AT least 13 lives were lost as the United States entered the 10th day last Thursday of nationwide protests triggered by the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, in the custody of Minneapolis Heavy-handed crackdown on protests lays bare U.S. double standard on human rights police.

The heavy-handed crackdown reveals in broad daylight Washington’s double standard on human rights: measures taken by so-called “foreign adversaries” to restore order in times of tumultuous unrest are in violation of basic human rights, whereas brutally treating domestic protests —most of them peaceful — and even causing deaths are not uncommon on U.S. soil.

Civilian casualties

According to a tally compiled by U.S. media, a total of 13 deaths have been reported since the protests erupted two weeks ago. Although details of the deaths are still under investigation, some incidents were indeed related to the excessive use of force by police and troops.

In one case, police and the National Guard troops in Louisville, Kentucky, fired at protesters June 1 after they heard gunshots, killing an African American man identified as David McAtee, a 53-year-old local barbecue restaurant owner. Referred to as “a good person” by his mother, McAtee was known for offering free meals to police officers dropping by his restaurant.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said June 1 that officers at the scene turned off their body cameras, as a result of which Louisville Metro Police Chief Steve Conrad was fired.

From coast to coast, camera footage in the last few days repeatedly showed police officers beating and tasing protesters, ramming cars into the crowd as was the case in New York City on May 30, and even spraying Mace at a 9-year-old girl in Seattle, the state of Washington, on May 31.

Even journalists reporting on scene are subject to police brutality. Journalists across the nation — more than two dozen, according to one count posted on Twitter — faced arrest, detention, being pepper sprayed, tear-gassed or shot by rubber bullets while covering the recent demonstrations.

Among the severely injured is photojournalist Linda Tirado, who is now permanently blind in her left eye after being shot by a rubber bullet while covering the protest in Minneapolis on May 29. The rubber bullet, Tirado tweeted, “exploded my eyeball, which has now been patched back together but who knows if it’ll need more surgery.”

Excessive use of force

The excessive use of force in response to domestic demonstrators — whose right to protest is protected by the U.S. Constitution — has not only backfired at home, but also made it much harder for the country’s diplomats to do their job abroad.

“Our diplomats are accustomed to expressing concern about other countries’ human rights violations. Today they’re being asked by foreign governments to explain our own,” U.S. news outlet the Politico quoted Molly Montgomery, a former U.S. foreign service officer whose postings included Afghanistan and Bosnia-Herzegovina, as saying.

“For many diplomats who joined the Foreign Service to promote American values like democracy, the rule of law, and human rights abroad, this is a moment of great sadness and deep soul-searching,” Montgomery added.

A spokesperson for U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres on June 1 warned against overreaction by U.S. police in dealing with the protesters. “Grievances must be heard, but they must be expressed in peaceful ways and authorities must show restraint in responding to demonstrators,” said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson.

In Australia, an ally of the United States, the government has asked its embassy in Washington to investigate an incident of violence against an Australian news crew by U.S. law enforcement.

On June 4, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova blamed U.S. law enforcement for using non-lethal weapons to disperse protesters as well as the massive arrest. “It’s time for the U.S. to drop the mentor’s tone and look in the mirror,” Zakharova said, urging Washington to “start respecting peoples’ rights and observing democratic standards at home.”

Hong-Eng Koh, a Singaporean with nearly 30 years of policing experience, shared an edited video on Twitter, in which scenes of U.S. police beating and arresting protesters are paired with a soundtrack featuring praise from U.S. Republican senator Josh Hawley on Nov. 19, 2019 for the violent rioters in Hong Kong at the time. “Some politicians love to praise the Hong Kong rioters while defending their own government’s action against the protesters back home. You can’t have it both ways,” Koh wrote.

(Xinhua)