Does USA have any right to pose as a champion of human rights?
Posted on April 2nd, 2013
Asada M Erpini
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Two nauseating news items related to the USA not paying any attention to human rights, now or in its shameful past, appeared in Mail Online on 02 April 2013. These reports came a mere ten days after the all-pious and mighty US sponsored a resolution at the UNHRC sessions in Geneva on 21 March against Sri Lanka for the latterƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s violations of the human rights of Tamil civilians during the liberation war. The fact that disappoints all peace-loving Sri Lankans is that it is the very same war that brought peace to the island nation and removed the curse of LTTE terrorism within its borders, while giving deliverance to 300,000 Tamil civilians whom the LTTE leader had herded from the North and North West of Sri Lanka to the North East to be used as a human shield.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The fairly recent incident reported in Mail Online, on the tenth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq by the US and its lackeys, is the one where British forces ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-witnessed electric shocks, beatings and dog kennel torture of Iraqi prisoners in secret US prison in BaghdadƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The report continues, to refer to how ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-abuse took place at Camp Nama at Baghdad International AirportƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The human rights violations associated with the invasion of Iraq and the misadventures of the US in the professed attempt to deliver democracy to Pakistan, Libya, Afghanistan and Syria pale into insignificance if one were to go back to a period of just over a century. At Wounded Knee the US troops killed up to 300 Native Americans ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” men, women and children ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” in 1890. To rub salt into the wounds of the descendants of Sioux, twenty 7th Cavalry troopers had been awarded the Medal of Honour by the US authorities subsequently. Medal of Honour? My foot!
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ When Native Americans protested at the site in 1973 at the site of the massacre to raise awareness of their rights, two tribal members were shot dead. Today, the Oglala Sioux Tribe that wants to own the land where their ancestors are buried is asked to buy it. The land was the tribeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s from time immemorial, and for a piece of earth, which in any case was theirs and is estimated to be worth $7000, the current owner ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” whose name does not sound Native American under any stretch of imagination ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” demands $3.9 million dollars.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The USA spends billions of dollars invading other countries, manufacturing and selling arms and fomenting dissent by its agents against the rulers of sovereign nations. If the US rulers have any morals, they should think of atoning at least for a fraction of the sins they and their forefathers have committed against the innocents in so many countries. For a start, it could buy the land in question in South Dakota and give it back to the Oglala Sioux Tribe. Then the US could consider pontificating to Sri Lanka on how the island nation should deal with its human rights issues.
April 3rd, 2013 at 12:14 pm
Thank you Asada for highlighting these atrocities of the ‘pretence holier than thou’ US! I make particular note of your final paragraph – for repetition and throwing back to the US whenever their ‘mouthpieces’ talk big – S de Silva – London
April 5th, 2013 at 7:19 am
What really happened at Thanksgiving? The European settlers defeated the original inhabitants by giving arms to one Native American Indian tribe to massacre their rivals, another tribe and the dead bodies were paraded on the street in victory celebrations. After that the tribe that massacred the other tribe were enslaved by the Europeans. They died out from disease and starvation. This is celebrated as an American public holiday?! Google the truth about Thanksgiving and see.