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Putin’s War in Ukraine and the Double Standards in International Relations Arena

11 July 2023 | Story Dr Sunday Paul C Onwuegbuchulam | Photo Supplied

Dr Sunday Onwuegbuchulam — Dr Sunday Paul C Onwuegbuchulam is from the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies, University of the Free State.

Opinion article by Dr Sunday Paul C Onwuegbuchulam, Centre for Gender and Africa Studies, University of the Free State.

It has been more than a year since Putin declared his pogrom in Ukraine, which he termed a ‘special military operation’. The war – which Putin envisaged to last a few weeks – is now going into the second year, with lots of people killed on both sides, including civilians. It is also notable that the war has seen the destruction of several key civilian infrastructures in Ukraine, and different human rights abuses carried out by Russian soldiers and their Wagner Mercenary Group. It suffices to say that the bloodletting and destruction in Ukraine have been great, and up until now, there seems to be no solution at hand to stop this war. As the war drags on, with Ukraine engaging in counter-offensives to reclaim its stolen lands, the question on the mind of many is when and how this is going to end. Several countries, including China and South Africa, are making efforts to broker peace in Ukraine. China, for example, proposed a twelve-point political settlement framework, which, among other things, suggested that the Western countries relax their sanctions against Russia and called for a cease-fire and peace talks. In more recent times, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa led an African group to Ukraine on a peace mission in yet another effort to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine.

Brokering peace in Ukraine and Russia while their backyard is burning

My issue in the article concerns this move by African countries, especially South Africa. Firstly, I am wondering how these so-called African leaders can jet off to Ukraine and Russia to broker peace while their backyard here in Africa is burning with conflicts. One wonders why this delegation considers the Ukrainian conflict more serious than, for example, the ongoing war in Sudan. Secondly, I have a gripe against South Africa’s efforts to broker peace in Ukraine, when some of its leaders, politicians, and educated elites have come out categorically to enunciate the phrase, ‘We stand with Russia’. It is the same thing as China (which has clearly stated its alignment with Russia) now proposing a peace plan for stopping a war that Russia is complicit in starting. I am okay with countries aligning themselves with other countries. It is a norm in international relations and is good for cordial relationships among nations of the world. My issue is with the double standards being played out by nations and that exist in the contemporary international relations arena.

The double standards being exhibited by countries around the world regarding Putin’s war against Ukraine will be an albatross that will ultimately lead to the failure of the peace talks and peace proposals. Notably, both China and South Africa have not been frugal with words against the West and have come short of blaming the whole war on the West and NATO, arguing that NATO’s expansionism agenda in Eastern Europe has led to the war. They further argue that Russia has the right to protect its territorial integrity (against the perceived NATO threat), hence the reason for Putin’s war. But these leaders also fail to condemn the fact that Putin invaded a sovereign country at peace, thereby going against the UN Charter (Article 2, 4) on sovereignty and the maintenance of territorial integrity of nations. They have not condemned Putin’s war, which is a threat to global peace and world order. Furthermore, the hypocrisy is evident in the condemnation of America and the West for the atrocities committed in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere in the world (rightly so), but these countries have not been vociferous in condemning Putin for doing the same in Ukraine. South Africa, for example, has been vocal against the plight of Palestinians under Israel’s ‘apartheid repression’, but the country and its leaders have been indolent in calling Putin out regarding the war crimes going on in Ukraine, in which he has been implicated personally. Hence, in my view, this war has revealed the double standards by different countries of the world when it comes to the issue of maintaining the values enshrined in international humanitarian law and the fundamental principles of human rights as encapsulated in different UN documents. In more recent times, there have been denied reports that South Africa is supplying Russia with arms to aid its war in Ukraine; if true, this is the highest form of hypocrisy from a nation that trumpets respect for human rights and the need to maintain international order.

War in Ukraine is a war of choice

Rather than telling Putin to get out of Ukraine as a way of ensuring a genuine cease-fire, China and South Africa, for example, are going around in circles using some diplomatic approaches such as peace talks that propose peace plans, which they know Ukraine will reject. It should not be forgotten that this war in Ukraine is a war of choice, and it was Putin’s choice to invade a nation he saw as helpless and thought he could conquer within weeks. One wonders whether Putin did not foresee that America and NATO – which supported Ukraine even before this war – would come to Ukraine’s aid. On this, I think it is rather disingenuous that some argue that America and NATO could stop the war by ending the supply of arms to Ukraine to defend itself. The insincerity in this proposal is that these people are saying – just fold your arms and allow Putin to have what he wants and grab as much land as he wants in Ukraine. The hypocrisy also plays out here; they assert that Russia has the right to engage in this war to protect its territorial integrity against NATO’s expansionism, but it is not right for Ukraine to engage in the war to defend its territorial integrity. This kind of thinking is what ultimately led to WWII, because world leaders at the time turned a blind eye to Hitler's first land grabs (Czechoslovakia and Austria for example) until it was too late.

