LETTER: WE MUST SUPPORT UKRAINE AND DEFEAT PUTIN

 Dear Editor,

No one wants a 3rd world war. I never had any grandparents. One was killed fighting in the 1st World War and the other 3 were murdered in concentration camps by the Nazis in the 2nd World War.

But innocent people are being killed in Ukraine today by the Russian army and lessons from history teach us that by not standing up to Dictators things will only get worse.

In 1938 Czechoslovakia had a defence pack with Britain, France and other countries. When in 1938  Britain, France, Italy and others signed the Munich pact with Hitler giving in to his demands Czechoslovakia was betrayed and Hitler soon invaded the whole country.

That was the signal to Hitler that those countries were disunited, unprepared and weak and that he could expand his empire and deliver his 3rd Reich. Tens of millions of people died in the world war  that followed, two thirds of my family were wiped out and my parents had to endure the horrors of the concentration camps.

When in 1968 Communist Russia invaded Czechoslovakia to defeat an attempt for democracy and breaking out of the shackles of communism the West did nothing. The country was occupied and subjugated by the Russians for the next 20 years.

I lost my country and all my friends. Although I have been able to build my life in the UK it was not easy and especially tough on my parents. No one becomes by Refugee by choice and the journey to rebuild your life can be tough.

The invasion of Ukraine confirms that you cannot trust Putin and that Russia continues to be a real threat to its neighbours and to world peace. Sadly 'diplomacy' does not work with Dictators.

Despite spending £billions each year on keeping standing armies and on developing new weapons it is not surprising that US, Britain and the rest do not wish to get involved militarily. Iraq, Afghanistan were all disasters and as a result even NATO is ineffectual and was clearly not ready.

So what should we do?

In 1968 the Czechoslovak army capitulated without firing a shot. It is clear that the Ukrainian army is made of sterner stuff. The west should supply Ukraine with all necessary weapons for their defence.

Ukraine should receive all possible humanitarian aid and borders should be open to their citizens under threat of Russian bombardment. Poland, Slovakia and other nearby states should receive assistance from the EU and the US to make this possible.

Russia should be completely isolated. This means that all business, sporting, cultural and educational links should stop immediately. Business should be instructed to withdraw all their employees and all assets from Russia, Russian football clubs should be expelled from all competitions, non Russian citizens in Russia should be given a deadline to leave and all international flights with Russia should stop. All Trade with Russia should stop and all Russian assets abroad should be frozen. World Universities must stop their doors to students from Russia. 

And yes if we are serious we must STOP buying Russian Oil and Gas. We may experience some pain but that is not the same as being killed by unprovoked Russian bombs and bullets.

It is when Russians feel total isolation and suffer economic and cultural pain that they will turn against Putin. 

Putin will not stop with Ukraine. The world did nothing when Russia invaded Crimea in 2014  and this is the consequence. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are next in line. The sooner the western alliance recognises this and builds up its defences along this line the better.

In 1968 Czechoslovaks pleaded for international help. There were fine words but little else. Fine words and softly softly approach will not work against Russian military might or its Dictator. Unless the Russians stop now and withdraw their troops from Ukraine immediately the international community must engage its economic, financial and other strengths to bring Russia to its knees in other ways.

Paul Lorber

25 February 2022.

 

Paul Lorber was born in Czechoslovakia but had to leave his country as a child following the Russian led invasion of his country in August 1968. He has lived in Brent since 1969 and was a Councillor in Brent for 32 years and Leader of Brent Council between 2006 and 2010.

Green Party and Brent Council reactions to EU Referendum result

My view last night

I have just returned from a 'screen-free' holiday in Transylvania - no TV,  ipad or mobile phone so I am still catching up with the Referendum result and its repercussions. Some of my party could not resist finding out the news and the mood on Friday morning at breakfast was one of shock, consternation and fearfulness about a Gove-Boris Johnson administration.  This was despite the group coming from all areas of the country, rural and city, although predominantly middle class with varying degrees of enthusiasm for Remain.  It was an 'eco' walking holiday so that was also a self-selecting factor.

Also interesting was the consternation of some of the Romanian people we met on Friday, as well as a zech national who joined us on holiday,  who were genuinely concerned about the impact of Brexit on the former communist countries of Eastern Europe and in particular on their relationship with Putin.

These are the immediate reactions of the Green Party and Brent Council:

REACTING to the news that the UK has voted to leave the EU, Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, said:

“People in Britain are angry – and they’ve expressed that anger today by voting to leave the EU. The most important task at hand now is unifying our divided communities.

