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Politics : World Affairs Discussion -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Elmer Flugum who wrote (1253)	8/3/2002 10:23:50 PM
From: Raymond Duray	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3959

"BUSH'S SHAME: No Support for Democracy in Egypt TYPICAL ARROGANT HYPOCRISY, AGAIN Tom Friedman doesn't mince words here on Bush's failure to be a real supporter of democracy. Friedman is finally saying what's been obvious for a while. Bush works only for the privileged. nytimes.com Bush's Shame By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN COLOMBO, Sri Lanka Watching the pathetic, mealy-mouthed response of President Bush and his State Department to Egypt's decision to sentence the leading Egyptian democracy advocate to seven years in prison leaves one wondering whether the whole Bush foreign policy team isn't just a big bunch of phonies. Shame on all of them. Since Sept. 11 all we've heard out of this Bush team is how illegitimate violence is as a tool of diplomacy or politics, and how critical it is to oust Saddam Hussein in order to bring democracy to the Arab world. Yet last week, when a kangaroo court in Egypt, apparently acting on orders from President Hosni Mubarak, sentenced an ill, 63-year-old Saad Eddin Ibrahim to seven years at "hard labor" for promoting democracy — for promoting the peaceful alternative to fundamentalist violence — the Bush-Cheney team sat on its hands. The State Department, in a real profile in courage, said it was "deeply disappointed" by the conviction of Mr. Ibrahim, who holds a U.S. passport. "Disappointed"? I'm disappointed when the Baltimore Orioles lose. When an Egyptian president we give $2 billion a year to jails a pro-American democracy advocate, I'm "outraged" and expect America to do something about it. I'm also frightened, because if there is no space in Egypt for democratic voices for change, then Egyptians will only be left with the mosque. If there is no room in Egypt for Saad Ibrahims, then we will only get more Mohamed Attas — coming again to a theater near you. Mr. Ibrahim's "crime" was that his institute at the American University in Cairo was helping to teach Egyptians how to register to vote, how to fill out a ballot and how to monitor elections. The Egyptian court accused him of embezzling funds from the European Union, which supported his efforts. The outraged E.U. said no such thing ever happened. This monkey trial was really about an insecure, isolated Mr. Mubarak quashing any dissenters, and it is much more important than it looks — because so many more people are watching than we think. The other day, I interviewed a leading Sri Lankan human rights activist, Radhika Coomaraswamy, director of the International Center for Ethnic Studies. We started out talking about Sri Lanka but ended up talking about Mr. Ibrahim, whom she knew, and America. "What is the nonviolent alternative for expressing discontent [and promoting change]?" she asked me. "It's democracy. When you remove any democratic alternative, the only route left in many countries for expressing discontent is religious fundamentalism. Saad is the alternative democratic voice, and if we don't protect it we're just inviting more violence." This ties in with a larger concern that human rights activists share toward America today — a concern that post-9/11 America is not interested anymore in law and order, just order, and it's not interested in peace and quiet, but just quiet. I am struck by how many Sri Lankans, who are as pro-American as they come, have made some version of this observation to me: America as an idea, as a source of optimism and as a beacon of liberty is critical to the world — but you Americans seem to have forgotten that since 9/11. You've stopped talking about who you are, and are only talking now about who you're going to invade, oust or sanction. These days, said Mrs. Coomaraswamy, "none of us in the human rights community would think of appealing to the U.S. for support for upholding a human rights case — maybe to Canada, to Norway or to Sweden — but not to the U.S. Before there were always three faces of America out in the world — the face of the Peace Corps, the America that helps others, the face of multinationals and the face of American military power. "My sense is that the balance has gone wrong lately and that the only face of America we see now is the one of military power, and it really frightens the world. . . . I understand that there is always a tension between security concerns and holding governments accountable for human rights. But if you focus on security alone and allow basic human rights violations in the name of security, then, well, as someone who grew up in America and went to law school there, I find that heartbreaking." So do I. How about before we go trying to liberate a whole country — Iraq — we first liberate just one man, one good man, who is now sitting in an Egyptian jail for pursuing the very democratic ideals that we profess to stand for.

To: Elmer Flugum who wrote (1253)	8/4/2002 1:35:47 PM
From: Thomas M.	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3959

I am impressed with Jessie Jackson's comments. <<< JACKSON: See, that might be the simplistic analysis. You know, we met with Arafat after having met with Mr. Peres and Ben-Eliezer twice in Jerusalem. And Arafat and his council met, make an appeal for a cease-fire, end terror, end suicide bombers, reaching out to Hamas. Apparently, had gotten them to agree on agree some kind of tentative cease-fire. Within four hours, the F-16 American-made plane and the bombs dropped. Then Hamas said, we will retaliate. And of course, they did. What amazes me is that when they said, we will retaliate, we have not talked with them to ask them to not retaliate. We have not said to them, there’s a way out. Let’s stop it now. Let’s choose negotiation and reconciliation over more confrontation. We’ve taken pride in not talking. If you don’t talk, you don’t act, you don’t change things, ever. >>> This situation was a very clear example of Sharon attempting to keep the cycle of violence alive in the face of possible peace. This has happened numerous times during the Intifada, most notably at its very outset. Tom

To: Elmer Flugum who wrote (1253)	8/5/2002 4:49:34 AM
From: GUSTAVE JAEGER	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3959

See how Turkey's bid to EU membership's been turned into a modern Torment of Tantalus.... () Turkey and EU hesitate to tie the knot Daniel Simpson The New York Times* Monday, August 5, 2002 In spite of reforms, both sides have reservations about membership ISTANBUL Even if Turkey truly resolves two deeply controversial issues - abolishing the death penalty and expanding the civil rights of a restive Kurdish population - it would be misleading to think that membership in the European Union was just around the corner. Early Saturday morning, after a raucous all-night session, Parliament approved a package of reforms, including abolishing the death penalty in peacetime, giving language rights to the Kurds and easing restrictions on freedom of speech - all aimed at meeting EU requirements for membership. But the reforms could still be scuttled, as the deputy prime minister, Devlet Bahceli, the leader of the nationalists in Parliament, said he would ask Turkey's highest court to overturn them. Polls show that two-thirds of Turks support EU membership, primarily in the hope of an economic lift from Turkey's economic crises. But, as one Western diplomat put it, "There are few signs that Turkey has the collective will to adopt the common practices of the European Union." The EU is in the midst of an ambitious expansion into the former Communist countries of Eastern Europe, but its commitment to Turkey remains in doubt. "It's not just a problem of Turkey's seriousness about reform," said another EU diplomat. "The EU is not all that serious, either. There's a lot of doubt among member states about whether Turkey really belongs in the club." [...] iht.com ROFL.... Hey, who'll tell the Turks that they'll NEVER make it into the Judeofascist Club?? (*) education.yahoo.com