Grandstand. Since February 24, Vladimir Putin has been waging a war of conquest against Ukraine. Its army bombs and destroys cities, killing civilians by the thousands, as it did in Chechnya and Syria. The Ukrainians are resisting. We must support them without calculation or reserve.
In most of our countries, however, too much public opinion has sided with the Russian dictator. In the name of an anti-imperialism that has turned over the years into passionate hatred, she applauds anyone who opposes the West.
We measure the overwhelming responsibility of Western powers big and small in the devastation of our world. We have denounced the wars they waged to ensure the sustainability of their domination over vast regions, including our own, and condemned their defense of indefensible dictatorships to protect their interests. We know their selective use of the values they claim, leaving refugees from the South to die at their doors and welcoming “theirs” with open arms. But let’s not get the fight wrong. All those who claim freedom for themselves, who believe in the right of citizens to choose their leaders and to refuse tyranny must stand with the Ukrainians today. Freedom must be defended everywhere.
For our part, we refuse to support any dictatorship on the pretext that its adversaries are our enemies. By defending Putin’s war, we deprive ourselves of our own right to be free.
Dima Abdullah, writer (Lebanon-France); Gilbert Accar, political scientist (Lebanon-UK); Mario Aguilar, Islamologist (UK); Nadia Aissaoui, sociologist (Algeria-France): Younes Ajarrai, cultural adviser (Morocco); Sanhadja Akrouf, feminist activist (Algeria-France); Cengiz Aktar, political scientist (Turkey); Hala Alabdalla, filmmaker (Syria); Tewfik Allal, community activist (Algeria-France); Chawki Azouri, psychiatrist (Lebanon); Malika Bakhti, engineer (Algeria-France); Brigitte Bardet-Allal, teacher (France); Ali Bayramoglu, journalist (Turkey); Yagoutha Belgacem, artistic director (Tunisia-France); Souhayr Belhassen, Honorary President of FIDH (Tunisia); Akram Belkaid, journalist (Algeria-France); Rabaa Ben Achour, university (Tunisia); Sana Ben Achour, law professor (Tunisia); Tahar Ben Jelloun, writer (Morocco-France); Ali Bensad, geographer (Algeria); Raja Ben Slama, Director of the National Library (Tunisia); Karima Berger, writer (Algeria-France); Mohammad Berrada, writer (Morocco); Sophie Besis, historian (Tunisia-France); Karim Emile Bitar, professor of international relations (Lebanon); Antoine Boulad, writer (Lebanon); Rafic Boustani, demographer (Lebanon); Nora Boustany, journalist (Lebanon-USA); Soha Bsat Boustani, consultant (Lebanon); Abdallah Cheikh Moussa, university (Tunisia-France); Khedija Cherif, sociologist (Tunisia); Alice Cherky, psychoanalyst (Algeria-France); Noam Chomsky, linguist (USA); Ahmed Dahmani, university (Algeria-France); Kamel Daoud, writer (Algeria); Godofredo by Oliveira Neto, writer (Brazil); Albert Dichy, literary director (Lebanon-France); Karima Direche, anthropologist (Algeria-France); Nacer Djabi, sociologist (Algeria); Alicia Dujovne Ortiz, writer (Argentina); Anne-Marie Edde, university (Lebanon-France); Dominique Edde, writer (Lebanon); Hanan El-Sheikh, writer (Lebanon-UK); Abbas Fadhel, filmmaker (Iraq); El Hadj Souleymane Gassama (alias Elgas), writer, (Senegal); Amira Hass, journalist (Israel-Palestine); Milton Hatoum, writer (Brazil); Ahmet Insel, political scientist (Turkey); Ramin Jahanbegloo, philosopher (Iran); Kamel Jendoubi, human rights activist (Tunisia-France) Salam Kawakibi, political scientist (Syria-France); Tahar Khalfoun, university (Algeria-France); Driss Ksikes, writer (Morocco); Abdellatif Laabi, poet (Morocco); Smain Laacher, sociologist (France); Kamal Lahbib, human rights activist (Morocco); Ahmed Mahiou, jurist (Algeria); Charif Majdalani, writer (Lebanon); Ziad Majed, political scientist (Lebanon-France); Georgia Makhlouf, writer (Lebanon-France); Farouk Mardam Bey, editor (Syria-France); Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, writer (Senegal); Khadija Mohsen-Finan, university (Tunisia-France); Celestin Monga, economist (Cameroon); Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, academic, Islamologist (Iran-France); Boniface Mongo-Mboussa, writer (Congo-Brazzaville-France); Wajdi Mouawad, playwright (Lebanon-France); Madeleine Mukamabano, journalist (Rwanda-France); Nabil Mouline, historian (Morocco): Lamia Oualalou, journalist (Morocco-France); Cecile Oumhani, writer (France); Atiq Rahimi, writer (Afghanistan-France); Michele Rakotoson, writer (Madagascar); Arundhati Roy, writer (India); Lamine Sagna, university (Senegal-United States); Antonio Carlos Secchin, writer (Brazil); Nada Sehnaoui, visual artist (Lebanon); Leila Shahid, former Ambassador (Palestine); Muzna Shihabi Barthe, human rights activist (Palestine); Wole Soyinka, writer, Nobel Prize in Literature (Nigeria) ; Wassyla Tamzali, essayist (Algeria-France); Nadia Tazi, philosopher (Morocco-France); Hyam Yared, writer (Lebanon).