How great is the US human rights record?
Posted on February 28th, 2012
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Shenali Waduge
The US has self-appointed itself to chide nations using the tool of human rights ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” therefore human rights becomes the perfect tool to give or deny loans, trade concessions or even maintain diplomatic dealings. To point fingers oneƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s own terrain must have in the least minimum human rights violations but a closer look at the US will reveal how appalling the US human rights record actually is and begs to ask the US to first put its own house in order before crowning itself the undisputed leader of human rights. For a country that has been responsible for the deaths of over 10million civilians over the past 75 years carrying out incursions/invasions to satisfy capitalist corporates where has there been accountability for these deaths and why is US not asked to give explanations!
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Let us compare the two world powers the US & China. The US refers to China as an ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-authoritarian stateƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚, a country that practices torture, degrades people, detains people, indulges in arbitrary arrest & detention, denies fair public trial, has a repressive corrupt police, interferes in the privacy of families, has limited freedom of speech and press, lacks free elections & political participation, lacks transparency in governance, discriminates people, has restricted worker rights, represses Tibet, restricts freedom in Hong Kong & Macau. These are just some of the accusations against China by the US.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ China is no human rights champion but it is not going to take kindly to a nation accusing it of human rights violations when its own record is questionable in all areas. This is the crossroads that we currently face. In a western dominated international media very rarely are US human rights violations flagged. Accusations are always targeted towards nations that challenge the West. All that the US accuses China and other countries of happens in the mighty America as well. When US exists because of ChinaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s loans has the US moral right to be so arrogant?
When the US accuses other nations of not providing freedom of life & personal security it emerges that 1 in 5 Americans are victims of crime annually. In 2010, 20.6m crimes were committed throughout the US (violent crime, murder, property crime, aggravated assault, burglary & robberies, larceny theft, motor vehicle theft, forcible rape). In 2010, 1 murder took place every 35.6minutes, 1 forcible rape every 6.2minutes, 1 robbery every 1.4minutes, 1 aggravated assault every 40.5seconds & 1 violent crime every 25.3seconds. A burglary took place every 14.6seconds, a motor vehicle is stolen every 42.8seconds. When the US population is 308.7m there are roughly 300 million firearms owned by civilians in the United States as of 2010. Of these, about 100 million are handguns. The US gun and ammunition manufacturing industry includes about 300 companies with combined annual revenue of about $6 billion
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The US accuses China & other nations of denying freedom of privacy when it installs GPS tracking systems without the knowledge of US citizens! Moreover, thousands of people including US citizens have been subject to electronic device searches across the US between 2008 & 2010).
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ There are 42m black Americans in the USA ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” ie 13.6% of the total population. Unemployment among blacks stands at 16% as against 10% of white Americans.
There are 148,200 women in state and federal prisons with 70% guards comprising of men which explains female inmates being subject to rape, other sexual assault, sexual extortion, and groping during body searches. Some male guards even watch female inmates bathing or going to the toilet. The US prison population stands at 2.4m representing 25% of the worldƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s entire prison population and 60% of the 2.3m inmates suffer from some sort of mental illness. There are 3300 prisons throughout the US run by private companies.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ When the US asks nations not to discriminate it emerges that over 22% Americans do not even want to have a Muslim as their neighbor. There are 2.6m Muslims in the US and over 70% of them are suffering mental agony as a result of verbal attacks against them.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ US accuses countries of not allowing freedom of expression & movement. Little are US citizens aware that there are over 1200 Governmental organizations, over 1900 private companies involved in counter terrorism, homeland security & intelligence in over 10,000 locations throughout US with over 800,000 people with security clearance working in Washington DC which has a population of only 617,666! Over 260 organizations have been created following 9/11 to track, collect threat tips and coordinate counter terrorism.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The US is going to great lengths to protect its territory, it is spending billions on securing economic stability of its corporates. While all this is happening, internal problems prevail and the statistics does not reveal anything to be proud about.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ There are 744,000 homeless people in the United States. In 2010, 17.2 million households, 14.5 percent of households (approximately one in seven), were food insecure, In 2010, 46.9 million people were in poverty, up from 37.3 million in 2007. The 2010 poverty rate was 15.1 percent, up from 12.5 percent in 1997.
