Beijing, May 11: China today condemned as
"shocking" the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by US and British
troops and stressed that the incident showed that no country
could claim that its human rights policies were "perfect."
"The abuse of Iraqi prisoners by US and British
military personnel is shocking, and China condemns such action
that violates international conventions," Foreign Ministry
spokesman Liu Jianchao told reporters here.
Liu said that thorough investigation should be
carried out and those held responsible should be prosecuted
according to law.
He also said that the US and Britain should adhere to
the Geneva conventions and other international conventions,
and protect the basic human rights of Iraqi prisoners.
The spokesman also stressed that the abuse of
prisoners in Iraq fully brings out the fact that there may be
human rights issues in any country and regions.
"No country can be boasting of having the perfect
human rights situation. So we think that dialogue should be
the way to eliminate differences between different countries,"
he said when asked whether Washington has lost the moral high
ground in preaching human rights to Beijing.
China and the US are always at odds over Beijing's
human rights policies. The two confronted each other last
month at the UN Human Rights Commission annual meeting in
Geneva where Washington attempted to censure the communist
nation.
China, enraged by the US move, suspended all bilateral
dialogues on human rights and also defeated the draft motion
at the Geneva meet.
Bureau Report
