On
February 4th, 2013, Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, addressed the Duma,
(Russian Parliament), and gave a speech about the tensions with minorities in
Russia:
"In
Russia live Russians. Any minority, from anywhere, if it wants to live in
Russia, to work and eat in Russia, should speak Russian, and should respect the
Russian laws. If they prefer Sharia Law, then we advise them to go to those
places where that's the state law. Russia does not need minorities. Minorities
need Russia, and we will not grant them special privileges, or try to change
our laws to fit their desires, no matter how loud they yell 'discrimination'.
We better learn from the suicides of America, England, Holland and France, if
we are to survive as a nation. The Russian customs and traditions are not
compatible with the lack of culture or the primitive ways of most minorities.
When this honourable legislative body thinks of creating new laws, it should
have in mind the national interest first, observing that the minorities are not
Russians".
I
wonder what would happen if a Greek politician substituted 'Greece' and 'Greek'
for 'Russia' and 'Russians' and gave that speech in parliament?
If s Greek politician says something like the above in Parliament not much will happen Golden Down is repeating such staff every day. So do many other right wing nutters (and more than the occasional leftist). Now if PM Samaras says the above then things will definitely be more interesting. However not necessarilly by much as PM Samaras has been known to say things of ultra nationalist content in his time as Foreign Minister. Cynics might describe it as deja vu all over again. And if the bosses from Berlin or Brussels call I can already hear the excuse" I had to say it to block the Golden Down's electoral advance"
ReplyDeleteRight wingers and assorted nationalists suffer from a serious political problem in Greece. They are by definition ancestor worshipers. However these ancestors were History's most radical thinkers. Confronted with a minority problem in ancient Athens Isocrates spoke about Greeks being those who partake to our own (Greek) education. This (and other similarly radical words) force upon rightists the choice of ignoring Ancient Greeks (impossible) or revising their mationalist fascist ideals about bloodlines and purity (impossible)The way around such problems is to pretend that the Ancients did't say anything unfamiliar. However this usually weakens the nationalist/racist argument fatally.
What you, me and everybody else must be worried about is the sudden silence on the subject. If media, politicians & common people stop talking about immigrants something is afoot. Something unpleasant they don't want you to know about. And given the numbers involved very destabilizing. Remember: for 2 years after 1997 Albanian bandits and pirates were roaming NW Greece. Then suddenly nothing. You think the sudden silence was innocent?
Very well said by Putin, but frankly I can't see anything inherently controversial in it. The fact that such a speech should even appear polemical is a rather sad indictment of the extent to which "cosmopolitan liberalism" (for want of a better expression) has captured the elites in the West. If mainstream politicians aren't prepared to articulate such positions, then true unsavory extremists (whether it be GD here or the BNP in Britain) will. Democracy is, after all, the market place of ideas. Put these policies on the table and let the people decide.
ReplyDeleteI had erroneously deleted this comment:
ReplyDeleteAnonymous has left a new comment on your post "Putin's advice how to deal with minorities":
> "The Russian customs and traditions are not compatible with the lack of culture or the primitive ways of most minorities."
This phrase is just silly, but the rest of the speech looks ok?
H. Trickler