Geopolitics updates |

New UN Report Calls for Urgent Aid to 20 ‘Hunger Hotpots’

June 9, 2022by Mary Jane Freeman in Africa, Economic development updates, General updates, Geopolitics updates, Global Diplomacy, Green New Deal, Sanctions

June 8, 2022 (EIRNS)–The UN report “Hunger Hotspots FAO-WFP Early Warnings on Acute Food Insecurity June to September 2022 Outlook” was issued June 6, sounding the alarm on the scale of the world hunger crisis today. The joint authors of this periodical report are the World Food Program and the Food and Agriculture Organization. Among the 20 nations listed as in need for “urgent aid,” the WFP press release on the report stated that “Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen remain at ‘highest alert’ as hotspots with catastrophic conditions, and Afghanistan and Somalia are new entries to this worrisome category since the last hotspots report in January 2022. These six countries all have parts of the population facing the IPC (5-point scale of severity of hunger–ed.) phase 5 `Catastrophe’… with up to 750,000 people facing starvation and death. 400,000 of these are in Ethiopia’s Tigray region….The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, the Sahel, the Sudan and Syria remain ‘of very high concern,’ with deteriorating critical conditions.”

The report gives country-specific information on the food requirements to save millions of lives.

“Stop the Danger of Nuclear War!”

June 8, 2022by Mary Jane Freeman in Activity of the Schiller Institute, General, General updates, Global Diplomacy, Our initiatives (petitions, etc), World war danger updates

Schiller Institute Call for Ibero-American Presidents to

Deliver Message To Biden at Americas Summit:

June 3 (EIRNS)—Led by the LaRouche Citizens Movement of Mexico and friends in Argentina, Schiller Institute activists from many Ibero-American countries have sent their Presidents and other officials an “Open Letter from Ibero-America to Mr. Biden” on the eve of the beleaguered Summit of the Americas next week, signed by a select number of citizens from the region. Its message: “End Your Strategy of Using Ukraine to Destroy Russia. Stop the Danger of Nuclear War!”

The letter reads:

“The Summit of the Americas, which will take place June 6-10 this year, should submit a blunt resolution from the Presidents of Ibero-America to U.S. President Joe Biden:

End your strategy of using Ukraine to destroy Russia.
Stop NATO’s extension and expansion towards the Pacific (Global NATO), since if that is not done, we are heading towards a frontal war against China, which at this point in human history would be truly insane, and would drive us towards general thermonuclear war.

That is why the international community should call for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, sanctions to be lifted against Russia, and an international conference to be convoked on a New Security and Economic Development Architecture for all nations, which takes into account the demands of the Russian government for security on its borders, as the Schiller Institute proposes in its recent call.

President Biden: the economic and financial sanctions against Russia are having a boomerang effect on the world economy. We are already in worldwide stagflation and it will get worse if an economic and financial war is opened against China. Decoupling the financial system and economies of the Trans-Atlantic axis plus Japan, Australia and South Korea, from the economies of Russia and China would trigger a general economic and social collapse much worse than the collapse of Europe and Asia during the 14th century bubonic plague. That alone could mean the disappearance of the global civilization which we inherited from the great 15th and 16th century European Renaissance.

Moreover, the entire world faces a general debt crisis stemming from the $1.9 quadrillion speculative bubble, which is the underlying cause of the hyperinflationary process aggravated by illegal sanctions.

You know the solution to this economic breakdown: You told CNN on December 15, 2016, that the biggest mistake in your political career was your vote in 1999 in favor of the cancellation of Franklin Roosevelt’s Glass-Steagall Law by President Clinton and the Congress.

Now is the time to reinstate it!

Franklin Roosevelt’s economic system must be restored worldwide. Glass-Steagall must be reestablished across the planet along with a policy of economic relations and good will with Russia and China, so that, together with India, these four superpowers can rid themselves of their common enemy: the dark forces of the financier speculator interests opposed to human progress —the Neanderthal embers of McCarthyism and the Cold War— and found an economic system capable of eliminating poverty throughout the world. This is the path to reestablish the economic power of the United States and the whole Ibero-American region.

Likewise, a comprehensive economic and social plan to finally address the consequences of the conflicts and wars in Asia and Africa should be formulated as part of, and complementary to, China’s strategic Silk Road plan.

With all due respect for the people of the United States, they would be wise to accept that the world today can no longer be unipolar. There are other powers whose place in the new concert of nations should be recognized under the 21st century concept of multipolarity.

