By: Tilottama Rani Charulata
The US State Department has published a report on the human rights situation in the world like every year. In the annual report entitled ‘2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices’ released on March 21, the report highlighted the human rights situation in 198 counties. The report was prepared based on the human rights situation of 198 countries and regions of the world. But the USA didn’t mention its own dire human rights disaster situation in the report. This is one kind of mockery. Every year the US State Department publishes these reports based on their annual report. However, after the publication of this report, many political analysts including professional diplomats, policymakers from different countries such as China, Bangladesh, Mexico and so many others have commented that this report is unusual. Because the annual report raises doubts regarding the credibility and acceptability. US democracy is not free from violence. It is not forgotten the history of how Donald Trump rioted on the Capitol Hill against the election of his country, how many lives were lost. Basically, no one is perfect fully in the world.
In a place of diplomatic relations, another country can give its opinion on any of our systems but has no say in others governance system. Because the people of that country will decide how the regime will run. They will decide what kind of governance will be established in the country. Every country, society have their own culture, system. Western political manipulation of human rights is not new. It has to be thought about how we will build our destiny. For now, let’s not step into the political human rights trap of the West. As Lee Kuan did, he worked for nearly 40 years to build modern Singapore from a fishing village. He also had to listen to the slogans of democracy. The question arose of human rights. He did not care about world criticism. He was strict on matters of discipline. He showed zero tolerance against corruption. He also established good governance. He made Singapore a meeting place for talented people from all over the world in development. Mahathir bin Mohamad, who did the same thing in Asia, was in power for 22 consecutive years. Mahathir replaced Malaysia. Westerners had no end of headache here, so what! Malaysia is the role model of the world today. Similarly, Bangladesh’s Sheikh Hasina’s development democracy may have exceeded the tolerance limit of many people, so there is an unsuccessful attempt to create a new scenario to achieve political objectives by bringing human rights and other issues to the fore. Those who kill hundreds of people in the Iraq, Afghanistan war, are not talking about their human rights. They can only spin the political wheel, they can try to change the color of the kite, but no one can stop the targeted country ‘s own societal and political system.
However, as time goes on, the list of gun violence, school shootings, and the associated collateral harm in terms of human lives grows longer and longer. According to statistics from none other than the Gun Violence Archive, mass shootings are so common there that as many as 129 of these incidents have already been documented this year alone. And what do they mean by a mass shooting? According to them, events involving four or more shootings or fatal shootings qualify as mass shootings. And what do they call situations where fewer than four people are shot and killed? This only indicates that there will probably be more shooting instances than this.
In the United States, owning a firearm is a constitutionally protected freedom that is unrestricted. It appears that anyone, sane or insane, can acquire weapons as simply as purchasing a flower. Two assault rifles, a handgun, and other weapons were allegedly found in the home of the Nashville shooter on Monday. The Second Amendment to the US Constitution as well as the state constitutions of the majority of US states safeguard the fundamental right to keep and bear arms in the country. This so-called fundamental right “shall not be infringed” in any manner, according to the Second Amendment. Ok, but what about the right to life of individuals?
There is absolutely no protection against a police officer killing someone because he enjoys manhunting, regardless of the law or other people’s feelings.
It has proven to be the most challenging to outlaw assault rifles in the US because the ruling class there is the most ardent supporter of the constitutional right to carry arms. Profit for gun producing monopoly capitalists is more important than human life. And this is the nation that occasionally gives lessons to other nations about upholding human rights.
Tilottama Rani Charulata is an independent researcher. She is interested in East, South and Southeast Asian politics. She is currently living in Canada.
