Outpost of tyranny

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Map of the world with the states designated by the United States (in blue ) as the “outpost of tyranny” (in green )
"Outpost of Tyranny"
  1. IranIran Iran
  2. CubaCuba Cuba
  3. Flag of Myanmar (1974-2010) .svg Myanmar
  4. Korea NorthNorth Korea North Korea
  5. ZimbabweZimbabwe Zimbabwe
  6. BelarusBelarus Belarus

"Outpost of tyranny " ( English "outposts of tyranny" ) is a political slogan. It was used by Condoleezza Rice in her appointment as Secretary of State before the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations to describe a number of countries whose governments disregard human rights.

definition

Before the Senate committee on Jan. 18, 2005, Rice noted in a prepared speech:

"The world [Note: in the sense of the 'international community'] should apply what Natan Sharansky called the marketplace sample: 'A person who cannot enter the center of any marketplace in any city and freely express his or her opinion there, without fear of arrest, imprisonment or physical harm, lives in a society of fear, not a society of freedom. We must not rest until everyone who lives in such a "society of fear" has achieved freedom. '"

In the following, Rice also explained in more detail the criteria she used to categorize such countries. Their most obvious common are those in the year by the State Department issued Country Reports on Human Rights Practices and International Religious Freedom Report had urged human rights violations by governments of these countries. But she also subliminally criticized other countries:

“In the Middle East , President Bush has broken the six decades of tradition of legitimizing the lack of freedom in the hope that it will bring about stability. The stakes couldn't be higher. As long as the Middle East, in the broader sense , remains a region of tyranny , despair and anger , extremists and movements will emerge from it that endanger the security of Americans and friends. "

use

In the course of her speech, Rice specified her allegations against six countries:

"To be sure, in our world there remain outposts of tyranny - and America stands with oppressed people on every continent ... in Cuba, and Burma, and North Korea, and Iran, and Belarus, and Zimbabwe."

"Of course there are still outposts of tyranny in our world, and America stands by oppressed people on every continent - in Cuba, Burma, North Korea, Iran, Belarus and Zimbabwe."

- Condoleeza Rice

The National Security Strategy of March 2006 again highlighted these six countries, including Syria, against other states that commit human rights violations. In it it says:

“Tyranny is the combination of brutality, poverty, instability, corruption, and suffering, forged under the rule of despots and despotic systems. People living in nations such as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Iran, Syria, Cuba, Belarus, Burma, and Zimbabwe know firsthand the meaning of tyranny; it is the bleak reality they endure every day. [...] ”

“Tyranny is the combination of brutality, poverty, instability, corruption and suffering, built by despots and despotic systems. People who live in countries like the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Iran, Syria, Cuba, Belarus, Burma and Zimbabwe know the meaning of tyranny firsthand, it is the grim reality that they [have to] endure every day [...] "

Comparison with other political buzzwords

The phrase “outpost of tyranny” has often been compared to Bush's catchphrase “ axis of evil ”. On closer inspection, however, a comparison is not so straightforward, despite Rice's ideological and political proximity to Bush: In his speech on the State of the Union on January 29, 2002, Bush suspected the states of North Korea , Iran and America with “axis of evil” to Iraq , mainly for the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to contribute and terrorists either actively to support or harbor them. Rice, on the other hand, referred directly to the domestic politics of the countries she named. The term "axis of evil" became obsolete in 2003 when the Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein was overthrown by the USA.

The “outposts of tyranny” are also not completely congruent with the list of countries suspected by the United States of supporting terrorism : Cuba , Iran and North Korea are listed , but not the other “outposts”.

Reactions

The North Korean government took offense at the classification and declared that it would stay away from the six-nation talks as long as the US did not apologize. She also asked for security guarantees. On June 21st, Secretary of State for Worldwide Affairs Paula Dobriansky re-used the term in a speech at the Hudson Institute : "North Korea, Myanmar, Zimbabwe and Cuba are outposts of tyranny." Han Song Ryol , North Korean Ambassador to the United Nations , then explained:

"A return to the Six Nations Talks is possible, provided the United States shows restraint for at least one month in using the term 'tyranny outpost'."

- Han Song Ryol

The then South Korean Foreign Minister, Ban Ki-moon , expressed concern about the implications that the use of the term could have had for the intra-Korean talks:

"It is unfortunate that a senior US official is using the term 'tyranny outpost,' which is not good for a conciliatory atmosphere in the efforts of the two Koreas."

- Ban Ki-moon

The President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki , who is taking a conciliatory course towards neighboring Zimbabwe , was similarly unhappy . This includes u. a. avoiding public criticism of the person and past of Robert Mugabe . Mbeki said the use of the term "is excessive, and what the US government intends to use is that the term is discredited".

Mugabe himself reacted abusively to Rice's title during the election campaign:

“Condoleezza Rice is a girl of slave descent. She should know that the white man is no friend. [...] She says Zimbabwe is one of the five or six outposts of tyranny worldwide. Of course she has to speak to her master [US President George W. Bush]. "

- Robert Mugabe

A few days after the speech, Iran rejected the designation of the country as an “outpost of tyranny”. President Mohammed Khatami implicitly rejected them as unreasonable and, in return, called the United States a troublemaker. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Resa Asefi interpreted the designation as "psychological warfare".

The Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs assessed Rice's statements as unrealistic and as "[l] antagonistic stereotypes and prejudices".

Some observers suspected the US government of double standards in its foreign policy with regard to the assignment of the designation, particularly because of the internment camp operated by the US in Guantánamo Bay . Amitabh Pal of the pacifist monthly The Progressive wrote that Rice had subordinated the use of the term to American interests of strategic and economic nature. This is shown by the extreme reluctance to label some states by leaving out countries such as Saudi Arabia , Equatorial Guinea or Azerbaijan .

The Washington Post published a series of interviews and articles concerning the countries Rice mentioned.

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Source: Archive of the committee, date of discovery: November 4, 2006 ( Memento of February 3, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF)
  2. ↑ cf. the speech manuscript, page 4; Retrieved September 6, 2008.
  3. ↑ National Security Strategy 2006 ( Memento of the original from September 12, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF) 2006; Retrieved September 6, 2006. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.whitehouse.gov
  4. ↑ Support for Japan - Pressure on North Korea . In: Die Welt , March 21, 2005.
  5. ↑ Seung-Ryun Kim Jung-Hun Kim: Minister Ban asks the US to exercise caution in speeches with regard to North Korea . In: Dong-A , June 22, 2005; Retrieved November 4, 2006
  6. ^ MKÜ: Failures of a despot . In: Die Welt , April 2, 2005.
  7. ↑ Exchange of blows . In: Die Welt , January 27, 2005.
  8. ↑ DW: Iran speaks of "psychological warfare" by the USA . In: Die Welt , January 20, 2005.
  9. ↑ Manfred Quiring: Moscow warns of relapse into the Cold War . In: Die Welt , January 20, 2005.