15435: Mason: Re: Marasa, Haiti, Cuba, Iraq (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: MariLinc@aol.com

Marasa wrote:

"Putting Cuba on [the U.N.] Human Rights Committee is much like putting
Aristide on [the] Committee for Free Speech and [R]ights of Journalists."

Then, Marasa proceeds to list other "is much like" parallels, from a
decidedly anti-Aristide(s) perspective.


I'm neither vehemently for or against Aristide; rather, I'm "cho pou Ayiti".

So, in the interest of "fair play", I suggest that we balance out this "is
much like" parallelism.


I'll start things off with:

"Putting Cuba on the U.N. Human Rights Committee is much like putting Olivier
Nadal on the Committee for Oversight of Internet Etiquette."


On the other hand, instead of casting the placing of Cuba on the U.N. Human
Rights Committee as evidence of bureaucratic bumbling, ignorance and
immorality, how about considering this possibility:

It's the natural outcome of following (over the long-term) the "rules of the
game" of established democratic norms.


That's the part of Democracy that a lot of Democracy advocates don't like.

Living within the reality of someone other than "our pick" having "his turn
at bat".


It would appear that the same Super Powers who formed international agencies
at one point in human history (post-WWII) -- in order to get smaller nations
across the globe to do their bidding over the mid- to long-term in return for
recognition and some funding -- now wish to (1) scuttle such "has been"
agencies (their own objectives have been met and those agencies no longer
serve their narrowly-defined purposes) and (2) form new international
agencies in order to (a) offload the old "sycophants" and (b) "sign up" a
different set of smaller nations (this time Eastern bloc) to do their bidding
in return for recognition and funding.... And on and on and on....

Instead of allowing for those maturing international agencies to exercise a
leadership role in helping to set newer, broader international agendas and
priorities for the world as a whole (from their birds'-eye-view), rather than
just the foreign policy objectives of that handful of Super Powers.

According to long-established "rules of the game" for filling the leadership
roles within the established committees of those established international
agencies.


Some nations have waited decades for their turn "at the wheel", working
through established channels. Now that it's Libya's and Cuba's turn to serve
on committees, what do the Super Powers (dwindling in number) wish to do???

Scuttle the earlier international institutions (U.N. & N.A.T.O.) in order to
create new ones, once again determining by fiat and military superiority the
make-up and agendas of international agencies for another several decades!!!
All in the name of Democracy!


A bit like "Aba Aristid" (and whomever else the Haitian majority might next
elect, pa vre?) and starting out all over again whenever the self-appointed
Super Powers in Haiti sense they won't be allowed to maintain their
near-dictatorial powers (damn that Democracy thing!), instead of allowing
Haiti's institutions to mature and get past the sticking points? In order to
see to it that NOT just the concerns and interests of 5-10% of Haiti's
citizens are represented, but also those of the 90-95% of Haiti's
under-represented citizens?

Marilyn

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Marilyn Mason
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