The 21st century must become the century in which humanity ends hunger and the brutality of war, allowing us to overcome the barbaric state in which we still find ourselves and become truly human. That is the legacy which the 17th century Treaties of Westphalia left us, a glorious moment for humanity, which established the basis of the modern Nation-State, the concept of the Common Good, in addition to perceiving that the good of other nations signifies also doing the good for each one of our nations, and finally understanding that the security of our nations cannot be at the cost of the security and submission of others.

For more information, email preguntas@larouchepub.com

Helga Zepp-LaRouche Discusses China-EU Meeting on CGTN ‘Dialogue’

April 3, 2022by tobi in BRI - Belt & Road, China, General updates, Helga media coverage or interview, Helga Video, Media coverage of our activity, World Land-Bridge updates, World war danger updates

April 1 (EIRNS)—Helga Zepp-LaRouche was interviewed on CGTN’s broadcast “The Dialogue” this morning with host Xu Qinduo and a second guest Prof. John Gong, who frequently appears on CGTN’s shows. The discussion was on the EU-China meeting by videoconference today, which included President Xi Jinping (in what Xinhua dubbed “Xiplomacy”) and EU Council President Charles Michel and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

XU: That’s a good point, John. Helga, what do you think about this Ukraine issue somehow playing a part in the relationship between China and the European Union? Is there a way they can deal with the issue that will enhance or bring the two sides together? Is that affecting their relationship?

HELGA ZEPP-LAROUCHE: Obviously. The EU had on their website beforehand that they wanted to have the Ukraine issue practically the only issue. They want China to mediate and influence Russia. But I think it is very clear that China did not want to take a side. However, given the fact that EU economy is in free fall; as a matter of fact, the accumulation of COVID, the sanctions, Europe is not in a strong position at all. And I think China has a conception which I think lends itself to a mediation role, and that is President Xi Jinping’s idea of a shared future for a joint humanity. I think that is the most important conception right now, given the fact that we are in a situation strategically which is more dangerous than during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Therefore, what we really need, and I think China would be uniquely in a position to do that, is to propose a new international security architecture which would take into account the interests of every single country on the planet. Because the reason why we have the Ukraine crisis is because NATO expansion to the East for 30 years, which the West does not want to even discuss anymore. But the question is, how do we get out of it? We need a new security architecture, and I have proposed it to be in the tradition of the Peace of Westphalia, which ended the 150 years of religious wars in Europe. The situation today in face of the danger of nuclear war is much more dangerous than even then.

I think the Europeans, they totally are ignoring the fact that a new system is emerging, based on the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the BRICS, the Russia-India-China combination. India refused to be drawn into the camp of the United States, but wants to stay neutral, also. I think the only way how we will get out of this is if the Europeans—and finally also the United States—would understand that it is in their best interest to cooperate with the Belt and Road Initiative, in addressing the real issues which concern all of humanity: Which is, the pandemic is not over, we have a hunger crisis. I think one Chinese economist recently said that as a result of the sanctions against Russia, 1 billion people are in danger of dying of hunger this year. So, I think if China would play a mediating role, and say that all of these issues have to be addressed simultaneously. And then, Ukraine could become a bridge rather than being a geopolitical tool between the EU and Russia, it could become a bridge in the cooperation on the Eurasian continent.

XU: That’s a good point, Helga. China stressed very much cooperation, win-win cooperation. China also takes pride in being the source of peace and stability. When it comes to China-EU cooperation, we know the two sides are great civilizations, they are two of the largest economies. They represent the two largest markets. So, if you look at their cooperation against this background with emerging ascendity, even an emerging Cold War. How important it is, Helga, for the EU and China to further cooperate in multiple fields?

ZEPP-LAROUCHE: I think for the EU it is much more existential than they admit, because there are two possibilities. Either the EU finds a way of cooperating with China, and that way the conflict can be solved; or, there are some people in the West—especially in Great Britain and in the United States—who want a complete decoupling of the West and the so-called authoritarian regimes. In this case, I think the West would suffer, because their values are much more based on monetarist values, as let’s say China and the countries cooperating with the BRI, because they are putting much more focus on physical economy. So, if they would go for a complete decoupling, the West would suffer. Hopefully, the European Union understands that it is not in their own interest to go this way, even if Victoria Nuland was just there and told Europe to side with the U.S. completely.

So, I think that a lot depends on the initiatives proposed by China, because China right now has the only policy which is a way out: And that is the shared community of the one future of humanity. And I think more and more people realize that.

……

XU: Helga, to further cooperation, we know there is a very important trade agreement, a comprehensive investment agreement between China and the EU. So, are we going to see any headway during the summit, or after the summit? Should we probably re-energize that kind of cooperation?

