I am a
proponent of ethical foreign policy. I
believe that aid should only be given to leaders with at least a passable human
rights record. Because one thing is
clear…giving aid to dictators and gross abusers of human rights, never goes to
aiding the needy. All it does, is to buttress the power of the leader.
In the
world of realpolitik, aid is another word for bribe or gifts given with the
expectation of something in return.
Admirably,
Washington had banned aid Uzbekistan in 2003, following reports of 'appalling' human rights
crimes by President Karimov.
But
American aid was restored to Karimov in in 2012. This was after Pakistan had
closed its supply routes to NATO into
Afghanistan, due to NATO attacks which had killed 2 dozen Pakistani guards. Northern supply routes start at Latvia on the Baltic Sea and then go through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to the northern border of Afghanistan.
Aid wasn’t
restored without a finger wagging from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. "Nobody is shying away from having the tough
conversation," she said . "That said, we also have other interests
and things that we need to protect in our relationship with Uzbekistan."[1]
Hopefully,
these ‘things’ will come to an end once the US withdraws from Afghanistan in
2014.
[1] Radio Free Europe, U.S. Temporarily Lifts Ban On Military Assistance To Uzbekistan
February 01, 2012
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2012/02/mil-120201-rferl06.htm
