THE EDITOR: India's eyebrow-raising abstention vote on the recent special UN General Assembly's resolution on Russian aggression must not be hidden behind diplomatic fig leaves.
India must let us know that its abstention vote favourable to the Russian Federation is a quid pro quo for previous assistance even though it is numbered with China and Pakistan - a puzzling, bizarre and strange alignment.
We must recall the human rights non-violent principles (satyagraha) that constitute the foundation of the Indian state, all of which are being violated by pariah Vladimir Putin in the modern 21st century, including all that the UN stands for and symbolised post-1945.
Putin is conducting an unprovoked crime against humanity by invading a sovereign state that he knows can only try to defend itself and cannot retaliate against Russian aggression in like manner on Russian soil.
The international community must hold him responsible and liable for the wanton destruction of physical Ukraine, pillaging of the infrastructure and buildings, hospitals, schools, airports, nuclear power plants, indiscriminate and wanton carnage of innocent civilians.
Add to these the stress, agony and destitution of over three million and counting devastated Ukrainian mothers and infant children refugees during a cold biting winter inundating the infrastructure and goodwill of the receiving neighbouring states that are humanely hosting them to mitigate and assuage an unfolding humanitarian crisis of biblical proportions.
Putin must be made to pay compensatory reparations for the disaster he so inhumanely visited and unleashed upon the besieged citizens and legitimate government of Ukraine.
He cannot be allowed to gain rest and respite after this ill-timed and failing conventional jihad against the innocent State of Ukraine whose only sin appears to be exercising its sovereign rights and political independence legitimised by the UN Charter and international law and not to be deprived by the use of force.
He cannot escape international liability and censure for this indiscriminate exercise of power politics outlawed by the UN post-WWII and further threatening us with his biological and chemical/nuclear arsenal whenever he cannot have his hubris say and wayward dangerous way.
STEPHEN KANGAL
Caroni
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