Commonwealth of 54 hypocrites
Editorial
Dec 3, 2003
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The US-based rights organisation, Human Rights Watch (HRW), has correctly pointed out that the leaders of the Commonwealth apply double standards in their relationship with member countries. Implicit in their latest report that was released yesterday is the warning that the body's very credibility is at stake if it continues turning a blind eye to abuses in one country while pretending to show grave concern when the same injustices are being meted out in another. Yesterday's announcement specifically singled out Nigeria, which on Friday begins hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Government summit, for scathing criticism. It says this country's government is responsible for killings, torture and harassment of its critics over the last two years. In comments to the BBC, Mr Peter Takirambudde, executive director of HRW's Africa division notes that the attitude of President Olusegun Obasanjo's regime is such that "Nigerians still cannot express themselves freely without fear of grave consequences".
The same thing can be said for Uganda and many other member nations. The politically motivated and state-orchestrated violence against the Movement regime's opponents in 2001 are well documented. In fact the Supreme Court ruling in the Dr Kizza Besigye petition challenging President Museveni's election was pretty indicting of the polls' process. But there was no condemnation of Mr Museveni yet the abuses that occurred in Uganda were similar to what Mugabe presided over in 2002. One gets the sad sense that these double standards are driven by a vested interest as the case of Zimbabwe demonstrates. The issue of the white settler/farmer community that owns swathes of that country's arable land generally informs Britain, Australia and Canada's impression of Mugabe. Most of the concern is for the white farmers' prospects with only passing comments being made about the suffering of the entire population. By not applying the same pressure on regimes like Museveni's where distorted elections and disrespect of human rights are the norm, the Commonwealth is increasingly becoming just another talking shop without any moral clout to condemn perpetrators of human rights abuses. |
© 2003 The Monitor Publications
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