In recent weeks, the world has witnessed catastrophes of nature in
China and Burma beyond the ability of most of us to comprehend. For
what happened in Sichuan province, the thoughts, sympathies and
prayers of all of us here today and across Canada go unreservedly to
all families of the victims and survivors.
Let me also mention here my strong respect and affection for the
people of China generally. Canadians identify with their history,
including their humiliation by major world powers during more than a
century, with their hard work, patience, arts, language, poetry and
literature, early exploration of much of the world, success with
agriculture and many other accomplishments. We are delighted that more
than a million Canadian citizens today are of origin in China.
People vs. Party-state
No-one should confuse the Chinese people with their unelected
government. The differences many of us have with the latter in terms
of human dignity, good governance, rule of law, freedom of speech and
democracy have nothing to do with our regard for the former. The
party-state of China persecutes large communities of its own citizens:
Falun Gong, democracy activists, ethnic minorities, world religions -
Tibetan Buddhists, Muslim Uighurs and Christians, human rights
defenders, journalists who write the truth, and internet bloggers. The
government of China is among the worst human rights violators. In its
encouragement of 'anything goes" capitalism over three decades,
moreover, it has also allowed the air, soil and water to be polluted
incredibly, against the health and esthetic needs of all Chinese
people.
The Falun Gong community, which began in 1992 as a blend of ancient
Chinese spiritual and exercise traditions, since mid-1999 has been
persecuted more and worse than any other group. David Matas and I
concluded in an independent study after examining 53 kinds of proof
that since 2001 the government of China and its agencies have killed
thousands of Falun Gong practitioners, without any form of prior
trial, and then sold their vital organs for large sums of money, often
to 'organ tourists' from wealthy countries (Our report is available in
nineteen languages at www.organharvestinvestigation.net).
How the International Olympic Committee could award the 2008 Olympic
Games to such a regime is thus difficult to understand. The focus in
this talk is on its close partnerships with some of the most despotic
governments on earth, which enable them to better oppress their own
people and to increase thereby the risk to world peace in various
regions of the world:
......
IRAN
Human dignity abuses by the Iranian government currently include
persecution of ethnic and religious minorities (Arabs, Azeri, Kurds,
Turks, Baha'is, Jews and Christians), women in a species of gender
apartheid (under Sharia law the life of a woman is worth half that of
a man), imprisonment, torture and execution of political prisoners and
prisoners of conscience and complete control over the media.
In trading with Iran, China and other countries doing so legitimize
its government and help to maintain regime officials in positions of
absolute power. Trade and investment from abroad also provide to
Tehran funds that often are not used for the health, education and
general welfare of Iranians but instead for funding terrorist groups
abroad, including Hezbollah and Hamas, under the mantle of "expanding
the Islamic Empire".
China-Iranian trade has grown from $200 million in 1990 to $10 billion
in 2005. This includes conventional arms and ballistic missiles for
Iran despite Tehran's declared hostility to 'godless communism" and
Beijing's continuing severe persecution of its Uyghur Muslims. Beijing
simply ignores theocratic rule in Tehran. A major attraction for
Tehran is Beijing's permanent seat on the UN Security Council, which
is useful for resisting Western pressure on nuclear and other issues.
Ali Hashemi Rafsanjani pushed the relationship while Iran's president
(1989-1997) and became a stakeholder in it. A Chinese contract to
build the Tehran metro has as its local partner a company headed by
his oldest son. He and others in Iran strongly favour the 'China
model' of air tight political control while encouraging economic
growth.
In the mid 1990's, China became the leading supplier of conventional
arms to Iran and has since provided assistance on developing dual use
technology that can be converted to developing nuclear weapons. In
1995, China under pressure from the U.S. did stop the sale of nuclear
reactors to Iran. There appears little doubt that China has since
resumed nuclear weapon technology sales to Iran.