20.5 million Americans live in extreme poverty. This means their familyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s cash income is less than half of the poverty line, or about $10,000 a year for a family of four. More than 1.25 million, or 1 in every 58 children in the United States, were abused in 2006. More than half (61 percent) of the children (771,700 children) were victims of neglect, meaning a parent or guardian failed to provide for the child’s basic needs. Forms of neglect include educational neglect (360,500 children), physical neglect (295,300 children), and emotional neglect (193,400).
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The United States is the only industrialized country in the world without a universal health insurance system. 46 million Americans have no health insurance. 18000 people die each year because they are uninsured. Yet, U.S. health care system has become one gigantic money making scam. United States spent 2.47 trillion dollars on health care in 2009. Americans now spend a staggering $200 billion a year on prescription drugs.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ While the US Government is busy upsetting nations all over the world its own citizens including children as young as 12 are degenerating into literary drug addicts clinging to prescription & antidepressant drugs most of whom are clueless about the nefarious activities that its Government is upto worldwide. There were 100,000 workplace discrimination charges filed in 2010. The charges covered discrimination due to race, sex, national origin, religion, retaliation, age, disability & equal pay.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The 21stcentury saw US involved in bold invasions totally ignoring UN or common diplomacy. The extraordinary renditions have led to over 3000 victims who have been transported by private companies to foreign destinations to be tortured by the CIA. Guatanamo Bay, Diego Garcia still remain as torture dens of the CIA. US has not even ratified most of the important UN Conventions/Treaties & refuses to follow those that they have signed anyway.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In summary some of the US war crimes that we must never forget is the atomic bombings of Hiroshima & Nagasaki in 1945. It was the worldƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s first use of atomic bombings. The US is responsible for killing over 110,000 Japanese citizens & injuring over 130,000. By 1950 another 230,000 died from injuries and radiation. Since World War II the US has bombed twenty-three nations. Then there is the 1968 My Lai Massacre where over 500 unarmed civilians were beaten, raped, tortured & maimed by the US army platoon led by Lt. William Calley.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In 1988, totally disregarding the Rome Statute of the ICC Article 8 (2) (b) (iv) which prohibits civilian damage in an anticipated military advantage, the US shoots down Iran Air Flight 655 killing all 290 passengers & crew on board. The excuse given by the US was that the US plan had mistakenly identified the Iranian airliner as an attacking military fighter how does that explain awarding the officer who shot the place a Legion of Merit! Over 37,000 US personnel are positioned at 100 installations in South Korea & this continues to be the single greatest obstacle to peace in Korea ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” incidentally Ban-ki Moon is from South Korea! Another US perpetrated war crime is the lists of communist party members in Indonesia given to Suharto to kill ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” that figure is said to be somewhere between 100,000 t0 1,000,000. The same Indonesian army invaded East Timor in 1975 using napalm, phosphorus bombs & chemical defoliants delivered by US planes.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ How many of us know that the US used 8million tons of bombs in Vietnam dropped indiscriminately with 80% falling on rural areas & not military targets? How many of us know that the US used nearly 400,000 tons of napalm on Vietnamese villages where ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚¾ of South Vietnam was declared ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-FREE FIRE ZONEƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ & not ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-No Fire ZoneƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚? What is the US preaching to Sri Lanka? A memo by Defense Secretary Robert McNamara in 1967 estimates that Vietnamese civilians killed or injured by US forces were 1000 per week. 5m Vietnamese had been killed by the US. US was indiscriminately spraying nearly 20m gallons of defoliants throughout South Vietnam ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” present day civilians are still suffering from the after-effects, the same as Iraqi civilians. US also bombed Laos in 1964 ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” 230,000 tons of bombs. A further 260,000 bombs were dropped in Cambodia in 1969.