Obama Changes Human Rights Policies

China has been well targeted by successive American governments for decades over the violation of human rights. Yet When President Barack Obama visited China last week  on the last leg of his South East Asian tour, the issue was passed over with Barack Obama making only a brief reference to it while Chinese President Hu Jin Tao did not mention human rights at all. For Obama while violation of human rights in countries with less political and economic clout like Sri Lanka may be a matter of serious concern, it is not so with China that has an estimated $ 3.2 trillion invested in the US.

Riots, protests by monks have not dislodged the Myanmar Junta Photo Courtesy of upr.net

China exempted?

Obama had merely skimmed the issue by saying that while America recognised Tibet to be a part of China, America supported the early resumption of dialogue between the Dalai Lama and Beijing’s representatives. The Dalai Lama is recognised as a symbol of universal human rights having been driven out of Tibet with hundreds of his followers in the 1960s because of his stubborn resistance to the rule of the Chinese communist regime over Tibet. Yet when the Dalai Lama visited the United States last month President Obama did not meet him lest he would antagonise the Beijing regime.
President Obama during his election campaign declared openly that he would have a dialogue with autocratic and dictatorial rulers instead of attempting to mend their ways through coercion by diplomatic isolation and imposition of economic sanctions. This was markedly different to his predecessor George W. Bush’s foreign policy where democracy and human rights were given priority and violation of human rights brought down the wrath of America upon the offending nation.

Bush’s coercive policies

Bush’s policy of attempting to impose human rights on Third World nations by coercion proved to be widely unpopular among these nations and was a futile exercise because most of these nations were able to resist the pressures brought on them by America and its Western allies and yet survive unless of course the missionaries of human rights resorted to military intervention such as in the Balkans and West African nations.
In Beijing last week when Obama brought up the issue of Tibet, the Chinese President had pointed out the principle of non interference in the internal affairs of a country and asserted that human rights was an internal issue.

Dialogue

Obama and his Western allies do not accept this principle but instead of attempting to coerce countries to follow the rules are attempting to have a discourse with the dictators by other means.
An interesting development was observed in Iran recently which although has steadfastly refused to talk to the Americans, there was widespread protest in this rigid theocracy by hundreds of thousands of Iranians who claimed that the presidential election in which President Ahmedinejad was elected by a huge majority, was rigged. The people rose up against the regime being inspired by examples of protests in democratic countries.  Lectures and other means of persuasion had not been attempted by Iranian activists. Even though the Iranian opposition had failed to achieve their objective, human rights activists point out these protests have exposed Iranian mullahs and forced them to drop their façade of democracy.

Myanmar

Another instance of dialogue and persuasion being attempted is in Myanmar where a 43 year old military junta has been keeping the people under their jack boots. Riots, protests by Buddhist monks and natural disasters have failed to dislodge this junta who appear not to be concerned at all about the fundamental rights of their people. Sanctions and diplomatic isolation too had failed and even membership being granted to the prestigious regional organisation ASEAN had not persuaded the thugs in khaki to relent.
Last month the United States sent two senior diplomats to hold talks with the Myanmar junta officials for improvement of conditions on the practice of human rights and restoration of democracy. This was the first visit by American officials in 22 years after martial law was declared.

Sudan

Another country where it is  said that there is gross violation of human rights and whose ruler is wanted by the International Criminal Court in the Hague to stand trial is Sudan. Here too the Obama administration has worked out a strategy for restoration of fundamental rights and appointed a well known official Scott Gration as a special envoy. Even Libya that was once described as an ‘Evil Empire’ by President Reagan is now viewed favourably by the Obama administration.

Credibility

However well intended the Obama administration may be in restoration of human rights in dictatorships, its credibility is shattered by its own foreign policies implemented in countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq. Violation of human rights in countries that are its allies such as Saudi Arabia and many Middle East countries do not yet seem to be of much concern to America. The Obama administration is also reported to be going soft on Russia as well and is even attempting to establish a dialogue with Cuba.
Clearly, however well intended Obama may be, there are his own internal limitations such as the resistance in America itself to such dialogues being attempted with evil empires and dictatorships. Nonetheless, America as a democracy will have a much better reputation in poor countries if the blatant interference practised by his predecessor comes to an end.