The American Double Standard Visibly Exposed As Amnesty International Calls For The Arrest Of Former President When He Visits Canada.
Posted on October 14th, 2011
In Hindsight By Sarath Kumara
October16th 2011
This Associated Free Press item posted on the World Wide Web and copied to LankaWebƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ throws amazing insight into the American double standardƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ relative to the calls to investigate Sri Lanka for War Crimes and crimes against humanity when the USA too seems so full of tangible errors blatantly commited during the tenure of this former President.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It has been well researched by Amnesty International as always,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ given their track record and reputation for accuracy.The organizationƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ hardly ever leaves any stone unturned inƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the pursuit of true crimes against humanity where credibilities rest on the accuracies and plausibilities of the information gatheredƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ which have made A.I. an organization to be reckoned with by any country who violates the accords governing Human Rights veritably and unscrupulously.
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ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Unlike the souped up and doctored cases against Sri Lanka which were orchestrated by the Tamil Tigers(LTTE)ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and their global consorts out to discredit Sri Lanka their case against Mr Bush seems rock solidƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ .ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In the case of Sri lanka’s accusers there has beenƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ no tangible proof to back their claims which have subsequently been proven false and unacceptable in any court of international law based on may inadmissabilities.
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This call by Amnesty International howeverƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ does seem to carry clear cut evidence towards apprehending and eventually indicting the former two term President of the United States during his forthcoming visit to Canada.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ That is if there are no immunities which could prevent such a move on the basis of the former President’s status relative to his visit to CanadaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ but given the nature of the accusations and the stringent methods the USA used to pursue terrorism in the aftermath of 9/11 ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ there seems to be sufficient cause towards at least launching an investigation and a tribunal being set up for this purpose to investigate the serious accusations presented by Amnesty.
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The Canadian Immigration Minister the Hon.Jason Jenny however has dismissed Amnesty’s Call naming it “Cherry Picking” and making references to “respected human rights advocates” whoever these may be and perhaps some of whom also include the many accusers of Sri Lanka with no real evidence beyond hearsay who get on the world stage to bear down on Sri Lanka despite the glaring evidence available to contradict them.
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It must be remembered that in aƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ recent development the Prime Minister of Canada theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Rt. Hon. Mr Stephen Harper too has relented the support his party once showed Sri Lanka and her war against terrorisnƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ to a drgree where he too has egged on a violations issue against Sri Lanka where some political analysts believe it was inspired by pro-active Tamil Tiger sympathisers close to his caucasesƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and not without any plausible or tangible proof so to do! Perhaps the two stances taken by these two Canadians are linked to the same rationale where the USA has been given the benefit of the doubt despite the facts presented and Sri lanka targetted with little or no evidence to go by!
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It may be interesting to note that this isƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ not the first time such a call has been made against Fmr.President Bush whoƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ facedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ similar accusations and is known to have cancelled a visit to Switzerland earlier thiis year and it might be interesting to see whether he would do the same with respect to his intended visit to Canada.
And it will certainly be interesting also to see whether the Canadian Branch of Amnesty will have its say as its local representativeƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Alex Nevy seems to be of the impression that the call is deserving and that no one is above the law.
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It could also be a huge embarassment to the USA who presently, in alliance with countries such as the UK, AustraliaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and Canada seem to be pursuing Sri Lanka the only Nation in the world which defeated Terrorism effectively on more than one occassionƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and wiped it off the face of the country paying homage to the lies and innuendo created deliberately by the residual Tamil Tiger pockets and their sympathisers around the world in an attempt to discredit the Government of Sri LankaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ .These countriesƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ are somewhat authoritatively doing this by virtue of their powerfulƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ global statuses where thankfully Sri Lanka has many allies in support of her who are more aware of the realities involved that those attempting to persecute ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and have vowed to stand by her even at UN level.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It seems fair to say that given what has transpired in the aftermath of the Bush Administration many irregularities have been exposed pointing to the malaise of an Administration which took the world deeper into uncertainty and turmoil by virtue of wrong decisions andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ deplorable applications relatedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ this call by Amnesty seems to attest to some of it.
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Amnesty calls on Canada to arrest Bush
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Amnesty International called on Canadian authorities Wednesday to arrest and prosecute George W. Bush, saying the former US president authorized “torture” when he directed the US-led war on terror.
