OF DILUVIUMS

OF DILUVIUMS

Diluvium is a Latin word meaning flood. To deluge is to flood. The Spanish Academy defines deluge as a flooding of the earth or a part of it, preceded by heavy rains. For many Spanish speakers, diluvio means rain. Metaphorically it also expresses the excessive abundance of something, either physically or morally.

In human cultures, the legend of a great flood that destroyed the old and made way for the new is widespread in all times and places. In the book "Creation Myths", Philip Freund estimates that there are more than 500 flood legends among more than 250 tribes and peoples. In many cases they have been known as the Great Flood, which, considering that they happened 4,000 years ago, the Universe as known to humans could not have been very large. As might be expected, over the course of many centuries imaginary events and characters have been added to these legends. Nevertheless, they all have fundamental similarities.

The oldest flood legend comes from the Sumerians, an ancient people who lived in Mesopotamia. When people migrated from Mesopotamia after the Flood, they carried stories of the catastrophe with them to all parts of the Earth. Thus, among the inhabitants of Asia, of the islands of Oceania, of the North, Central and South Americas, there are accounts of that awesome event. Most of the flood legends existed long before the Bible reached these peoples. And all of them accept that the origin of these cataclysms was to punish humans for their violence and immorality.

?But these reasons and these situations are still happening today, and that is why, even if we find it hard to accept, we are living in times of new floods. The latest cataclysm that can seriously affect peace is the killings committed by Hamas in the Al-Aqsa Operation Deluge and Israel's response. Hamas massacred more than 1400 people and took more than 200 hostages. The general opinion is that Israel's response is disproportionate. A figure such as Macron has stated as much, and has referred to Netanyahu as an inhuman being capable of the greatest iniquities. The Israeli's response was forceful, reminding Macron that no French president thought as he did when President Bush repressed the attacks of 9/11 in 2001 or when President Putin repressed the attack on the Duvrovka Theatre in Moscow in October 2022 in which more than 170 people were killed, including hostages and terrorists. The EU's High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana, made his position clear at the time: you cannot negotiate with terrorists.

It is disputed whether we are now dealing with an act of terrorism or an act of war. Acts of war are also crimes and inhumane actions. And since everything has a before, and has consequences, it is worth remembering past conflicts, real cataclysms in which the word deluge was also used, and which have led us to the one we are living through now. All of them have occurred in my lifetime

I will begin by recalling the shameful last bombing of Vietnam ordered by Nixon. On 18 December 1972, the first planes took off from Guam, bound for North Vietnam. In the eleven days of that campaign, more than 20,000 tons of bombs were dropped when it was already clear that the war was coming to an end. Perhaps because of this, because of the unnecessary nature of the attack at that stage of the conflict, and because of the evidence that the victims were civilians the response in the US and international press was overwhelmingly unfavourable. The British "Daily Mirror" headlined: "Nixon's Christmas deluge of death", and my admired "Washington Post" at the time, called the Operation "the most savage and absurd act of war ever committed by one sovereign people against another". No Western democratic government or international legal institution spoke out about these events. Naturally, the UN remained mute and deaf. Only a few prominent intellectuals decided to intervene. The so-called Russell-Sartre Tribunal was set up as a court of "opinion" with no other right than to report, give opinions and denounce the criminal facts of that war. The contradictions of democracy became transparent. The democratic countries of Western Europe refused to accept the tribunal. A leap in time reminds us of different wars: the Gulf War, the invasion of Iraq, the war in Afghanistan and so many others. All infamous wars of interests, in which democratic countries led by the United States showed the world that they had betrayed the values we believed we stood for. I jump ahead and comment on the Balkan wars.

