Emily Rauhala, and Anton Troianovski, The Washington Post; The world has a question for the White House: When do murders matter?
[Kip Currier: The price of
freedom of speech and a free press can be incredibly high. This was indelibly
illuminated these past few weeks via the brutal murder of Saudi journalist
Jamal Khashoggi, whose last piece What
the Arab world needs most is free expression was published this week in The
Washington Post, as well as via subsequent ham-handed and obfuscatory cover-up
tactics by the responsible "masterminds", perpetrators, accomplices, and apologists, both domestic and global.
It's equally important that we remember other fact-seekers who have suffered
and continue to suffer injustice and death for seeking and reporting
information: Panama
Papers investigative reporter Daphne
Caruana Galizia who was killed last year in a bomb blast while investigating
corruption in Malta; Viktoria
Marinova who was reporting on corruption and was raped and killed this
month in Bulgaria; Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo who were shedding
light on the plight of Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims and were recently sentenced
to 7 years in prison for collecting and obtaining "confidential
documents"; and myriad others.
Every day, and especially at times like these when the world is watching the
aftermath of efforts to silence reporter and free expression advocate Jamal
Khashoggi, while, unintentionally and paradoxically, elevating him to a
worldwide audience, what our leaders say--and don't say--is of profound
importance in communicating our most cherished values, and where our
"lines in the sand" are on free speech, free and independent presses,
truth, accountability, and the value of human life.
Leaders must remember that we and all of the world are watching to see what
is done and is not done in matters of human rights and the rule of law. We must
continue to hold them responsible for their action and inaction. History and
future generations will as well.]
"For nearly three weeks, the world has watched
President Trump downplay the disappearance and apparent slaying of
journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and waited for the most powerful man in the
world to act. They are waiting still.
Trump’s
inconsistent and cautious remarks about the case have renewed questions
about U.S. credibility and complicated the global response, emboldening
adversaries such as Russia and China and discouraging robust action by
traditional allies, according to analysts and former U.S. officials.
“This
is a drastic break from American practice,” said Vali R. Nasr, dean of
the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. “It signals a
very different foreign policy that does not hold governments
accountable for things that are outside normal legal or ethical
parameters.”
“In
effect,” he added, “The U.S. is setting a new standard for itself” —
and in so doing, may be setting a new standard for the world."
