Wanted: George W. Bush

Amnesty International has called on the Canadian government either to arrest former US President George W. Bush or to extradite him when he enters the country next week for his role in the torture of prisoners. From 2002-2009, the CIA tortured and humiliated prisoners whom were being held by the CIA.

"Canada is required by its international obligations to arrest and prosecute former President Bush given his responsibility for crimes under international law including torture," Susan Lee, Americas Director at Amnesty International said in a statement. "A failure by Canada to take action during his visit would violate the U.N. Convention against Torture and demonstrate contempt for fundamental human rights."

Mr. Bush later admitted to authorizing the use of waterboarding to coerce prisoners to cooperate with the CIA.  According to the CIA's own investigation, Zayn al Abidin Muhammed Husayn and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed were subjected to waterboarding some 266 times between them in 2002-2003.

Amnesty also points out, in a 1,000 page memorandum, that Mr. Bush presided over the torture of detainees held in military custody in Guantanamo, Afghanistan and Iraq. Mr. Bush cancelled a trip earlier this year to Switzerland when other human rights groups called for his arrest.

I wouldn't expect Canadian authorities to do anything. Why would they want to upset the apple cart and piss off their big brother to the south? Besides, the only time a former head of state ever has to answer for his role in crimes against humanity is if he was on the losing side.

“I cannot comment on individual cases… that said, Amnesty International cherry picks cases to publicize based on ideology. This kind of stunt helps explain why so many respected human rights advocates have abandoned Amnesty International.”  -- Canadian Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Jason Kenney

Of course it's up for debate whether the US is on the winning side of the mess in the Middle East as the occupation is now ten years old. And what does the government have to show for it? Saddam Hussein is dead - not that Mr. Hussein had anything to do with the 9/11 attacks or al-Qaeda - and now chaos reigns in Iraq where US troops are stuck in a quagmire of political instability. Osama bin-Laden is dead - but TSA is still scoping and groping to its heart's content. Afghanistan is the Asian equivalent of Dodge City and the US shows no sign of figuring out how to get out anytime soon. Syria and Yemen are tinderboxes with governments only holding on because they have shown no problems with turning the army's weapons on their own citizens.

It's so easy to make decisions affecting the lives of others when you don't have to worry about putting your own neck on the line. How's that for personal responsibility, Mr. Bush?

See also:

"Human rights groups ask Canada to arrest President George W. Bush," NPR's The Two Way (Oct. 13, 2011)

"Amnesty International seeks George W. Bush's arrest," Politico (Oct. 13, 2011)

"Bush's Swiss visit off after complaints on torture," Reuters (Feb. 5, 2011)

Time article on gay rights activism in Asia

The latest issue of Time has an article with the arresting title, 'Why Asia's gays are starting to win acceptance.' Not surprisingly, the Naz Foundation case features prominently in the piece, though its principal focus is upon the far more audacious pace of change that has occurred in Nepal over recent years. The piece provides profiles of activists in Nepal, India, China, and Japan, and also tracks recent developments in these jurisdictions. Tarunabh had earlier posted about the Nepal Supreme Court's historic Dec 2007 ruling here, and the Time article profiles the man who was the lead petitioner in - and driving force behind - the case. The article also profiles some of the people who have been prominent in the Naz Foundation case, and is an interesting and stimulating read overall.

I was struck by one particular passage in the article:

The rising visibility of gay people in the region is just one of many social changes that have been accelerated by travel, urbanization, education, democratization and, most of all, the explosion of information across every imaginable medium. This isn't simply Westernization — the old argument that homosexuality is yet another crass cultural import from the West has been all but discarded. But the Asian social institutions and beliefs that often stood in the way of tolerance — religious conservatism, intense emphasis on marriage and having children, cultural taboos against openly discussing sexuality — are weakening. In some parts of Asia, space is opening up for homosexuals in society. "The debate about sexuality is in the realm of the constitution, of democracy, equality and human rights," says Gautam Bhan, a gay activist in New Delhi. "The terrain of the debate has shifted." (Emphasis added)

Much as I would like to agree with the argument in the highlighted portion in the above passage, I believe that based upon the statements of high judicial figures in India (both sitting and retired) who may have a crucial say on the eventual outcome of the Delhi High Court ruling in the Naz case, this may be an overly optimistic analysis. The ‘Westernization’ attack has been leveled not only by the far right in India, but by more centrist figures who have otherwise devoted careers to upholding values and ideas that some within the far right would still consider to be ‘Western’ imports, including the ideas of the ‘rule of law’, ‘judicial independence,’ ‘separation of powers,’ and even basic notions of ‘constitutionalism.’

The challenge for constitutionalists then, is to find ways to counter such notions by arguing, as the Delhi High Court did, that the ruling in Naz can be justified upon values that are solidly entrenched within our constitutional document.