Biden’s biased ‘Summit for Democracy’
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The US State Department has released a list of countries invited to attend its virtual Summit for Democracy next month, which includes "Israel" among more than 100 others.
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US government has sparked tensions from several countries by generating an invite list that appears to divide the world.
About 110 countries will join a two-day "Summit for Democracy", on Thursday, convened by President Biden, with the goal of "rallying the nations of the world against the forces of authoritarianism."
Despite a robust denial by the White House of any such goal, the US government has sparked tensions and indignation from several countries by generating an invite list that appears to divide the world into good guys and bad guys — even though the world is far from binary.
Shanthi Kalathil, the National Security Council's coordinator for democracy and human rights, has been evasive about how the White House made such demands for the event.
Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, said Monday, “Inclusion or an invitation is not a stamp of approval on their approach to democracy — nor is exclusion a stamp of the opposite of that, of disapproval.”
Unsurprisingly, America’s main rivals China and Russia are not on it.
Also, Turkey, a NATO ally of the United States whose President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was dubbed an “autocrat” by Biden, did not make the list.
Some of the excluded countries, like Hungary, aren't buying it; the country's officials, for example, claim they're being punished for their ties to former President Donald Trump.
Hungary is the ugly duckling
Last week, Hungary, as the only EU member left out, tried to block EU official Ursula von der Leyen from speaking on behalf of the bloc at the summit. Von der Leyen is speaking regardless, but the EU’s formal statement at the event, which requires buy-in from all of its members, will be pared back.
The Hungarian Embassy in Washington said the Biden administration’s decision was “disrespectful.”
“Hungarian-American relations were at their peak during the Trump presidency, and it is clear from the list of the invited countries that the summit will be a domestic political event,” the embassy said in a statement to The Washington Post.
“Therefore countries that were on friendly terms with the previous administration were not invited.”
"Israel" invited to the 'Summit of Democracy'
The occupation state that has been committing crimes against humanity for years, has been invited to the summit.
The US completely ignored that the Israeli occupation has been called out for its crimes against humanity and proceeded with the invitation.
It is worth noting that 'Israel's' ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, tore to pieces the Human Rights Council report, from the rostrum of the International Organization's General Assembly in New York.
The President of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Nazhat Shameem Khan, presented her annual report to members, during a session at the United Nations General Assembly.
The report condemned "the Israeli crimes committed against the Palestinians, especially in the Gaza Strip."
In the Middle East, only "Israel" and Iraq were invited. The traditional Arab allies of the US, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, were all excluded.
Biden, "the global Santa"
This official added that the United States does not purport to be “the arbiter” of democratic legitimacy, which is born, rather, from “a country’s population.” Psaki said the White House is not trying to pass judgment or proclaim superiority.
“You’re always trying to make yourself better, to lead better, to push other countries to be better, and this is an opportunity to do exactly that,” Psaki said. “I understand, of course, the interest in the invite list, but it’s not meant to be, again, a stamp of approval or disapproval — it’s just meant to have a diverse range of voices and faces and representatives at the discussion.”
But that is not how a lot of countries are viewing it. They see Biden, as a global Santa Claus, declaring that specific countries are naughty or nice, and will be treated accordingly.
Trump's naughty-nice list
Former President Donald Trump also spoke positively about Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro and the Philippines’s Rodrigo Duterte, both of whom have been invited to the summit — and of Egypt’s Abdel Fatah al-Sissi and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has not.
It is worth noting that this year’s summit will be held virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic. The White House is also inviting activist and business groups, and officials have been engaging nongovernmental organizations for roughly six months, the senior administration official said.
