The Putin Visit: Germany's Left Declares Moral Bankruptcy

(By Ray D.)

Only 30 Demonstrators Protest Chechnya As Putin And Schroeder Sign Billion Dollar Deals

Few places symbolize the moral bankruptcy and hypocrisy of the German left more clearly than Chechnya. When US President George W. Bush visited Germany last February, tens-of-thousands of angry demonstrators turned out in Mainz and all across Germany to vent their outrage at the Iraq war and the abuses at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo. Now, less than two months later, Russian President Vladimir Putin is in Germany. And a whopping 30 protesters showed up to demonstrate against the bloody Russian war and widespread human rights violations in Chechnya. Putin and Schroeder were all smiles as they tipped champagne glasses and signed multi-billion dollar business deals for everything from Russian natural gas imports to German bullet train exports in Schroeder's hometown of Hannover. Naturally, with the cash registers busily ringing away, Chechnya never came up and the German media has all but ignored the topic.

Don't Worry Vladimir, Germans Only Protest Wars Involving America

For one, Chechnya offers a perfect example of asymmetric journalism. Since Russia is a relatively closed society, it is far more difficult for the international media to report on the widespread death and suffering taking place in the Caucuses. And atrocities that aren't seen and reported on are rarely cause for widespread outrage and demonstration in the West. How could they be if no one has heard about them? Iraq, on the other hand, is largely open to journalists because of the open nature of American democracy. Because of that fact, abuses are normally made public and discussed in the media. When a bomb goes off in Iraq, it is usually an international story. When a bomb goes off in Chechnya, it is usually never even reported on unless it is a mass casualty event. When a group of prisoners are abused in Iraq, it is a scandal that lingers for months and a source of worldwide anger. When thousands of people, many of them innocent, simply disappear in Russia, it is barely mentioned anywhere.

The German Left: Thousands of Dead in Chechnya War Not Even Worth Protesting For

This highlights the massive double-standard and hypocrisy that plague the German left. No one cares whether the thousands missing in Chechnya were treated in accordance with international law, were tortured in dark prisons, were raped or abused. Many missing Chechnyans likely were. But, for the most part, the German left simply doesn't care. Apparently, the so-called "peace movement" thinks that this just isn't cause to disrupt Gerhard Schroeder's caviar and champagne party with Männerfreund and former KGB agent Putin, who picked up his German by helping the Stasi beat down democratic forces in East Germany during the Cold War.

The entire charade clearly demonstrates how the so-called German "peace movement" has changed little since the days of the Cold War when thousands protested in outrage over US involvement in Vietnam, but gave the Russians a free pass during the brutal Soviet war of occupation in Afghanistan. The movement's unending attempts to seize the moral high ground have been repeatedly undercut and exposed by the same sort of left-leaning Doppelmoral time and again.

As a society, we have to ask ourselves: What has really happened to the thousands of people missing in Chechnya? What have they been subjected to? What is their legal status? Are they even alive? Is the media coverage in Germany and around the world fair and balanced when we compare coverage of Iraq and Bush to coverage of Chechnya and Putin? If so many people around the world are so outraged by the military liberation of Iraqis from Saddam's Fascist reign of terror, why isn't there far more outrage at the horrific war of suppression going on in the Caucuses where oil is indeed an obvious factor behind the conflict?

Once again: Where are the hoards of angry anti-war protesters now that Vladimir Putin is in Germany? Why aren't they out waving rainbow PACE flags, beating drums, burning Putin effigies and pounding the pavement in mass protest by the thousands?  Where are the shrill cries of "no blood for oil?" Where are the concerned friends of oppressed Muslims with their Palestinian flags? Where is the outrage at the violation of the Geneva Conventions and international human rights? Where are the mock funeral processions and empty coffins? Where are the candle-light vigils and the portraits of the dead and missing? Why has the German left sold out in the interest of selling trains and securing the rights to import oil and gas?

Clearly: As long as this double standard in the handling of Iraq vs. Chechnya remains, the German left will continue to suffer a massive credibility gap. It is hard to lend any credibility to a movement that is so obviously biased and motivated by a one-sided hatred of America.

Note: Check out our latest article on an absolutely crazy anti-American conspiracy theory recently voiced by one of Germany's most powerful politicians.

Update: Despite intense coalition negotiations in Germany, Gerhard Schroeder found the time to fly to Russia to party with Vladimir Putin on the Russian President's 53rd birthday. More here...