ZEPP-LAROUCHE: I think obviously it is an agreement which would benefit both sides, so it should be pushed. But I’m not so hopeful that, given the geopolitical tension right now that that will be accomplished at this summit. However, I think the fact that the trans-Atlantic financial system is collapsing—look at the hyperinflation; this was there long before the Ukraine crisis erupted. So, the question of a new financial system, a new credit system maybe in the tradition of the New Bretton Woods system, should be put on the agenda; because there is the danger of a repetition of the 2008 crisis, but much larger. The Federal Reserve does not dare to increase the interest rate much to fight the inflation, because of the indebtedness of the whole system. So, a new credit policy should be put on the agenda, and in that context, then you can increase the EU-China trade agreement, and that will all be beneficial. But I think the problem is much more fundamental than it even can be addressed through that agreement.

XU: Well, many thanks to you, Helga.

Schiller Institute May 26 Dialogue with Experts: Insanity of Politicians Threatens Nuclear War

May 27, 2022by Mary Jane Freeman in Activity of the Schiller Institute, Economic development updates, General updates, Geopolitics updates, Our conferences, Sanctions, World war danger updates

May 26, 2022 (EIRNS)–The Schiller Institute online conference today titled, “US and European Military and Security Experts Warn: The Insanity of Politicians Threatens Nuclear War,” featured presentations and exchanges between four military and strategy specialists from France, Italy and the United States, and with Schiller Institute founder Helga Zepp-LaRouche, and moderator Dennis Speed. Within hours of the event, views on YouTube were approaching 2,000.

Conference: US and European Military and Security Experts Warn: The Insanity of Politicians Threatens Nuclear War

Today’s dialogue followed a discussion yesterday, co-hosted by the Schiller Institutes of Sweden and Denmark, conducted online, centered in Copenhagen, whose participants included five speakers based in this northern region. The May 25 event was titled, “We Need a new Security and Development Architecture for All Nations, Not a Strengthening of Geopolitical Blocs; Why Sweden and Finland Should Not Join NATO.”

Conference: We Need a New Security And Development Architecture for All Nations, Not a Strengthening of Geopolitical Blocs

These two events are part of the ongoing Schiller Institute activation process, calling on forces and individuals everywhere to mobilize against the war insanity and for a new framework for peace through development. Transcripts and excerpts of both of this week’s conferences will appear in the weekly EIR, cover date of June 3.

Zepp-LaRouche said in her closing remarks today, “Join us as an organizer, as a chance for the betterment of humanity.” On the weekend of June 18-19, the Schiller Institute will hold a multi-session world dialogue for an initiating group of forces dedicated to bringing about a new world economic and security architecture. A Schiller Institute petition for this goal, issued February 23, now has in the range of 4,500 signatures, from all continents.

Zepp-LaRouche set the focus of today’s nearly three-hour event right upfront, “Any policy consideration that does not start with consideration of the danger of nuclear war, is worthless.” She and the next speakers then elaborated on different aspects of how we got in this situation, in the spirit of a video clip of Lyndon LaRouche making the point that, “No event contains its own cause…You must start from the world as a whole.”

Zepp-LaRouche drew a vivid picture of the war’s insanity, from current examples of who is discussing nuclear weapons as part of a “winnable” strategy, to the history of demonizing Russia and China as the enemy, against whom war is supposed to make sense. She then presented the “Peace of Westphalia” approach in some detail, as the way out of this. She used the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence (the Panchsheel), from the 1950s national sovereignty period. She discussed global economic and scientific priorities, from the need for a “global Glass-Steagall,” to end the casino economics, to related measures of a public-good bank in every nation, and plentiful credit for science and technology priorities, including a “village on the Moon, a city on Mars, interstellar space travel,” all of which requires the fusion energy breakthrough and billions more creative souls. In the discussion, she reported seeing “an emergence of a non-aligned spirit” among many nations today, rejecting the attempted, deadly Global NATO world rule.

Gen. Leonardo Tricarico (ret.), former Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force spoke sternly to the question, “What can we do to stop this meaningless war?” He gave dates, chapter and verse of the UN and even NATO laws that have been broken, putting us in this danger, and stated, “Instead of pouring gasoline on the fire, in a war-mongering hype, we should have negotiations” take place over Ukraine. It is our “imperative duty” to bring this about.

Col. Richard Black (ret.), former head of the U.S. Army’s Criminal Law Division at the Pentagon, and former Virginia State Senator, gave a gripping account of events since the 2014 “revolutionary coup” imposed by MI6 and the CIA in Ukraine, against Russia. He said of our present situation, “This is our “1914 moment.” He pointed out how illegal, wrong and dangerous such figures are as Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), who are saying that, “We are at war with Russia.”

