Tweet
PRAVDA, Russia
Dec 30 2011
Russia exposes true colors of the West
30.12.2011
For the first time in many years, Russia's Foreign Ministry published
an extensive report about the state of affairs in the field of human
rights in the United States of America, Canada, EU, NATO members and
Georgia. The report from the ministry also touched upon Libya, where
NATO's incursion has led to the bloody change of power. The document
is not flawless. However, it clearly shows that democracy in the West
is not as perfect as it is painted.
For a long time the monopoly on the publication of such reports
belonged to the United States. The Americans tend to present certain
countries as outcasts. Year after year Russia is highlighted in the
reports of the State Department. According to them, Russia has issues
with the elections, freedom of speech and religious minorities.
Something similar is published by the European Union. At one time,
Chinese Foreign Ministry published a report on human rights in the
United States.
Russian foreign policy was clearly defensive. Russia always had to
justify itself, responding to attacks from the West. And then,
finally, Russia published a nearly 100-page document describing human
rights violations in the United States, Canada, EU and NATO, as well
as allied Georgia. The actions of the West during the war in Libya
have not been overlooked in the report either. Each region is assigned
a separate section.
The largest section is devoted to the U.S. - the country which has
declared itself "the standard of democracy." "The situation there is
far from the ideals proclaimed by Washington. The main unresolved
issue is an odious prison at Guantanamo Bay ... President Obama has
legalized indefinite terms without trial... The current administration
continues to use most of the methods of social control and
interference with the privacy of Americans," the document says.
"There are continued violations of international humanitarian law in
armed conflict and during anti-terrorist operations. Chronic systemic
problems in the American society are getting more acute, including
racial discrimination, xenophobia, overcrowding in jails, unreasonable
use of the death penalty ... The U.S. has one of the weakest in the
West security systems for workers' rights for Collective Bargaining",
stated Russian diplomats.
"The extraterritorial application of the American law does the
greatest harm in terms of US-Russian relations. It leads to a
violation of fundamental rights and freedoms of Russian citizens,
including arbitrary arrests and abductions from third countries (the
most obvious examples are the cases of Viktor Bout and K.
Yaroshenko)," says the report. The authors also note "a very acute
problem of violence against adopted children from Russia in American
families."
Further the report lists such things as violation of the rights of
prisoners in CIA prisons, the problems with freedom of expression and
harassment of employees and the founder of the website WikiLeaks, the
death of at least 111,000 Iraqis and 14 thousands of Afghans in the
wars unleashed by the United States. There is racial discrimination of
blacks and Hispanics, and religious discrimination against American
Muslims.
Not everything is well in the U.S. with human rights, freedom of
speech and racism, and especially with the wars. Of course, one can
parry that in Russia the labor laws are less than perfect, and there
are problems with the media, and national relationships are not
perfect as well. However, Russia is not instructing the world how to
live, and does not throw bombs on other countries. The presence of
problems in Russia does not change the fact that the U.S. is far from
ideal.
With regard to the European Union, the Russian Foreign Ministry has
supported human rights criticism from Human Rights Watch on the rights
of immigrants from Asia and Africa and the anti-Muslim rhetoric. "The
main conclusion is the overall growth of xenophobia and intolerance in
the EU, promotion of far-right rhetoric ... European governments do
not try to fight it, but, rather, vice versa, use the trend in
domestic purposes," the Russian diplomats said.
"According to the AOHR (EU Agency for Fundamental Human Rights - Ed.)
in 2009 more than any others the following nationalities were
discriminated at work: North Africans in Italy (30 percent), Roma in
Greece (29 percent), Roma in the Czech Republic (27 percent), Africans
in Malta (27 percent), Africans in Ireland (26 percent), Roma in
Hungary (25 percent), Brazilians in Portugal (24 percent), Turks in
Denmark (22 percent), Roma in Poland (22 percent)," the report says.