“Our party will now mobilise alongside the Trade Unions, environmental groups and others to defend our hard-won rights at work and environmental protections.

“If this referendum has shown one thing to be clear it is that the old political party system is not representing people’s views. Politics in the UK is synthetically bound to the Tories and Labour – that’s clearly failing. We’re calling on all sides to come together to fix our democracy here in Britain – starting with electoral reform for the House of Commons. The democratic deficit will not be fixed by leaving the EU – we need to look closer to home too.

“What worries us now is the fate of the many Europeans living here. The Leave campaign said they will be able to stay – and we expect them to honour that. But what about people who have made plans to come here to join family, or British people who have saved up for a lifetime to move to Spain? The prospect of shutting down the right to free movement is frightening, as are the consequences of a campaign that has at times pitted neighbours against one another, whipped up fear and allowed lies and myths to take the place of truth. Britain deserves better and I am pledging anew to fight against division on behalf of my constituents.”

 Natalie Bennett, Green Party Leader, said:

"We cannot hide our disappointment at this result having campaigned strongly for a vote to Remain. But, we have to listen to the expressed view of the British people.

"We must now turn our attention to the task at hand: unifying our divided communities after an extraordinarily bitter period in British politics.

"The level of alienation against our mainstream politics is evident in this vote. The public have today rejected the views of the parties represented by 98% of our MPs in Westminster.

"There is a very clear division in the results, with very different votes in different parts of Britain. We need to listen to the generally more economically disadvantaged communities who have voted to leave, and take real action to improve their conditions as soon as possible.

"And with our sister party in Scotland launching a petition (1) for a reconsideration of Scotland's relationship with the EU, we need to acknowledge that the vote there was very different to that in England and Wales."

Brent Council Statement 

The Leader of Brent Council has moved to reassure European Union Citizens, local businesses and investors in West London following the referendum result which was announced earlier today (June 24).

Across the UK nearly 52 per cent of people voted to leave the European Union (EU) while in London and Brent the majority wanted to remain. 72,523 Brent residents voted for the UK to remain in the EU, while 48,881 voted to leave.

The vote to leave has caused turbulence in stock markets across the world and raised fears of what a 'Brexit' could mean - in particular for workers and families from Europe.

Brent Council has vowed to work closely with local businesses, public sector partners and local communities following the nationwide result.

Councillor Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council, said the consequences of the result will be discussed at a meeting of the West London Alliance (WLA) on Monday. He said: 

"Brent is the most diverse place in the UK and a place where people from all over the world come together to work, live and play. This is one of the things I am most proud of about Brent and one of our key strengths.

"My message to our neighbours and co-workers who are EU citizens and also to investors and employers in West London is not to panic. Nothing will change instantly overnight.

"European nationals will continue to enjoy the same rights as they have now and any changes will be publicised well in advance."

Cllr Roxanne Mashari, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Growth, Employment and Skills, said: 

"The council has received many calls from EU citizens concerned about the possible impact of the referendum result and about their right to stay in the UK.

"The council's message is clear: Brent is open for business and investment. We value the hard work of EU citizens and the positive contribution they make to Brent. In the short-term the UK remains a member of the EU with existing laws and treaty obligations in place. Rules on tariffs, movement of goods and individuals will not change until any renegotiation is complete. We will work hard with other local councils, local business leaders and the West London Alliance to provide the information and support needed at this time."

Andrew Dakers, Chief Executive of West London Business, said:

 "West London remains one of the best places in the world to do business. West London is exceptionally well connected by air, road and rail. We have a highly skilled workforce that is the most productive in London. We are also home to some of the UK's leading entrepreneurs and Higher Education institutions.

"In the weeks ahead we will work with the local business community and our West London Alliance partner local authorities to ensure that the specific business implications arising from Brexit, and any support needed, is fully understood to ensure long term economic growth is sustained."

The Kilburn Times LINK reports Cllr John Warren (Conservative, Brondesbury Park) as saying:

"It’s a very bad day. I can’t believe it’s a good day for Brent in terms of the national decision but that’s not Brent’s fault.

“All the experts say that the economy will suffer. Clearly Brent has a lot of members of the community at the lower end and they are bound to suffer eventually.

“If the economy suffers, money coming to the government suffers and it has a knock on effect.

“Brent did very well out of the EU, it’s a bad day for the residents of Brent.”

THE OFFICIAL BRENT RESULT

60 per cent of Brent residents have voted for the United Kingdom to remain in the European Union in yesterday’s referendum.

72,523 residents voted for the United Kingdom to remain in the EU, whereas 48,881 voted to leave, with 267 spoilt ballots.

The turnout was 65 per cent.