There are also indications that China has helped with Iran's Shahab-3
and Shahab-4 medium range ballistic missiles. Both are capable of
hitting any state in the Middle East; the Shahab-4 could hit
significant portions of Europe. Two years ago, the U.S. imposed
penalties on eight Chinese companies for exporting material that can
be used to improve Iran's ballistic missile capability. China's
nuclear weapons technology exports to Pakistan had a similar
objective, to prevent either a United States or Soviet Union dominance
of the subcontinent along China's southern border. As a result,
Pakistan is now a nuclear power, facing nuclear-armed India. In the
Middle East, China's policy of providing Iran with nuclear weapons
technology is injecting a highly-destabilizing element in the region.
By providing Iran with weapons that could be used in support of
Islamic fundamentalism, the potential for religious conflict becomes
greater. Old hatreds between Iranian and Iraqi religious groups could
flare up in the future. Nuclear weapons would give Iran a strategic
reserve that could allow its regime to act even more aggressively.
Israel could also be unintentionally brought into the scenario,
believing that the only reason an Islamic state would want a nuclear
weapon is to use it against Israelis. China's goal of securing a
reliable source of cheap oil and gas is probably being hindered rather
than helped by its weapons sales to Iran by inserting a destabilizing
element into Middle East domestic affairs, but also encouraging the
United States to continue its extensive military presence there to
deter Iran's use of force.
Canada initiated the successfully-passed UN General Assembly
resolution in late 2007, which drew attention to numerous human rights
abuses in Iran, including confirmed instances of:
- Torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,
Including, flogging and amputations;
- Public executions, including multiple public executions, and of
other executions carried out in the absence of respect for
internationally recognized safeguards;
- Stoning as a method of execution, and the continued issuing of
sentences of stoning;
- Execution of persons who were under the age of 18 at the time
their offence was committed, contrary to the obligations of the
Islamic Republic of Iran under article 37 of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child and article 6 of the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights;
- Arrests, violent repression, and sentencing of women exercising
their right to peaceful assembly, a campaign of intimidation against
women's human rights defenders, and continuing discrimination against
women and girls in law and in practice;
- Increasing discrimination and other human rights violations
against persons belonging to religious, ethnic, linguistic or other
minorities, recognized or otherwise, including, inter alia, Arabs,
Azeri's, Baluchis, Kurds, Christians, Jews, Sufis and Sunni Muslims
and their defenders, and, in particular, attacks on Baha'is and their
faith in State-sponsored media, increasing evidence of efforts by the
State to identify and monitor Baha'is and prevention of the Baha'i
faith from attending university and from sustaining themselves
economically; an increase in cases of arbitrary arrest and detention;
- Ongoing, systemic and serious restrictions of freedom of peaceful
assembly and association, and freedom of opinion and expression,
including those imposed on the media and trade unions, and increasing
harassment, intimidation and persecution of political opponents and
human rights defenders, from all sectors of Iranian society, including
arrests and violent repression of labour leaders, labour members
peacefully assembling and students;
- Persistent failure to uphold due process of law rights, and
violation of the rights of detainees, including the systematic and
arbitrary use of prolonged solitary confinement;
We might all keep in mind too on the issue of Sino-Iranian relations
and their current negative implications for world security that in the
past few weeks alone the Government in Tehran has locked up all seven
senior leaders of the country's 300,000-member Baha'i spiritual
community. Not a word has been heard about them for almost four weeks.
It also fired missiles at the approx 4000 UN-protected residents,
including about sixty Canadians, living in Ashraf city, Iraq. This
second act was clearly an act of war; the first violated a host of
international covenants, including the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, which protects freedom of religion.
......
Conclusion
In conclusion, Mia Farrow, Steven Spielberg, Uma Thulman and many
others have already stood up for human dignity at the 2008 Olympics.
Is Minky Worden of Human Rights Watch not correct when she says that
corporate sponsors, governments and National Olympic Committees should
urge Beijing to improve human rights conditions in China? "Olympic
corporate sponsors are putting their reputations at risk unless they
work to convince the Chinese government to uphold the human rights
pledges it made to bring the Games to Beijing," she said. "Human
rights are under attack in China, and Olympic sponsors should use
their considerable leverage to persuade Beijing to change policy."
The rest of us should too. We are asking the government of China to
honour the promises made when it bid for the Games. If you agree,
please press our own government and our own national Olympic Committee
to urge the government of China to fulfill it commitments.
