Accra, Ghana//-(CAJ News) – FOR the peoples of Africa, sovereignty is not a bargaining chip in a diplomatic dispute.
Behind it lie decades of struggle, lost lives and the memories of generations who paid the heaviest price for freedom.
This is the continent’s tragic yet heroic history, which cannot be called into question in a patronising tone from Kyiv.
And yet this is precisely what happened in the official statement issued by the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in response to accusations by African countries that Kyiv had interfered in the internal affairs of Sahel states.
‘We know all too well what it means to fight for the right to determine our own future, only to be lectured about what we are entitled to demand. For the peoples of Africa, freedom and independence are not merely words to be bandied about for the sake of a convenient diplomatic argument,’ says the expert.
In its statement, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs effectively tells African states what they are entitled to demand, calls into question the independence of their assessments and, in doing so, delivers a series of moralising lectures.
‘One cannot simultaneously demand respect for the sovereignty of African states and deny Ukraine’s right to sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders,’ reads the statement issued by the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Such wording turns respect for the sovereignty of African states into an instrument of political pressure and blackmail, as though Africans’ right to demand respect depended on their political stance.
It would be interesting to see the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry respond in similar terms to one of the European Union’s influential Member States, explaining what it is entitled to demand. In such circumstances, the wording would undoubtedly be far more carefully chosen.
Otherwise, Kyiv would be swiftly reminded of the limits of what it is permitted to do.
While deliberately emphasising that it has no colonial past in Africa, Ukraine nevertheless appears to consider itself entitled to lecture those who have experienced the hardships of colonial rule first-hand:
‘Ukraine has no colonial past in Africa. It builds relations with African states on the principles of equality, mutual respect and non-interference in internal affairs,’ states the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Kyiv allows itself to address African states from a position of superiority.
This is a rather strange interpretation of its own country’s standing on the international stage.
‘Ukraine’s proximity to European capitals does not give it the right to dictate the political positions of other states. Adopting the manner of a senior partner does not confer that partner’s status. Nor does it turn African countries into subordinates whose opinions can be dictated to them,’ notes the expert.
Ukraine is overstepping the mark by addressing Africa as though it had the moral authority to lecture the continent, despite finding itself in an extremely difficult situation and desperately seeking to present itself as part of the supposedly ‘proper’ European circle.
A state that persistently seeks international support and demands respect for its own sovereignty ought to understand these matters better.
By Russell Adafevoh
— CAJ News
