Editorial
Stephen Harper's Double Standard on Human
Rights
It is ironic that Stephen Harper had to travel
half-way around the globe to present himself on the international scene as a
champion of human rights in Vietnam and China, while much closer to home he has
nothing to say about human rights violations in Canada, the United States and
other allied countries. He has singled out these two countries for criticism
although, since coming to power, his government has failed to acknowledge a
single instance of human rights violation by the two other countries that share
the North American continent with Canada, namely the U.S. and Mexico.
The fact is that the Canadian government, just
like the American government, only raises the human rights issue in countries
where it is seeking some strategic advantage. Then both the U.S. and Canada
will politically and financially support dissidents, "pro-democracy"
movements, "colour" revolutions, and civil
society groups in order to bring about regime change. The Canadian and American
governments are not backing these movements and organizations in order to
expand the democratic rights of the working class and people of these countries.
They are backing them in order to put their own cliques into power so they can
profit from the exploitation and oppression of the people of these countries.
This is exactly the outcome of the "colour
revolutions" in Georgia and Ukraine.
Stephen Harper is very smug, self-righteous
and condescending when talking about human rights. On his way to the APEC
Summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, he declared:
"I think Canadians want us to promote our trade relations
worldwide, and we do that, but I don't think Canadians want us to sell out
important Canadian values. They don't want us to sell that out to the almighty
dollar." If Harper were actually to
practice what he preaches then Canada would have to sever all relations with the
both the U.S. and Mexico. However, Harper's continued good relations with these
two countries is precisely because his government does worship the almighty
dollar.
Several recent examples illustrate this
selective approach to human rights. In Mexico, on October 29, the government
sent its federal police to put down a popular rebellion against the dictatorial
state government in Oaxaca. On November 5, over one million people descended on
Oaxaca demanding the expulsion of the federal police and the resignation of the
state governor. A national general strike against the electoral fraud and in
solidarity with the people of Oaxaca has been called for November 20. Yet,
Stephen Harper has not uttered one word in criticism of the Mexican government
or expression of solidarity with the Mexican people fighting this repression
and exploitation. His only pronouncement relating to Mexico has been to
congratulate President-elect Felipe Calderón on his
election and to announce that the new president will visit Canada on October
26-27.
In the United States, on October 17, President
George Bush signed the Military Commissions Act into law. This legislation
legalizes military commissions to try terrorist suspects at Guantanamo
Bay and allows the continuation of "alternative interrogation
practices" by the CIA. It also re-interprets parts of the Geneva
Conventions that prohibit "outrages upon personal dignity, in particular,
humiliating, and degrading treatment" in such a way as to justify U.S.
torture and detention abroad. To date the Harper government has not issued a single
statement condemning this law that is blatantly in open contempt of human
rights and of accepted norms of international law. Harper’s silence is even
more reprehensible given the fact that several Canadian citizens have been the
victims of U.S. kidnapping and torture
in Syria and other places.
The Canadian working class and people should
condemn the Harper government for its obvious double-standard on human rights
and for its cynical manipulation of this
issue to advance the geo-political interests of the Canadian bourgeoisie.