Embarrassment for the Democratic Party
Sunday, 10 August 2008
Fazle Rashid from New York
PRESIDENT George Bush, making what will perhaps be his last foreign trip, implicitly accused China of human rights violation. President Bush is in Beijing with other world leaders for the inaugural function of the summer Olympics. He expressed 'deep concerns' about China's not so satisfactory human rights record. He did not, however, fail to praise China's phenomenal all round developments. The Beijing Olympics began from Friday.
The civil rights activists here in US often through full page advertisements in such reputed paper like the New York Times have frequently questioned President Bush's moral right to criticise others for human rights violations. It is under the Bush presidency that such laws like wiretapping, detention without trial, existence of Guantanamo Bay cell, incidence at Abu Ghraib and occurrence of unlawful detention in foreign cells have taken place.
The White House struck a balance between by demanding greater political and personal freedom and, at the same time, extending its hands of cooperation with Chinese government on a host of issues like trade and security. He asked friendly countries not to criticise China to jeopardise the Olympic games. In what could be a huge embarrassment for the Democratic Party, Radovan Karadzic, former Bosnian Serb leader accused of genocide and man slaughter requested the UN war crimes tribunal to summon former senior US diplomats to be questioned about his claim of a secret deal that was supposed to protect him from prosecution. He mentioned the names of two senior officials in the Clinton administration. They are Madeleine Albright, then secretary of state and Richard Holbrooke who brokered the peace negotiations in the Balkans.
Karadzic said he was promised by Holbrooke not be prosecuted if he disappears from the scene. Holbrooke, then the US ambassador denied making any such promise.
Meanwhile, two journalists from Japan who are now in Beijing have been arrested for moving suspiciously near a security zone. Japan has decided to lodge a strong protest with Beijing. China in a major pre-Olympic move repaired its bilateral ties with Japan and Taiwan. The two countries with which China were often involved in confrontation.
In another separate development, International Red Cross accused Colombia for violating Geneva Convention by using its emblem in a military operation to secure the release of Ingrid Betancourt. The Red Cross has produced video evidence in support of its claim. The use of Red Cross symbol in a military operation violates the first Geneva Convention.
It seems to be a deliberate and improper use of the emblem, the Red Cross contended.
Colombia has expressed its apology saying mistakes can be condoned when done in good faith. Red Cross has accepted the apology but has asked for through investigation of the matter and punishment for those who were involved in the matter.
Rwanda in a stunning move is yet another separate development, accused former President Francois Mitterand and former Prime Minister Dominique Villepin of France of involvement in the 1994 genocide in which more than 800,000 people were killed. They have accused of complicity in the preparation and execution of the genocide.
The allegations have been dismissed by France. Rwanda said the then French leaders had a hand in the training of the militias who took active part in the killing of the members of the minority group Tutsi.
PRESIDENT George Bush, making what will perhaps be his last foreign trip, implicitly accused China of human rights violation. President Bush is in Beijing with other world leaders for the inaugural function of the summer Olympics. He expressed 'deep concerns' about China's not so satisfactory human rights record. He did not, however, fail to praise China's phenomenal all round developments. The Beijing Olympics began from Friday.
The civil rights activists here in US often through full page advertisements in such reputed paper like the New York Times have frequently questioned President Bush's moral right to criticise others for human rights violations. It is under the Bush presidency that such laws like wiretapping, detention without trial, existence of Guantanamo Bay cell, incidence at Abu Ghraib and occurrence of unlawful detention in foreign cells have taken place.
The White House struck a balance between by demanding greater political and personal freedom and, at the same time, extending its hands of cooperation with Chinese government on a host of issues like trade and security. He asked friendly countries not to criticise China to jeopardise the Olympic games. In what could be a huge embarrassment for the Democratic Party, Radovan Karadzic, former Bosnian Serb leader accused of genocide and man slaughter requested the UN war crimes tribunal to summon former senior US diplomats to be questioned about his claim of a secret deal that was supposed to protect him from prosecution. He mentioned the names of two senior officials in the Clinton administration. They are Madeleine Albright, then secretary of state and Richard Holbrooke who brokered the peace negotiations in the Balkans.
Karadzic said he was promised by Holbrooke not be prosecuted if he disappears from the scene. Holbrooke, then the US ambassador denied making any such promise.
Meanwhile, two journalists from Japan who are now in Beijing have been arrested for moving suspiciously near a security zone. Japan has decided to lodge a strong protest with Beijing. China in a major pre-Olympic move repaired its bilateral ties with Japan and Taiwan. The two countries with which China were often involved in confrontation.
In another separate development, International Red Cross accused Colombia for violating Geneva Convention by using its emblem in a military operation to secure the release of Ingrid Betancourt. The Red Cross has produced video evidence in support of its claim. The use of Red Cross symbol in a military operation violates the first Geneva Convention.
It seems to be a deliberate and improper use of the emblem, the Red Cross contended.
Colombia has expressed its apology saying mistakes can be condoned when done in good faith. Red Cross has accepted the apology but has asked for through investigation of the matter and punishment for those who were involved in the matter.
Rwanda in a stunning move is yet another separate development, accused former President Francois Mitterand and former Prime Minister Dominique Villepin of France of involvement in the 1994 genocide in which more than 800,000 people were killed. They have accused of complicity in the preparation and execution of the genocide.
The allegations have been dismissed by France. Rwanda said the then French leaders had a hand in the training of the militias who took active part in the killing of the members of the minority group Tutsi.