The next speaker, Eric Denece, from France, picked right up on this point, starting by asking, “How did this happen? I am not pro- or anti-Russia or Ukraine. “But, this warfare should never have taken place. NATO should have disappeared at the end of the Cold War.” Denece is Director of the French Center for Intelligence Studies (CF2R). He pointed out that the Western nations supplying Ukraine are “direct co-belligerents” against Russia. He said that, “the lesson of geopolitics is that no state can secure its interests at the expense of neighbor states.”

Ray McGovern, CIA analyst (ret.), a founding member of the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS), chose to begin with the admonition to “look beneath the surface. See with the heart, instead of just the eyes,” and then he used this to make sense of the politicians leading the world into this disaster, acting through MICIMATT, a now famous concept of McGovern, which refers to military-industrial-Congressional-intelligence-media-academia-think tank complex.

Questions from the international audience, as well as between speakers, brought out many points, including the observation from Zepp-LaRouche, that the cohesive collusion between politicians and media is manifest to a horrifying and hateful degree in Germany and elsewhere. In the course of observations, the proposal for an “Austria-type” model for Ukraine was raised, to use neutrality in the process of dealing with the deep-seated complications involved.
Col. Black was adamant that we should understand that the intent to manufacture weapons doesn’t work unless you have enemies, so we are manipulated on who our enemies are. People must break out of this. When it comes to Russia and China, we have to “escape from the illusion that, ‘they’re out to get us’.” The “only aggressor is the U.S., UK and NATO.”

Zepp-LaRouche summed up the situation in the course of the concluding four-person dialogue: “The old order is falling apart. The old paradigm is dead.” Thinking people have to weigh what the principles of the new system should be. This is being forced upon us by circumstances, from famine, to shortages, to disease, and to war. “The new name for peace is development.” {Watch them: May 26 The Insanity of Politicians Threatens Nuclear War, and May 25 Why Finland and Sweden Should Not Join NATO.}

Lavrov: US/NATO Already Waging “Total War” Against Russia

March 27, 2022by Mary Jane Freeman in Color Revolutions, General updates, Geopolitics updates, History, Russia, Sanctions, World war danger updates

Lavrov: US/NATO Already Waging “Total War” Against Russia —

March 26 (EIRNS)–Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, during a meeting of the Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Fund in Moscow, charged that the US/NATO/EU combination is already waging a hybrid war on Russia and that its objectives are no different from those of Hitler in 1941. “Today we have been declared a real hybrid war, a total war,” he said, adding that the latter term “was used by Hitler’s Germany” and “is now voiced by many European politicians when they talk about what they want to do with the Russian Federation.” The goals are not hidden, they declared them publicly – to destroy, break, exterminate, strangle the Russian economy and Russia as a whole, he remarked.

Lavrov lashed out at the “sanctions spree” against Russia pointing out that it is becoming clear that all values that those in the West have been preaching to Russia, like freedom of expression, a market economy, the sanctity of private property and the presumption of innocence, are not worth a red cent.

In this environment, the Kiev regime is being encouraged to continue to behave badly. Lavrov charged that the Kiev regime, in fact, has been getting away with bad behavior for years, with complicity of the Western corporate news media, particularly with respect to its crimes in the Donbas region. “All throughout these years, when the Ukrainian leadership evaded its obligations under the Minsk Accords, nationalists were openly wiping out civilian facilities, schools, hospitals. It was well-known and all facts were regularly reported by our mass media but were swept under the rug by the Western media,” Lavrov said. “It included the slaughter of civilians, and you may all know well that the death toll among the population exceeded 10,000,” he noted. “No one in the West cared at all about the inhumane economic, trade, transportation or food blockade of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics.”

The Kiev regime’s bad behavior has extended into the Russia-Ukraine talks as well. Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, the head of the Russian delegation at the Russia-Ukraine talks, accused the regime of seeking to drag out the talks. “They are in no hurry, obviously thinking that time is on their side, and say it openly that they have many decision-making centers they have to agree on these or those solutions with. This is the reality we are in,” he said, reported TASS. “Regrettably, as far as we understand – they make no secret of it, they are limited in making independent decisions. So, the current state of things inspires little optimism,” he stressed, adding he doesn’t share the Ukrainian delegation’s optimism, when it speaks about “great progress.” Further he said that “So far, there is no progress on matters of principal importance that the Russian side insists on.”

