By Jan Arden
French elections: Déjà vu all over again. Pic – Al Jazeera
As the horrifying war in Ukraine continues to drag on, we have made the point here, as often expressed elsewhere: The West should not apologize for the fact that it is a community of democratic spaces, defined by rules and values. But that in itself imposes a heavy responsibility to behave like one.
Over the years, EU governments have subsumed that their foreign policy is all about good intentions, which others should take at face value. Let us leave aside that, having plundered much of colonial riches and enrolled the world in their 20th century wars, they now generously provide “aid” to uplift scarred economies and countries. But those mindful of legitimacy and international norms point to numerous cases where double standards irrigate contemporary Western policy, particularly in the Anglo-Saxon world.
Of course, the US and EU governments will never indict themselves for double standards, hypocrisy and transgressions of international law, either in their military interventions in Africa, former Yugoslavia or in the Middle East. In our region, undoubtedly, the EU has been a major sustained contributor to our economic development, if only through stabilized sugar prices, preferential market access for our budding textile industries or through tourism inflows. * Read More… Become a Subscriber
Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 15 April 2022
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