I have never heard of Liu Xiaobo until he got the Nobel Prize for peace. A number of articles on Liu followed after the Nobel prize and the world once again has turned it’s attention to China and the human rights violation in the country. Liu is still under arrest and people continue to register their protest on his arrest. A saint was born. Everything was good. Until I read the Wiki article on Liu, another article in Counter Punch by Tariq Ali and a good one at Guardian. And I was surprised.
I was not surprised that the Chinese government arrested Liu Xiaobo, because everybody knows how Chinese government curbs the freedom to criticize their government. Everybody knows about Tienanmen Square. But I was surprised and shocked to hear that the Nobel prize was awarded to a hypocrite disguised as a human rights activist who support bloody and unnecessary wars in the world. And his pro-war statements lead us to suspect that this man is somebody who is looking for a political overthrow in China in the future and to claim his stake.
Liu was arrested for his involvement with Charter 08 Manifesto. Liu was just one of the several authors of the manifesto. I hope the other authors are genuine people who stand for human rights, but Liu’s involvement is suspicious. Liu has served as the President of Independent Chinese PEN Center, an organization funded by the National Endowment for Democracy which is an American non-profit organization.
So how did Liu return his favors for the American funding?
- He wrote an article titled “Victory to the Anglo-American Freedom Alliance”, in which he praised the U.S. led post-cold-war wars as “best examples of how war should be conducted in a modern civilization.”
- “During the 2004 US presidential election, Liu again praised Bush for his war effort against Iraq and condemned Democratic party candidate John Kerry for not sufficiently supporting the US’s wars.“
- He said that “The major wars that the US became involved in are all ethically defensible.“[Source: Wiki]
- Liu has also said that “The Korean and Vietnam wars fought by the US were wars against totalitarianism and enhanced Washington’s ‘moral credibility’.“
Agreed, Liu has stopped students from rioting in Tienanmen to prevent student deaths. But how do you call this war-mongering guy a human rights activist while he on one hand tries to protect people from getting killed (in his own country) and then go ahead and cheer the murder of innocents in other countries? So is it like, it’s not okay in my country (because it is where I live in, plus as a pro-western guy I could have stake in the future when something against the current government happens in the future) but it’s okay in any other country, because I don’t give a damn about it? You cannot trust people like these hypocrites with human rights. I am baffled (or rather not) that the Nobel committee chose to ignore this. But then they must be having their own politics too.
The Norwegian jurist Fredrik Heffermehl argues that the committee is in breach of the will and testament left behind by the inventor of dynamite whose bequests fund the prizes:
‘The Nobel committee has not received prize money for free use, but was entrusted with money to give to the pivotal element in creating peace, breaking the vicious circle of arms races and military power games. From this point of view the 2010 Nobel is again an illegitimate prize awarded by an illegitimate committee.’
Also read:
Do supporters of Nobel winner Liu Xiaobo really know what he stands for? (Guardian.co.uk)
Does Liu Xiaobo Really Deserve the Peace Prize? (Counter Punch)