The Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom South Asia has held a special webinar focusing on South Asia’s response to the Ukraine Crisis. The Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom is a renowned German foundation formed by the first President of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1958 to promote individual freedom and classical liberalism.

The webinar was joined by Major General Binoj Basnyat (retd) who is a decorated retired general rom the Nepalese Army who was conferred the Order of Suprabal Jana Seva Shree Nepal and the Order of the Lion of Finland and the Order of Cross of Germany. The webinar was also joined by award winning Bhutanese Journalist and writer Gopilal Archarya and the Editor of the Maldives Business Standard Dr. Abdul Hannan Waheed.

The webinar was addressed by the German bundestag member Dr. Marcus Faber who currently represents the state of Saxony-Anhalt as a member of the Free Democratic Party. Dr. Marcus Faber noted on the brutal attack against the sovereign state of Ukraine by Russian forces and the war crimes committed against the people of Ukraine. He further noted that the world should band together to stand against Russia as this has world-wide implications if a dictatorship is allowed to win over a democracy, emboldening other dictatorships to move against democracies.

Dr. Marcus Faber also briefly elaborated on the history of the recent conflict between Russia and Ukraine, where he noted on the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and the continued military activity in Donbas and Luhansk region. He also addressed the attempted dialogue between Kiev and Kremlin to deter Russian military activities based around the Ukrainian border right before the war broke out. He also expressed the urgent need for unity amongst the free nations of the world to prevail against dictatorships.

Speaking on the reaction to the invasion, Journalist Gopilal Archarya stated that Bhutan was shocked by the rapid escalation by the Russian forces and that both sides of the Bhutanese political spectrum unanimously agreed that the Russian invasion was illegitimate and supported their UN Permanent Representative’s comments denouncing Russia’s move against Ukraine.

Major General Binoj Basnyat (retd) also shared similar sentiments, noting that smaller nations sided with Ukraine due to the implications of the war that bigger nations such as Russia could potentially aggress against smaller nations without consequence. He also noted that similar to Bhutan, the Nepalese parliament would also band together on such issues of national concern.

Dr. Abdul Hannan Waheed also noted that the Maldives also shared similar sentiments to its fellow neighbors on the Ukraine issue, condemning the Russian aggression against Ukraine at the United Nations General Assembly.

When questioned on the Bhutanese public’s reaction to the conflict in Ukraine, journalist Gopilal Archarya said that it was in a large part a lesson on vulnerability of smaller states, especially for those in the immediate neighborhood of super powers such as India and China.

Dr. Abdul Hannan Waheed stated that the reaction to the Russian aggression on Ukraine was mixed as Maldives enjoys close relations with both nations as Russians accounted for the highest number of tourist arrivals in the Maldives. while Ukrainian tourists also accounted for a significant percentage of arrivals in the Maldives. He further said that the Maldives’ public perception was mixed as the tourist arrivals directly affected the Maldivian economy, but noted that the view was not shared by the Government of Maldives.

He also stated that the general public of the Maldives was against the west and admired Russian President Vladimir Putin for his stand against the west.

When questioned on role of social media and smartphones in the current conflict, Major General Binoj Basnyat (retd) said that when the siege began, the Nepalese social media sphere was highly focused on local political campaigns but once the news from the battlefields began coming in, it imprinted a very negative impression of Russia.

Dr. Abdul Hannan Waheed then spoke on the possibility of a common stand for South Asia in the future for similar such crisis’. He said that while the smaller countries of South Asia shared similar sentiments on larger nations aggressing against smaller states, larger South Asian countries such as Pakistan and India had different views on the issue as they had many military ties with Russia.

The panelists generally had shared sentiments on the bigger nations’ willingness to sacrifice principles to protect their interests while the smaller nations are willing to forgo their interests to adhere to principles. They also noted on the implications on SAARC in the future with the growing instability worldwide.