Jean-François Lépine’s op-ed on the Ukrainian crisis, published on April 9, rallied a large majority of our readers. Here is an overview of the emails received.
Posted at 12:00 p.m.
“Would the small Western community be ready to start a world war for a conflict which strictly concerns only two countries which are neither models of democracy nor members of NATO nor members of the European Union? Aren’t reason and dialogue worth more than the 60 million dead in the Second World War? Otherwise, how can we justify the West’s laissez-faire approach to the conflicts generated by other countries which are not democratic, which are not members of NATO and the European Union? »
Jean-Pierre Hansen, Pardubice, Czech Republic
“Fully agree with your comments. I’m more of a pacifist, but it’s not my way of thinking that will settle this conflict. It is high time to act against this monster Putin, otherwise it will be too late for Ukraine and other small neighboring countries. »
Roch Gauthier
“The warlike logic of this chronicle which caricatures our enemies as bloodthirsty monsters in this nuclear age unfortunately offers only one devastating end. If the western geopolitical unipolar model in which we live is incapable of accepting peaceful coexistence with the new players in the emerging bipolar or multipolar world, I am not giving much of our collective future. »
Jean Heydra, Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville
“Fully and totally agree with Mr. Lépine’s writing. Since the start of the conflict, Putin has played the nuclear card to allow himself all the excesses in order to establish his power and endorse his most twisted visions. Highly time for Westerners and Europeans to give a lesson in “world balance” to this dictator. »
Pierre Rousselle
” At last ! A realistic and daring chronicle. The fear of war in the West is such that politicians, journalists and analysts of all kinds no longer dare to suggest the use of force to combat flagrant injustice. It’s like 1936, when America and Europe feared to oppose with determination a Hitler who had become an obvious threat to world peace. The same scenario plays out again. Economic sanctions are not doing the job and everyone knows it. We wait patiently for the evil to pass; that Putin decides when and where to stop. Western countries build militaries to deter the bad guys from going to war, not to wait for that war to happen. It may already be too late to act, but it will be even more so tomorrow. »
Andre Harvey
“How can all those well-heeled NATO bigwigs rest easy knowing that such a brave people are being slaughtered and such a beautiful country being destroyed?” They are cowards who do not have the courage to put themselves in the place of the Ukrainian civilians who are being robbed, raped, deceived and killed. They do not even have the courage to exercise the power that their position confers on them in the event of a supposed nuclear catastrophe occurring… I am ashamed for them and for us who leave them the power of immobility! What happens to us to be so insensitive to the misfortune of others? »
Idola Wall
PHOTO MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Vladimir Poutine
“Mr. Lépine touches on an important point, which is that of our tolerance towards tyrants and despots in destroying the right of all peoples to peace, to a peaceful and secure environment. As an international community, we have opened a royal road by tolerating in Syria the acts of this mad despot, Assad. Yes, I agree to stand together and fight on all possible fronts to repel Putin’s Russian army. It is high time for the United Nations and its Security Council to rigorously demonstrate their commitment to lasting world peace, even if that means taking up arms to defend these essential fundamental rights of life, security and respect. . “Being afraid of fear” has never been a viable solution, so courage and action! »
Sylvain M. Leger
“I am in complete agreement with this opinion. I find that economic sanctions are not enough, the European Union and the Americas really need to unite and impose themselves against Russia and take control of Ukraine’s air and sea space. The fear of a nuclear war is not valid, the nuclear weapon being a weapon of deterrence as much against Russia as for the rest of the world. No one will take the step despite this threat. It only takes courage from our representatives…”
Dany Turcotte, Sorel-Tracy
” Totally agree. Currently, I am ashamed of being Canadian, North American and Western. I am ashamed of our cowardly governments. Our grandfathers fought in World War II to end Adolf Hitler’s crazy dream. The same must be done immediately. We must put an end to this massacre. We must rid the planet of Putin as soon as possible. The longer we wait, the more it strengthens all the tyrants of the Earth. He will not use the atomic bomb. He too has children. »
Richard Bousquet, Quebec
“Completely agree, we have the technological, economic and human capacity to take a stand against this invasion, the aim of which is to destroy a people who aspire to our values of freedom and democracy. Currently, it is Putin who decides the type of planes and weapons with which we can fight him because our governments do not have the backbone to oppose him directly and we let him carry out genocide under our eyes and responding with ineffectual economic sanctions and unnecessary toga effects from our watered down politicians. What would Churchill do in the face of such actions by Putin? He would stand up and tuck it into its niche by equipping the Ukrainians with the necessary planes, tanks and heavy armaments and it would hire 100,000 mercenary fighters to quickly push the Russians back into their lair. »
Alain Chevrette
“Excellent analysis which agrees with my own conclusions on the subject. Thank you Mr. Lépine, you warm my soul by giving me hope for a future not without thugs, there will always be some, but at least a victory over the bullies, aggressive and killers who appropriate everything territory they desire out of gross greed. I would like your opinion piece to spread all over the world. I am 88 years old and if I were younger, I would try my luck in this direction, using all the means of communication at our disposal today. Above all, we should not wait for the figure of 6 million deaths already obtained in the past. Ukraine has its Zelensky, and we are looking for a Churchill…”
Pauline Sved