By Patson Chilemba
Dr Mbita Chitala says It was not a clever thing for Zambia to go alongside the western and other countries crusade against Russia at the United Nations.
Zambia yesterday voted along with other 140 nations to ‘reprimand’ Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday voted to ‘reprimand’ Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and demanded that Moscow stop fighting and withdraw its military.
The resolution, supported by 141 of the assembly’s 193 members, ended a rare emergency session called by the U.N. Security Council and as Russia carried out its military operation against Ukraine.
The text of the resolution “deplores” Russia’s “aggression against Ukraine.” The last time Security Council convened an emergency session of the General Assembly was in 1982, according to U.N. website.
But speaking with Daily Revelation, Dr Chitala, an expert in international relations, said President Hakainde Hichilema’s administration should have followed late founding father Dr Kenneth Kaunda’s lead in staying non-aligned.
“The matter here is this that the world is no longer a unipolar world. After the collapse of the Soviet Union we had the dominance of the United States as the only super power. But now the world has changed, and we have the emergence of a multipolar world with several power centres, which includes both Russia and China and the countries in the BRICS,” Dr Chitala said. “We should learn from president Kaunda and his colleagues who advanced the non-aligned.”
Dr Chitala said Zambia could not be seen to be aligned with any block, as it maybe costly to the country.
“I would have hoped that the Zambian delegation should have been advised to abstain. That is a better and clever way in international diplomacy,” Dr Chitala said. “But having done what they have done, probably they were cajoled or intimidated by the kind of support from western countries. But there are a lot of things we get from the BRICS, and it’s not clever for us to choose one for the other.”
Dr Chitala said as things stand, the damage has already been done, and it was time the government started mending bridges.
“It’s up to President Hichilema and his colleagues to ensure that they minimize the damage to our country by actions, “ said Dr Chitala.
Thirty-five members including China abstained and five countries including Russia, Syria and Belarus voted against the resolution. While General Assembly resolutions are non-binding, they carry political weight.
Among the African and other world nations which abstained from condemning Russia include South Africa, Senegal, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Sudan, Mali, Mozambique, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, among others.
More @ www.dailyrevelationzambia.com
