While claiming democracy US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken remained silent about the arrest of 550 students in the recent protests in the country’s universities due to Israel’s war in Gaza.
although he claimed that these protests are a sign of American democracy and urged the protesters to protest against Hamas as well.
United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinken claimed on Friday local time that protests at American universities because of the war in Gaza are a sign of American democracy.
At a press conference Blinken, in response to a question about the student protests in the United States about Gaza, claimed that he understands that the war has provoked “passionate feelings” and that the Biden administration is doing everything possible to stop the war.
According to the Reuters report, about 550 people have been arrested since the beginning of protests against Israel’s war in Gaza under the title of “Gaza solidarity movement” from Columbia University in New York and its spread to other American universities.
Blinken said: “In our country, it is one of the hallmarks of democracy that citizens can express their views, concerns and anger whenever they want, and I believe this is a manifestation of the power of the country and the power of democracy.”
At the same time, Blinken criticized the fact that the students did not protest against the Hamas movement in these gatherings, and said that in these protests, “Hamas is so silent as if it is not even part of the story.”
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In a conversation with CNN after a three-day trip to China, in response to a question about pro-Palestinian demonstrations in American universities in recent days, the US foreign minister claimed to defend the right of Americans to protest and said that there were cases where there have been clear expressions of anti-Semitism, but “the protests are not anti-Semitic per se.”
“What we’re also seeing is people, young people, people from all walks of life who are very passionate and have very strong feelings about (the conflict),” Blinken said.
He also emphasized the importance of such expression in democracies. “In our country, our society and our democracy, it’s both appropriate and protected to comment on that,”
“Vedant Patel”, the Deputy Spokesperson of the US Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also commented on these protests and in response to a question about how you can not be accused of double standards, while you condemn the Iranian government for suppressing peaceful protesters, but your government suppressing peaceful protesters.
Do you not condemn Israel, which has demanded the suppression of peaceful demonstrations in America?
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He said: It’s not like no one in America has the right to criticize Israel. Everyone has the right to express their opinion according to the law. But it should be noted that commenting should not be accompanied by offensive language.
At the same time, to justify the suppression of students, Patel said that governors in different states make their own laws, but we have seen hateful statements against Jews in these gatherings.
The deputy spokesperson of the US State Department claimed: “I also have to say that there is no moral similarity between what Iran is doing and what a foreign leader is commenting on what is happening in another country.
” Iran’s government is one of the biggest abusers and perpetrators of human rights violations in the past decades. “All the spokesmen of this administration who talk about foreign policy issues are asked about things that are happening in other parts of the world.”
Avoiding questions on student repression in America and making justifications for it is nothing new for American officials. In the past too, whenever they has been asked about repression in their country, instead of giving answers, they has been ignoring the questions by raising questions about human rights violations and the state of democracy in other countries.
