The danger of hypocrisy in Western views on Ukraine

The joint statement from the ambassadors, high commissioners and designates of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden and the UK, and the ambassador of the EU delegation on the Russian invasion of Ukraine seems to sound more hypocritical and ideological than moral.

“It states that freedom is a universal right – freedom to live in peace and security; freedom of speech; freedom to vote and elect legislative representatives and the government. These freedoms are enshrined in the United Nations (UN) Charter, to which there are 193 signatories worldwide, including all our countries and the 10 members of Asean.
Tragically, these basic freedoms are under threat in Ukraine – a sovereign state and UN member since 1991, and the second largest country in Europe (by area).

“If we do not work together to stop the atrocity in Ukraine, we will be making it easier for Putin and Russia to fulfil their despicable aims in egregious breach of international law. Failure to do so will weaken the democratic foundations and principles that underpin our global network of liberty and democracy, based on international law.

“Global freedom, democracy and rights depend on how we all respond to this threat.”

One wonders why such forceful condemnation does not apply to Israel which continues to deny the Palestinians inalienable rights for statehood. Why there are no global and effective sanctions against Israel when it rains bombs indiscriminately on the unarmed Palestinians? Even if the Palestinians provoked the Israelites, it is due to the Zionist regime’s blatant settlement and occupation of their land.

The core of the principle that needs to be adhered to is to oppose the seeds of war in whatever form they take, whether the form of a Cold War-based alliance expanding to borders of countries that resist it, or the short-sightedness of ideologically simplifying issues to a fight between democracy and authoritarian rule by demonising nations that do not kowtow to Western hegemony.

The truth is, people suffer injustice around the world due to the selective nature of proclaiming justice at the global level.

The Ukrainians and Palestinians suffer a common effect of war and injustice.

It is time for the West to stop picking and choosing issues of human rights that suit its ideological or hegemonic stand. This should be done by ensuring equitable justice in a global system that takes the security fears of all nations into consideration.

The Russian state should be condemned for war on a sovereign state, and the West should be condemned for expanding a Cold War entity such as Nato to the eastern part of Europe that has provoked Russia towards war.

This is something the Western ambassadors have not addressed in their statement. It is time the West opens its eyes to its own hypocrisy.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.