It may sound rather simplistic, but there is truth in the proposal that those who want true peace in Ukraine and Eastern Europe should just advise Putin to withdraw from Ukraine and stop this NAZI-style land grab he has engaged in since the annexation of Crimea in 2014. In my view, this war in Ukraine is going on today because some countries did not condemn that first flaunting of the stipulation of international law on the sovereignty of nations. This, in my view, emboldened Putin, hence his engagement in this war against Ukraine. Putin started this war. He can easily stop it, and the nations that have aligned themselves with Russia (including China and South Africa, and other African countries) can genuinely assist in stopping the war by jettisoning the double standards that are rife in the international relations arena, advising Putin to withdraw from Ukraine. We must not forget that if they keep quiet and Putin’s expansionist move is allowed to stand, it is open season for such a scenario to replicate itself elsewhere in the world. The big elephant in the room remains China, with its eye on Taiwan.

News Archive

Financial and registration information for UFS students (including international students)

2017-02-22

Update: 7 February 2017

The management of the University of the Free State (UFS)
is aware of a misleading post on social media this
past weekend.

The correct facts are:

1) In December 2016, the UFS received information of a
total allocation of R189 239 000 from the National Student
Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) for 2017.

2) NSFAS provisionally funded 453 first-time entering
students in January 2017.

3) During 2016, 3 868 students received NSFAS funding.
Should these students qualify according to the academic
requirements of NSFAS, they will qualify to receive the
same funding again in 2017. In the meantime, due to the
current backlog at NSFAS, the UFS assisted 2 573 of
these students who qualify for funding academically.
This will enable the students to register for 2017 while
waiting for NSFAS to make the necessary allocations.
Information as on 6 February 2017 indicated that 2 330
of these students already made use of the opportunity
and have registered for 2017.

4) On 6 February 2017, the UFS received communication
from NSFAS regarding an additional amount of
R66 513 252 which is available for first-time
entering students. Approximately 875 students
will benefit from this allocation. Financial Aid will soon
finalise this process and successful students will be
notified of the allocations.

5) The UFS is in the process of resolving the
classification of the quintile schools so that more
students could be assisted.

The above-mentioned is not final and will change
on a daily basis.

There is an understandable and shared concern among students of the University of the Free State (UFS) around the cost of higher education. This has been a topic of discussion not only on national level, but it has also been a priority for the university’s senior leadership in discussions with student leaders.

The following are ways in which students receive assistance to register for the 2017 academic year:

1. Students receiving assistance from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS)

1.1   Senior students

1.   Senior students who received NSFAS assistance in 2016.
a.   This group of students will receive a NSFAS allocation in 2017, subject to the following terms and conditions:
i.   If they satisfied the 50% module pass requirement for the 2016 academic year.
ii.   If they satisfied the n+2 completion requirement.

b.   Students who conform to these requirements can register as from 31 January 2017.
c.   These students’ placement in residences can also be confirmed.
d.   These students will receive an allocation for books and meals subject to the prioritisation as prescribed by NSFAS.

2.   Senior students who received confirmation of a NSFAS allocation in 2017 with outstanding debt of not more than R20 000.
a.   These students must please visit the Student Finance desk in the different registration venues to make acceptable arrangements for payment of the outstanding monies.
b.   Acceptable arrangements refer to the payment of 50% of these outstanding monies by 30 June 2017 and the remainder by 31 October 2017.
c.   These students will be allowed to continue with their registration after the above process has been complied with.
d.   These students’ placement in residences can also be confirmed.
e.   These students will receive an allocation for books and meals subject to the prioritisation as prescribed by NSFAS.

3.   Senior students who applied for NSFAS assistance in 2017 for the first time or applied previously, but did not meet the qualifying criteria, may only register with the assistance of a NSFAS allocation once confirmed by NSFAS. In the absence thereof, these students may only register after payment of the required prepayments for full registration, or they may register provisionally.

1.2   First-time entering students
The university’s Department of Finance is dealing with this group collectively based on the confirmed financial assistance by NSFAS for the group as a whole.

