In line with GA!’s aspiration to connect current events with history, you can find this week’s headlines below, provided with additional commentary from a historical perspective.
“Iraq’s missing Yazidis: Inside the long search for Islamic State captives”
This summer marked 10 years after the Islamic State attacked Iraq and the city of Sinjar, home of the Yazidis, and started a genocide against this minority. Despite ISIS being defeated in 2019, many of the Yazidis who were kidnapped in 2019 remain missing, cannot or do not want to return. The struggle for Yazidis who have managed to return to northern Iraq, to get their loved ones back home, is slow and usually heartbreaking since their efforts are often futile.
The Yazidis are a minority ethnoreligious group, predominantly living in the north of Iraq, in the province Nineveh. They have a monotheistic faith, focussed mainly on a number of angels who were entrusted by their god to care for the world. One of these is the “Peacock Angel”, or Melek Taus. Because of the unique nature of their religion, the Yazidis have been the focus of violence from others for centuries. Their angels are often seen as a representative of the Devil by extremists in other religions.
The precarious position of this group in an unstable region became global news in early August 2014. As ISIS advanced, they conquered Yazidi territory, mostly centred on the town of Sinjar. Hundreds of thousands of Yazidis fled towards Kurdish Iraq, but some could not get away. A large part of the population of Sinjar fled into the nearby Sinjar mountain range where through Western air support and Kurdish fighters on the ground they were able to fend off ISIS. Still, ISIS slaughtered 5000 Yazidis in Sinjar. Another 6400, mostly women and children, were captured and brought to the so-called caliphate. Women and young girls were sold as sex slaves, while boys were indoctrinated by ISIS and coerced into fighting or committing suicide bombings.
Of the 6400 who were taken from Sinjar by ISIS in 2014, 3584 are confirmed to have escaped or were able to free themselves from ISIS. This leaves some 2600 Yazidis still missing. The story of these people is extraordinarily tragic. While a portion of those still missing are presumed deceased, either having been killed by their ISIS captors or killed in the fighting which brought the caliphate to an end, another portion of the 2600 has been located by friends and family members who are not able to get their loved ones back. Some boys have been indoctrinated so heavily that they refuse to return. Some women and girls fear they will not be accepted back into the Yazidi community because of the sexual violence they suffered. Some Yazidis are still being held by ISIS families in detention camps where the fighters who surrendered are still being held.
Many in the Yazidi community are engaged in bringing their loved ones back. In October, a Yazidi woman who had been smuggled to Gaza was freed and returned to Iraq. While these stories are unfortunately rare, they do provide the smallest glimmer of hope for many Yazidis that they may see their loved ones again some day.
“The death of a Russian defector: Who failed Maxim Kuzminov?”
In February of this year in a small town on the Spanish coast, a woman walked past a man who she initially thought was a collapsed drunk. Only when she saw blood pouring from his body and a car racing away, did she think of a crime. The man who had just been killed in the entrance of the garage of his apartment building was Maxim Kuzminov. Kuzminov defected to Ukraine from Russia in August 2023 and was made a tool of propaganda by the Ukrainians. It now seems the Russians took their revenge.
Kuzminov was born in a town on the shore of the Sea of Japan, in the far east of Russia, thousands of miles from Ukraine. He joined the Russian air force and became a helicopter pilot. When the war started in February 2022, he was deployed to the frontlines in Ukraine. Soon he became disillusioned with the regime in Russia and decided to defect. The Ukrainians had very publicly announced a reward for Russian defectors. In August 2023, Kuzminov set off in his helicopter and flew low over the frontlines to the Ukrainian side. He had two other Russians on board who were unaware of his plans. When he came down on the Ukrainian side, it is unclear what happened to them exactly. Either they were killed by Kuzminov, as the Russians have stated, or they were killed by Ukrainian troops as they tried to escape back to the Russian side. Kuzminov then became the aforementioned tool of propaganda for the Ukrainians and told the whole world what he thought of Putin’s regime. He also got the Ukrainian reward of 500.000 dollars.
Kuzminov is not the first famous defector. During the Cold War many crossed the Iron Curtain after they became disillusioned with their respective governments or because they had to flee. Many Russian, Polish and North Korean pilots did roughly the same as Kuzminov did in the summer of 2023. A famous example is Viktor Belenko. He flew his MiG-25 fighter jet from Russia to Japan and was subsequently granted political asylum in the United States. The capture of his jets provided enormously valuable intelligence to the West on Russian aerospace development. Another famous example of defection, are the Cambridge Five. These were five British government officials who were recruited as Russian spies at Cambridge in the 1930’s. In the 1950’s they were uncovered by British intelligence. They disappeared from Britain, only to then suddenly reappear in Moscow some time later.