Bush is expected to attend an economic summit in Surrey in Canada’s westernmost British Columbia province on October 20.
In a memorandum submitted last month to Canada’s attorney general but only now released to the media, the London-based group charged that Bush has legal responsibility for a series of human rights violations.
“Canada is required by its international obligations to arrest and prosecute former president Bush given his responsibility for crimes under international law including torture,” Amnesty’s Susan Lee said in a statement.
“As the US authorities have, so far, failed to bring former president Bush to justice, the international community must step in. A failure by Canada to take action during his visit would violate the UN Convention Against Torture and demonstrate contempt for fundamental human rights,” Lee said.
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney blasted Amnesty for “cherry picking cases to publicize, based on ideology.”
“This kind of stunt helps explain why so many respected human rights advocates have abandoned Amnesty International,” he said.
Kenney said it will be up to Canadian border officials to decide independently whether to allow Bush into the country.
Bush canceled a visit to Switzerland in February, after facing similar public calls for his arrest.
Alex Neve, secretary general of Amnesty International’s Canadian branch, told a press conference the rights group will pursue its case against the former US president with the governments of other countries he might visit.
“Torturers must face justice and their crimes are so egregious that the responsibility for ensuring justice is shared by all nations,” Neve said.
“Friend or foe, extraordinary or very ordinary times, most or least powerful nation, faced with concerns about terrorism or any other threat, torture must be stopped.
“Bringing to justice the people responsible for torture is central to that goal. It is the law… And no one, including the man who served as president of the world’s most powerful nation for eight years can be allowed to stand above that law.”
Amnesty, backed by the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group, claims Bush authorized the use of “enhanced interrogation techniques” and “waterboarding” on detainees held in secret by the Central Intelligence Agency between 2002 and 2009.
The detention program included “torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment (such as being forced to stay for hours in painful positions and sleep deprivation), and enforced disappearances,” it alleged.
Amnesty’s case, outlined in its 1,000-page memorandum, relies on the public record, US documents obtained through access to information requests, Bush’s own memoir and a Red Cross report critical of the US’s war on terror policies.Amnesty cites several instances of alleged torture of detainees at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, naval facility, in Afghanistan and in Iraq, by the US military.
The cases include that of Zayn al Abidin Muhammed Husayn (known as Abu Zubaydah) and 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, both arrested in Pakistan. The two men were waterboarded 266 times between them from 2002 to 2003, according to the CIA inspector general, cited by Amnesty.
October 14th, 2011 at 3:59 pm
Well said! AI are just crooks on the payroll of the likes of Rupert Murdoch.
October 14th, 2011 at 5:40 pm
We need to pick our friends wisely since Bush gave covert support to SL during last part of the war including FBI money tracking from ltte… Obama is a child in a complex world and his HR adviser ( Samantha Power) is the real enemy and this women is a idealist similar to Obama and also a loose canon that has no idea of the real world issues.
I urge our patriots to go after her and also engage her with truth since she is babe in the wilderness and utter stupid journalist with no intelligence.
She was dropped at Obamas election time after she insulted Clinton and was hired again as HR adviser… This tells all about Obamas judgement and with current polling he will not get a second chance at the presidency.
October 14th, 2011 at 10:46 pm
Rightly or wrongly AI might be going after former US President George Bush, but I have absolutely no confidnce in AI Officials for impartiality or conducting proper research before making allegations against targeted nations and individuals. AI is a political force controled by the West and as such they still have not seen the human rights violations committed by the current USA/UK/Italian/French leadership along with other NATO nations in Libya, Iraq, Afganistan etc but they have been hyperactive promoting unsubstantiated allegations against SriLanka, manufactured by Ch-4 and Tamil Tigers. They are using Ex-president Bush as the sacrifice to pull the wool over the eyes of the gullible and pretend they are an impartial group. If AI is genuine and not influenced by wealthy groups like the Tigers, then they should prove it by going after people like Rudrakumaran and Father Emanuel who have worked hand in glove with Tiger war criminals, who are responsible for gruesome crimes for decades.
Yes, it is not only the West that practices double standards, but INGOs like AI, HRW and ICJ are even worse. Though President Bush may have committed war crimes, Canada should reject the AI call as AI has no credibility in its dealings with world events today.