Farmers of the world, unite!
(some media material for Russian speakers)
The farmers’ protests across the European Union these past several weeks were followed with great interest in Russia and Belarus by local media. As someone based in Brussels living just 20 minutes walking distance from the European Parliament buildings on Place Luxembourg, which resembled a war zone during the repeat demonstrations of tractor driving farmers, I was invited to comment by the Mir television channel which broadcasts in Russian to the countries of the Former Soviet Union and also by the ONT national broadcaster in Belarus.
Here is the link to the Mir broadcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=H4E-aybqxkY
Here is the link to a print summary of my remarks to ONT extracted from their live broadcast Saturday evening: https://ont.by/news/pochemu-protesty-fermerov-v-evrope-stanovyatsya-vse-ozhestochennee-obuyasnil-belgijskij-politolog
Finally, here is the link to the live broadcast of ONT in which my interview in Russian goes from 13 minutes 20 seconds to 20 minutes 30 seconds:
Translation below into German (Andreas Mylaeus)
Landwirte der Welt, vereinigt euch!
(einige Medienmaterialien für Russischsprachige)
Die Proteste der Landwirte in der Europäischen Union in den letzten Wochen wurden in Russland und Weißrussland von den lokalen Medien mit großem Interesse verfolgt. Als jemand, der in Brüssel lebt und nur 20 Minuten zu Fuß von den Gebäuden des Europäischen Parlaments am Place Luxembourg entfernt ist, das während der wiederholten Demonstrationen der traktorfahrenden Landwirte einem Kriegsgebiet glich, wurde ich vom Fernsehsender Mir, der in den Ländern der ehemaligen Sowjetunion in russischer Sprache sendet, und vom nationalen Fernsehsender ONT in Belarus eingeladen, einen Kommentar abzugeben.
Hier ist der Link zur Mir-Sendung: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=H4E-aybqxkY
Und hier ist der Link zu einer gedruckten Zusammenfassung meiner Bemerkungen an ONT, die aus der Live-Sendung am Samstagabend stammt: https://ont.by/news/pochemu-protesty-fermerov-v-evrope-stanovyatsya-vse-ozhestochennee-obuyasnil-belgijskij-politolog
Transcript in English of the ONT interview
MODERATOR
(about the demonstrations in which farmers dump manure before government buildings)
All this, of course, smells bad.
But to make decisions not in the interests of their own citizens
becomes some kind of political fashion in Europe.
The legislator is also harsh with his laws.
And yet there are brave men who refuse to follow them.
The farmers turned out to be such a powerful force,
that clearly no one expected.
At first, they lined up in beautiful columns, then blocked the roads, and then switched to pick-up trucks with a gun.
Now there were open clashes with the police.
In the center of Brussels, tractors broke the chains in response to the water cannons.
It was also up to Macron, a strong farmer.
He had to hold an agrarian exhibition under stormy ovations in milk cans.
The police barely managed to contain the onslaught of angry Spanish peasants.
And in Poland, the tank, apparently made of hay, reached the Parliament.
The reasons for the farmer’s discontent are the import of cheap products, including from Ukraine.
But the main thing is the green laws of the EU.
They significantly increase the cost of agriculture.
So, the people’s riot is not meaningless, but it is merciless.
Let’s talk to the Belgian political scientist Gilbert Doktorow.
Good evening.
Good evening.
Gilbert, farmers all over Europe have repeatedly stated their demands,
but the protests continue and even become tougher.
Why is the situation only getting worse?
There must have been a critical moment in the last month.
Answer:
The situation has become very difficult.
Especially in France.
Everyone knows about the suicide cases.
It happens almost every day.
French farmers who simply cannot continue their work.
It looks like a war is going on there.
Our legislation is just killing our economy.
And this is a very important question.
I hope that we can discuss it a little.
The Parliament itself is not a democratic institution.
The fact is that it is under the control of two parties.
They have an opportunity to decide everything.
Other positions are not considered at all.
The European Parliament meets here in Brussels, as everyone knows.
But here it is what we call a talking shop.
This is where they talk, and that’s it.
And the voting takes place in another city, Strasbourg.
And what is done there?
In one day all deputies should vote on a list,
let’s say, 100-150 resolutions, laws and so on.
But it is impossible, of course.
These people do not have the opportunity to read these legislative measures.
They just vote on the command of their party leaders.
So, there is no democracy in the sense of protecting the interests of their voters.
MODERATOR:
Gilbert, you spoke about the European Parliament.
Elections will be held there in the summer.
But what happens if there is a change of power?
Will it not affect anything?
Or how to understand it?
ANSWER:
Well, let’s see, because the issue is much broader than the problem of the farmers themselves.
The fact that the Parliamentarians vote, as I explained, is one thing.
But what do they vote on? What is the essence of the legislation?
Who wrote this law? This is another thing.
They are ideologues, they are engaged in geopolitical tasks rather than in the protection of the interests of their voters.
And that is why we have such laws that simply destroy our economy.
And the farmers, literally, have their feet on the ground.
Their heads are not flying off into space.
They have weapons that are not in other professions.
They have their tractors.
They are very noticeable when they block traffic.
Therefore, their demonstrations have a great resonance
and have a practical effect on the understanding of the general public.
MODERATOR:
If the farmers are the most active, what about the food security of the European Union?
Can the farmers’ rebellion theoretically undermine it?
ANSWER:
Of course, it has an impact.
This is what their protests are about.
They defend ‘the common values of Europe,’
if we repeat this slogan of our government.
But these people, our legislators, do not know modest measures.
They do everything to the end to make food ecologically clean and excellent, in principle.
That’s great, but it puts a lot of costs onto the farmers,
Imported products, not only from Ukraine, but from the whole world, do not have to manage the same.
Therefore, the farmers do not have the opportunity to get a decent income.
MODERATOR:
And people, as we often say, always want to eat.
Gilbert, thank you.
Gilbert Doctorow 