In the bunker of my thoughts, By Owei Lakemfa

In the past few weeks, whenever I write or make reference to the war in Ukraine, the missiles come flying both from the left and the right. Let me take shelter in the bunker of my thoughts before the new missiles attracted by this piece come flying.

Germany is the powerhouse of Europe; its largest economy accounting, in 2017, for 28 per cent of the euro economy, alongside having the fourth-largest GDP in the universe.

It is also a showcase of Western democracy, with its most prominent politician since World War II, Angela Dorothea Merkel, serving as Chancellor from 2005 for 16 years. Yet, in practice, the United States (U.S.) does not think Germany is mature enough to exercise its right to self-determination; hence, today, 77 years after its military marched into Germany, as conquerors or liberators, they have refused to leave.

Things were so bad that until the early 1990s, American troops, in the name of its right to maintain military bases, occupied hundreds of German towns and villages. Today, the Americans have reduced their occupation to 40 major military bases, having shut down over 220 others; but they still maintain a minimum of 35,000 American troops on German soil. Additionally, Germany is made to subsidise the American soldiers on its soil. In 2018, it spent $118 million in subsidising the foreign troops. This subsidy prompted Mr Dagdelen, a member of The Left party, to issue a statement declaring: “It is high time to stop this massive waste of taxpayers’ money … it’s time for the U.S. soldiers to go home.”

In fact, since World War II ended in 1945, Germany remained, officially, a vassal state, until it was granted a sovereign status on March 15, 1991. Despite this sovereignty, it can only have a military (German Heer) for self-defence and it is not allowed to have biological, chemical, or nuclear weapons. So, when Germans appeared hesitant to join the U.S. in its claims of Ukraine having the sovereign right to do whatever it pleases as a country, it was not just about gas supply. The fact is that Germany is not allowed as much sovereign rights as Ukrainians, who have an unrestricted military, or Pakistan, India and Israel, who could develop nuclear weapons.

It is not that the Germans have not been protesting the continued occupation of their land by Americans. One of the largest of such protests in the early 1980s, occurred in the port city of Bremerhaven, when about 15,000 Germans marched to the main gate of the Carl Schurz Barracks, an airbase that the Americans had seized since May 1945, and the Bremerhaven Harbour,  also occupied by America. Some of these protests were against the U.S.’ stationing of medium-range nuclear missiles in Germany.

The U.S. alone has over 80,000 combat troops armed with nuclear missiles stationed in Europe and it has made a steady eastward advance towards Russia, including into neighbouring Poland; yet, there are beautiful people who say Russia needs not react, so long as the troops and weapons are not on its soil. As such, any reaction by Russia is ‘unprovoked’.  How much more can a country be provoked?

However, I need to point out that the U.S. grants the Germans more autonomy than the Japanese who, till today, is officially not allowed to have a military or exercise fully their right to self-determination. When the Japanese were in retreat on all fronts in 1945, the American establishment decided to show the Japanese how powerful and ruthless they can be. First, on August 6, it dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, and three days later, on Nagasaki. Some 200,000 Japanese were massacred in the twin explosions, after which the Americans, riding on the pulverised Japanese, decided to dictate to them till this day.

One of the basic rules the Americans gave the Japanese was, ‘Thou shall have no military’. To ensure this, the occupying American military, under General Douglas Mac Arthur, wrote and imposed on the Japanese their May 3, 1947 constitution, which subsists till present. Written by two American soldiers, Milo Rowell and Courtney Whitney, Article 9 of the Japanese constitution states that: “Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international  disputes.” This in practice, denies the Japanese, the right to have a military.

So, the Japanese do not have the right to establish an army, as Nigeria or Sao Tome can. To enforce its will, American troops that invaded and occupied Japan, are still in that country. Today, 77 years later, there are 53,700 American troops still occupying Japan. As part of the punishment, Japan now pays an annual $1.9 billion to maintain the American army of occupation. Although Japan can spend one per cent of its GDP on defence, it has to be for ‘non-defence’ purposes.

There was a civil war between the two Koreas from June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953, and a number of countries sent troops to fight on either side. America fought on the side of South Korea and has since kept its troops in that country. Today, there are 28,500 American troops in South Korea, which now pays the Americans $1.03 billion annually to maintain the troops.

Grenada is supposed to be a sovereign country in the Caribbean Sea. In October 1983, its radical leader, Maurice Bishop, was killed in a palace coup led by his Deputy, Bernard Coard.

Those of us who campaign that what is necessary for the war in Ukraine is an immediate ceasefire and negotiated settlement, are seen as sellouts, while the U.S. that denies many countries their sovereignty, is projected as the champion of freedom. 

The U.S., under the guise of protecting the American students at the St George’s Medical School in Grenada, invaded the tiny country with a coalition of eight neighbouring countries. The world, including Britain, a close ally of the U.S., condemned the invasion as senseless. The Americans disbanded the Grenadian military, and till today, 39 years after, the Americans do not allow that country to have a military. The only force the Americans allow is the Royal Grenada Police Force.

Guantanamo Bay, on the eastern tip of Cuba, is a 116 square kilometre Cuban land. When Cuba was a Spanish colony in 1898, America, during the Spanish-American War, captured Guantanamo Bay and today, 124 years later, has refused to relinquish it, despite repeated Cuban demands. Rather, the U.S. uses the whole bay as a military base and mass detention centre for its enemies. The American detainees in the bay are denied fundamental human rights, including that to a fair trial or visitation.

The U.S. alone has over 80,000 combat troops armed with nuclear missiles stationed in Europe and it has made a steady eastward advance towards Russia, including into neighbouring Poland; yet, there are beautiful people who say Russia needs not react, so long as the troops and weapons are not on its soil. As such, any reaction by Russia is ‘unprovoked’.  How much more can a country be provoked?

Those of us who campaign that what is necessary for the war in Ukraine is an immediate ceasefire and negotiated settlement, are seen as sellouts, while the U.S. that denies many countries their sovereignty, is projected as the champion of freedom. 

In the past few weeks, whenever I write or make reference to the war in Ukraine, the missiles come flying both from the left and the right. Let me take shelter in the bunker of my thoughts before the new missiles attracted by this piece come flying.

Owei Lakemfa, a former secretary general of African workers, is a human rights activist, journalist and author.