The
rioting in the capital of Tibet, Lhasa, against Chinese state rule is
the worst for several decades and has possibly cost up to 80 lives,
caused numerous injuries and huge damage to property. While the whole world
awaited in uneasy anticipation for the ultimatum by the Chinese
government for the rioters to turn themselves in or face severe
punishment to pass, the generally mute international response to the
plight of the Tibetan rioters, including from the exiled Dalai Lama
himself, has made the task of the Chinese authorities far easier than
they could have anticipated.
Nevertheless, most western governments have hurled warnings at the Chinese government to exercise a high degree of restraint against the protestors or face international criticism in the year of the Beijing Olympics. A statement from the French Foreign Ministry said that France was monitoring the situation in Tibet "with close attention with our European partners. " adding that "With the approach of the Olympic Games, which ought to be a great show of fraternity, France would like to draw the attention of the Chinese authorities to the importance of respecting human rights,"
In the US, high profile actors, who have adopted Tibetan Buddhism, such as Richard Gere have criticised the Chinese response and have called for a US boycott of the Olympics. Kate Saunders, communications director for the London-based International Campaign for Tibet defended the rioters by stating "Although we have seen years of investment in Tibet, the vast majority of Tibetans are severely disadvantaged both socially and economically by inadequate education and health care so that they cannot compete with the growing number of Chinese migrants coming in."
While the Chinese government may have some way to go in developing their nation building skills, the western rhetoric on respect for human rights while appeasing the rioting of the Tibetans smacks of double standards and of hypocrisy. As for double standards, when Muslims rioted in Middle Eastern countries in response to the publication of the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed, they were vilified in the western media with terms such as "thugs" and "fanatics." It is also noteworthy that the rioters have been generally defended in the western media and have not been described with the derogatory terms of "rebels", "militants" or "terrorists." With regard to hypocrisy, in the week where the world's focus is on the 5th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, the recollection of the conduct of both US and UK occupation forces in their treatment of Iraqi detainees will not escape the attention of the Chinese, or of course, the worlds 1.5 billion Muslims. Furthermore, western governments comprehensively failed to take proportionate action against the massacre of thousands of Uzbeks in Andijan by the Karimov regime or the bombing of civilian areas in Waziristan by the Pakistani army, as both governments are allies in the war on terror.
When it comes to human rights, time and again the western democratic nations expose their double standards and hypocrisy on the international arena. In the game of global politics, national interest always overrides issues such as human rights, which ultimately shows that under the dominance of secular systems, the value towards human life and dignity has become politically expedient rather than a sublime standard. Under Islam, the value towards human life and dignity is sacrosanct because Allah (swt) has commanded that it should be. The Khilafah will, therefore, not play the game of wielding the human rights card when it suits its interest and, likewise, remain silent towards injustice and oppression at other times.
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