1.   First-time entering students to whom an allocation have been confirmed by NSFAS will receive an allocation and will be able to continue with their registration. Their placement in residences can also be confirmed. They will receive an allocation for books and meals subject to the prioritisation as prescribed by NSFAS.

2.   First-time entering students who applied at NSFAS before the cut-off dates and matriculated at schools in the quintile 1 to 3 categories will be allowed to register on providing proof of submission of their application. Their placement in residences can also be confirmed. They will receive an allocation for books and meals subject to the prioritisation as prescribed by NSFAS. Confirmation of the students who matriculated at schools in the quintiles 1 to 3 (as per the data collected with the assistance of the university’s ICT Services) will serve as sufficient evidence of the NSFAS allocation still to be made to them.

3.   First-time entering students who can provide proof that the family income is dependent on a grant from the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has also been confirmed to receive a NSFAS allocation. Their placement in residences can also be confirmed. They will receive an allocation for books and meals subject to the prioritisation as prescribed by NSFAS.

4.   Please note that the above process only caters for applicants who applied in time and who are admitted in programmes for 2017.

1.3 NSFAS prescriptions towards the allocation of funds

NSFAS determined a priority order that must be used to distribute the NSFAS allocation. The priority order is as follows:

1.   Tuition fees
2.   Books
3.   Accommodation
4.   Meals
5.   Travel

The amount awarded must be allocated according to the above priority order until it is depleted. It thus means that all tuition fees must first be paid before an allocation may be made for books, accommodation, meals, and travel.

NSFAS also prescribes that no allowance may be paid until the student has signed his or her contract. Due to the backlog with allocations to students by NSFAS, contracts for these allocations are also not made available yet.

The UFS is fully aware of the predicament the above circumstances create for students with regard to the allocations for books and meals. To assist students as a transitional arrangement, the university took it upon itself to advance an amount of R750 for meals to all registered NSFAS recipients. This advancement will be paid by the students’ NSFAS allocation after they have signed the contract. All other payments, as per the priority order, can unfortunately only be made after students signed the NSFAS contracts. Signing of contracts will be done electronically.

The advance for meals has been available since Monday 6 February 2017. Students are reminded that they must be registered before the amount of R750 may be advanced. Students should visit the Financial Aid Offices for enquiries.

Students are requested to support the effort of the UFS by availing themselves to sign contracts as soon as it becomes available.

Students should also note that all universities were informed this week of the backlogs that has developed at NSFAS in the processing of financial aid applications made by first-time entering students and returning students. NSFAS is giving urgent attention to the matter. The UFS is monitoring the progress closely and will communicate with the affected students, if necessary.

2. Senior students with outstanding debt who do not receive NSFAS funding

Students may register provisionally, subject to the following terms and conditions approved by the UFS Council on 2 December 2016.

1.   Students must be South African citizens. (International students may not register provisionally because of the Immigration Act.)
2.   Students must have been previously registered at the UFS.
3.   Students must be enrolled for full-time studies and must attend lectures on one of the three campuses (open-learning students, e-learning students, and students registered with Varsity College do not qualify for provisional registration).
4.   Outstanding balances on an applicant’s tuition fees account for 2016 must be less than R20 000.

The minimum pre-payment to register provisionally in 2017 is:
R1 900 for non-residential students; and
R6 750 for residential students.

3. Department of Higher Education Fees Adjustment Grant for 2017

The Department of Higher Education and Training will pay the fee increase capped at 8% for all qualifying registered students with a gross combined family income of up to R600 000 per annum in 2017. This is a grant and will not have to be repaid by qualifying students. The grant will only cover tuition fees and accommodation provided by universities. Students who are recipients of bursaries and scholarships that cover their full cost of study will have to pay the percentage fee adjustment.

The following students qualify:

1.   Only South African citizens and citizens with permanent South African residence studying towards an undergraduate or postgraduate qualification in 2017.
2.   The applicant and direct family (mother, father, spouse or legal guardians) must have a GROSS combined family income of R600 000 or less per annum before tax deductions.

The following students will not have to apply for the grant as they will automatically be considered:

1.   Applicants who applied for NSFAS funding.
2.   All students who attended quintile 1, 2, and 3 schools in Grade 12.

All other students will have to apply for the fee adjustment grant. The application form is available on www.ufs.ac.za. Incomplete applications will not be considered. More information can be obtained from the Financial Aid Office.

