Strategic Watchword:
Sovereignty, Not Tanks

Jan. 28—The strategic watchword of international relations as of the close of January, is not “tanks” for Ukraine, but “sovereignty” for all nations. There is no such thing as national sovereignty in the West’s vaunted “rules-based” order of “democracy.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s capitulation Jan. 25 in approving German tanks for Ukraine, after his 2022 assertion that Germany would send no heavy weapons because of its endangerment for all concerned, marks an historic moment of disgrace, and a heightened necessity for international change. It was noted Jan. 27 by Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova: “The day the decision was made in favor of supplying Leopard tanks was historic. It was all the more historic because it finally testified to, and cemented what we had been talking about for quite a long time—Germany’s absolute loss of sovereignty.”

Another, though different, kind of incident occurred prior to Scholz’s announcement, which underscores the assault on sovereignty. Boris Johnson popped up in Kiev Jan. 22, loudly stating that Global NATO would support Ukraine to the last. This signals his and the British Empire’s mad intent to override all national sovereignty everywhere. His exact words: Britain will “stick by NATO as long as it takes.”

But voices are speaking out against this deadly arrogance. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has ordered that no Brazilian-made tank ammunition will be supplied to Germany, because it is likely going on to Ukraine. He took a stand of neutrality. His exact words: “It is not worth provoking Russia,” as reported by Folha de Sao Paulo, Jan. 27. Instead, he called for getting peace talks started.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro is also refusing to allow his nation’s weapons to be sent to the conflict. Petro told reporters at the Jan. 24 CELAC meeting in Buenos Aires, that he had refused the U.S. request that Colombia make its Russian-made helicopters available to Ukraine. Even if the helicopters rust into “scrap metal” for lack of maintenance and replacement parts, he said, Colombia will not send them to feed the Ukrainian-Russian conflict. His exact words: “Latin America should … demand peace.”

Former Guyana President Donald Ramotar has released an article (see in this issue of EIR), in which he appeals to fellow leaders in the Americas to initiate action for talks to stop the war. It is titled, “Russia-Ukraine and CARICOM.” (CARICOM is the 15-member Caribbean Community organization established in 1973, comprising 14 nation-states and one dependency.)

Ramotar writes, “It is time that CARICOM as a whole and the countries that comprise it individually make their presence for peace felt. They should denounce the escalation that is presently happening by the sending of more weapons, new tanks, etc. to Ukraine.”

He reviews the danger of nuclear war, and the history of NATO’s action “to prepare Ukraine to wage a war against Russia.” He calls for signing the open letter in support of the Pope’s offer of the Vatican as a venue for peace talks.

In Europe, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on state radio Jan. 27, that Germany’s decision to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine was emblematic of the direct role in the war that the West is now taking, and instead, the West should seek “a ceasefire and peace talks.”

Institutionally, there are tectonic shifts toward a new order in the world, by alignments among sovereign nations committed to promoting mutual development. There are notable diplomatic initiatives in this direction. India—soon to be the world’s most populous nation—will host the G20 Foreign Ministers March 1 and 2 in New Delhi, and in late May or June, will host leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and guest nations in Goa.

Representing the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Sergei Glazyev was in Jakarta this week, visiting the leaders of ASEAN, and meeting with Indonesian leaders to further the free-trade agreement in the works between the EAEU and Indonesia.

The benefits of the fast-moving ascent of the BRICS to become the BRICS-Plus was discussed by Santiago Cafiero, the Foreign Minister of Argentina, host of the just-concluded Jan. 24 meeting of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), involving 33 nations, in an exclusive interview with China’s CGTN Jan. 25, on the focus of CELAC and China. Cafiero pointed out that for Argentina, three BRICS nations already rank among the top four trade partners of Argentina, and that further collaboration is wide open to development. Cafiero pointedly discussed that the Malvinas Islands have been occupied by the British for 190 years, and it’s high time this be ended—by diplomatic means.

The third Belt and Road Forum in China, some time in 2023, its 10th anniversary, is expected to be a kick-off for more development.

Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder and leader of the international Schiller Institute, made sovereignty the first point of her “Ten Principles of a New International Security and Development Architecture,” which she issued for world dialogue and consideration in November 2022.

The document states: “First: The new International Security and Development Architecture must be a partnership of perfectly sovereign nation states, which is based on the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and the UN Charter.”

Plan to discuss this, attend the Saturday Feb. 4, two-panel international Schiller Institute Conference, and mobilize, each in their own way. This can make miracles.