US is reestablishing a new Inquisition using Russia-Ukraine crisis as excuse

Illustration: Chen Xia/Global Times

The US, leading several attendants, is launching a round of international mobilization to condemn Russia. After US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused China of standing "on the wrong side of history" in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison immediately followed suit by putting pressure on China. During his visit to India, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida raised his voice on the Ukraine issue, attempting to lobby New Delhi to switch its stance to condemn Russia. Even the Associated Press tweeted, "Amid a worldwide chorus of condemnation against Russia's war on Ukraine, Africa has remained mostly quiet."

It is not up to Washington to decide who stands "on the wrong side of history." The US cannot forcibly pin the label that belongs to itself to someone else. As a netizen commented under the AP's tweet, "Us drinking panadol for your own headache is not something we'll be doing." The US is the one that triggered the conflict and is the biggest hidden hand behind the curtain, who has made the Russia-Ukraine crisis where it is today. To shirk its responsibility and seek its own interests, Washington concocted a new charge for those who haven't condemned Russia to set up a new moral high ground for global sanctions against Russia.

The US is reestablishing a new Inquisition, infamous in medieval Europe, and all who disagree with the US have been labeled "heretics." And the US also wants to tie and burn the "heretics" on the pillars of international public opinion.

Yet, to the disappointment of the US and its attendants, although they have been clamoring that countries should take sides, they cannot cover the fact that they are still the minority in the international community. The US wishes that the whole world will follow it to condemn and sanction Russia, but more than 100 countries are not involved in imposing sanctions against Russia.

The attitude of non-Western major powers, including India, Brazil, and South Africa share a similar attitude with China - hoping to facilitate dialogue for peace and quell the conflict as soon as possible. Why? Because everyone with a sober mind can see that extreme sanctions will not help solve the crisis. On the contrary, they will only add fuel to the fire.

Washington has been clamoring that only sanctions against Russia are "correct" moves. It is humiliating the judgment and political experience of the entire international community. If the crisis can be resolved by simply condemning or sanctioning Russia, it is believed the international community will surely have done it.

But the situation is completely different. Condemning Russia or adding a few names on the sanctions list won't fix anything. Instead, they cut off ties that could have maintained communication and mediation between Russia and Ukraine. Doing so has further weakened the intermediary role in facilitating dialogue for peace.

By mobilizing the international community to "condemn" Russia and join the US sanctions team, Washington has no sincerity or idea of solving the Russia-Ukraine crisis. The "united front" it is advocating is only to satisfy US interests.

Now it wants to pressure China to "condemn" Russia to create a rift in China-Russia relations. If China resists the pressure and does not do it, the US will have an excuse to blame China. For the US, it would be ideal if China were to participate in sanctions against Russia which would result in the breakup of China-Russia relations, making the US easily break through. In other words, the US has dug a hole and imagines that China will have to jump into it.

It has to be said that this smart-aleck bullying is very "American." But there is a fundamental difference between China's logic and that of the US. China has always decided its position and policy based on the merits of the matter itself.

China has no self-interest in the Ukraine issue and is making real efforts to alleviate the humanitarian crisis while urging peace and promoting talks, which is in stark contrast to Washington's inflammatory operations of sending weapons and imposing extreme sanctions. Who is on the right side of history? The international community can judge by itself, and it is not up to the US, the initiator of this crisis, to define it.

It was noted that on March 20, Chinese Ambassador to the US Qin Gang was interrupted 23 times by the host during a 9-minute interview with CBS. In the same program that day, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and US Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell were never interrupted by the host. This is a reflection of the political climate in Washington, where any dissenting voice is considered "heretical." This is the most dangerous thing for the Russia-Ukraine situation.