Thracing on MIC Day#1 Recap

Heated debates, amongst passionate delegates, lead to fruitful discussions that were the epicentre of attention on the Thracing’s MIC opening act in Komotini on Thursday 8 December 2022. Today’s debate marks the pole of attraction of the whole conference and a rightful beginning to the conference.

Firstly, the #NATO council could be described in one word, dynamite .Especially, it must be pointed out that the delegates had the opportunity to express their strategy concerning the topic:<< External relations without triggering unpleasant responses.>>. France,Poland and Greece highlighted the importance of security and protection between the members of the European Union. The absence of cooperation caused the lack of a spherical optic. From one side, Finland believes that she has the power to neutralise the power of Russia in a few days according to her suspensions. Europe has to be ready in front of every case scenario. On the other side, Sweden supports that she will not tolerate any disrespect to the rights of the residents. In addition, Poland suggests focusing on the countries who can contribute with their forces in the war. The statement of Finland provoked a variety of reactions.” Turkey is an unsuitable country for the alliance”.Subsequently, there is a Crisis… The concept? “A new NATO in Norway”. The delegates had to present the positions of their countries concerning the combination of Russia and nuclear power. NATO has the vision that the new base will improve the protection and the regional security. But, there are two poles: Russia doesn’t accept the base because she shares a 196 km border with Norway. The “new” NATO will be an obstacle for the region.In parallel, there is a big conflict between Turkey and Poland. Turkey pointed out that the base is the cause of WW2. Poland accused Turkey for hypocrisy. Specifically, she reported “ Turkey tries to support the Russian side but she ignores the fact that she belongs in another alliance. She is responsible for the protection of the alliance but her goal is far from that though.” The honest truth is that there is a diversity of opinions. Finland, Sweden, Italy and Lithuania support that this is a great chance to present the valuable role of the base and the reinforcement of the military force. The most discussed solution was the deconstruction of the base and the creation of a new one far away from Russia. Poland and Serbia accepted this idea in contrast to the Ukrainian and UK delegations who expressed that NATO is a defensive organisation and it has to protect the nations. A very precious part is that the negotiation with Russia ended on good terms. The Agenda of NATO concerning the measures that has to be taken in order to support cyber security found a lot of supporters. All the delegations tried to propose practical solutions. Fundraising, technological information and ethical training. NATO chose to speak “loudly”the language of facts.

In addition, the discussion at the United Nations General Assembly Emergency Session (#UNGA) began on a very controversial note, due to the dividing nature of the Russo-Ukrainian war. Most of the member states sided with Ukraine, a supporter of peace and a victim of war. The US are firm supporters of Ukraine, as they demand the retraction of every Russian troop in Ukrainian soil under the fear of a new World War, catastrophic to all humanity.

On the other hand, the Russian delegate hinted that the Western Countries are fueling the Russo-Ukrainian war and instead he underlined the importance of a state’s sovereignty, backed by Belarus’ characterization of the war as an ultimate solution. Moreover, Russia strongly denied any accusation of opprobrious war crimes and criticised the western world for turning a blind eye to the Ukrainian war crimes to the Russian people on Ukrainian soil. All of a sudden a crisis errupted, involving a video which depicts masked people slaughtering Ukrainian civilians while shouting “Motherland” in Russian. Russia of course vividly denied any connection to the criminals and suggested the cooperation of all member states in order to find the criminals. Having said that, the vast majority of the delegates suspected Russian official involvement behind the slaughter, with most European countries such as Poland offering the support of their special forces in order to further investigate the event. Eventually the UK secret services allegedly discovered a link between the criminals and Putin himself. As the member states were discussing about the way they can peacefully resolve their differences through international collaboration, a second crisis erupted, revolving around the bombing of Odessa and the nuclear power plant of Zaporizhia. The strengthening of Ukraine’s military systems and especially the air defence was suggested by many countries such as Pakistan, the US and the UK. However, Russia replied to the accusations, quoting its president Vladimir Putin, who said that the Russian Federation is closely cooperating with the Ukrainian police, in order to avoid any nuclear disaster. Belarus backed Russia, by stressing the real aim of this council, ie finding a peaceful solution to the crisis at hand. Ultimately, Germany emphasised on the danger of a nuclear war, which could be catastrophic for the whole world, while the US accused Russia of actualizing a nuclear retaliation.

Concerning the #CoEU, the first day of negotiations could be described as furious. The delegates preferred the hard work rather than the easy way. Their Agenda has a unique essence. All the countries supported measures and valid solutions which specified the topics of humanitarian aid.Hungary believes that the European Union has a duty to transfer supplies and provide practical methods of help to Ukraine. Also, Poland highlighted the educational part by proposing the “reinforcement of the mind” for all the refugees.

Now the best part, the Crisis.The topic crossed paths with a great number of updates and details.The Hungarian president refused to accept the access to the country concerning the Russian refugees. The European Council tried to negotiate and find a diplomatic solution. They suggested that the borders have to stay open -with a strong security system- because Hungary provides a “door” to all the other countries.

Additionally, mentioning the #CoE, the atmosphere was friendly as long as the delegates were capable of handling the debates in a diplomatic way. The board commented that the committee gave a humanitarian aspect. The conversation could be characterised as calm and strict. Along with the CoE, the #ICJ’s main characteristic was its smooth running procedures, it’s impartiality and the debate whether Russia has committed genocide on Ukrainian soil.

All things considered, today’s feedback is more than positive and could be described as nothing less than an extraordinary experience. In fact, the passion of the delegates, their arguments and their perspectives,in general, constructed a remarkable introduction to Thracing MIC.

The Press Team,

Maria Antonia Santorinaiou and Savvas Arsenios Theodoris.