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Then in Iraq the US used depleted uranium leaving a legacy of radioactive debris resulting in serious environmental contamination & health problems with child mortality reaching 380%. Between 1990 to 1997 an estimated 1.2m Iraqi children are said to have died due to the economic sanctions and as a result of the radioactivity. The goal to divide Yugoslavia into mini-states began in 1991 with US covertly providing arms, training, satellite intelligence to the Croatians to attack Serbs leaving 250,000 Serbs to be ethnically cleansed from Krajina. Under the US-brokered Dayton Agreement, Bosnia/Herzegovina was divided into 2 with US/NATO, IMF & international controlling the central government & all of its economic assets fleeced by foreign investors ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” they all own energy facilities, water, telecommunication, media & transportation. Sri Lankans please relate these lessons to oneƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s own country! In 1999, 23000 missiles & bombs, 35,000 cluster bombs, 31000 depleted uranium weapons were dropped in a country with just 11m people. US & NATO targeted schools, hospitals, farms, bridges, communication centers, waterways ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” these were no mistaken targets. Today, soil, water, air has spread to Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Greece & Italy.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The US may like to play the role of human rights champion while totally ignoring its atrocities over the past decade and foreign Governments should be far more courageous to even diplomatically remind the US that it has violated the Nuremberg Principles, violated the 1949 Geneva Convention relating to the protection of civilian prisoners of war, wounded & the sick, it has committed serious war crimes & crimes against humanity, it has purposely destroyed civilian infrastructure, it has used biological, chemical & depleted uranium ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” which are weapons that violates international laws but more importantly violates moral & humanitarian code of conducts expected of a civilized nation.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Shame on you, America! And despite all these guilts you are pointing fingers at Sri Lanka?
February 28th, 2012 at 3:33 pm
So what are we going to do about it within SL?
Are we going to CONTINUE to ignore TNA, NGOs, etc.?
Or punish them in retaliation so that western pawns will not be there to undermine us?
February 28th, 2012 at 10:46 pm
Shenali Waduge its good time to circulate your statistic at the XIX UNHRC Sessions in Geneva. Do it quickly as possible all big fellows are in Geneva these days. Or ask one of the SL Ministers to indicate these figures and more for them to study.
This not comparing apples with oranges to justify anything. Its only giving the true picture to blind foolish and dumb US & NATO very rigorously.
February 28th, 2012 at 10:54 pm
Hiback! show any county in the world is having clean record of Human Rights or lower their cost of living?
Garreth Evans is a kicked out politician by Australian. Now the last Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rude also can join the party and advice UN.
February 28th, 2012 at 11:58 pm
Is below act not war crimes? There are many more—–. Where is UN or UNHRC?
“In 1961 and 1962, the Kennedy administration authorized the use of chemicals to destroy rice crops. Between 1961 and 1967, the U.S. Air Force sprayed 20 million U.S. gallons (75,700,000 L) of concentrated herbicides over 6 million acres (24,000 km2) of crops and trees, affecting an estimated 13% of South Vietnam’s land. In 1965, 42% of all herbicide was sprayed over food crops. Another purpose of herbicide use was to drive civilian populations into RVN-controlled areas.[279]
As of 2006, the Vietnamese government estimates that there are over 4,000,000 victims of dioxin poisoning in Vietnam, although the United States government denies any conclusive scientific links between Agent Orange and the Vietnamese victims of dioxin poisoning. In some areas of southern Vietnam dioxin levels remain at over 100 times the accepted international standard.[280]
The U.S. Veterans Administration has listed prostate cancer, respiratory cancers, multiple myeloma, Diabetes mellitus type 2, B-cell lymphomas, soft-tissue sarcoma, chloracne, porphyria cutanea tarda, peripheral neuropathy, and spina bifida in children of veterans exposed to Agent Orange. Although there has been much discussion over whether the use of these defoliants constituted a violation of the laws of war, the defoliants were not considered weapons, since exposure to them did not lead to immediate death or incapacitation.
