Burma and the Bejing Olympics

Big debate these days as to whether the Olympic games should be boycotted or not. Only Ms Merkel so far stated, to my knowledge, that she will not attend the opening ceremony. Sarkozy is playing his games: he wants to go, he needs to go for economic reasons (and possibly also promised it to his wife….) but he was also elected on a program placing human rights at the top. So far he did not deliver in this area either.

To my recollection, President Bush stated that he would attend the opening ceremony: guess what, he wants to offer his smiling wife a last gorgeous trip before retirement in "bloody" Texas.

The Department of State publishes every year the report on human rights where the only country missing is the US ! This is called Transparency. And possibly Mr. Bush's cabinet does not read that report which sounds more as another window dressing excuse to hide the fact that the USA are far behind in this area.

Now we are facing the scandal in Burma, where the military regime does not allow relief workers and food etc. to come in. If ever there has been one, this is a situation which justifies a foreign intervention. But China will block it, and possibly also Russia and some other “freedom” lover countries in the UN Security Council such as Libya and Vietnam.

Is then China going to help Burma on its own ? China is the main ally (and more) of the military regime there. China is supporting Norh Korea, a regime starving its people. China supports Sudan in its war in Darfur. China sends arms to Mugabe to crash the democracy.

But President Bush, the defender of Human Rights, will go to Bejing for the Olympics...And possibly Berlusconi, and Sarkozy and plenty of other Heads of State and Government.

Trade is worth more than hundreds of thousand of lives. Thanks to Trade and Liberalism, people get the human right to die like animals while the Heads of State get fed by China and enjoy games.

God bless China and the US for their fight for Human Rights.

Pictures: Burma =Reuters for Repubblica, 9/5/08; Stadium = Official Bejing web site