It is important that Russia described the problem that the EU remained
silent about for years. They say that they do not have problems with
the Muslims or Roma. They do have them, however, and last year they
demonstrated it by the shooting in Norway or the influx of refugees
from North Africa. Yet, there is another side to the issue: can
Muslims or blacks demand the same rights as the indigenous people? Can
they pointedly ignore laws and customs accepted in Europe? Would Roma
themselves be willing to adapt to a normal society? Therefore,
complaints to the authorities of European countries are still
excessive.
Sections on Germany, France, Britain and Sweden, report on the growth
of xenophobia and the issues of Muslims. Swedes, among other things,
are accused of supporting the Chechen rebels. Finland is also
mentioned in connection with the endless stories about taking children
away from Russian mothers. In the case of Hungary there is a mention
of an attempt to revise the results of the Second World War. Poland,
Bulgaria and Romania "only" suffer from inadequate legislation.
A separate section is devoted to the Baltic. "The discriminatory
policy of the authorities of the Baltic states against the Russian
minority living there remains nearly unchanged. Of particular concern
is the unresolved problem of mass statelessness in Latvia (nearly 330
thousand "aliens") and Estonia (nearly 100 thousand "aliens") and
consequent violation of the rights of Russian-speaking minorities in
these countries," stated the Russian Foreign Ministry.
"Reduction of the Russian-language news and cultural and educational
space, as well as the persecution of World War II veterans and law
enforcement agencies of the former USSR is also observed in Lithuania.
Of particular concern is the continuation of the trend to rewrite the
history of the Second World War Baltic states," Russian diplomat said.
Problems in Georgia were very clearly outlined in the report. There
are a lot of cases when Russian citizens (including ethnic Georgians)
fell victims of provocations of local security forces. Attention is
drawn to the dispersal of the protests. Particularly highlighted is
the largest violation of the rights of national minorities of the
country - the Armenian and Azerbaijani.
"Armenian-populated region of Samtskhe-Javakheti (in Armenian
Javakheti) is in dire socio-economic situation ... Administrative
positions in local government are occupied predominantly by Georgian.
The Georgian authorities have deliberately carried out a
discriminatory policy against Azerbaijanis. Resettlement of
Azerbaijanis in neighboring Azerbaijan is becoming mass in nature,"
the Russian diplomats stated.
The next section of the report is on Canada. The country was berated
for the brutality against the demonstrators, for the oppression of
Indians and Eskimos, and lack of security of Canadian citizens abroad.
However, there is not a single word in the report about endless
military exercises in the Arctic and threats of Canadian authorities
to Russia.
The last section is devoted to NATO operations in Libya. "NATO leaders
officially deny the facts of civilian deaths as a result of air
strikes by coalition forces, indirect victims, which was the reason
for the blockade of the western regions of Libya, the destruction of
civilian infrastructure," the diplomat said.
Then follows a list of deaths of civilians from NATO attacks and
atrocities of Western-backed rebels. The highlights are "extrajudicial
execution of the representatives of the former regime and its
supporters with the tacit consent of NATO members," numerous cases of
"crimes of the former Libyan armed opposition."
The document is not without drawbacks. Thus, it has no foreword or
conclusion. Sections on the United States, the Baltic States, Georgia,
Libya, and the largest countries in Europe are very detailed. However,
the sections of the smaller European countries, as well as the entire
EU and Canada raise questions and seem to be rather "raw". The
publication of the report seems untimely. During Christmas and New
Year holidays even the politicians are not particularly into policy.
However, the first attempt was pretty good. Russia has shown that it
will not always have to justify its behavior after publication of the
American and European reports. It can provide pre-emptive strikes in
its foreign policy. Hopefully, such reports from the Foreign Ministry
of Russia will become commonplace and improve with time.