Comments

[Pogue Mahone]

I am continuosly amazed that anyone can claim that the US is not attacked for what she is rather than what she does

It is clear that the first question the europeans ask when a grevious wrong has been done in the world is "did the USA do it?" - if the answer is YES - the demo is on! If no - nothing to see here - move along

[ulrich speck]

Cheyna is an important point. But even much worse is Dafur. Hunderts of thousands of death until now, but nobody in Germany cares. A daily slaughter of civilians, supported by Peking (oil interests) and Moskow (arms sales). Paris is playing dirty games in the Security council - it has forced Washington to accept the ICC, for not to be blamed for blocking measures. But the International Criminal Court is, at least here, only a cheap excuse. He cannot intervene, and its not impossible that the perspective for Sudan leaders to become international outlaws makes things even worse. But Paris don't cares, it only uses international institutions to fight the US.
American mainstream media - NYT and WP - are fighting to get their government engaged. Not so in Germany. People are so occupied with bad news from Iraq (=good news for old Europe), they have simply no interest to see what's going on elswhere. So if you look for a case where the socalled left has given up all its credibility, it may be not only Cheyna, but also Dafur.
When you start to realize how these games work, you start to ask yourself what the leftist agenda really is. To be on the left, to be "critical" has always meant to critize America (imperialism) or American influence (mass-culture and capitalism) on Germany. It started in the sixties. Take the socalled solidarity with Vietnamese people and other real or imagined victims of the US. This had very little to do with the Vietnamese, but very much with the victimization of the kids of German elites (Bildungsbürger) who had lost the war - against the US. They have always imagined themselves as victims. The key words are "Bombenkrieg", "Besatzung" (occupation) and "Widerstand" (resistance).
The agenda of the left has nothing to do with morality, or the will to change anything, to be part of the solution instead of beeing part of the problem. The German left simply wants to blame those who have blamed (or seem to have blamed) the Germans: America and Israel. This is the real game that is going on. Thats why Iraq is so much covered in the news: it gives the chance to blame the US. Same for other conflicts where the US or Israel are involved.
Other conflicts are not interesting. For Cheyna or Dafur you cannot blame the US (neither Israel). So it is, in this perspective, useless to report or to talk about it.

[Huan]

what peace movement???

oh, you mean the anti-american movement wearing peace t-shirts!

[Huan]

maybe we have this all wrong. maybe they don't care about a credibility gap because its all just demagoguery.

[Lou Minatti]

Niko, I've never heard that one. The sadly pathetic thing is it's accurate.

[Mescalero]

My grandparents were refugees from the Kaiser's war machine in the late 1880's. My grandfather, in today's terminology, would have been classified as a "undocumented" alien in the US.

If he were alive today, he no doubt would have advocated that every media outlet in this country dig up every piece of political dirt they could find against the German SPD. Alas, that won't happen, because the American MSM is every bit as dishonest as the German MSM.

[Tom (American Voter)]

I often wonder if the underlying cause for many of these marches really is anti-Americanism. An alternate explanation would be that old Europe has become such an irrelevant global power, that people protest the US because they know they'll at least get noticed and therefore feel they have at least some influence on world events. A protest against Russian foreign policy would most likely be ignored in most of old Europe, Russia and the US and serve only to re-enforce old Europe’s lack of any global influence.

[Mike]

Don't forget the Congo, Venezuala or Cuba.

[Sock Puppet of Doom]

The reason they don't speak out is simple. They don't want the Chechens comming to Germany.

[amiexpat]

@sock puppet..
good point..
also the reason Joschka Fischer supported the Kosovo war.. to prevent more ASYLBEWERBER from coming to Germany..

[ulrich speck]

Yes, Congo is horror too. Millions of deaths. Not of interest for western (or nothern) media. This is another hypocrisy. We are not responsible for what happens there, politicans tell us. Everybody speaks about "good government" that Africans should introduce by themselves. That sounds good. But the fact is that in the Congo there is a bitter fight for natural ressources. You have gangs who occupy the mines. And you have western - mostly european - businesspeople who work very close with those gangs. You can read all this in two UN-reports about the exploitation of the natural ressources of the Republic Congo. The final report has not been completly published - to sensitive. Because it listed all the companies that profit from this kind business. Also German companies make their profits.
So if you had a real left that is really interested to improve life conditions of people, they had to campaign against companies and governments who support the slaughter. But thats, in fact, not the concern of the left. Because you cannot blame the US.
Tom, I don't think that German powerlessness is the problem. Berlin is more powerful than it ever was since 1945. Before 2002, Germanys new power was constrained, by tradition and by wise statemanship. Then the chancelor detected anti-amerianism as a political ressource. What followed was Schröders decision to build an anti-american coalition that deprived Washington of its legitimacy. The Schröder-Chirac-axis today is acting worldwide. They work closely with Moskow and Peking, and also with Teheran. This is a major problem for Washington today.

