THE scenes of violent protests raging across the United States
indeed are disturbing. It is the country which never gets tired of blowing the trumpet of protection of human rights across the globe but its own police today is involved in the gross human rights violations by resorting to brutal use of force against its own people especially the black men and women.
The killing of George Floyd’s death at the hands of police suggests that the apartheid unfortunately has not gone but still persists and deep rooted in the US society. It is very surprising that the US Administration used to refer to protestors in Hong Kong as heroes but now branding its own protesters as domestic terrorists. It is nothing but double standards. Recent videos emerging from the US showed police officers using batons, tear-gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets on protesters, bystanders and journalists, often without warning or seemingly unprovoked. The footage, which has been shared widely online, highlighted the very complaints over police behaviour that has drawn protests in at least 75 cities across the United States. The fact of the matter is that the so- called champion of human rights is still entangled in racism against ethnic minorities and the same is very noticeable in the wealth disparities and growing inequality that exists in income and wages of white and black men. These disparities in income are not by accident but were largely created by design. The protests on the killing of Floyd in fact also represent a genuine and legitimate frustration of the marginalized black population. It will be better for the US to shun the course of dictating other countries on the human rights and put its own house in order. US President Donald Trump must also come out of the bunker of the White House and act as a leader to handle the current crisis. The only solution is that those involved in the murder of George Floyd as well as use of brutal violence against the protestors must be taken to task and given punishment as per the law.
