From:
Sen
It is extraordinarily arrogant for an editor sitting in
south Florida to presume to know more about
human rights than the people sitting on the
Commission in Geneva...
Some comments in blue below.
"Here we go again" should be
the slogan of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights -- at least as it
pertains to calls for a justified and necessary rebuke of human-rights
violations in
The Geneva-based group is again
balkanizing into with-us and against-us camps siding with the
Part of the problem is the
All of this true and well-said up to this point.
Still, the U.N. Commission seemingly
goes out of its way to politicize itself year after year. [In
fact, many countries have bemoaned the fact that the
It's
even more disheartening today because the divisiveness overshadows the first
anniversary of the worst civil rights setback in
the US delegation at the Human Rights Commission did NOT see
fit to condemn the Pinochet dictatorship that "disappeared" and
murdered thousands; refused to join in the condemnation of the Salvadoran and
Guatemalan dictatorships when their death squads were murdering tens of
thousands; voted against all other countries on the commission on issues ranging
from condemning Israel's abuses of Palestinian rights to declaring the right to
development as a human right. It is this hypocrisy that got the
Last March, the Cuban government rounded
up 75 dissidents on trumped-up subversion charges. They were sentenced to a
collective 1,400 years in prison after lightning-quick, closed-door trials.[75
people were arrested after the Cuban government gathered evidence over a period
of more than 5 years of their collaboration with the US government in its
efforts to economically strangle that country -- in violation of a law passed on
the heels of the US' Helms-Burton act. That evidence was presented in a court of
law. The courtroom was not closed -- it was filled, just as the small courtroom
that heard the appeal of the five Cuban prisoners in the
The trials and sentences sparked [US-manipulated]
global outrage. The anniversary of the crackdown was marked in many countries
across the world last week with calls for their release and statements of
solidarity.
Yes, there is global consensus on the
injustice of
That's why the
Instead, the Bush administration should
build a coalition to require International Red Cross visits to dissidents. That
might garner support from reluctant countries, making it harder for
The dissidents are wrongly imprisoned.
No person on Earth should ever be jailed for disagreeing with his or her
government. [No matter how many times Otto Reich's
disciples and unwitting advocates repeat this phrase, the fact remains that
these people were NOT imprisoned for simply "disagreeing" with their
government, but for actively collaborating with the foreign government --ours --
that is trying to overthrow it. And that is punishable in every country on
earth.]
Red Cross visits would be a
half-measure. However, there are worrisome reports that many dissidents are
being held in inhumane conditions. Red Cross involvement might ameliorate their
plight. [The reports of poor conditions in Cuban
prisons -- which may well reflect the poor conditions imposed on the entire
Cuban population by the mean-spirited US blockade of that island -- don't come
near the verified reports of poor conditions and outright abuse in US prisons
and juvenile detention facilities. The Sun-Sentinel shook look in its own back
yard if it wants the Red Cross to see some conditions that we could actually do
something about. If the editors want documentation it is abundantly available
from any internet search, or I would be happy to send them some.]
A global body like the Human Rights
Commission should speak up for the victims of injustice, not its perpetrators.
The commission has proven it is not up to the task.
[On the contrary, that's
exactly what the HRC has been doing, and that the US doesn't like. Because
sadly, our government usually IS or SUPPORTS the perpetrators of injustice, and
anyone with eyes and ears knows that the Cuban people are the victims of our
injustice. That's why there is so little sympathy for those inside Cuba who
would assist the US in that effort/]
Rather than forcing what it can't,
Washington should focus on what could be, knowing that hope for relief might do
more for the dissidents than empty saber-rattling. [Exactly:
rather than forcing what it can't, Washington should focus on what could be done
HERE. Set a good example for the rest of the world by cleaning up our own prison
system, which sorely needs it, and which certainly could be done.
Copyright
© 2004, South
Florida Sun-Sentinel