[vs]

And where are the Karneval cars with Schroeder climbing up Putin's a..hole? That would have been a perfect metaphore here...

[Lou Minatti]

Speaking of Africa, I am amazed that Europe (particularly Spain) desires to be friends with Fidel Castro.

I was re-reading an old National Geographic from 1983 last night. There was a lengthy article on Ethiopia. Why do Europeans forget Cuba's direct role in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians during that long "civil" war? As a reminder, the Soviets shipped literally billions of dollars worth of military "aid" to that soverign country to enforce a communist system. Castro sent in tens of thousands of Cuban soldiers. The Cuban soldiers massacred a hideous number of civilians.

http://www.factmonster.com/ce6/world/A0858046.html

The left's answer to this tragedy was to promote a crappy song, to "feed the world and let them know it's Christmastime". So they raised a few million bucks, shipped the food, but people CONTINUED TO DIE in this stupid war. They starved to death because the USSR/Cuba buddies blocked food shipments.

Perhaps we shouldn't blame Russia for this, since the USSR no longer exists. But Castro had a direct hand in this tragedy, and he is still in power. Why do European leaders desire to suck up to Castro the thug dictator?

...und wo sind die deutschen CDU und FDP Politiker die die Freiheit für das tschetschenische Volk fordern?

"The reason they don't speak out is simple. They don't want the Chechens comming to Germany."
Oh ja, richtig, weil ohne den Krieg sicher auch so viele Tschetschenen fliehen müssten. Deiner kruden Logik zufolge müsste eine Billigung des Konfliktes im Gegenteil ein Beweis sein, dass sie sich tschetschenische Flüchtlinge wünschen.

[David Govett]

One forgets that Germans and Russians often are related. Germans raped Russian women on the way east during WWII, and Russians raped German women on the way west. It's a family thing.

[Frank]

Words like human rights and democracy are easy to use as arguments against the action of different countries.
In the end countries do what they belive is in their interests. The US is not better than other countries if you look at the history.

Germany and Russia will have very close relations in the future simply because both countries will benefit from that. Germany needs russian oil and natural gas and russia can benefit from german technologies and investments.
Beside that Russia has even today a common border with the EU and will integrate more and more in the EU.

[scou29c]

I’m hesitant to try and parse the German mind but the inconsistency in protests may be due to expectations. The Russians have a reputation for abusing human rights, especially those of other people they control. The Americans have a reputation of respect for an individual’s rights and religion.

The history of our founding, our Constitution, our national identity are all tied individual freedom and rights. Now of course the U.S. was never as perfect as we claim or would like to think, but our ideals are. Regardless of our blunderings in the past, for us to act cavalier in regards to people in another country in this day and age flies in the face of expectations. The idea of American promises more and more is expected.

[Rebecca]

I have to say that the very same issue is true here in the U.S. The American left protests everything the U.S. has done in Iraq & Afghanistan - but not a word about Chechnya, and very few words about Darfur. I think that the torture of prisoners in Abu Ghraib and other U.S. controlled prisons is despicable - but granting that, why not also condemn what the Russians have been doing for years to Chechnya? I think it's simply because it's not the U.S. that's attacking Chechnya. If the U.S. were involved, there would be massive marches in the streets of New York. And somehow when leftists here in the U.S. make lists of the worst human rights abuses in the world, Israel and the U.S. end up on top, while Chechnya, Congo, Darfur, etc. don't even make it on to the list.

[germantommy]

`One forgets that Germans and Russians often are related. Germans raped Russian women on the way east during WWII, and Russians raped German women on the way west. It's a family thing.´

This isn´t true. The German soldiers killed Russian women. They would have never raped them, because of the racistic nazi ideology. They saw them more as animals.

Today our Minibrain Schrödie hopes that the former KGB- man Vladimier would donate jobs to Germany while the socialdemocrats continue ruining the German industry.
How tragic that the German people voted two times for a kid from the gutter who always starts talking before he puts his brain into action.