Human Rights Conference

In response to “U.S. to Push Human Rights Globally, Christopher Says” (June 15) on the human rights conference in Vienna, and your editorial (“Rights: Alien Idea in Much of World,” June 16):

The thoughts and ideas in Warren Christopher’s speech in Vienna were undoubtedly laudable and deserve to be supported. However, before we launch ourselves down the path of unending self-congratulation perhaps a little self-examination on the critical issue of human rights may be in order.

How does our government actually deal with known (some famous) human rights violators? Well, some are our most favored trading partners (e.g., China, Israel), some are at the very top of our foreign aid recipients list (e.g., Israel, Egypt), others we have military alliances or agreements with (e.g., Turkey, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia) and yet others are our newfound partners in our “new world order” (e.g., Syria, India). Consider along with these examples our feeble and ineffective stand on the worst current human rights disaster in the world, Bosnia, and we may find that the emperor has no clothes or at best is very skimpily dressed.

NAT SHAH

Norwalk

I was appalled at the statement made by Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas at the U.N. conference on human rights (“Idea of Human Rights for All Under Attack,” June 17). Alatas said that only national governments should be responsible for protecting human rights and that, in this context, “different economic, social and cultural realities and the unique value systems prevailing in each country should be taken into consideration.”

This statement, from an official of a country that invaded the tiny island nation of Timor in 1975 and declared the territory to be its 27th province, in violation of a U.N. resolution, has a funny odor to me.

That between 100,000 and 200,000 people have been murdered as a result of the Indonesian armed forces invasion, reign of terror and indiscriminate killing should be reason enough to remove Indonesia from the United Nations. In 1991, $200 million worth of U.S.-made arms were delivered to Indonesia. I guess I should be thankful that the country has so much oil and we will continue our close relations and friendship . . . not.

After living in Indonesia for four years, I can assure you that human rights violations abound without being addressed. Maybe we should examine some of the trade benefits we extend to the country, or the $90 million in foreign aid it receives yearly from the United States.

DAVID G. KNOWLES

Mission Viejo

In light of the horrific crimes against humanity committed by PLO leader Yasser Arafat, it took a tremendous amount of gall for him to criticize Israel before the U.N. World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna (“Double Standard on Palestinian Rights Charged by Arafat,” June 17).

In his remarks, Arafat implicitly made the anti-Semitic comparison between Israeli actions in the territories and the Nazi genocide against the Jews. Such rhetoric must be swiftly rejected and denounced by the international community.

It is outrageous that a man whose hands are stained with the blood of scores of innocent Israeli, Arab, American and European civilians would be granted such a prestigious podium from which to deliver a message of hate, while the conference organizers denied the same platform to the Dalai Lama to deliver a message of peace.

PAUL FISHBEIN, Chair

Regional Board, Orange County

Anti-Defamation League