Wednesday
(0)Although not in the mainstream news as much as the story deserves, the thus far peaceful (from the student side at least) Iranian intifada is alive and well. Unfortunately the same can not be said for some of its members. The Mullahcracy continues to visit violence and imprisonment upon such supporters of liberty.
In response, some of the imprisoned are carrying out a hunger strike to gain international attention for their plight.
Several alarmed European MPs, such as, Andre Berry, Paolo Kazaka and Helmut Markoff have expressed their public support and expressed concerns on the fate of the strikers and the persistent rights abuses in Iran. Mr. Berry has written a public letter for the attention of the German FM by asking him to intervene due to his close relationship with the ruling mullahs.
My cynical side wonders if one who has a 'close relationship with the ruling mullahs' would help the students for reasons other than a belief in democracy and human rights.
Nah. These are civilized and nuanced European leaders.
Yet again the EU will spring into action to resolve another of the major issues of our time.
Posted by Cancergiggles at July 28, 2004 05:25 PM
*So* easy to pick out one tyranny the US has decided to get 'tough' on. Doubtless we're all working towards the liberation of the Chinese people too, yeah? The "nono, no nuance" US leaders are friends with those murdering oppressive culture-destroying bastards because umm......
Posted by A_t at July 28, 2004 05:56 PM
Yes, A_t let's bash the US for not getting rid of all the world's tyrannies, simultaneously, while not solving world hunger, global warming and the energy crisis too!
Because the US can't get rid of them all, that means of course they shouldn't try to do anything about any of them. (The much more "nuanced" and "sophisticated" European Model.)
And let's not forget who gave Khomeini "political asylum" in the first place.
Posted by Susan at July 28, 2004 06:13 PM
Just how does one get a "close relationship with the ruling mullahs", anyway? I suspect its by helping them get what they want, and not criticizing them as the brutal barbarians that they are.
So the German foreign minister has a history of helping Islamic theocrats get what they want. Mr. Berry of the EU seems to regard that as a good thing.
Ah, that famous European nuance!
Posted by R C Dean at July 28, 2004 07:19 PM
R C Dean:
That's easy, you open lots of deals like the French. Round up Iranian dissidents, and then sell them lots of western goods like electronics and cars.
Posted by Mashiki at July 28, 2004 10:46 PM
Susan... I wasn't bashing the US; merely pointing out that Europeans don't have a monopoly on "nuanced" cooperation with tyrannies. If you wish to believe it was US-bashing, fine... but it was merely a rebuttal in response to euro-bashing.
Also, I was thinking this morning, the 'good cop, bad cop' approach is classic, no? Apply a little force, then act all friendly... If all Western countries were playing bad cop, would that mean we were actually doing our job badly?
Posted by A_t at July 29, 2004 11:49 AM
I am all for confronting the Chinese state, A-t. Strange how even though they are in colonial occuption of another country, the UN, EU etc. seem strangely silent most of the time. And yet regarding Israel...
Could it be because the US is not the issue here?
Posted by Perry de Havilland at July 29, 2004 01:34 PM
Perry, possibly! I'm not about to deny there's a fair amount of anti-americanism at large.
On the other hand, it could be because all of us, Americans included, are rather scared of the Chinese. Then again it could be some combination of thinking that dialogue might work, & wanting a slice of that tasty Chinese trade pie (with the combination weighted in favour of the pie, i'll wager).
Posted by A_t at July 29, 2004 02:21 PM
A_t:
Like Mr. de Havilland, I don't support sucking up to Chinese Peking. In fact, I think the Republic of China on Taiwan ought to declare its independence, and the world should recognize the obvious fact that there are two Chinas. But that's another story....
Posted by Ted Schuerzinger at July 29, 2004 03:11 PM
Ted, I'm glad you do. & for what it's worth, I agree.
My initial point though was that when calling European politicians up on their "nuanced" approach, it's worth bearing in mind that US politicians are not a good counter-example. More to the point, I think that any politician who thought purely in terms of good/bad, black/white would be doing his country's interests a grave disservice (even if he was more morally righteous). The citizens of the countries in question are not included in my criticisms.
Posted by A_t at July 29, 2004 03:37 PM
