Bush as Human Rights Champion?

The visit of George W Bush to Bangkok early this month to mark the 175th anniversary of relations between Thailand and the United States drew great attention to the Burmese pro-democracy communities in Thailand.

Bush visited Thailand in October 2003 during his first term to attend an Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting, where he was met with demonstrations by thousands of Thai and international peace activists who opposed his administration’s human rights record.

It remains difficult for many human rights activists around the world to understand why Burmese activists see the US government as a staunch supporter of human rights.

Globally, Bush is seen not as a strong supporter of democracy and human rights, but as a staunch supporter of the use of force, so-called “pre-emptive attacks” as illustrated by his famous phase, “You are with us or against us.”

Bush used those words in 2003 to rally public support by linking Al-Qaeda with the then Iraqi government, claiming Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction (WMD). In a 2006 report by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, it was estimated that 650,000 Iraqis have died in the US-led war in Iraq.

The action by the US government in Iraq is totally contradictory to the international concept of humanitarian intervention, which justifies military intervention with multilateral agreement through inter-governmental organisations like the UN only if the action alleviates the suffering of a country’s citizens.

Regarding the UN Human Rights Council, the US is a proponent of reforms. The US was among four countries that voted against the reform of the UN Commission on Human Rights to become the Human Rights Council in March 2005. In June, the US announced that it will disengage from the UN Human Rights Council after it failed to cooperate with human rights experts the council dispatched to conduct an investigation of prison conditions at Guantanamo Bay.

The US government under Bush has also been a strong opponent against the Rome Statute of International Criminal Court (ICC). Human Rights Watch reported in 2002, his administration negotiated with the Security Council to provide immunity for US troops when they committed violations. His administration also has requested states around the world to approve bilateral agreements, known as the “impunity agreement,” not to surrender American nationals to the ICC.

While China and Russia continue to be the key vetoes at the UN Security Council (UNSC) against binding resolutions on the Burmese military regime, the US has vetoed UNSC resolutions calling for Israel to respect human rights in Gaza and the West Bank and against the deployment of monitoring team to those areas.

How do Burmese activists see such policies? Critical questions should be raised on why the US government supports the pro-democracy movement in Burma. Burmese activists should not turn their eyes away from human rights violations committed in the countries of US allies such as Saudi Arabia, Israel, Egypt and others.

Bush calls the recent attacks by Russia in Georgia unlawful, but unilateral attacks by the US were carried out in Iraq and Afghanistan. In China, Bush talked about prisoners of conscience being detained without trial, while at the same time prisoners are held at the secret Guantanamo Prison without trial as well.

The Burmese democracy movement should ask more questions about the global human rights movement of the US government.

Strategy is necessary when dealing with governments, but the Burmese movement should fully understand the policies of the US as a defender of human rights. Looking at a situation with two eyes is better than with one eye.

In citing reasons for US backing, many Burmese point to the benefits of Burma having a democratic government, as a means of lessening China’s influence in the region.

But can our Burmese friends really call the US a staunch supporter of human rights while it overlooks human rights violations in other places such as Iraq, Guantanamo Bay, Abu-Graib Prison and countries that are strong allies of the US?

(First appears in The Irrawaddy, 14 August 2008)

Source: http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=13855