‘Youth Development in an Uncertain World’: Interview with Helga Zepp-LaRouche

May 21, 2022by Mary Jane Freeman in Activity of the Schiller Institute, China, Cultural renaissance updates, Economic development updates, General updates, Geopolitics updates, Green New Deal, Helga media coverage or interview, Helga Zepp-LaRouche, Media coverage of our activity, World war danger updates

May 18 (EIRNS)–CGTN conducted an interview on May 17 with Helga Zepp-LaRouche on the centenary of the Communist Youth League. The video with a short description by He Yuhan is available here. {Here is the transcript:}

Q: What is the youth’s role in the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation?

HELGA ZEPP-LAROUCHE: Well, yes, I was for the first time in China in 1971, and this was in the middle of the Cultural Revolution. The situation was so different. People were poor, they were not happy, they lived in a tremendous tension all the time. But even then, people were telling me how much improved the situation was compared to before the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.

Now when I was there, it was just announced that Henry Kissinger had arrived. This was a big, big news, and as we now know, this led then to the historic visit of President Nixon one year later. The situation was, there was not much development. Thousands of bicycles for one car; people were still travelling over dirt roads. I went to Beijing; I saw the Summer Garden painted all in red color by the Revolutionary Guards. Because I saw China as it was then, and I was able to speak to a lot of people also in the countryside. Around Shanghai and Xintao, there were a lot of people who either spoke German or English. But since I had this experience, I think I can say with my own experience, I can testify to the enormous development China has made, which in one sense is unparalleled in the whole world. I think this is very important, because what counts for the identity of a person, especially also a young person, is not so much the condition as you have it at that moment, but it is the vector of development. If the vector of development is upward, then people become optimistic. I can say that also because I see certain parallels to the situation with the German economic miracle which was the reconstruction of Germany after the Second World War, which is why the generation which grew up then was and is still much more optimistic than many of the young people in Germany today.

But in China, because there was this extremely successful development, I have found that young people have been incredibly optimistic, and therefore, when I ask people, “What do you want to become?” They say, “I want to become an astronaut,” or “I want to go and help to build up Africa.” So, I think this is really a very good condition, and I think that therefore the young people in China have a very important historic mission.

I mean at that time, naturally China was very closed, and when I as a young journalist had the opportunity to make this visit, I was all enthusiastic, and I think that curiosity is something I would wish that every young person should have. Because if you want to explore the world when you are young, that’s really the best time to do it. I’m so grateful I did that, because it did shape the rest of my life in so many ways, because one of the experiences of this trip was also that I saw in other countries the under-development of Africa, of certain Asian countries. That motivated me greatly to do as much as I can to get to a new more just world economic order.

Q: What are the unique characteristics and attributes of China’s contemporary youth?

ZEPP-LAROUCHE: I think it’s the environment which is very favorable to the development of young people in China, because when the society gives you the idea that every newborn child is welcomed, and is welcomed because it has a unique creative potential which enriches the common good of society as a whole, this has a very important impact on the formation of the personality. I’m contrasting that, for example, with the Green ideology in Germany, which is not the same like being careful for the environment in China, but in Germany it’s a complete negative ideology. You have the idea that every child and every person is a burden on nature, and therefore, the fewer people there are, the better. There are even books in Germany which say it’s better for the environment not to have any children at all. Now that’s naturally leading to the end of society pretty quickly. But fortunately, in China it is not like that, and I have seen that both in 1971 when I visited, I went to a lot of these children’s palaces, which were devoted to the education of younger children. They were learning how to dance, ballet, sports, gardening, agriculture. I think that that idea, that the aim of education is excellence, I have seen on the many visits I have made to China ever since. I think the result is that China has become an enormously productive society, and I think that speaks for itself.

Hunger, Poverty at Catastrophic Levels in Haiti, as Humanitarian Aid Declines

March 26, 2022by Mary Jane Freeman in Economic development updates, General updates, Geopolitics updates, Haiti

March 24 (EIRNS)–As occurring with Yemen, Afghanistan and other impoverished nations, UN agencies report that funds for humanitarian aid in Haiti are far below what’s needed, resulting in a rise in hunger and poverty levels. As reported in a March 22 UN News release, World Food Program personnel in Port-au-Prince warned in a briefing to media in Geneva that lower-than-expected humanitarian food assistance, combined with the fallout from the Aug. 2021 earthquake, has created a situation where “hunger levels are rising unabated, as persistent political instability, growing inflation and recurrent disasters continue to conspire against the people of Haiti.” It is projected that this year, between March and June, 45% of the population will be in severe hunger, and of those, 1.3 million are estimated to be in the “emergency phase” of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). On World Water Day March 22, the International Action for Human Rights (IAHR) organization reported that 45% of the Haitian population of 11 million people has no access to drinking water.

