Crimea another view: E-mail to Channel 4!

Dear Mr Frei (journalist on Channel 4),

In reference to tonights 'Snowmail' (1).

It is indeed instructive to watch and listen to western hacks sniping, sneering and twisting themselves into Gordian knots of hypocrisy over the Crimean referendum. The spectacle of the great and the good and their lapdog hacks in their absurd efforts to square the circle of one minute condemning Russia for interfering in Crimea and then the next minute condemning them for not interfering is something to behold.
 

You, who said absolutely nothing about the rigged elections in occupied Iraq and Afghanistan, you who said absolutely nothing to condemn those who refused to recognise the democratic wishes of the Palestinians when they voted in Hamas in fair and internationally observed elections, have the brass neck to tut and cluck your tongue as you sneer:

'On Sunday the people of Crimea (that would be all the Russians in the peninsula) voted by 96.7 per cent - in a majority reminiscent of the old Soviet Union to join the Russian Federation.'

Your malicious implication is clear but as you well know, it is based on nothing. Nada. Zilch. These elections were also well observed and no malpractice occurred. But such is the arrogance of our western press that you think you don't have to provide any evidence for your dirty slurs. Such is the state of your 'profession' these days.
You plough on with:

'Moscow and Crimea ploughed on with the referendum thumbing their nose at the west.'

Again, the implication that everyone should listen to 'the west', as if it has some moral high ground from which to pontificate to other sovereign countries. Are you serious? The west has no moral authority to dictate to anyone, no matter what they do! The illegal wars the west has prosecuted and the absolute hell in those broken countries they have left behind makes your kind of reasoning perverse in the extreme.

As to sanctions, you continue to lament that: 'None of those on the list belong to Vladimir Putin's inner circle'. The west, and you, as their trusty echo chamber just won't forgive Putin for his part in saving Syria from yet another western bombing campaign.  It is truly sickening to see such double standards on show and being contorted and massaged to demonise Russia and Putin and portray our blood soaked leaders as 'good guy' humanitarians.
It's full on hypocrisy. I know it and you know it.

Ed Murray.

(1)  US and EU impose sanctions on Russia
Good evening it’s Matt here tonight with Cathy Newman and we start off with the dramatic events around the Ukraine crisis. On Sunday the people of Crimea (that would be all the Russians in the peninsula) voted by 96.7 per cent - in a majority reminiscent of the old Soviet Union to join the Russian Federation.

Russia immediately declared it was delighted to embrace Crimea and the EU and US immediately went into crisis mode. Despite all their threats of sanctions in recent days and weeks Moscow and Crimea ploughed on with the referendum thumbing their nose at the west. And so Washington and Brussels had to come good on their word to impose limited sanctions against Russia after several hours of talks. The EU has decided to put 21 individuals from Russia and Ukraine onto a list that would prevent them from travelling and will freeze any assets they have in the west.
None of those on the list belong to Vladimir Putin's inner circle, so are these first sanctions going to have any bite at all especially when Moscow has so far been blithely indifferent to the gnashing of western teeth?

We have a report from International Editor Lindsey Hilsum in Simferopol. Our Political Editor Gary Gibbon looks at the diplomacy and we have an interview with a worried sounding Estonian foreign minister.