Vadim Trukhachev
Pravda.Ru
http://english.pravda.ru/russia/politics/30-12-2011/120124-russia_foreign_ministry_west-0/
Dec 30 2011
Russia exposes true colors of the West
30.12.2011
For the first time in many years, Russia's Foreign Ministry published
an extensive report about the state of affairs in the field of human
rights in the United States of America, Canada, EU, NATO members and
Georgia. The report from the ministry also touched upon Libya, where
NATO's incursion has led to the bloody change of power. The document
is not flawless. However, it clearly shows that democracy in the West
is not as perfect as it is painted.
For a long time the monopoly on the publication of such reports
belonged to the United States. The Americans tend to present certain
countries as outcasts. Year after year Russia is highlighted in the
reports of the State Department. According to them, Russia has issues
with the elections, freedom of speech and religious minorities.
Something similar is published by the European Union. At one time,
Chinese Foreign Ministry published a report on human rights in the
United States.
Russian foreign policy was clearly defensive. Russia always had to
justify itself, responding to attacks from the West. And then,
finally, Russia published a nearly 100-page document describing human
rights violations in the United States, Canada, EU and NATO, as well
as allied Georgia. The actions of the West during the war in Libya
have not been overlooked in the report either. Each region is assigned
a separate section.
The largest section is devoted to the U.S. - the country which has
declared itself "the standard of democracy." "The situation there is
far from the ideals proclaimed by Washington. The main unresolved
issue is an odious prison at Guantanamo Bay ... President Obama has
legalized indefinite terms without trial... The current administration
continues to use most of the methods of social control and
interference with the privacy of Americans," the document says.
"There are continued violations of international humanitarian law in
armed conflict and during anti-terrorist operations. Chronic systemic
problems in the American society are getting more acute, including
racial discrimination, xenophobia, overcrowding in jails, unreasonable
use of the death penalty ... The U.S. has one of the weakest in the
West security systems for workers' rights for Collective Bargaining",
stated Russian diplomats.
"The extraterritorial application of the American law does the
greatest harm in terms of US-Russian relations. It leads to a
violation of fundamental rights and freedoms of Russian citizens,
including arbitrary arrests and abductions from third countries (the
most obvious examples are the cases of Viktor Bout and K.
Yaroshenko)," says the report. The authors also note "a very acute
problem of violence against adopted children from Russia in American
families."
Further the report lists such things as violation of the rights of
prisoners in CIA prisons, the problems with freedom of expression and
harassment of employees and the founder of the website WikiLeaks, the
death of at least 111,000 Iraqis and 14 thousands of Afghans in the
wars unleashed by the United States. There is racial discrimination of
blacks and Hispanics, and religious discrimination against American
Muslims.
Not everything is well in the U.S. with human rights, freedom of
speech and racism, and especially with the wars. Of course, one can
parry that in Russia the labor laws are less than perfect, and there
are problems with the media, and national relationships are not
perfect as well. However, Russia is not instructing the world how to
live, and does not throw bombs on other countries. The presence of
problems in Russia does not change the fact that the U.S. is far from
ideal.
With regard to the European Union, the Russian Foreign Ministry has
supported human rights criticism from Human Rights Watch on the rights
of immigrants from Asia and Africa and the anti-Muslim rhetoric. "The
main conclusion is the overall growth of xenophobia and intolerance in
the EU, promotion of far-right rhetoric ... European governments do
not try to fight it, but, rather, vice versa, use the trend in
domestic purposes," the Russian diplomats said.
"According to the AOHR (EU Agency for Fundamental Human Rights - Ed.)
in 2009 more than any others the following nationalities were
discriminated at work: North Africans in Italy (30 percent), Roma in
Greece (29 percent), Roma in the Czech Republic (27 percent), Africans
in Malta (27 percent), Africans in Ireland (26 percent), Roma in
Hungary (25 percent), Brazilians in Portugal (24 percent), Turks in
Denmark (22 percent), Roma in Poland (22 percent)," the report says.
