Dagdelen: the German government is incapable of prioritizing the interest of its population over its vassal relations with the US

JAYRO SANCHEZ

Sevim Dagdelen, the daughter of Kurdish immigrants in Germany, is the spokesperson for International Relations of the Die Linke parliamentary group, the main political force of the real left in the country today. Videos of her interventions in the Bundestag on the war in Ukraine have gone viral on the internet.

We interviewed her exclusively to talk about the German participation in the conflict and the attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines, vital for the supply of Russian energy to the main European power. Dagdelen considers that the leaks a few days after the meeting between Scholz and Biden, about the alleged authorship of a pro-Ukrainian group, contradict all previous reports provided to Parliament by the German government, according to which only state agents can be the perpetrators of an operation of that magnitude.

On September 22, the two Nord Stream gas pipelines were destroyed by intentional explosions. The main loser is Germany, which was going to use them to transport hydrocarbons from Russia to its own territory. Do the authorities suspect who may have been the perpetrator of the attack?

Sevim Dugdelen: From the beginning, the German federal government has been cautious in its public comments on the authorship of the explosion.

Our country's mainstream media have tried to suggest that Russia was behind the attack. But such claims are absurd, since the inoperability of the gas pipelines has also caused negative economic consequences for Moscow.

In addition, there is no reliable evidence that this is the case, so the attorney general of the Federal Court of Justice has ruled out its involvement.

More than five months have passed since the events, and our Executive still refuses to give the information it handles about them to Parliament. His silence, maintained even after the revelations by investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, is shocking.

This American reporter published a report a month ago that held the Biden administration responsible for the explosion. He also mentioned Norway as his accomplice. Have your discoveries changed the direction of research?

Berlin is not examining the evidence that suggests that NATO, the US and Norway were the planners of the attack. It has not had the strength or the will to ensure that this unprecedented attack on German energy sovereignty is investigated. The reason for this is that it is almost entirely subservient to US security and foreign relations policies.

See as an example his position on the war in Ukraine. He is incapable of prioritizing the interest of his own population over his vassal relations with the US.

What do you think of the recent leaks, according to which the attack was the work of a pro-Ukrainian group?

The new version of the crime related to the terrorist attack against the Nord Stream gas pipelines, disseminated internationally through various media a few days after the non-public meeting between Chancellor Scholz and US President Biden at the White House, raises more questions than answers. .

The reports, according to which a pro-Ukrainian group of six private individuals is allegedly responsible for complex terrorist attacks against Europe's energy infrastructure without being in contact with the Ukrainian leadership, contradict all previous reports provided to Parliament by the German government and its authorities. subordinate, according to which only state agents can be considered authors.

Commander Göran Swistek, maritime security expert at the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (German Institute for International and Security Affairs) in Berlin, also expressly underlines the latest reports on an alleged amateur perpetrator: “For an attack on This type requires a lot of special knowledge about diving and explosives. In Germany - and presumably also in other countries - only a few people have this knowledge. And these people belong to the security forces.'”

OUR GOVERNMENT MUST MAKE CLEAR WHAT HAPPENED

So how do you think inquiries should be conducted? The respected American economist Jeffrey Sachs, who recently testified as an expert before the United Nations (UN) Security Council, believes that an international commission of inquiry led by this body is needed.

I agree. If you want to fulfill your oath of office, our Executive must resolutely investigate this matter and make clear what happened.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has finally allowed the shipment of German Leopard tanks to Ukraine. What does he think about his decision?

The government has been fooled. In mid-January, I already warned of the consequences that accepting the US demand to supply our battle tanks to Ukraine would have. The US objective is for Germany to be in the line of fire against Russia, to involve it more and more in the conflict.

Now that Chancellor Scholz's executive has given in, we can see that this is what has actually happened. The United States will not be sending Abrams tanks to the theater of war for the foreseeable future, and, from Europe, only Portugal intends to supply three Leopard IIs to Ukraine.

By supplying Kiev with war materiel, Germany is committing itself to the US strategy of supporting a military victory for Ukraine against Russia, which possesses nuclear weapons. The new German Defense Minister, Boris Pistorius, has confirmed this with his statements at the Munich Security Conference.

