Communist China gets arms for human rights

by: Brian Bunyan

United Kingdom: Recent attempts to rescind the arms sales embargo to the People’s Republic of China that was put in place following the Tiananmen Square massacres and protests are shocking as they are based on crude arguments such as it will help open up China further.; of course, one should not forget that the Chinese market is the biggest untapped one for Western goods and services, and arms sellers have not been able to take advantage of it since 1989.

It boggles the mind how one can jump to such a conclusion. Arms are designed to maim, injure, kill and destroy. They serve no human rights purpose. Sadly, pressure from arms producing companies on governments is unrelenting, because they are searching for markets to sell their ‘goods’ and require the governments’ help to do so. Protests against some of the biggest arms sellers’ conventions have been held in London over the past year.

As reported in the Times, the US President, George W.Bush, furiously protested threatening reprisals against this European attempt that is being strongly supported by President Jacques Chirac of France and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. They are arguing that arms sales are to be made in return for improving a poor human rights record

The Dalai Lama was in London in late May, but he did not get to meet the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who was said to be too busy to see him despite being one of the most respected leaders in the world. One can ask whether it was not to insult or humiliate the Chinese whose Prime Minister was about to arrive for a visit. In early April, Tony Blair found the time to shake hands with Gaddafi in his tent south of Tripoli. This visit was characterized as “stomach churning.”

In the words of the Tibet Society, “In a world of terror we need to support people who don't drop bombs to fight for their human rights!” This statement can be extended to those who are torturing or abusing prisoners in Iraq arguing that violence is permissible against terrorism. A recently leaked legal brief to the American Department of Defence and White House followed along these lines that torture is legal in the name of the national interest.

Source: Tibet Society news@tibetsociety.com. The Week, Issue 454 and 463.