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Tom Brown's avatar

The reactions of 'non-aligned' nations to the Ukraine invasion has been too little considered and Philip's piece is very timely. All of Europe should be worried that a country like South Africa has not automatically aligned itself with the NATO position and look at itself in the mirror on why there is evidently no immediate political solidarity. Apart from the hypocrisy and post-colonialism which many nations will have pereceived in US-led wars in the middle-east, it strikes me that the lack of solidarity shown during Coronavirus is also important. Rich western countries, with UK being arguably the worst offender, over-ordering vaccines and failing to deliver on promises to vaccinate the world must be fresh in memories. The economic and human toll on South African society has been immense. Looking particular at the UK with its government's assertion of a 'Global Britain' and talk of reviving Commonwealth links is exposed as rank hypocrisy also by politically-motivated cuts to development aid, and then the sight of the most desparate asylum-seekers being subject to the most hostile path to safety, abused as welfare-chasers and even deported without due process. If I were a Nigerian or South African minister, I would find it very difficult to raise a finger to help such a mean-spirited group of rich nations.

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Greger Lindell's avatar

Another piece of hypocrisy would be Boris Johnson’s Great Britain breaking international law. Small, maybe.

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