My people!

By Salama A Salama

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Never before has the rift in human and political rights between our region and the West been greater. Because of its weight, and its deviation from international standards and norms, Egypt has been put on the spot yet again. Commenting on Egypt's constitutional amendments, Condoleezza Rice said she was "disappointed". Our foreign minister shot back that we could not allow interference in domestic affairs, even from "friends". President Hosni Mubarak agreed, saying that Egypt is not in the habit of bowing to "pressures".

These reactions remind me of our official response to a US State Department report on human rights in Egypt. Our foreign minister, who cannot possibly justify our sorry record, said that America should focus on its own record. Some journalists argued, unconvincingly, that Egypt is being punished because of its relentless abidance by the Arab peace initiative.

What we're failing to understand is that the world is no longer in a mood to see rulers pushing around their own people. A ruler who says, "these are my people and I can do with them whatever I want," is an anachronism, and no amount of complaining about "foreign interference" can change this fact. No ruler is free to abuse his own people or infringe on their rights.

Most of the conflicts in which the US and the West are embroiled in our region involve abuses of power. This is true for Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine and Darfur. In all these areas, one regime or group has impinged on the rights of another group, with one or more group of people deprived of their political rights and from self- determination. It is because of such problems that Egypt is now seeking membership of the UN Human Rights Council, elections for which are due to be held next month.

Egypt and most Mediterranean countries have signed agreements of cooperation with the EU and the West. Most of these countries have also received assistance and loans under those agreements. And they have promised in return to improve their human rights record and uphold political and civil freedoms. Our foreign minister has just signed such an agreement with the EU. So our wiggling room is not as wide as we think.

This leaves us with the question: Shall we accept European standards for cooperation and honour our commitments in this regard? Or shall we refuse to be part of the advanced world, because we've got to do things our own way? Shall we pretend that our international commitments come second to our fight against terror, or shall we do the right thing?

Another thing. Not only are some people in our part of the world arguing that we must be left alone; even in the West, a similar debate is ongoing. German authorities recently dismissed a judge who had accepted the religious view that Muslim men are entitled to beat their wives, and as a result turned down a divorce case filed by a battered Muslim wife. Now, Muslim scholars may want to debate such matters for decades to come. But we cannot go on ignoring international moral standards forever. The reason is that the world is not going to tolerate our human rights abuses indefinitely.

Have you noticed that the same nations that fail to honour human rights at home are the ones whose rights are disregarded abroad? This is less of a coincidence than it seems. The rift is getting bigger between our countries and the West. As a result, double standards are becoming more common both at home and abroad.