The backdrop to this disaster is the dysfunctional government of discredited “interim” Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who remains in office only because the Biden administration wants him there–despite the fact that he is implicated in the assassination of president Jovenel Moise in July of 2021, the investigation into which is completely paralyzed. Refusing to come to any agreement with civil society opponents who propose setting up a two-year provisional government to give the country time to stabilize, Henry is insanely insisting on holding elections this year in an out-of-control security situation, where kidnappings by armed gangs target citizens from all walks of life, snatching doctors from hospitals, teachers and students from classrooms, an epidemic that has only worsened over the past several months.

According to Le Nouvelliste March 4, gang control of key roads has cut off four departments (provinces) of what is known as the Great South from the rest of the country, making transportation of food and other necessities into that area highly risky if not impossible. Even before the Ukraine/Russia crisis, inflation was rampant but now it’s worse, with food and fuel prices soaring, making these products unaffordable. Haiti imports most of its food and fertilizer. Senior Program Manager of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Patrick David pointed to the impact of the Ukraine crisis, in terms of worsening food insecurity in Haiti, as the higher prices of imported food and fertilizers from Ukraine will contribute to even higher inflation. Haiti imports wheat mainly from Russia but also from Canada, David reported. “So if the wheat flour is going up, you will see a problem and the price has already multiplied by five in two years. So, we can only expect that it will multiply again.”

UN General Assembly–South Africa Pushes Back Against Weaponizing Aid for Ukraine

March 26, 2022by Mary Jane Freeman in Color Revolutions, General updates, Geopolitics updates, So. Africa, World war danger updates

Mar. 24 (EIRNS)–Today was day two of an emergency UN General Assembly session, of a debate on what resolution text to pass on the topic of UN backing of humanitarian aid for Ukraine.
FLASH: The UN General Assembly approved Resolution ES11-2, titled “Humanitarian Consequences of the Aggression Against Ukraine,” by a vote of 140–yes, 5–no (Russia, Syria, Belarus, North Korea and Eritrea) and 38 abstentions, which included China. This vote is nearly the same as that of March 2, which was 141–yes, 5–no, and 35 abstentions, on a resolution to condemn Russia.

The resolution approved today was put forward by Ukraine titled, “Humanitarian Consequences of the Aggression Against Ukraine.” It condemns Russia for creating the “dire” situation, pushes for humanitarian corridors, and the withdrawal of Russian troops. This resolution claims support of nearly 100 nations. A precursor to Ukraine’s resolution was a text circulated for the last two weeks by Mexico and France.

South Africa has introduced an alternative text, entitled “Humanitarian Situation Emanating Out of the Conflict in Ukraine,” that does not identify Russia for condemnation.

A similar resolution to this one has been available in recent weeks, from Russia, which introduced it last evening in the UN Security Council (joined by Syria, Belarus and the DPRK), where, as was expected, it failed, given that any measure fails if it is vetoed by a member of the P-5, the five permanent members of the UNSC.

However, very notably, China joined Russia in voting for its UNSC humanitarian resolution. The China spokesperson said that China wants to keep the focus on humanitarian aid, and not on other aspects of the situation. As the UN News reported on the text of the Russian resolution, “Under its terms, the Council would have demanded that civilians are fully protected, that all parties ensure respect for, and protection of, all medical personnel and humanitarian personnel exclusively engaged in their medical duties, that they respect international law in connection with objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, and allow safe and unhindered passage to destinations outside of Ukraine, including for foreign nationals, without discrimination.”

600 Sign Appeal Against Arms Buildup in Germany

March 26, 2022by Mary Jane Freeman in General updates, Geopolitics updates, Germany, World war danger updates

600 Sign Appeal Against Arms Buildup in Germany —

Mar. 24 (EIRNS)–Stirred up by the announcement of the government that an extra 100 billion euros shall be spent to upgrade the armed forces, 600 Germans from politics, science and culture have signed an appeal “No to War!” denouncing the war in Ukraine, but also declaring that, “A massive armament of the Bundeswehr will not help the people in Ukraine. The new weapons to be acquired will not support the Ukrainians in their struggle and right to self-defense. Already now the “defense expenditures” of all 30 NATO countries exceed the Russian ones by almost twenty times. Acquiring conventional weapons such as fighter jets and weaponized drones as a deterrent under nuclear military blocs is pointless. “

The sum of 100 billion euros for arms corresponds to the combined expenditures of several federal ministries, including such important departments as Health (16.03 billion), Education and Research (19.36 billion), Interior, Construction and Homeland (18.52 billion), Family, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (12.16 billion), Economy and Energy (9.81 billion), Environment (2.7 billion), Cooperation and Development (10.8 billion), and Food and Agriculture (6.98 billion). In the future, 2% of GDP is to be spent on armaments on a permanent basis. This would increase spending to well over 70 billion euros a year.

