• Cliff Buchler, former Managing Editor of Caxton West Rand writes:

Russia’s attack on Ukraine is decried by all civilised beings. I count myself part of them. Nobody wins a war.

Also read: You are not powerless!

The frenzied onslaught against Russia in the form of petitions, sanctions and promises of weaponry, presupposes that Russia is the only culprit in the scheme of things. So it needs to be taught a hard lesson. Ukraine, on the other hand, is labelled the innocent victim. But in ignorance we’re missing the full picture. That Russia (together with other dictatorships (or quasi democracies like China) has a history of human rights violations is common knowledge.

But what of Ukraine?

Did you know that as recent as July 2016, Poland’s parliament passed a resolution recognizing the massacres against Polish minorities in Eastern Galicia, Polesia by Ukraine as genocide?

Also read: Fuel price shock on the horizon – AA

According to researched news reports many of the Polish victims were tortured before being killed; some of the methods included rape, dismemberment or immolation. Evidently these actions resulted in between 50 000 and 100 000 deaths. Apparently there are still manifestations against ethnic and religious minority communities. In Donetsk, leaflets have been distributed calling for Jews to register their religion and list property, and Molotov cocktails have been thrown at a synagogue in Mykolaiv. In Sloviansk, armed separatists have allegedly invaded Romani houses, beating and robbing inhabitants.

Armed with this unpalatable and disconcerting knowledge of Ukraine would we’ve been keen to sign petitions against Russia? A moot point. But what we should’ve done is gunning for both Russia and Ukraine’s governments who have and are still the source of the troubles.

Both leaders are bad for their people and it is they who should be put down (figuratively speaking, that is). It’s still not too late for us to change tactics.

Let the petitions continue, but with a revised text. Let’s place the emphasis on supporting the people and not the government of Ukraine. Include Russia in this context.

What about South Africa?

Xenophobia is slowly but surely taking root. Innocent people are being murdered and tortured on daily basis – thanks to a government which has up to now completely neglected to tackle a warlike situation. A form of genocide in the making.

So before we rush into petitioning, let’s be clear who and what we’re targeting. We owe it to the people.