February 29th, 2012 at 7:31 am
Some points to consider for all Sri Lankans caught up in the world power games :
(1) Sri Lankan ports are at the entry point to SE Asia, and is therefore at a strategic location, important to west & east.
(2) Sri Lanka governments, whatever political party, is not allowed to go too far right or too far left. We get slammed if we go too far east or west.
(3) Geopolitical realities demand that Lankans realise that we are located in SE Asia, and not in the west.
For western ways : Follow Catholicism/Christianity, we can use the English language, democracy & some capitalism, do business with the west, but not more ?
For the eastern ways : Follow the eastern religions, Buddhism & Hinduism, some socialism, use our own languages, and do business with the east, but no more ?
(4) At the end of the day, Lanka can only govern itself properly, be as self sufficient as possible, and hope for the best, at any time.
(5) Will big power games ever stop, and the world as a wholesome entity tackle the issues of poverty, health, environment,
etc. ? Will a World Government ever be formed and succeed ?
February 29th, 2012 at 2:09 pm
Yes to everybody – no one is perfect and everyone knows that!- But the list of US misdeeds is kilometres longer than that of Sri Lanka and thank you Shenali for pointing that out sharplyto those who do not know or do not want to – S de Silva – London
February 29th, 2012 at 2:29 pm
Again, what irks me is the monumental hypocrisy of the HR prostitutes like AI, HRW, ICG etc speaking for LTTE money while absolutely impotent in uttering a single word against US except unending criticism of Sri Lanka – S de Silva – London
February 29th, 2012 at 11:30 pm
S de Silva, since all you Sri Lankans love to always make comparisons, always comparing apples with oranges, here’s one that you will find amusing: If as alleged by you that “US misdeeds are kilometers longer than Sri Lanka’s”, it is because you are trying to compare a big elephant ( US ) to a tiny mouse ( Sri Lanka ). You are comparing the big apple, a super power, a hyper power with a tiny orange ( Sri Lanka ), that is a perennial beggar ( now very deep in debt ) under intensive care of the IMF!
The mouse can roar like a lion but the fact of the matter is that nobody really cares, or gives a hoot. or gives a damn! Cricket has put Sri Lanka on the world map as a shining gem. Everything else in Sri Lanka stinks like a sewer.
Sri Lankans of all ethnicities, including goigama Sinhala Buddhists, of various castes and religion, of all social strata, are still leaving Sri Lanka for greener pastures in the West after 63 years of independence. Yes, they are leaving, some risking life and limb to great white sharks. They are all heading to the West! They are not going to Cuba, Russia, Iran, China or Pakistan.
And yet these Sri Lankans want to bite the Western hand that feeds them. They ought to be all rounded up and deported to Sri Lanka to work in the paddy fields.
Nobody would read any of these useless, irrational “Open Letters”! They are all based on invalid and baseless comparisons of apples with oranges.
March 1st, 2012 at 12:49 pm
Mr.Hitback, USA lives on crumbs thrown by Chinese and Kappan from Saudis. It is the biggest beggar and debtor in the world. USA is the perennial beggar of the world. They may have big guns, still they are beggars. Now they plan to steal oil from Iran. Without stealing oil from Iraq, USA would be bankrupt. They survive by selling bonds to China and arm twisting Saudis. How ancient are you? Tens of thousand Sri Lankans now study Chinese, Korean, Japanese and other Asian languages. Our future is Asia. You are still in 1950s.
March 1st, 2012 at 6:38 pm
Hitback, the terrorist, now enjoying the benefits of the west as a ‘innocent refugee’ is going berserk. Let’s enjoy this moron’s rantings (those of a sore-LOSER) for the time being….
enjoy……………………