World last week: What return ticket for the world?

(Baonghean) - 2015 was predicted to be a year in which the world's security - political - diplomatic hot spots would cool down. However, up to now, there has been no positive sign for the conflicts, even the world's poles are tending to move away. Of course, every movement has a return trip, the question is how far must we go before returning?

Islamic State "makes enemies" again

On Tuesday, January 20, the Islamic State (IS) released a video of two Japanese hostages and sent a blackmail message to the Japanese government. The event took place in the middle of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's trip to the Middle East.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbad on January 20.

After a meeting with the Palestinian president and hours after the video was released, the Japanese prime minister decided to end his trip earlier than planned and return home on Wednesday, January 21. Before leaving, he also sent a message to the leaders of Egypt, Jordan and Türkiye, asking for help in freeing the hostages and reaffirming Japan's determination in the fight against terrorism. This kidnapping incident is bad news for the plan to promote diplomatic relations between Japan and the Middle East. Specifically, during his 6 days in Egypt, Jordan, Israel and Palestine, the Japanese prime minister signed many economic cooperation and development assistance agreements. At the same time, Mr. Abe also promised to support the countries in the anti-IS coalition with up to 200 million USD (172 million euros).

This is also the basis for the Islamic State to make a ransom demand of the same amount and demand that Japan pay within 72 hours. The jihadist appearing in the video accused Japan of joining hands with the anti-IS coalition, paying this force to "kill the wives and children and destroy the homes of Muslims". In response, Tokyo affirmed that the aid was used for "humanitarian relief and infrastructure construction" purposes, and had nothing to do with military matters.

This is not the first time Japan has been targeted by extremist groups. In January 2013, 10 Japanese were killed in an attack on the In Amenas oil complex in Algeria. In 2004, in Iraq, a Japanese man was beheaded by the movement of Abu Moussab Al-Zarkaoui, the forerunner of the Islamic State. Also that year, three Japanese citizens were kidnapped in Iraq to pressure the Japanese government to recall 550 members of the self-defense force deployed to the country. After a week of captivity, the hostages were released and Japan insisted that no ransom was paid.

It is difficult to say whether Japan will pay the ransom this time. In an interview at a press conference held on Tuesday, January 20 in Israel, Mr. Abe only stated: "The lives of the hostages are the top priority." Meanwhile, Japan's allies are putting pressure on this country, demanding that Japan not give in and refuse to pay any ransom to IS. Japanese police said they will send a team of experts in the field of counterterrorism to Jordan.

It is worth noting that since the beginning of the war on terror, this is the first time an Asian country has been directly involved in this Middle East fire. Of the two hostages kidnapped, one is Kenji Goto - a reporter for Independent Press, a news agency specializing in providing images of the Middle East for Japan Television. Having arrived in Syria since October 2014, Kenji Goto's relatives have lost contact with him since then. The second hostage is Haruna Yukawa, who was kidnapped in August 2014 after joining the Islamic Front - a rebel movement opposing IS in Syria. Up to now, the most official and clear connection between Japan and the Middle East has been limited to Mr. Abe's recent trip and agreements on economic cooperation and humanitarian aid. The only information provided by Self-Defense Force Commander Toshio Tamogami in October was that there were nine Japanese citizens fighting in the ranks of IS.

However, the Japanese government has not confirmed this information, so whether or not Japanese citizens have joined extremist armed organizations in the Middle East remains an open question. However, what one can be sure of is that from now on, Japan will have a reason and an urgent need to engage more deeply in the fight against terrorism led by the international coalition. France and the United States, two allies and also two key members of this front, immediately sent messages of support to Japan in the above kidnapping and ransom case. Is declaring war on Japan - a powerful force that has been keeping a cautious distance from the Middle East issue - a wise move by the Islamic State?

The Allies' victory over fascism: a thing of the past

On Wednesday, January 21, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced to the press that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the ceremony commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Red Army's liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland on January 27.

"They did not send an official invitation to Russia. There was only a letter from the director of the museum (the organization that organizes the ceremony) through the Russian embassy, ​​which said 'You can come, and if you do, please tell us exactly who will attend'. With such an invitation, we cannot respond." However, it does not seem that this is a move specifically aimed at Russia, because no official invitations were sent anywhere and European leaders such as French President Francois Hollande, German President Joachim Gauck or Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko will still attend. In total, the leaders of 38 countries will attend the ceremony.

In the end, the Chief of the Russian Presidential Administration, Sergei Ivanov, will represent Russia at the ceremony. He is also one of the figures on the US sanctions list. This has great symbolic significance for the new cold war atmosphere between Russia and the Western bloc. In Russia, this is the first time the government has directly organized the ceremony - previously it was the responsibility of organizations. Specifically, an extremely large-scale exhibition will be held in Moscow with a museum that will take visitors back to the past decades.

In fact, the reason Russia gave for the undiplomatic invitation was probably secondary. On Wednesday, January 21, Polish Foreign Minister Grzegorz Schetyna asserted that the first Soviet liberators of the concentration camps were Ukrainians. That same evening, the Russian Foreign Minister responded very strongly: "It is difficult to imagine that an official of this level could be so ignorant. Some individuals must immediately stop distorting history. The obsession with hostility towards Russia has pushed them to disrespect those who did not hesitate to give their lives to liberate Europe." The message was not only aimed at Poland, but also at Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who spoke on German television on January 8 about the "Soviet invasion of Germany and Ukraine." These statements sparked a wave of accusations and protests against "historical revisionism" in Moscow.

Besides, there is another reason why the Russian President did not personally attend the ceremony where Russia's historical role should have been extremely important. Perhaps it was due to his caution and lack of enthusiasm to travel to a NATO member country, in the context of the extremely bad relationship between the two sides. At the same time, could this also be Russia's implicit declaration of war, ready for a new cold war when the historical allies no longer want to put aside their differences to sit together in these important moments.

Thuc Anh

(According to Le monde)