?The Yugoslav wars that began in 1991 lasted until 2001. The various countries that had formed the Federation after World War II under the leadership of Josip Broz Tito decided to self-destruct or, according to others, to reorganise. Naturally there were always "friends" who helped their self-destruction. In my opinion, Yugoslavia could have become a kind of "small European Union". However, the attempt to coordinate several states under one roof failed. I think a lot about Yugoslavia and what has happened, and I remember Jordi Pujol who in September 1987 declared in Slovenia that he believed in federalism like Yugoslavia. Very shortly afterwards, Slovenia declared its independence. Perhaps there is a lesson for Spain, which, in 2023, must also find better ways to avoid getting lost.

NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999 was an undeclared war between most NATO member states and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The attacks took place from 24 March to 11 June 1999. Belgrade was destroyed after 78 days of bombing. A veritable deluge of fire. The operation was launched unilaterally by NATO, without prior authorisation from the UN Security Council, which is why various media and groups have considered the bombings to constitute acts of war crimes. It was the first time that NATO used military force without the approval of the UN Security Council. During these actions, on 7 May, NATO bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, killing three Chinese journalists. The bombing strained relations between the People's Republic of China and NATO. China stated that "NATO should seriously reflect on the crimes being committed, stop inciting tensions in the region and stop sowing division and instability".

In the aftermath of the war, the role of the United Nations, which had been ignored by NATO, was exposed. Russia and China began to work together against the US-led coalition, something that is already very strong and which, in the current European situation, has a decisive influence on the solution to the Ukrainian problem.

?I now turn to Ukraine. Once again there is an undeclared war, this time between Russia and NATO. The background to the situation in Ukraine with regard to its eastern provinces in the Donbass: Donetsk and Luhansk has hardly been reported in the Western press. Those of us who follow the activities of the various stages of the Russell-Sartre tribunals know that in September 2014 this so-called "court of conscience" considered allegations of war crimes and gross human rights violations by Barack Obama, Anders Rasmussen and Pyotr Poroshenko in Eastern Ukraine. The Russell Tribunal's goal is to conduct an investigation analogous to that already conducted into US military crimes during the Vietnam War, as well as to break the media's silence, a planned silence," it said in a press release. The court officially asked to try Obama and Poroshenko for unleashing the war in Ukraine.

The truth is that Poroshenko's management has been a political and economic disaster for his country. Data on the evolution of the Ukrainian demography tell us that the country that once had 52 million inhabitants is now less than 40 million. Millions have left the country without being considered refugees, but simply people without a future who have sought solutions outside Ukraine. It is difficult to know how many migrants are genuine refugees and why. My experience in Sweden confirms that many Russians fled to Sweden at the time of the Chechen war to protect their children from militarisation. One does not have to ask too many questions to understand that many Ukrainians have left their country for the same reasons: to flee Zelensky's army. The Russian government puts the number of Russian-Ukrainians who have moved to Russia at five million.

Crimea's reincorporation into Russia was possible without violence, because it responded to the wishes of its inhabitants, and because of Ukraine's economic weakness. Without the flood of European money and without European and American arms, the Donbass would already be in Russian hands. And while we are often presented with the fact that a majority of countries in the United Nations support Western countries, the reality is that the vast majority of the world's population does not. Europe has thrown away forty years of friendly and economic relations with Russia with the results we already feel at home.

What is on the table as a blueprint for a possible peaceful solution is threefold: Crimea will remain Russia. In Donbass, a referendum is to be held, organised and controlled by the United Nations, so that the population can decide whether or not it wants to join Russia. And thirdly, democratic, fair elections must be organised and a ceasefire agreed in Ukraine beforehand, so that all Ukrainian nationals, at home and abroad, can be given a voice. Peace deserves reflection and a chance.

I don't know what the next cataclysm will be. In Europe it may be in the hands of Iran and the distressing migration processes. In the Far East, Biden's obsession with creating a new NATO for the Pacific is a new threat to Korea, China and even Japan, which is being forced to abandon the pacifist positions it has held since 1945 but is ageing rapidly and has been shrinking in population for more than a dozen years. Japan cannot lose even one young person.

On the subject of the Flood myths, and what is true of them, I will undertake to tell you what I remember next time.

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