RECENTLY, 18 countries – or specifically countries with a majority white population – wrote a letter ‘Why we should all care about Ukraine’.

The main gist of the letter was to exhort countries around the world to stand united and work together in condemnation of Russian aggression in Ukraine.

As pointed out in the letter, freedom is a universal human right enshrined in the United Nations (UN) Charter, to which there are 193 signatories worldwide.

Unless the leaders of these 18 countries believe human rights are made in a Western image – in terms of the rights themselves and the politics – the letter failed to highlight that the term ‘human rights’, mentioned seven times in the charter, are also linked with international peace and security that all human beings should enjoy.

Peace has always been among humanity’s highest values and is more important than justice. There never was a good war or a bad peace.

War to any peace-loving person around the world is ethically wrong and deeply undesirable. That is how peace is viewed in the East.

As technology has advanced, warfare has become increasingly destructive. Thus there should be an increased urgency to resolve conflicts non-violently at a very early stage.

In Ukraine, it appears that preventing the conflict was never a priority for these 18 countries. Instead of seeking co-operation, Western nations seek to punish Russia by further arming Ukraine and allowing Germany to pass through a supplementary defence budget of €100 billion (RM463 billion).

Germany is now the third biggest spender in the world behind US and China in defence spending, an initiative never thought possible given its history.

Russia might have its own reasons to attack Ukraine, just like the US had its reasons for attacking Iraq and Afghanistan.

Time will prove whether Russia’s reason will be justified, while time and history have proven the reasons cited by US for its actions in Afghanistan and Iraq were outright lies with no justification.

In the eyes of a lot of Asians and possibly Africans, this conflict in Ukraine is a balancing of power between the Western world and Russia. It is also a manifestation of that process.

For the same reason that these 18 countries are trying to unite the world against Russia, they should also equally seek solidarity in condemning and sanctioning Western allies in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and the prolonged global war on terror set off a complex chain reaction of destabilisation across Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East.

They also triggered violent ripple effects stretching from North America and Europe to Southeast Asia. Few singular acts have so fundamentally swayed the arc of history than both these wars.

Eighteen years on, rather than feeling safer, there is a feeling that terrorism is out of control.

In these wars, both the Western nations and Russia share the same sin, flexing their muscles to get their own way.

The people in Ukraine, Iraq and Afghanistan all have the same rights and freedoms enshrined in the UN Charter.

Yet the people in the latter countries are still waiting for an apology for the destruction and injustice done to them and their country by the Western world.

Both sides claimed they have been working hard for years to defuse regional tension and forge a peaceful resolution but yet concurrently, both sides accused each other of escalating tensions by stationing substantial military resources along each other’s borders.

The preconditions for conflict prevention were there readily available to the leaders of these 18 countries.

Greater diplomacy, crisis management and conflict certainly are definitely more cost-effective –economically and in terms of live saved – than hardening Ukraine from an attack by Russia.

Was the act illegal? Yes, as no country wants to be a pawn in another’s game. Unprovoked? No. Premediated? Obviously it is premediated as Russia was provoked into it.

If the leaders of these countries abhor Russia’s actions, they should have taken the initiative to prevent the conflict by concentrating on de-escalating the tension.

By corralling the rest of the world to join in the economic sanctions against Russia and her people, the Western world actually escalated and potentially widened the conflict.

The sufferings of the people in Ukraine and Russia will be prolonged and this can possibly lead to an endless chain of retaliatory wars. Footprints are clearly evident from the carnage still ongoing in Iraq and Afghanistan after the exit of the Western powers.

The majority of Southeast Asia underwent centuries-long Western colonisation, Japanese occupation, independence struggles, US-Soviet Cold War confrontation and recurring external interference.

They have all learned the painful lesson that big powers come and go, but they have to deal with the ensuing damage.

Knowing the increasing uncertainties surrounding big power relations, countries in Southeast Asia will no longer allow themselves to be entrapped into this conflict, regardless of their preferences, to ensure their survival.

As an ordinary Malaysian, I abhor the actions of the Russian government. At the same time, I also abhor the actions of the leaders of the Western world.

I also abhor the actions of the leaders of Ukraine. Both sides have presented their version of the ongoing conflict as something noble viewed from their respective lenses and which they hope and expects the rest of the world to side with them, if possible.

If the Western leaders profess their abhorrence and sincerely seek to protect global freedom, democracy, rights and save lives, they should focus on prevention.

The road may be long but it is important they walk it with the rest of the world so we can all co-exist in a stable and thriving environment.

Forge a robust approach to de-escalate, if there is not one already happening.

Doing so does not mean Western leaders are making accommodations with tyranny. The choice is not between freedom and oppression but between saving innocent lives or a period of prolonged worldwide stability.

Western leaders have a moral responsibility to steer their policies in a direction where maintaining stability and unity across the world is paramount, rather than its current policies of meddling and confrontation.

History will judge them. – March 23, 2022.

* FLK reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.