It is important that Russia described the problem that the EU remained
silent about for years. They say that they do not have problems with
the Muslims or Roma. They do have them, however, and last year they
demonstrated it by the shooting in Norway or the influx of refugees
from North Africa. Yet, there is another side to the issue: can
Muslims or blacks demand the same rights as the indigenous people? Can
they pointedly ignore laws and customs accepted in Europe? Would Roma
themselves be willing to adapt to a normal society? Therefore,
complaints to the authorities of European countries are still
excessive.
Sections on Germany, France, Britain and Sweden, report on the growth
of xenophobia and the issues of Muslims. Swedes, among other things,
are accused of supporting the Chechen rebels. Finland is also
mentioned in connection with the endless stories about taking children
away from Russian mothers. In the case of Hungary there is a mention
of an attempt to revise the results of the Second World War. Poland,
Bulgaria and Romania "only" suffer from inadequate legislation.
A separate section is devoted to the Baltic. "The discriminatory
policy of the authorities of the Baltic states against the Russian
minority living there remains nearly unchanged. Of particular concern
is the unresolved problem of mass statelessness in Latvia (nearly 330
thousand "aliens") and Estonia (nearly 100 thousand "aliens") and
consequent violation of the rights of Russian-speaking minorities in
these countries," stated the Russian Foreign Ministry.
"Reduction of the Russian-language news and cultural and educational
space, as well as the persecution of World War II veterans and law
enforcement agencies of the former USSR is also observed in Lithuania.
Of particular concern is the continuation of the trend to rewrite the
history of the Second World War Baltic states," Russian diplomat said.
Problems in Georgia were very clearly outlined in the report. There
are a lot of cases when Russian citizens (including ethnic Georgians)
fell victims of provocations of local security forces. Attention is
drawn to the dispersal of the protests. Particularly highlighted is
the largest violation of the rights of national minorities of the
country - the Armenian and Azerbaijani.
"Armenian-populated region of Samtskhe-Javakheti (in Armenian
Javakheti) is in dire socio-economic situation ... Administrative
positions in local government are occupied predominantly by Georgian.
The Georgian authorities have deliberately carried out a
discriminatory policy against Azerbaijanis. Resettlement of
Azerbaijanis in neighboring Azerbaijan is becoming mass in nature,"
the Russian diplomats stated.
The next section of the report is on Canada. The country was berated
for the brutality against the demonstrators, for the oppression of
Indians and Eskimos, and lack of security of Canadian citizens abroad.
However, there is not a single word in the report about endless
military exercises in the Arctic and threats of Canadian authorities
to Russia.
The last section is devoted to NATO operations in Libya. "NATO leaders
officially deny the facts of civilian deaths as a result of air
strikes by coalition forces, indirect victims, which was the reason
for the blockade of the western regions of Libya, the destruction of
civilian infrastructure," the diplomat said.
Then follows a list of deaths of civilians from NATO attacks and
atrocities of Western-backed rebels. The highlights are "extrajudicial
execution of the representatives of the former regime and its
supporters with the tacit consent of NATO members," numerous cases of
"crimes of the former Libyan armed opposition."
The document is not without drawbacks. Thus, it has no foreword or
conclusion. Sections on the United States, the Baltic States, Georgia,
Libya, and the largest countries in Europe are very detailed. However,
the sections of the smaller European countries, as well as the entire
EU and Canada raise questions and seem to be rather "raw". The
publication of the report seems untimely. During Christmas and New
Year holidays even the politicians are not particularly into policy.
However, the first attempt was pretty good. Russia has shown that it
will not always have to justify its behavior after publication of the
American and European reports. It can provide pre-emptive strikes in
its foreign policy. Hopefully, such reports from the Foreign Ministry
of Russia will become commonplace and improve with time.
Vadim Trukhachev
Pravda.Ru
http://english.pravda.ru/russia/politics/30-12-2011/120124-russia_foreign_ministry_west-0/