From Cuba to North Korea: Torture Disappears From the Media
From Cuba to North Korea: Torture Disappears From the Media
Monday, 29 December 2014 15:01
By Pierre Guerlain, SpeakOut | Op-Ed
Hardly had the good news that the US would stop its policy of isolation of Cuba and open an embassy on the Island state when a news item about North Korea captured the airwaves and the Internet. The torture report, or rather the summary of the redacted Senate report on torture, disappeared from the headlines to remain in the alternative media only. Can there be a link between all these events or even a deliberate act on the part of the newsmakers, or is that a stretch too far?
The torture investigation and the publication of a minimal but revealing summary had immense international resonance. Suddenly, the US lost its grandstanding, hectoring, lecturing posture. Countries that have themselves less than a stellar record on human rights, such as China or Russia or even, yes, North Korea, could laugh out loud and denounce the hypocritical "leader of the free world." If the US tortures, then it is in no position to moralize or blame others for their violations of human rights. Human rights then become a fig leaf, a propaganda move to be invoked in a Machiavellian way only to demean enemies.
Torture is a clearly illegal, immoral and terrible violation of human rights and humanitarian law and its use by the country praising and vowing to export democracy undermines the very idea of human rights and respect for international law. In terms of image, the torture report was extremely negative for the US. I say "was," for it soon disappeared from view although key issues were not resolved and there is no investigation of the torturers and their enablers or order-givers in sight. The world was "shocked but not surprised," to use the same expression an official of Human Rights Watch used on "Democracy Now!" given that reports about torture Abu Ghraib and Bagram had reached the eyes or ears of those who wanted to know a long time before the Senate confirmed their worst fears.
Torture was sidelined by the news about Cuba - which all progressives, of course, welcomed, since peace and diplomacy are always preferable to bombs, undercover operations and spying. After 50 years of stealth operations by the US and repression in Cuba, a new era seems to be dawning. Progressives from Latin America to Asia and Europe cheered Obama. Talking to one's enemies is always preferable to bombing them and causing backlash. Obama was lambasted by some segments of the right, but his decision is popular among Americans and even more so abroad. Even sectors of the business world rejoice over the opportunities normalization will afford them.
Yet Obama decided immediately to resort to the same methods of isolation and pressure that had largely failed in Cuba (though caused the régime there to become more repressive) in relation to Venezuela. What is happening in Venezuela and the extent to which any violations of human rights there are in part a reaction to international pressure are not clear. What is clear, though, is that the US is using punitive measures to make the country toe the Washington line. With a great deal of help from Saudi Arabia, the Western ally which beheads gay people but is not blamed for it, the price of oil is going down. The US can therefore kill two birds with one stone, if not three birds. Venezuela, like Russia and Iran, is taking a bashing from the rapidly plummeting price of oil. The US shows it still rules the world in economic matters and can obtain what it wants geopolitically by using the money weapon. The news about Venezuela, however, never made the headlines.
More:
http://www.truth-out.org/speakout/item/28266-from-cuba-to-north-korea-torture-disappears-from-the-media