Since the government wants to adhere to a zero-budget increase, massive cuts in the social, cultural, and public sectors must be expected, the appeal says, pointing out that “security and social justice, not armaments, are the mandate of the constitution. The appeal concludes stating “We have to deal with a situation in which our health care systems are on edge, with a public infrastructure that has been neglected for decades and is now costing us dearly, with a cultural scene that is running on fumes, and with a climate catastrophe.”

The appeal was initiated, among others, by SPD politicians Andrea Ypsilanti and Jan Dieren, by Left Party politician Julia Schramm, by the former Green Party member of parliament Hans-Christian Ströbele, the Green Party youth spokeswoman Sarah-Lee Heinrich, the Lutheran theologian Margot Käßmann, the metal workers union executive Hans-Jürgen Urban, and the actresses Katja Riemann and Corinna Harfouch.

Pakistan’s PTV Interviews Helga Zepp-LaRouche on OIC Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Islamabad

March 24, 2022by Mary Jane Freeman in Cultural renaissance updates, General updates, Geopolitics updates, Helga media coverage or interview, Helga Zepp-LaRouche, History, Media coverage of our activity, Our conferences

March 23 (EIRNS)—Helga Zepp-LaRouche was part of a panel interviewed yesterday by Pakistan’s PTV host Faisal Rehman about the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) foreign ministers’ meeting in Islamabad on March 22. Here are the exchanges in the interview with Mrs. Zepp-LaRouche, who is the founder and chairwoman of the Schiller Institute. The entire program is posted to YouTube.

FAISAL REHMAN: Let’s see what the lady has to share regarding this. Helga, let me put a straight question to you: Tell us, being a woman living in Europe what exactly do you think about the religion Islam, your perception? How do you perceive it?

HELGA ZEPP-LAROUCHE: I think it’s one of three great monotheistic religions. It’s building on Judaism and Christianity, and I think that the ecumenical dialogue among these three religions is very important as a potential peace factor in the world. I think Prime Minister Imran Khan said something very important: He said that the OIC should unite, and together with China and put maximum influence and pressure on both Ukraine and Russia in order to have a ceasefire and come to an agreement. I think that’s a perfect example how Islam can play a very positive role as an instrument peace.

On the negative side, I think one problem, and this was also mentioned that the Islamic world did not correct the narrative which started to build after 9/11. I think that is still a task, because 9/11 was not as it was presented in the official narrative and the war against Afghanistan—if you think about the people in Afghanistan who were involved in this war, it’s very little if any at all. In any case, I think the origin of 9/11 is a big question which would really need to be analyzed much more in depth.

Then naturally, one cannot forget that Samuel Huntington in his book Clash of Civilizations, he said when the East-West conflict was finished after the collapse of the Soviet Union, that basically one needed to replace the East-West conflict with a North-South conflict, and then he started to talk about the so-called “unsurmountable” conflict between Christianity, Islamic, Hinduism, Confucianism. I read this terrible book and I came to the conclusion that Huntington knows very little about all of these religions and cultures. But nevertheless, this was instigated as a tool of the British Empire and in the case of Afghanistan, you can see very clearly … actual terrorist organizations in Afghanistan is all part of the Great Game.

I think it’s important to look behind what is being said. I think Islam as a religion is a very positive thing, and as you may know, and I mentioned this on an earlier show, the reason why I called for Operation Ibn Sina, reviving the image of this great physician who is one of the absolutely great minds of universal history, that would not only help to solve the medical problem in Afghanistan and reconstruct Afghanistan, but I think if Islamic countries would start to discuss the great contributions which were part of the history of Islam, like Ibn Sina, I think you should not just be defensive about saying that the Islamophobia is wrong and unjust, but I think it would be important to reconnect to the proudest periods of Islamic tradition, like the Abbasid dynasty which was in Baghdad at that time, which was the most developed city in the world! There were more libraries, more books, all the great inventions from the previous time were revived; the caliphs would pay everybody in gold who would bring an invention from Egypt or from Spain or from other places, and without the contact between Haroun al Rashid, for example, and Charlemagne—Carl der Grosse—the Europeans would not have rediscovered their own great heritage.

So, I think, rather than being just defense and saying, this is an unjust vilification of one of the great religions, I think it would make a lot of sense to take a more positive, and in one sense, more offensive attitude by reviving the great Islamic contributions to world history. And given the fact that you had the Abbasid dynasty, you had Ibn Sina who was a great metaphysical philosopher, if I would be a Muslim woman, that’s what I would propose.