What sets Kuzminov’s case apart, is the fact he was assassinated after defecting. During the Cold War many officials, soldiers, athletes and others defected. They were mostly able to live a peaceful life. Viktor Belenko, for example, died last year in the US at the age of 76, having worked in aerospace consultancy and having started a family in the US.
It has been clear for longer, but the Kremlin does no longer play by the unofficial rules of the Cold War. Anyone who flees to the West has to fear for their life. Famous examples of Russian retaliation against those who fled to the West are Alexander Litvinenko who died of poisoning and Sergei Skripal, who survived. The war in Ukraine seems to have reignited Russian efforts to hunt down those who try to discredit the regime. The murder of Kuzminov remains unsolved but is a clear warning to anyone considering defection.
“Long-range strikes against Russia: too late to save Ukraine?”
President Biden has announced Ukraine will be allowed to strike targets inside Russia with American weapons systems . This decision has come after months of pressure from Ukraine and months of the Ukrainians losing ground in the war. Once again however, it might be too late for Ukraine to really benefit from this new advantage. Just like with the delivery of tanks and F-16 fighter jets, Western leaders have taken their time to come to an important decision. Just like with this recent expansion of Western support, those decisions came after months of discussion until the situation on the battlefield demanded a decision to be taken. Biden’s decision has come after North Korean troops have been deployed on the Russian side of the front. The Kremlin has responded to the decision by stating the US is now actively involved in the war. Both sides then have thus escalated the war to new levels. The reelection of Donald Trump has made the war fluid again and only time will tell what the outcome will be.
“5 things to know about Kaja Kallas’ European Parliament hearing”
Former prime-minister of Estonia Kaja Kallas, has passed her hearing for the European Parliament to become the EU’s new foreign affairs commissioner with flying colours. While other candidates were clearly nervous facing the EP’s questioning, Kallas was very calm and clearly at ease with her topic. As a citizen from the Baltics, she is clearly experienced with the threat from Russia and she remains a fervent hawk when it comes to the war in Ukraine and Europe’s confrontation with Russia. She will be a stronger and more youthful representative of the EU worldwide compared to the outgoing Joseph Borell, who was sometimes criticised for his softer appearance. While strong on Russia and a proponent for the development of the European defence industry, she has a more balanced position on the Middle East. In our upcoming issue of GA!’s magazine, we will publish a more in depth piece on Kallas.
“Australian senator censured for heckling King”
An Australian senator has been censured by her colleagues after disrespecting King Charles III, when he visited Australia last month. The senator of Aboriginal descent, Lidia Thorpe, shouted to Charles: “you are not my King” and “this is not your land.” While Australia has its own government and is de facto an independent nation, it is still part of the British Commonwealth. The Commonwealth is a group of nations, most of them former British colonies, some of which still recognise the British monarch as their head of state. Of the 56 states in the Commonwealth, Charles is king in 15, these states are known as the Commonwealth Realms. The republican movement in Australia which advocates for full independence has a long history but has never managed to convince a majority of its population, as shown by multiple referendums which were held on the topic. Crucially, Australia has never accepted any treaty or other legislation to recognise the rights of their indigenous population. Thorpe advocated for this as well as the republican cause. Recently, Barbados transferred from a Commonwealth Realm to a state within the Commonwealth which does not have a British monarch. change then is possible. The remains of the British Empire then are still present today, but they may be on their way out.
“Russia’s gas flows to Europe via Ukraine stable amid Austria dispute”
Europe’s relation with Russian gas remains an interesting geopolitical sideshow. During the latter stages of the 20th century, Europe became largely dependent on cheap Russian gas. After the war in Ukraine started in early 2022, these supplies were cut off and not long after, the Nord Stream pipeline was blown up, making the delivery of Russian gas to Europe directly impossible. This caused a large energy crisis in Europe with high inflation as a result. Europeans have since found other ways to get their gas, such as through liquified gas from Qatar and the US. But Russian gas is still being exported and its trade is thus still financing Putin’s war economy. Bizarrely, Russian gas is being exported through Ukraine, as well as through Turkey. Some European countries with some Russian sympathies buy gas indirectly via these routes and then sell it on, thus muddling and hiding where the gas originated from. Austria for example is one of these countries. Austria was split into four occupation zones in the same fashion as Germany after World War Two. One of the conditions for regaining its independence was a promise to not join NATO. The Austrians have kept this promise and large portions of the population are still sympathetic towards Russia.
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