by Raheela Nazir, Jiang Chao
ISLAMABAD, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- The so-called "Summit for Democracy" led by the United States is a tool to maintain hegemony under the guise of democracy, a Pakistani expert has said.
The summit is anything but democratic as genuine democracy fundamentally talks about inclusiveness, diversity, equal opportunities and prosperity of people rather than compelling other nations to adopt the Western model of democracy that primarily revolves around economic interests, Shakeel Ahmad Ramay, chief executive officer of Asian Institute of Eco-civilization Research and Development, told Xinhua in a recent interview.
The United States has "handpicked specific participants" to this summit according to its assumptions about democratic standards without respecting other world democracies, fueling polarization and division among nations, Ramay said.
Every country has the right to define and implement its own form of a workable democratic system according to its circumstances, norms and values, and no country has the right to meddle in other countries' internal affairs in the name of democracy and challenge their integrity and sovereignty, he said.
"This is going to further divide the world in different blocs at a time when countries around the globe direly need unity and cooperation for global development," the expert said.
This Cold War mentality will isolate the United States and its allies from the international community and is doomed to failure, he said, urging them to refrain from pursuing unilateralism and hegemonism and uphold multilateralism to tackle serious issues facing humanity.
The expert believes that genuine democratic systems should safeguard fundamental human rights and ensure prosperity and well-being of the people.
The United States is "no longer in a position to define standards or demand other countries to copy its model," he said, warning that imposing self-serving and self-proclaimed democracies on other countries would only create confrontation and undermine global peace and stability. Enditem