REHMAN: Helga, if I might put an interesting question—it was just popping in my mind—I can see you wearing a scarf around your neck, right? So if you put that scarf over your head, do you think your government, or your neighbors or anybody else is going to have an issue? Because, I’m not going to do India-bashing, but they’re not allowing the females Muslim to wear a scarf—but the problem is what happened in France, when the girls were not allowed to cover their head. I’m not saying cover your face, but even during the pandemic, everybody was covering their face, except wearing your glasses—I mean nothing was visible, and that is acceptable. But when you use that scarf to cover your head, that becomes a problem for the Western world, and especially for the non-Muslims. Do you think that’s an issue, or a non-issue?

ZEPP-LAROUCHE: Well, I think it’s definitely something which should be left to the respective religions to figure out. I’m a strong believer in the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, the UN Charter; I believe in sovereignty and non-interference in the affairs of other countries; I believe in acceptance of a different social system. I think the Afghanistan disaster has shown, among many, many others, that you cannot impose your values on another culture without causing havoc and terrible conditions.

On the other side, I’m a modern woman, obviously, and I think that the reason why the Europeans, or some Europeans make an issue out of it, is because they see this as a sign of the suppression of the women. And there is something to be done for the liberation of women—there is no question about it—but I think in all of these questions once you understand the reasons why the representative of the other culture is doing something and you explain your own position, I’m sure that you always can come to an understanding and a solution. But for me, this issue is really not one of the pressing issues. It’s important for some people, but….

REHMAN: Do you think that right direction has been followed now as far as the OIC is concerned, or the Muslim countries are related to it? And maybe in another couple of decades things would really change for the betterment of the Muslims? We’re not terrorists, we’re not extremists, I mean in general—yes, there are radicals in every society, in every religion. Let’s keep them apart. But in general, do you think that if we focus, for example, this year they’re talking about unity, justice and development—I mean, there are so many themes every year, but focus, dedication, hard work and commitment, that is what is required: Helga, your take?

ZEPP-LAROUCHE: I would like to answer that question in the context of the time change which is occurring. You know, in Europe right now, you have a militarization of the EU going on, which I think is very scary, because, with the war in Ukraine, the sanctions against Russia, the effort to try to imply that China is helping Russia, what we are heading towards is the danger of a real bloc building, you know where you have a NATO bloc with the United States and Europe, and maybe Australia and Japan; but then you have a Russia-China bloc. And given the fact that we have right now these sanctions, they’re forcing practically a different financial system. You can already see that trade is occurring in renminbi and rubles; other countries are starting to not trade in dollars anymore.

If this thing goes wrong, you will have two complete blocs which will be hostile to each other. There will be a summit of NATO in June in Spain, where on the agenda is a globalized NATO. If that would go through, and right now, unfortunately it looks like it, the danger that you would have a war between these two blocs is, in my view, a question of time. And that would be a catastrophe for all of humanity. So I was very encouraged when Imran Khan said that the OIC should work with China to try to mediate.

Because we need a new paradigm in international relations: I think that if we go into a geopolitical confrontation in the age of thermonuclear weapons, we could look at the annihilation of civilization. And on the other side, one of the speakers, I think it was [Pakistan’s] Foreign Minister Qureshi also mentioned the need for a new security architecture in the region of the Islamic world; but I’m proposing to have an international security architecture for everybody: Every single country must be taken care of, because security pacts, or security alliances, only function if the interest of everyone is taken into account.

The Schiller Institute will have a very important conference on April 9—and I want to invite all of your viewers to come and look at that: We will try to revive something like the Non-Aligned Movement. We will have an effort to put new principles, overcoming geopolitics on the international agenda. And I think the OIC, if they would really form a bloc and be unified, they are really strong, they could be one of the major forces in the world trying to not have this bloc-building but to move toward a higher principle of coincidence of opposites, of peaceful coexistence, reviving the principles of the Non-Aligned Movement. Many of the OIC members used to be very strong members in the Non-Aligned Movement, and I think you need that kind of an intervention. Because right now, what is happening in Europe is really scary: The EU wants to become a military force; Germany turned into a war cabinet. I think this is a very dangerous development.

And I know it’s very difficult for somebody living in one culture to completely understand the importance of what is going on in other parts of the world, but right now, I think this dangerous moving toward a clash has to be avoided by all means.

REHMAN: Thank you very much, Helga, for your comments and your participation in our program. … That’s all we have for this hour.

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