Obama cautious over human rights in China

The National staff

• Last Updated: November 17. 2009 10:55PM UAE / November 17. 2009 6:55PM GMT

Despite having been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last month, Barack Obama has been criticised by rights groups for downplaying human rights issues in China to secure Chinese support in addressing the global financial recovery and terrorism.

The US president did not ignore the issues yesterday nor did he actually push China on them. During a joint press conference with China’s president, Hu Jintao, Mr Obama touched upon human rights in general and in particular on Tibet, but did not publicly test the leader of China, which is using its relatively stable economic status as leverage against criticism of domestic and foreign policies.

On Tibet, Mr Obama said he backs early resumption of talks between Beijing and representatives of the Dalai Lama. “We did note that while we recognise that Tibet is part of the People’s Republic of China, the United States supports the early resumption of dialogue” between envoys of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader and Beijing, Mr Obama said. “I spoke to President Hu about America’s bedrock beliefs that all men and women possess certain fundamental human rights.”

“We do not believe that these principles are unique to America, but rather they are universal rights and that they should be available to all peoples, to all ethnic and religious minorities,” Mr Obama said during the press conference.

A joint statement issued after their talks suggested little if any progress was made on the rights issue during the leaders’ discussions. “Both sides recognised that the United States and China have differences on the issue of human rights,” the statement said.

However, it added that the two sides agreed to resume a human rights dialogue in Washington before the end of February.

“We will continue to act in the spirit of equality, mutual respect, and a non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, and engage in dialogue and exchanges on such issues as human rights and religion in order to enhance understanding, reduce differences, and broaden common ground,” Mr Hu said at the press conference.

The Dalai Lama fled Chinese-ruled Tibet more than 50 years ago and is seen by Beijing as a separatist seeking independence for his Himalayan homeland, an accusation that the Buddhist monk has vehemently denied.

The Dalai Lama’s office in his home in exile in the Indian hilltown of Dharamshala said the spiritual leader was willing to engage China in further dialogue in his quest for “meaningful autonomy” for Tibet.

In the key policy speech of his nine-day Asia trip in Japan last weekend, Mr Obama did not specifically mention Tibet.

Mr Obama also discussed Iran’s and Noth Korea’s nuclear programmes and climate change with Mr Hu.

China and the United States agree Iran must show its nuclear programme is peaceful and transparent, Mr Obama said, though Mr Hu was more guarded on the dispute.

Iran’s nuclear programme, which western powers have said appears to be for the production of nuclear weapons, a charge Iran denies, was among the issues on the table during Mr Obama’s trip to China, one of Iran’s strongest trade partners.

“We agreed that the Islamic Republic of Iran must provide assurance to the international community that its nuclear programme is peaceful and transparent,” Mr Obama said at the news conference.

“We both stressed that to uphold the international nuclear non-proliferation regime and to appropriately resolve the Iranian nuclear issue through dialogue and negotiations is very important to stability in the Middle East and the Gulf region,” Mr Hu said.

On the subject of North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme, both countries want talks to resume “as soon as possible”, Mr Obama said. “We agreed on the importance of resuming the six-party talks process as soon as possible.”

In April, North Korea quit the talks on dismantling its nuclear programmes. The following month it staged its second atomic weapons test, attracting tougher UN sanctions. But Pyongyang said recently it was ready to return to the talks, which are hosted by China, provided there was progress in upcoming bilateral discussions with the United States.

Mr Obama said North Korea faced a choice. “It can continue down the path of confrontation and provocation that has led to less security, less prosperity, and more isolation from the global community, or it can choose to become a full member of the international community,” he said.

* With reporting by Agence France-Presse and Reuters