The international community and the civilized world didn’t condemn the crimes of communism and this was the seed that gave birth to the war against Ukraine. This allowed conditions favorable to nationalism and extremism to appear in Russia and these extended also into Moldova. The international institutions created to prevent wars weren’t efficient and need to be reformed, Ion Manole, executive director of Promo-LEX Association, stated in a public debate hosted by IPN.

He noted that the current situation in the world is similar to that of the 1930s, when a big war was being planned. The League of Nations was inefficient and World War III started as a result. Analogously, the current war broke out because the international institutions created to prevent wars weren’t efficient.

“There were imposed no sanction for the crimes committed in Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, Chechnya and later again in Georgia. The crimes committed in our country in 1992 weren’t smaller in size and there were persons who could not be identified. The cases started by the prosecutor’s office then were forgotten. We allowed things to go on like this and didn’t demand to identity the criminals and punish them. This showed to the Russian Federation that it can benefit from impunity. It happened similarly in Georgia and especially in Chechnya, where they acted like in Mariupol and wiped out whole towns,” stated Ion Manole.

The executive director of Promo-LEX noted that Ukraine tries to show to the international organizations that they need to be reformed. “We now remember the protest we saw in Ukraine. Papers saying “useless” were stuck on vehicles of the United Nations. This is a protest by which the population of Ukraine transmits a message to the international institutions – that it’s time to be efficient, to fulfill the tasks, to prevent wars or at least to effectively document and punish crimes and to prevent the spread of crimes,” he said.

Ion Manole also said that explosive devices dating from World War II are still found and they explode and the mines taken away by water now will also pose a threat in the Black Sea during many years to come. What happened in Kakhovka was anticipated in the public sphere in Russia long ago. There were calls to blow up that dam when it was necessary. After this tragedy, there are crazy voices who urge to act in the same way with regard to the dam that is situated close to Kyiv, which can wipe out a large part of Kyiv if it is destroyed. Such calls cannot be neglected as hatred is an element that is spread and when it is spread, it can produce particular negative effects.

The public debate entitled “Kakhovka Dam: Why are laws and customs of war powerless?” was the 13th installment of IPN’s project “Impact of the Past on Confidence and Peace Building Processes” that is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation of Germany.