Western nations should learn from China’s non-interference policy

TANZANIA: FOR many years, Western countries have been embracing a tendency of interfering in the internal affairs of other countries politically, economically and culturally.

It has become a tradition for these countries to see themselves as having the authority to meddle in other countries’ domestic affairs, especially during the election period and when internal political conflicts arise.

Too often, western countries’ interferences have been the cause of violence and conflicts in some states and regions, something that has led to the emergence of strata within society, including the spread of hatred.

On September 19, 2024, a diplomat representing a respected nation in the world said that his country will not retreat from its push for strict adherence to democratic rights and principles as key aspect for its partnership with Dodoma.

The statement, in its nature, violates the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and it should be opposed and ignored. In his speech, the diplomat spoke arrogantly and violently while using the pretext of their aid to justify their oppressive policy to interfere in Tanzania’s internal affairs.

According to his statement, his nation had the right and authority to intervene in our internal political affairs because of the aid it provides to us. Indeed, the statement made by the envoy was not diplomatic but contemptuous and should not have been made by a diplomat representing a nation that brands itself to be the guardian angel of other countries.

His statement came after President Samia Suluhu Hassan warned other countries to desist from interfering in Tanzania’s internal affairs and violating the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations by trying to dictate on how the government should handle its internal matters.

Therefore, before making his statements and using the sarcasm of their aid, the diplomat should have realised that diplomatic cooperation between Tanzania and his nation was not built on the charitable foundation but on the principle of mutual respect, mutual trust, justices and equality.

The envoy should know that, since Tanzania did not intervene or make a statement about the two attempts to assassinate one of the presidential candidates on 13 July 2024 and 15 September 2024, his state should also stop interfering in our internal political affairs.

He should also know that, for Tanzania to remain silent without making a statement against attempts to assassinate the presidential candidate did not mean that it was pleased by the act, rather it considered it as one of the events that should be dealt internally by his government and its citizens. So, this nation that brags to be the police of the world should respect our sovereignty.

It should be remembered that this is not the first time that the nation has interfered in Tanzania’s internal affairs. On 1 October 2020, the government, through its embassy in Tanzania, issued a threatening statement and warned that if electoral procedures were not adhered to, they “will not hesitate to consider consequences for those found to be responsible for election-related violence or undermine the democratic process.”

At various times, this very same nation also issued threatening statements, saying that his country “would watch closely the actions of individuals who interfere in the democratic process and will not hesitate to consider consequences including visa restrictions for those responsible for election-related violence.”

It should be noted that while this nation continues to interfere in Tanzania’s internal politics, raising doubts about the credibility of election results and expressing concerns about Tanzanian Government’s commitment to democratic values, their presidential election process back home has always been marred by the allegations of vote rigging.

It should be noted that, a former presidential candidate who is again vying for the same post this year did not admit his defeat in the election four years ago, as he believed the electoral process was flawed in some states and rushed to court to have the ballots recounted, appealing for a thorough investigation to the alleged election fraud.

Apart from that year’s election fraud allegations, in 2000 and 2016 the general election in this superpower was marred by allegations of vote rigging and violation of election procedures as well. Even so, no country has ever attempted to interfere in its elections as blatantly as it did to Tanzania that time.

As opposed to this interference policy, China’s non-interference policy is very crucial in building friendly relations among countries in the world. Its non-interference policy has been a catalyst for developing trade relations and cooperation between nations, especially for poor and developing countries.

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Some Western countries regard China’s non-interference policy as indifferent to people’s aspirations for democracy, civil liberty and defending of human rights, hence immoral and undesirable.

But the fact is, China respects the sovereignty of other countries and believes that foreign interference is morally wrong and likely to cause disturbances. Look at what happened in North Africa and West Asia after the so-called “Arab Spring”! The toppling of entrenched governments with foreign interference, in the case of Libya, has resulted in a split and failing country with rising influence of terrorist organisations.

NATO’s military interventions in the name of protecting civilians have brought more sufferings to the Libyan people due to instability and protracted military conflicts caused.

On the contrary, China follows the principle of non-inference in other countries’ internal affairs. Its position before, during and after the Tanzanian elections held on 28 October 2020, through its Foreign Ministry spokespersons, was that China believed the Tanzanian government and its people had the wisdom and capability to organise elections without any external interference and called on all countries to respect the non-interference principle, support African countries’ independence and safeguard their unity and stability.

With its position, China still believes that the Tanzania government and its people will use the same wisdom and ability to organize the upcoming local government election without external interference.

It is very important to understand that non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs doesn’t mean that we do not care about the human rights situation, democracy and civil liberty in the country concerned, but means respect of other countries’ sovereignty and giving the ownership to the countries concerned in promoting democracy and human rights cause in their own country.

Actually, China is at the forefront of resolving political conflicts in other countries, but it prefers using political and peaceful means rather than military and confrontational methods, such as economic sanctions or military intervention. In addition to that, China does not use the aid it provides to friendly countries as its right to interfere in the internal political affairs of those countries.

It should also be noted that non-interference policy can ensure political independence and provide a better international environment for the country concerned to solve its domestic problems.

Non-interference policy does not exclude constructive involvement, such mediation and humanitarian assistance. For example, China played an important role in easing the tensions between the Government of Myanmar and the Rohingya people who previously lived in west Myanmar Rakhine State but fled to Bangladesh due to ethnic conflicts in 2017.

What China has done include provision of humanitarian assistance to the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and persuasion of the Burmese and Bangladesh governments to accept ceasefire and negotiate a solution to the refugee crisis.

Apart from that, China has managed to broker peace between Iran and Saud Arabia, Syria and the Arab League etc.

We, Africans, need to understand that our countries are independent sovereign states, and no other country has the right to interfere in our internal affairs. We should not let anyone or any country dictate on how we should choose our leaders and handle our internal issues.

Western countries must realise that countries vary in national conditions and there is no one-fits-all democracy model. For that reason, every country has the right to explore its democracy path that suits its national circumstances. It is advisable for the Western countries to follow China’s example in observing the non-interference principle.