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Europe
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Europe community on dbzer0. Intended to be a place to discuss European news, politics, or just general topics from a European perspective. Since this is on dbzer0 expect the community to lean more leftist-anarchist but a wide range of views are accepted here (within reason).
Rules:
1. No Bigotry or Hate Speech
Any forms of Homophobia, Transphobia, Queerphobia, Racism, or Ableism will be met with swift and harsh action and will not be tolerated here whatsoever. Bigots will be banned immediately on-sight. This includes apologia of it.
Trying to be politely or intellectually bigoted i.e. "Just asking questions" won't be tolerated.
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Any forms of Zionism or Zionist rhetoric will not be tolerated here, this includes Zionist apologia, accusations of antisemitism towards anti-Zionists, or blatant denial or downplaying of the genocide towards Palestinians. Any attempt to uphold or prop up the IHRA definition of antisemitism, will be treated as Zionism.
Anyone engaging in Pro-Zionist sentiment or apologia will be actioned in accordance with its severity.
Note: Trying to find loopholes or whataboutery to see what is or isn't genocide denial or Zionism will be treated as a violation of this rule. Don't test us.
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Please maintain civil discourse in the community. Do not engage in arguments with others, name-calling, or insults. Note that calling out bigotry or Zionism is not considered an insult. In heated arguments users are encouraged to or even required to disengage failure to do so will result in mod action.
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Spreading of misinformation intentionally in this community is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Spreading misinformation hurts the credibility of the community and can mislead people sometimes in dangerous ways. Users who intentionally post misinformation as articles, comment answers, or in attempt to win arguments will be actioned swiftly.
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Note: Rules 1 & 2 may be subject to preemptive mod action due to their severity, and they apply to a user's entire post history. Not just this community.
founded 3 months ago
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Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have announced they will leave the Ottawa Convention of 1997, which prohibits anti-personnel landmines. Later in June, all five states are expected to give the United Nations formal notice of their withdrawal, allowing them to manufacture, stockpile and deploy such munitions from the end of the year. Together, they guard 2,150 miles of Nato’s frontier with Russia and its client state of Belarus.
Military planners are already working out which expanses of European forest and lake land would be planted with these deadly devices, laden with high explosives and shrapnel, if Vladimir Putin were to mass his forces against the alliance.
The impending return of minefields in vast areas of Europe signals the quiet demise of the international campaign to ban these weapons, famously adopted by the late Princess Diana during her visit to Angola in January 1997. “I come with my heart and I want to bring awareness to people in distress,” she said, after treading a narrow path between live mines.
Tony Blair took up the cause with such fervour that in his fourth week as prime minister later the same year, he prohibited the production and export of landmines. Britain campaigned to make this ban global through the Ottawa Convention, which was eventually signed by 164 countries. Blair even ensured that Britain ratified the Convention in time for the first anniversary of Princess Diana’s death.
One ardent supporter was Lord Robertson, the co-author of Britain’s latest defence review. As defence secretary in 1998, he condemned landmines as neither “morally correct or militarily useful” adding: “We must use Britain’s moral authority to make sure our position becomes the international standard.”
But international standards have changed since Putin launched his onslaught against Ukraine in 2022, and landmines turn out to have their uses after all.
Banning them might have been a luxury cause for a dominant West in the years of safety after the Cold War, yet no longer. Britain has not publicly opposed the decision of five allies to abandon the Ottawa Convention. Instead, as Europe re-arms to deter Putin, what was once unconscionable has become unavoidable.
Of all the countries that will now equip themselves with landmines, Lithuania’s position is perhaps the most sensitive.
The largest of the Baltic states, it must defend two hostile frontiers totalling 450 miles: with Belarus to the east and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad to the west.
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Dutch Defense Minister warns that Putin's imperialistic ambitions go beyond Ukraine
(www.ukrinform.net)
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Spain calls on the EU to immediately suspend the trade agreement with Israel and impose an arms embargo.
(www-eldiario-es.translate.goog)
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