Malaysiakini should have grilled US envoy

Indpendent webportal Malaysiakini has provided an important forum for independent news and views, which are often neglected or omitted from the mainstream media.

So its interview with United States ambassador to Malaysia Christopher J LaFleur afforded an excellent opportunity for the online portal to grill the envoy on a range of pressing issues.

Malaysiakini did manage to question the envoy on some topical issues. Still, there were other questions that could have been raised as well.

The envoy was given plenty of room to articulate US positions on various issues including their pet topics such as Intellectual Property Rights, government procurement (presumably so that US firms can bid as well) and other areas of concern to US firms intending to penetrate Asian markets.

Fair enough, but he should have been pressed more on issues that are of concern to Malaysians and local civil society groups. For example, he could have been asked whether US firms were eyeing IPR over Malaysian genetic resources especially those contained in our rainforests, which are a priceless natural heritage that must remain in public hands.

As for FTAs, he should have been pressed to state his stand on labour and trade union rights and whether he actually supported such rights, including the right of electronics workers to form a national union.

But the most important issue he should have been grilled on is the illegal US occupation of Iraq, which has eroded the US standing in the eyes of the world. As the representative of the US government, which is led by leaders whom many critical analysts regard as ‘war criminals’, the envoy should have been grilled about the illegal invasion and occupation of a sovereign nation under false pretexts (non-existent WMD and the bogus Iraq-Al Qaeda link cooked up by the US administration).

We must remember that this illegal war has claimed 100,000 lives including tens of thousands of civilians and those responsible for it should have faced indictment had international justice been allowed to prevail. We must remember the horrendous destruction the US inflicted on the city of Fallujah. They didn't even spare medical facilities: US-led forces destroyed a civilian hospital in a massive air raid, captured the main hospital, and severely restricted the use of ambulances in that besieged city. These are war crimes.

The envoy should also have been questioned on reports that depleted uranium and cluster bombs have been used in Iraq – WMD that kill and maim civilians and combatants alike. He should have been asked to explain his stand on the 100,000 deaths in Iraq. What’s more, the envoy should have been asked his views on the anti-war demonstrations by the Malaysian Coalition Against War outside the US embassy this Sunday and what message he had for the protestors. They will join protestors around the world in condemning the occupation of Iraq.

The envoy should have been interrogated about US attempts to try to justify torture and detention without trial in direct violation of international law. He should have been pressed on the US policy of ‘rendition’ of alleged terror suspects to third countries whose human rights records are atrocious and where there is every possibility that they could be tortured.

Outside Iraq, he should have been questioned about the oppressive wall being built by US ally Israel that has threatened Palestinian communities and cut them off from their livelihoods. He should have been asked to explain the US’ double standards in allowing Israel and its other allies to hold nuclear weapons – not to mention the US’ own massive stockpile – while condemning others who do likewise.

The envoy should not have been allowed to wriggle out so easily on rights violations (like the holding of detainees without trial) and on other contentious issues by arguing that these areas are outside his scope of responsibilities. As if a US envoy’s job is only to look after US business and corporate interests. He is after all the ambassador, the representative of the US government in Malaysia. So he should have answered questions on all aspects of US policy.

These additional questions, we feel, would have enabled the US envoy to address some of the main issues of concern to many Malaysians.