A PROTRACTED WAR OF ATTRITION WITH HEAVY LOSSES IS LIKELY

New spring offensives are being prepared on the European battlefield, both from the Russian and Ukrainian sides. What consequences will they have for Ukraine?

Each additional day of war means more death for both sides, as well as more destruction and suffering for the country they are fighting for. I agree with the vision of the head of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, and that of the experts from the RAND Corporation.

In view of the current military stalemate, a protracted war of attrition with heavy losses is likely. This will lead to the establishment of negotiations in the end to give a political solution to the conflict.

And for the rest of the world?

The war in Ukraine and Western economic sanctions against Russia are also having fatal impacts on societies in the Global South and the West, which have long suffered sharp increases in food and energy prices.

I can only repeat the words pronounced by the Colombian vice president, Francia Márquez, at the Munich Security Conference: «Continuing to discuss who loses and who wins in a war is not good. We have all lost and the loser" in a conflict "is humanity."

There is therefore a global interest in ending this senseless contest as quickly as possible. To quote Namibian Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, the "money used to buy weapons could be better used to promote development in the Ukraine, Africa, Asia or the European Union itself, where many people are facing difficulties."

The US WANTS TO WEAKEN RUSSIA NO MATTER THE PRICE TO PAY FOR IT

The United States continues to support Ukraine and calls for the unity of the West against Russia. Because?

The US wants to weaken Russia in a long run by sending increasing amounts of weapons. Ultimately, they want to consolidate their hegemony against China, which they see as an ally of Russia. They are trying to defend their own global hegemony and kill off the idea of ​​a multipolar world. And they don't care what price you have to pay for it.

The only ones who have been swayed by his strategy are his European vassals, who are increasingly united in their subservience to the nation on the other side of the Atlantic.

However, the West's actions in the Ukraine crisis are increasingly isolating it globally. A recent study by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) confirms this point of view, concluding that most populations of non-Western emerging powers, such as those of China, India or Turkey, would like to see the fastest resolution possible end of the Ukrainian conflict, as well as the end of Western domination in general.

Are these wishes reflected in the positions adopted in international forums?

Yes. Despite what our media tells us, the West did not get an explicit condemnation of the Russian invasion in the UN resolution adopted by a majority in the General Assembly on March 2 of last year. China, India, South Africa and 29 other states refrained from doing so.

Pressure from countries in the Global South likely prompted a call to redouble efforts to end the Ukrainian conflict through diplomacy. Most of the African, Asian and Latin American nations do not want to bow down to the West by severing their political and economic relations with Russia.

Also, three-quarters of all world states are not engaging in economic warfare, nor have they become involved in the flow of weapons supplies from the West.

Russia has withdrawn from the last major treaty signed with the US on nuclear weapons. What does this mean for Europe?

Russia's withdrawal in the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) comes after the United States refused to continue to abide by the terms of major disarmament pacts such as the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. , the Treaty on Anti-Ballistic Missiles (ABM) or the Open Skies Treaty.

It is yet another worrying step resulting from the growing geopolitical confrontation grounded in Ukraine. Containing this dangerous escalation must be one of Europe's priorities, because we have no need to continue the current game of arms shipments. This implies a real danger of expanding the war, even at the nuclear level. This must be ended urgently.

THE MAJORITY OF GERMAN SOCIETY IS IN FAVOR OF DIPLOMACY

Do you think your compatriots are willing to do it?

Yes, and I am glad that the majority of German society is pro-diplomacy and listens less and less to the bellicose arsonists who dominate the debate on the Ukrainian war.

This is reflected, for example, in the peace manifesto signed by more than 700.000 people in a short period of time. Also at the peace demonstration held last weekend in Berlin, where 50.000 individuals took to the streets to demand a halt to the supply of arms and the start of diplomatic negotiations.

We must put even more pressure on Western governments to stop blocking the talks and to endorse peace initiatives such as those proposed by China or Brazil.

Jayro sanchez he is a journalist.