Protests against police brutality have benn taking place in many states including
in New York city. United Nations / Shirin Yaseen
Caribbean Life, June 5-11, 2020 3
By Nelson A. King
Caribbean American Democratic Congresswoman
Yvette D. Clarke has strongly
criticized United States President Donald
J. Trump for continuing to fan the
flames of racism.
Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican
immigrants, on Wednesday accused
Trump of “mishandling instances of targeted
police brutality and protests across
the nation” in the wake of the killing of
George Floyd for a white police officer in
Minneapolis.
“45 did not create the systemic racism
that has caused this moment, but he has
spent three years fanning the flames of
hatred and spent the last week emboldening
the police to continue their wanton
aggression against peaceful protestors,”
Clarke, who represents the 9th Congressional
District in Brooklyn, told Caribbean
Life, alluding to Trump, the 45th
President of the United States.
“As the nation continues to try to
survive the COVID-19 pandemic, a crisis
substantially exacerbated by a lack of
executive leadership, many Americans
have taken to the streets to voice deeply
held convictions about the longstanding,
nearly inherent inequities of our system,”
she added.
“The reaction of the executive branch
exposes an underlying truth that both
sides of the aisle could likely agree on:
The White House is more concerned with
order than justice,” Clarke continued.
“By declaring himself the ‘law and
order President,’ 45 has dug deeper into
the open wounds that have plagued this
nation since its founding and has long
since abdicated any responsibility he has
regarding the moral leadership of the
nation,” she said.
On Wednesday, the Office of Minneapolis
Attorney General Keith Ellison
upgraded charges against Officer Derek
Chauvin who knelt on Floyd’s neck for
nearly nine minutes.
By Nelson A. King
The United Nations Human Rights
chief on Wednesday urged the United
States to address deep-seated grievances
in order to move beyond the history
of racism and violence.
UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights Michelle Bachelet said in a statement
that voices calling for an end to
“the endemic and structural racism
that blights US society” must be heard
and understood for the country to move
past its “tragic history of racism and
violence.”
“The voices calling for an end to the
killings of unarmed African Americans
need to be heard,” she said. “The voices
calling for an end to police violence
need to be heard.”
The UN noted that protests first
erupted in the US on May 25 after video
footage went viral on social media of a
white police officer in the city of Minneapolis
kneeling on the neck of 46-yearold
African American George Floyd, for
more than eight minutes, causing his
death while in police custody.
Over the past week, the UN said tens
of thousands of demonstrators have
since taken to the streets of more than
300 US cities, as well as other large
urban centers around the world, to take
part in mostly peaceful protests, calling
for racial justice.
But, often times, the UN said chaotic
streets have also borne witness to
looting, bloodshed and violent policing
tactics.
At all times, but especially during
a crisis, “a country needs its leaders
to condemn racism unequivocally,”
Bachelet underscored.
She said that those in charge must
also “reflect on what has driven people
to boiling point; to listen and learn;
and to take actions that truly tackle
inequalities.”
Bachelet said credible news reports
have revealed unnecessary and disproportionate
use of force by law enforcement
officers, including indiscriminate
use of less-lethal weapons and ammunition.
She said tear gas, rubber bullets and
pepper balls have been fired at peaceful
demonstrators and journalists, even in
some instances, when they were “clearly
retreating.”
The UN Human Rights Office
(OHCHR) said there have been at least
200 reported incidents of journalists
covering the protests being physically
attacked, intimidated or arbitrarily
arrested, despite clearly displayed press
credentials.
The UN rights chief flagged that
there has been “an unprecedented
assault on journalists,” saying that in
some cases, they have been attacked or
even arrested while on air.
“It is all the more shocking given
that freedom of expression and of the
media are fundamental principles in
the US, central to the country’s identity,”
Bachelet said. “I call on the authorities
at all levels to ensure the message
is clearly understood – reporters must
be able to do their important work, free
from attacks or repression.”
With injuries and deaths sustained
by both protesters and police alike, the
High Commissioner repeated her calls
to demonstrators to peacefully express
their demands for justice, and for the
police to “take the utmost care not to
enflame the situation.”
“Violence, looting and the destruction
of property and neighborhoods
won’t solve the problem of police brutality
and entrenched discrimination,”
she said, calling for independent, transparent
investigations.
Bachelet also voiced concern over
statements that have label protesters
as terrorists or delegitimize peaceful
demonstrating, saying, “there can be
no doubt as to what or who is ‘behind’
these protests.”
She pointed to the “thousands upon
thousands of peaceful protesters” as
well as police officers and National
Guard troops, who have responded
without resorting to violence, and exercised
restraint.
Bachelet said the anger in the US,
erupting as “the coronavirus (COVID-
19) exposes glaring inequalities in society
and following the loss of more than
100,000 lives to the deadly disease,
illustrates why far-reaching reforms
and inclusive dialogue are needed” to
break the cycle of impunity for unlawful
police killings and racial bias in
policing.
Moreover, she maintained the need
for “a profound examination” of wideranging
issues, including socio-economic
factors and deep-seated discrimination.
“To move forward,” the UN rights
chief said, “communities must be able
to participate in shaping decisions that
affect them and be able to air their
grievances.”
Meanwhile, High Representative for
the UN Alliance of Civilizations Miguel
Ángel Moratinos said that the death
of George Floyd in police custody is
“another reminder that racism – and
all forms of discrimination based on
religion, ethnicity, color, or gender – is
also a pandemic.”
Audrey Azoulay, Director-General
of the UN’s educational and scientific
organization, UNESCO, stressed
that racism “kills, jeopardizes social
contract, undermines the future and
destroys societies from inside.
“The fight against racism begins in
the minds of men and women, through
quality education,” she declared.
Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke.
Photo by Nelson A. King
UN Rights chief urges US to
address deep-seated grievances
Trump
continues to
fan flames of
racism: Clarke