From: hrcoord@igc.apc.org (Human Rights Coordinator)
Newsgroups: soc.rights.human
Subject: n
Date: 15 Nov 92 19:24:00 GMT
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1476700805:000:4852
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!hrcoord    Nov 15 11:24:00 1992


From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord>
Subject: n

/* Written 12:12 am  Nov 14, 1992 by newsdesk@igc.apc.org in igc:ips.englibrary */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: ASIA: Human right, or wrong?

an inter press service feature

by kunda dixit

manila, nov 11 (ips) -- stung by what they see as bossy western
moralising about human rights, the newly affluent nations of asia
are pushing for a new definition of human rights they say is
rooted in their own culture and values.

this has pitted nations like singapore, indonesia, malaysia
and even china against industrialised nations of the north, which
argue that the basic concepts of human rights are universal.

the disagreement threatens to be as divisive for a big
international conference on human rights next year in vienna as
the dispute over tropical rainforests was for the earth summit in
brazil in june.

a regional preparatory meeting for the vienna conference
scheduled to be held in bangkok last month was postponed because
of widely divergent views on the agenda.

at the heart of the dispute is the argument that western
definitions of human rights emphasise individual choice and
civil liberties, while eastern cultures put more value on
community rights and respect for elders.

although the two viewpoints need not be mutually exclusive,
the debate has generated much heat at recent asian gatherings,
starting with the non-aligned movement summit in jakarta in
september and the meeting of european and south-east asian
foreign ministers in manila last week.

non-aligned leaders in their final declaration bluntly warned
the west not to ''dictate its concept of democracy and human
rights ... on others''.

and in manila, ministers of the association of south-east
asian nations (asean) took the sting out of european efforts to
highlight indonesian crackdowns in east timor and the military's
excesses in burma. they also scuttled efforts to link development
aid to human rights and democracy.

governments of poorer nations in the region also seem to view
human rights with less zeal. dazzled by singapore's glittering
authoritarian capitalism, they wonder if it is perhaps too much
democracy and human rights that is keeping them poor.

philippine president fidel ramos told asean and european
ministers: ''there must be a balance between the rights of the
individual and the rights of the community. each society must
find that delicate balance for itself, in accordance with the
tradition, character and history of its people.'' (more/ips)

asia: human (2)

the philippines has long been a champion of u.s.-style civil
liberties and for some manila commentators, this was a sell-out.

''we should not spit on our heritage,'' thundered the 'globe'
newspaper in an angry editorial. ''that heritage of liberty and
respect of human rights is the philippines' single claim to
respect from the rest of the world.''

human rights advocates say a distinction between individual
and community rights is absurd. but when pressed about
violations, indonesian and chinese delegations often argue that a
community's right to food, shelter and basic health care is more
fundamental than its right to vote.

south-east asian officials bristle when concepts like
democracy and human rights are measured by standards set in
europe or the united states. they say these standards are applied
inconsistently, and want asean to come up with its own yardstick.

the repression in burma, which activists say must be condemned
by any standards, has brought up sensitive issues of sovereignty.

but in an essay titled 'freedom from fear', burma's noted
opposition leader, aung san suu kyi, who has been under house-
arrest for nearly three years, strongly defends basic human
rights and their universal application.

''concepts such as truth, justice and compassion cannot be
dismissed as trite when these are often the only bulwarks which
stand against ruthless power,'' she says.

sidney jones, director of the washington-based rights group
asia watch, argues in a recent article that it is absence of
civil rights that often causes large-scale human misery.

she says: ''civil and political rights (are) not a luxury, to
be granted after a certain level of economic well-being is
attained, but the foundation on which subsistence and survival
may depend.''

many regional analysts warn that although the west may tie
self-defined human rights conditionalities to aid and trade, it
is in asean's own interest to allow their increasingly-affluent
citizens more political freedoms.

failure to do so could result in a middle-class revolt of the
kind that rocked thailand in may and toppled a military regime
that treated human rights with contempt. (end/ips/hr/kd/ln/92)