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Strong words from a leader who has, during her first term in office, not only moved Barbados to republicanism status but sought to increase our nation’s say in global affairs.
There are those, quite irate and perhaps a little fearful, who have urged or cautioned Mottley to stand in her own yard—let the big boys and big girls play their own war games and, perhaps mercifully, leave us out of their machinations. They remind Mottley, too, there is plenty to address domestically, from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic to high unemployment to infrastructure and climate-change issues.
Her critics are not wrong. There is still, a month into Mottley’s second term, so much to be done to ensure Barbados and all Barbadians thrive again.
But neither is our prime minister wrong for speaking out against dangerous, aggressive behaviour by one state toward another, and especially not when that behaviour offends or alters our sense of global peace.
Barbados can’t be part of the international community only when it is convenient or we want something or we are offering praise. Only, in other words, when the choice to do so is easy.
A seat at any table requires engagement with those gathered. Sometimes, the conversation will be confrontational. Such is the style of our democracies: they are meant to be participatory, not merely spectator sports. We will not always agree to disagree.
True, there may be very little Barbados can do economically or militarily to aid Ukraine or its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Russia’s resources and might are extensive. But whatever we can do to combat actions we know to be wrong or evil, we should do. Not because we’re assured of a win against the bully (or bear) at large, but because it is the right thing to do, and because we want this community spirit to be the norm that governs all our lives.
Of all the times she has done so in the past, this was the one time when I was looking for our prime minister to make an international statement—to make an appearance on the world stage and give our two Bajan cents’ worth on an issue of great urgency to a world we’re very much a part of.
Our own rights and sovereignty trade for far, far less when we refuse to stand up for the rights and sovereignty of others.
