It is no longer only China, Cuba, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Russia and Venezuela the States that do not accept Washington’s arrogant and aggressive intrusion. More nations are standing on sovereign feet and they are demanding respect from the traditional Western powers.
In the first seven days of April, the position taken by dignitaries of countries such as India, Türkiye and Zambia rejecting disrespectful statements by US is a clear demonstration the political game in the international arena is not the same as it was 10, 20, 30 years ago.
On April 2, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan uttered a statement that proves the radical change when he asserted: “My doors are closed to the US Ambassador, Jeffry Flake”, after the Head of Mission held a meeting with the leader of the opposition, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, of the Republican People’s Party, who will run in the upcoming presidential elections to be held on May 14, in clear evidence that Washington favors him to defeat President Erdogan.
The Turkish Anadolu News Agency quoted Erdogan as saying: “We have to teach North America a lesson in these elections”, and continued: “That ambassador must know that his interlocutor here is the President of the country”.
Neither the Biden Administration nor the US political establishment favorably sees the position taken by Ankara in its relations with Moscow and Beijing, for not bowing to the dictates of the White House demanding support to its campaign of sanctions against those two nations.
That is a stance US officials neither like nor forgive, and will try by all means to get him out of power and from the Turkish political scene, to place a politician they think would respond better and follow up Washington’s political script in the region and especially within NATO, as Türkiye is part of the bellicose alliance.
That same day, on Sunday, April 2, Subramanyam Jaishankar, India’s Foreign Minister, said during a meeting with MPs held in the city of Bangalore:
“The West is convinced that it has a God-given right to comment on the internal affairs of other countries. For a long time they have had a bad habit of commenting on others. They think it is their right, but they will have to learn that if they continue to do that, others will also start commenting and they (US governing politicians) will not like it when that happens.”
His words were in response to comments made by senior US and German officials, for the decision of the Indian National Parliament to disqualify Rahul Gandhi, leader of the opposition Indian National Congress party, after he was sentenced by a court to two years in prison for defamation, due his inappropriate comments about the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during a pre-election rally in 2019, when he expressed: “All thieves carry the surname Modi.”
Upon learning of the court’s decision against the Indian opposition leader, the US State Department declared with impudence: “We are monitoring the situation of Rahul Gandhi”.
At the same time, his ally, the German Foreign Ministry, stated: “We expect the standards of judicial independence and fundamental democratic principles to be applied in this case”.
Each State has its own laws and order, and they feel they must be respected. It’s a fact Washington’s must accept and live with it, Cuban historian Arthur Gonzalez, an connoisseur of US foreign policy, underscored in a recent article.
The scenario for the US is becoming more difficult as days go by. The stance of several African countries during the recent visit of Vice President Kamala Harris is proof of that, the expert recalled.
Harris arrived in Africa, handing out promises of aid and financial assistance, together with classes on democracy. The US is doing the best it can to maintain African countries under its influence, and keep them from leaning towards Russia and China, which provide real aid, without imposing conditions or overthrowing political leaders Washington’s style.
The US Vice President’s statements raised unfavorable reactions due to her interference. One of them was that of Fred M’membe, leader of the Zambian opposition, who bluntly responded: “If you do not respect the sovereignty of other countries, you cannot claim to be the champion of democracy.”
He further argued: “A country that has overthrown so many governments in Africa, caused so much upheaval on this continent and in other parts of the world, the country that has assassinated so many of our African leaders; who assassinated Patrice Lumumba, the assassins of Kwame Nkrumah, the assassins of Nasser and the assassins of Muammar Qaddafi, cannot come and teach us about democracy.”
“The United States that was built on brute force, on the enslavement of other human beings, on the humiliation of Africans, on the exploitation of Africans, will come today to teach us democracy?” M’membe questioned.
In Ghana, Godfred Alufar Bokpin, economist and professor of Finance at the University of Ghana, explained that his country and other African nations are skeptical over Washington’s growing interest on Africa, especially on finances, and it seems that a new distribution of Africa is at stake, but the relationship with the United States and Europe requires mutual respect, he insisted.
Historian Gonzalez, recounted recent visits made by US high-ranking officials to Africa, including Janet Yellen, current Secretary of the Treasury; Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Ambassador to the United Nations; First Lady Jill Biden, and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
Surely –he added- they all must have noticed Africans are not today the same as they were a few decades ago, and demand respectful and equitable treatment, without contempt or underestimation, as the self-proclaimed “champions of democracy and human rights” used to do. Historian Gonzalez further quoted Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s reaction to intrusive statements made by the US State Department:
“You do not change. You have an old, anachronistic policy of wanting to meddle in the public life of other countries.” “Mexico is neither a protectorate of the United States nor a colony of the United States. Mexico is a free, independent, sovereign nation and we do not take orders from anyone.”
The UN Charter is there, but international relations are at a breaking point today between two growingly clearer sides: On one, the US and its hard core allies that follow an aggressive imposing line on the political and economic fields based on an unipolar vision of international affairs, and, on the other, China, Russia and an increasing number of emerging nations that essentially choose for cooperation, respect and constructive ties to boost development under a peaceful environment based on a win-win philosophy and a vision of a multipolar world.
China, for instance, has proposed three worldwide projects: Global Security Initiative (GSI), Global Development Initiative (GDI) and Global Civilization Initiative (GCI).
The first was launched by Presidente Xi Jinping in April 2022 at a critical moment of world peace and development. The GSI aims to create a new path to security that features dialogue over confrontation, partnership over alliance and win-win over zero-sum.
The GDI was launched on the idea of building on 2030 SDGs for stronger, greener and healthier global development. It is an initiative China put forward in 2021. It is regarded as another important public good and cooperation platform Beijing provides to the world since Xi Jinping launched the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013. As of September 2022, more than 100 countries and international organizations have expressed their support to the Initiative and more than 60 countries have joined the Group of Friends of the GDI at the UN.
The third proposal, the GCI, envisions that in spite of differences in histories, cultures, political systems and development phases, countries should promote and share a common aspiration for peace, advancement, equity, justice, democracy and freedom, which are the common values of humanity.
Beijing believes that this initiative, proposed by Xi Jinping in 2023, will inject fresh and strong energy to attain progress of human society in a world fraught with multiple challenges and crises.
Just like China, Russia attempts to create a web of relationships in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and other regions based on the vision of dialogue and strategic ties respecting sovereignty, boosting friendly bonds and cooperation and economic projects.
An example of this was President Vladimir Putin’s recent decision to write off 20 billion dollar debt African nations had with Russia, as a show of good will to further deepening friendly ties and economic relations.
For the Kremlin a common future for all will require a dialogue between the West and “the new centers of a multipolar international order”, Alexey Drobinin, Director of the Foreign Policy Planning Department of Russia’s Foreign Ministry, pointed out.
More specifically, Putin made it clear that the basis of the world civilization also includes the “traditional societies of the East, Latin America, Africa and Eurasia”, Drobinin concluded.
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