With racial unrest in Missouri, will US concentrate on solving its own problems?
3 min readBy Mapuor Malual Manguen,
Early this week, a UK based newspaper, The Huffington Post reported that Ferguson Riots Delight Iran, China and Egypt. These countries are among other states around the world whose human rights records often come under harsh criticisms from US government and its funded-institutions such as Human Rights Watch.
Equality, freedom of assembly, freedom of expression and non discrimination on whatever grounds, are some of the elements of good governance and democracy which US preaches or imposes on weaker states in its foreign policy styles.
With unrest in Missouri, sparked by the shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager gunned down by white Police Officer Darren Wilson; and subsequent heavy deployment of the US National Guard to clampdown on rioting black community and some of their white sympathizers, the table has been turned on US by what it considers as repressive regimes.
US authorities have been told to show restraint in dealing with the racially charged demonstrations in Ferguson, Missouri – by the Egyptian government. In a bizarre turnaround, authorities in Cairo used language similar to that offered by Washington when Egypt was facing its own protests from Islamist demonstrators in 2013 – an uprising that led to the deaths of hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood supporters.
According to Reuters, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry released a statement on Tuesday saying it was “closely following the escalation of protests”
Criticism of the US over Ferguson has similarly flowed from other repressive regimes, including China, with a comment piece published by the state-run Xinhua news service on Monday upbraiding the US for the “racial divide” that “still remains a deeply-rooted chronic disease that keeps tearing US society apart, just as manifested by the latest racial riot in Missouri”
“Each country has its own national conditions that might lead to different social problems. Obviously, what the United States needs to do is to concentrate on solving its own problems rather than always pointing fingers at others,” reads part of the article.
Russia and Iran have not been left behind either by telling off Obama administration to mind its own business, with Iran going as far as peddling a more insidious and conspiratorial line, blaming the riots in Ferguson on Jewish control of the US government.
With a two-week-old racial unrest in Missouri, will US stop behaving like Angel of good governance and concentrate on solving its own internal problems? US must understand that it can commit same mistakes it has always considered as repressive.
Firing tear gas and use of water canon to disperse peaceful protesters just like what its National Guard did in Missouri, has been undemocratic to US government especially when this approach is used in other countries.
This is hypocrisy of Americans who could not remove speck in their eye before removing it on others’.
The author journalist, blogger, social and political commentator based in Juba. He can be reached at mapuormalual@yahoo.com
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