Students who are unsuccessful in their application may appeal within 14 days of the outcome of the decision by completing an appeal form which will also be available on the university's website at http://www.ufs.ac.za/kovsielife/unlisted-pages/bursaries/financial-aid.

The closing date for applications is 15 February 2017.

4. International students

The prepayments for 2017 as approved by the UFS Council on 2 December 2016 are:
1.   Non-resident students: R28 160
2.   Resident students: R43 160

The following concessions were made to assist international students to meet the financial requirements for 2017 as approved by the UFS Council on 2 December 2016:

1.   Students who are unable to pay the full amount must visit Student Finance in registration venues.
2.   All outstanding monies of the previous year must be paid in full.

3.   The prepayment amount for 2017 will be calculated for each student based on the following:
a.   A minimum payment of R12 820 for non-resident students and R22 725 for resident students is payable before registration can be considered.
b.   A quotation will be prepared based on the academic advice for 2017.
c.   A payment agreement for the balance of the pre-payment or the first semester’s fees is signed by the student.
d.   This amount is payable not later than 31 March 2017.
e.   The registration of these students are subject to the on-time payment of the agreed amounts.
The current position of the Department of Home Affairs is that all students who have pending applications should be allowed to register on condition that they produce their study visas by 31 March 2017 (Refer to the Minister’s Dispensation Immigration Directive 26 of 2016).

International students may apply for an emergency travel document at their respective Embassies/Consulates, as this will allow for cross-border travelling and will give the student an opportunity to register on site.

Students should bring or email a copy of their receipts as proof that they have applied for their study visa and a certified copy of their passport (issued by the South African Embassy or Consulate), confirmation of their medical aid (a SA medical aid registered under the SA Medical Schemes Act 131 of 1998). Students will have up until 31 March to submit their study visas to Mrs Niemann at the Office for International Affairs, located in the Mabaleng A Building on the Bloemfontein Campus; email: niemannaja@ufs.ac.za. Failure of which will result in deregistration of students.

Zimbabwe: Because Zimbabwe no longer issues emergency travel documents, students from Zimbabwe must email a certified copy of their passport and receipt (issued by the South African Embassy or Consulate), and confirmation letter of the medical aid to Ms Jeanne Niemann from the Office for International Affairs on the following email address: niemannaja@ufs.ac.za. In doing so, students will be able to register online provided that their finances and their admission requirements are in order.

International students should note that the blanket concession was only for final-year students that could not complete their studies due to exams being written at the beginning of the next academic year. If a student returned home in December 2016, this concession expired and the student had to re-apply for a study visa or apply for a visitor’s visa. The relaxed requirements will apply only to final-year students who were not meant to return and continue studies in 2017.

Please see the following explanation of the Blanket Concession:

CLARIFICATION – BLANKET STUDY VISA EXTENSION TO 31 MARCH 2017

Circular 31 of 2016 has reference.

The International Education Association of South Africa (IEASA) has brought to our attention that there may be some confusion regarding the blanket administrative extension to 31 March 2017 of study visas with an expiry date of or prior to 31 December 2016 granted by the Department of Home Affairs in Immigration Directive No. 25 of 2016.

The Department of Home Affairs has confirmed that the Directive does not serve as a replacement visa for students travelling home in December 2016. This Directive serves as an extension of current visas for students who need to complete their academic programmes in 2017. The DHA has advised that should any final-year students be travelling to their home countries in December 2016, they would need to return in January 2017 with a visitor’s visa.

5. Enquiries

Bloemfontein and South Campuses:

Undergraduate and honours students: +27 51 401 3003 / 2806 / 9090 / 9670 / 2817 / 9669

Postgraduate students (Master’s and Doctoral): +27 51 401 9537

Refunds: +27 51 401 7050

Student cards (meals and books): +27 51 401 2799 / 3337

Collections: +27 51 401 3643 / 3448; Fax: +27 51 401 3579

Email: tuitionfees@ufs.ac.za

Qwaqwa Campus:

Client Services: +27 58 718 5024 / 5119 / 5262

Student cards (meals and books): +27 58 718 5026

Cashiers: 058 718 5028; Fax: +27 58 718 5118

Email: nchapiem@qwa.ufs.ac.za

International Office:

+27 51 401 3219

Released by:
Lacea Loader (Director: Communication and Brand Management)
Telephone: +27 51 401 2584 | +27 83 645 2454
Email: news@ufs.ac.za | loaderl@ufs.ac.za
Fax: +27 51 444 6393

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