International attorney Robert Amsterdam was interviewed on the Montel Williams show on the Air America Radio Network, Friday, November 13th, about the unjust detention and trial of Singapore opposition leader Dr. Chee Soon Juan, who, Mr. Amsterdam stated, was arrested for doing nothing more than walking.
Mr. Amsterdam’s law firm, Amsterdam and Peroff, had just issued a widely publicized white paper November 5th regarding Singapore’s human rights abuses and treatment of Dr. Chee, which reportedly embarrassed the Singapore government during President Obama’s visit and exposed what Amsterdam called the ludicrous charges brought against the leader of the Singapore Democratic Party. Mr. Amsterdam expressed disappointment that while President Obama had a perfect opportunity during his trip to address human rights or to meet the leaders of the opposition, he never even mentioned the concerns of the opposition or took the trouble to meet with any of them. It is also worrisome, he contends, that the Singapore model of government, which represses freedom of speech and freedom of the press, is the very model which the Chinese and Russian governments talk about following. “Americans should not be silent about what’s going on there,” he said.
Amsterdam said if he were advising President Obama, "I would tell him that, as important as Singapore is to us, he should try to meet with leaders from the other parties there, such as the Young Democrats. It is not good for us to kowtow to various governments on issues of human rights because the one-party rule in Singapore will become a liability for our government in terms of its own reckoning of human rights and eventually, its freedom of speech. Obama is a living example of what a fair election demonstrates. Mr. Obama or Secretary of State Clinton should have given the leader of the opposition party, Secretary-General Chee Soon Juan at least five minutes of his time. This would also be important for Asian democracies looking specifically for what the U.S can offer.” He said he was also concerned that on her recent China trip, the Secretary of State bypassed the topic of human rights and got away with it.
“It is surprising how many of these opportunities are being lost. It seems that the Democratic Party ignores the issue of human rights at a cost to all of us. Barack Obama is a shining example to the world of what can happen when democracy functions. I believe there was a redemptive quality to the '08 election but that Obama's moral authority is being squandered. There is an unwillingness on his part to exert moral leadership.”
On another topic--the Chavez agenda in Venezuela expropriating entire industries--he said, “Why is Obama going-along-to get-along with some of these awful regimes? I don’t think foreign policy was this President's strong suit in spite of the fact that many in his administration have definite views.”
Amsterdam expressed deep saddness with Obama’s lack of action on many foreign policy issues . “He is literally one of best speakers in modern history and he has done amazing outreach to the Arab world, for example, but then there’s not lot of follow through. Now I turn off the television when he speaks because I am so disappointed that a man who sounds like that has done so little about these issues…Let’s hope the situation changes and we get during the second half of his term what we thought we would get during the first part."
Mr. Amsterdam’s law firm, Amsterdam and Peroff, had just issued a widely publicized white paper November 5th regarding Singapore’s human rights abuses and treatment of Dr. Chee, which reportedly embarrassed the Singapore government during President Obama’s visit and exposed what Amsterdam called the ludicrous charges brought against the leader of the Singapore Democratic Party. Mr. Amsterdam expressed disappointment that while President Obama had a perfect opportunity during his trip to address human rights or to meet the leaders of the opposition, he never even mentioned the concerns of the opposition or took the trouble to meet with any of them. It is also worrisome, he contends, that the Singapore model of government, which represses freedom of speech and freedom of the press, is the very model which the Chinese and Russian governments talk about following. “Americans should not be silent about what’s going on there,” he said.
Amsterdam said if he were advising President Obama, "I would tell him that, as important as Singapore is to us, he should try to meet with leaders from the other parties there, such as the Young Democrats. It is not good for us to kowtow to various governments on issues of human rights because the one-party rule in Singapore will become a liability for our government in terms of its own reckoning of human rights and eventually, its freedom of speech. Obama is a living example of what a fair election demonstrates. Mr. Obama or Secretary of State Clinton should have given the leader of the opposition party, Secretary-General Chee Soon Juan at least five minutes of his time. This would also be important for Asian democracies looking specifically for what the U.S can offer.” He said he was also concerned that on her recent China trip, the Secretary of State bypassed the topic of human rights and got away with it.
“It is surprising how many of these opportunities are being lost. It seems that the Democratic Party ignores the issue of human rights at a cost to all of us. Barack Obama is a shining example to the world of what can happen when democracy functions. I believe there was a redemptive quality to the '08 election but that Obama's moral authority is being squandered. There is an unwillingness on his part to exert moral leadership.”
On another topic--the Chavez agenda in Venezuela expropriating entire industries--he said, “Why is Obama going-along-to get-along with some of these awful regimes? I don’t think foreign policy was this President's strong suit in spite of the fact that many in his administration have definite views.”
Amsterdam expressed deep saddness with Obama’s lack of action on many foreign policy issues . “He is literally one of best speakers in modern history and he has done amazing outreach to the Arab world, for example, but then there’s not lot of follow through. Now I turn off the television when he speaks because I am so disappointed that a man who sounds like that has done so little about these issues…Let’s hope the situation changes and we get during the second half of his term what we thought we would get during the first part."
