U.N. envoy seeks progress in Myanmar on democracy, rights

Is Myanmar's government is the only one who guilty of committing human rights violations?

The governments of other countries are also notorious bullies and human rights offenders. If Myanmar were asked to explain the continued detention of pro-democracy leaders, it can always retort by inquiring about the torture of suspects in Indonesia, the crackdown on bloggers in Malaysia, censorship in Thailand and killings with impunity in the Philippines.

We may even accuse the United States when it comes to failure to protect civil and political liberties, citing torture and other abuses inside the Guantanamo prison. The United States is also guilty of violating the rights of the Iraq people to secure their own freedom.

If Myanmar deserves to be punished for the rampant human rights violations, we should send the same message to other member nations.