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How the West Can Help the New Union
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19555 |
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Section : |
CURRENT ISSUES
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| Issue
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11 / 1991 |
2,661 Words |
| Author
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Wilfried Prewo
Wilfried Prewo is director of the Chamber of Commerce of
Hannover, Germany. |
During the ill-fated Soviet putsch in August, Western protagonists of generous aid were quick to argue that the coup would not have happened had the West been less stringy and coldhearted in refusing money to Gorbachev during the London summit in July. And as soon as the coup collapsed, they argued that the time had come to pour on aid.
Their position begs two questions. First, if prior refusal of aid is to blame for the putsch, who is to get credit for the after-coup collapse of the Soviet Union as a centralist communist dictatorship? Don't we all rejoice over the growing independence of the republics and the strengthened democratic forces? If prior aid had voided the coup attempt and preserved the status quo, where would matters stand today? Where would the Baltic republics be?
Second, proponents of massive aid presume that bestowing it now would be effective. Are they right? Do good intentions always guarantee beneficial results?
If prior aid would have stabilized Gorbachev and his reformshy central system, then the danger is real that aid given now will support those who keep dragging their feet. But with the situation in the Soviet Union still critical, the question is whether aid retards or propels reform. Speed is essential now. The reform process has to be made irreversible.
Let there be no doubt: The West has an obligation to help the people in Russia and the other republics of what has been the Soviet Union. Economic growth and stability are in our vital interest, and we are willing to support them. But don't confuse help with aid, as checkbook diplomats do. Giving aid now would not help. It would, on the contrary, perpetuate suffering, as it would revive and stabilize elements of the system that caused the problem.
The Soviet Union is one of the world's richest countries, in terms of natural and human resources, but its population is among the world's poorest. The people know it, and they no longer are willing to accept their deprivation. They are our hope, and we are theirs. We should not confuse support for the people with aid for a government that is neither by nor for the people.
Few advocates of immediate aid speak of unconditional support, and most favor tied aid; nevertheless, they mean Western aid now for Soviet promises now, but Soviet action later. We know that under such a scheme, action remains a fata morgana.
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