(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
Rødt and SV have condemned Israel's behavior in Gaza and demanded that Norway introduce a halt in arms shipments and certain other limited sanctions against Israel. But they have never suggested that Norway supplies weapons to the Palestinian resistance against Israel's genocide and illegal annexation policy in Palestine. The two parties, on the other hand, have joined the consensus in the Storting that it is important and right to support Ukraine with weapons. The rationale has been that this is important for maintaining respect for the sovereignty of all countries, as enshrined in the UN Charter.
Ukrainian military victory in the war against Russia is currently unrealistic, but the upcoming party Peace and Justice (FOR) would be against Norwegian arms support to Ukraine as well om such a victory would have been realistic. One main reason is that victory for Ukrainian government forces would be primarily a victory for the United States. It would enable Ukrainian NATO membership and secure NATO control over the entire Black Sea. Russia would be left greatly weakened, which would help to revive a US hegemony – which is otherwise in danger of falling.
NATO's bombing war against Yugoslavia
Maintaining international law as laid down in the UN Charter, the Geneva Conventions and the Genocide Convention has a moral superstructure – even if they are also built on self-interest. Morally, it is about war, war crimes and genocide being something we must avoid because it affects people, regardless of who these people may be. Self-interest is based on the fact that by maintaining a set of rules that prevent states from using any means to promote their interests, we increase security for all states and for citizens in all countries – including for ourselves.
Yugoslavia had not attacked any NATO country, nor was there any resolution in the UN Security Council which implied that NATO had the legal right to use military force against Yugoslavia.
The process of breaking down respect for the UN Covenant's prohibition against aggressive war did not begin with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but with NATO's bombing war against Yugoslavia in 1999. Yugoslavia had not attacked any NATO country, nor was there a resolution in the UN Security Council that meant that NATO had the legal right to use military force against Yugoslavia. The pretext for bombing anyway was the ongoing ethnic conflict in Kosovo, where accusations were made that Serbian police and militia forces were committing genocidal acts and planning to drive the Albanian majority out of the province.
It is relevant to remember this because the genocide accusations were made in connection with a conflict which, before the NATO bombing was initiated on 24 March 1999, had claimed fewer than 1500 human lives over 2 years, and where the vast majority of those killed were fighting guerrilla soldiers and Serbian police and military. No children and very few civilians had been killed. There were also no statements from leading politicians or the military in Yugoslavia indicating that anyone there intended to expel the Albanians from Kosovo.
This stands in stark contrast to the situation in Gaza now, where over 28, the vast majority civilians, and nearly half children, have been killed in just over 000 months, and where concrete plans have both been drawn up and agitated repeatedly in several forums from top politicians in Israel for the Palestinians in Gaza to be deported. While there was no legal basis in Kosovo to make allegations of genocide or the threat of genocide, the UN Court of Justice has recently found that South Africa's accusation that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza is plausible.
We thus see that there is no trace of morality or principled thinking in Western politics. If we see different situations in context, we find that the West's position always revolves exclusively around self-interest, even if the rhetoric always tries to point to a general morality. Yugoslavia was an ally of a rival, while Israel is an integral part of the Western community. We must of course work to change this, but without radical political changes in the West, it is a dangerous political naivety to assume that such a self-limiting morality actually exists.
Never weapons for NATO war!
It is the remnants of US hegemony that enable Israel's genocide in Gaza today. Should it succeed in reviving this hegemony, Israel will be able to continue its strategy of step by step expelling the Palestinians from all parts of historic Palestine, without humanitarian organizations, UN agencies or other states being able to do anything to prevent it. A revived US hegemony will probably also lead to us seeing more wars of aggression contrary to international law. Combating the power and hegemony of the USA, NATO and the West in the world is therefore the main strategic task for the global peace and solidarity movement of which Fred and Justice sees itself as a Norwegian branch.
As long as the West has an economic, political and ideological hegemony, it is possible to ensure that rivals such as Russia are forced to limit their use of force to what the UN Charter allows. But NATO countries choose to put themselves above this when it suits. If this hegemony falls, on the other hand, there is hope that the leaders of the West will also be rational enough to want to contribute to strengthening the international agreements that will secure us all against war, war crimes and genocide.
Fighting the power and hegemony of the USA, NATO and the West in the world is the main strategic task for the global peace and solidarity movement.
We will not achieve that by a pro-Western military victory in Ukraine. We achieve this through peace negotiations and an agreement where NATO agrees to freeze all further expansion. NATO must accept that the security interests of all other states must be given the same weight as those belonging to the West. That such an understanding is awakened in the West is the Palestinians' best hope. Unfortunately, the politicians do not contribute to this today.
