The politics of human rights

Photo contributor: Idea go

Let’s face it, in a world where all ethics has disappeared, governments do not care about human rights. In fact, in the eyes of world leaders, activists are considered a pain in the rear. A handful of families who run the Corporations who run our world, our leaders and our governments prefer people who are sheep. So, why do activists of certain countries get more attention than those of other countries? Simple – it’s all due to their political relationship with the western governments. Take Saudi Arabia for example, the so-called secret society. The news everywhere rarely covers newsworthy information from the Kingdom and yet, they are one of the most oppressive regimes in the world. Have a look at Dubai and their promotion of slavery by hanging on to the passport of poor foreigners and forcing them to work for little or no pay while their ostentatious towers reach the sky. When was the last time you saw a negative coverage of Dubai in the mainstream media? So the next time you wonder why the media does not care about the activists in your country, have a look at your country’s political relationship with the forces that control our world.

Another factor that gets calculated in the equation is if a leader can be controlled. After the recent revolution, Tunisia may have a new leader who gives more liberty to their citizens, but if that leader does not succumb to the needs of the families who run the corporations who run our world, mark my world, that leader will be replaced by another who is willing to kiss many behinds in order to keep his/her power and fill-up his/her bank account in various countries such as Switzerland even if he/she violates all aspects of human rights.

A good example is Iran. Iran had democracy in the 50s, that democracy was squashed by corporations and western governments and replaced by dictatorship so that they could get free oil. In the meantime, the shah tortured all opponents of his regime and there was little coverage of it in the news. Then the west decided to remove the Shah because it no longer needed Iran’s oil. They had found a new oil provider with richer oil fields. During this transition at least 30,000 were tortured and killed. Still little coverage in the media. And today…well…the world had shut up about the entire Iran thing until recently when Iran continuously increased its influence in the middle-east. 

So, there has been more coverage of the Iranian activists but for how long? Perhaps until another deal is struck under the table. And after that, the well controlled media will zip up their lips and instead cover some cat who got caught in the tree or a reality TV star who cheated on his wife. That is the politics of human rights. Nevertheless, as activists, we do what we can in our own limited way to bring voice to the innocent and the oppressed.