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. 

Iran

The Arab governments which include countries such as Saudi Arabia are watching Iran, scared of a revolution coming their way. Many of their activists are looking closely as well, wondering about the outcome of millions of people gathering in Tehran, Isfahan, Ahwaz, Shiraz, Gorgan, Tabriz, Rasht, Babol, Mashhad, Zahedan, Qazvin, Sari, Karaj, Shahsavar, Orumieh, Bandar Abbas, Arak, and Birjend.

In order for anything to change, there must be risk. People like me who are afraid of taking certain risks will live under oppression for the rest of their lives. It is the braves of the world who pave the way for the rest of us cowards. They risk getting tortured and killed so that the generations ahead of them can live a better life. As Martin Luther King Junior put it - Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.

In Iran, many students have been shot to death. The numbers have not yet come out because the foreign media has been barred from reporting on the Iranian revolution. And since they cannot verify the numbers, they are unable to report it. I watched a video showing a man who got shot. Blood was gushing out of his wound and someone else was trying to get the bullet out of him with his fingers. Iranian hospitals are full. Even the military hospitals where the ambulances are supposed to take the injured protesters to be healed and punished later are full. Obviously, the death toll is well over the 7 people that were previously reported.

Iranian authorities have broken into activists’ homes and work, confiscated their properties and broken their computers and other belongings. They have arrested foreign ambassadors and reformists and have threatened websites that report the news on Iran. I guess what I don’t understand is why is the Iranian government holding everyone else responsible but not themselves. And why are they angry at the rest of the world for reporting the news? Reporters are simply doing their job – covering the news. They have done nothing wrong. The news is coming out and people are curious to read and watch it.

This revolution is not about foreign governments interfering with the Iranian government but rather it is about the will of people against the will of a government that refuses to annul the previous election and start fresh.