CASES OF KARAPETIAN AND PELIVAN AS MORALITY CHECK FOR OBAMA ADMINISTRATION RADIO FREE EUROPE TO FACE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS
By Hrant Darbinian
AZG Armenian Daily
29/07/2009
Human Rights
There is less foreign detainees placed in legal vacuum at the
U.S. naval base on Guantanamo, Cuba, than foreign journalists deprived
of legal protections by the U.S. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in
Prague, Czech Republic. Still remaining at Guantanamo 228 foreign
inmates, are considered to be "enemy combatants" dangerous to the
United States. Void of legal defenses foreign journalists at RFE/RL
were on April 5th personally prized by Obama’s Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton for their contribution to "a broad international
agreement with values that respect human dignity, individual rights
and responsibilities". Is it cynicism, insensitivity, immorality?
Guantanamo v. RFE/RL There are differences, of course. It is, first of
all, the degree of sincerity. Inmates at Guantanamo were never promised
the protection of American laws. Guantanamo, notes the New York-based
Center for Constitutional Rights, was "intended to hold individuals
outside of the rule of domestic or international law". At Guantanamo,
the purpose was brutally honest. The intention of RFE/RL and its
governing Federal Agency in Washington, the Broadcasting Board of
Governors (BBG), to the contrary, was fraudulently deceptive. Foreign
employees of RFE/RL, which broadcasts in 28 languages to 21 countries,
have uniform employment agreements "governed by the applicable laws
of the United States, the laws of the District of Columbia, or the
policies of the Company". Sounds good.
The problem is that, unlike American citizens, the foreigners
hired by RFE/RL, the U.S. company abroad, are, by American law,
exempt from legal protection in the United States – regardless of
what their employer served them in work contracts. They are, to use
the expression of respectable Czech newspaper Lidove noviny, the
"rightless aborigines" hired by "colonial power". After protracted
litigation, Czech courts accepted the position represented by RFE/RL:
the Czech labor law does not protect foreign journalists who signed
the contracts governed by American law (inapplicable) also. In plain
language: they are in legal vacuum with no defense in any national
courts, American or Czech.
As we reported earlier (AZG, #86), U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder
has been officially requested by two former RFE/RL employees to open
criminal investigation of the fraudulent personnel practice of BBG and
RFE/RL. Anna Karapetian, an Armenian citizen, and Snjezana Pelivan, a
Croatian, who, as foreigners, cannot challenge unmotivated terminations
of their employment in the American Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission, American and Czech courts, are asking Obama’s Minister
of Justice to look into their rightless status intentionally hoaxed
by RFE/RL. The same no-rights-to-foreigners status have hundreds of
their former colleagues hired in Prague by American "human rights"
radio – Iranians, Russians, Arabs, Ukrainians, Georgians, Uzbeks,
Azeris, Byelorussians, etc. Instead of contractually promised to them
protection by American laws, they are exposed only to wishy-washy
"policies of the Company". It means: to be fired at any time,
without prior warning, without any stated reason, regardless of
family situation or health condition, positive performance reviews
notwithstanding, with no preliminary disciplinary measures applied (if
deserved), with no severance unless one gives up in writing the right
to question the termination. Just as Anna Karapetian, the mother of
three minors, and Snjezana Pelivan were fired. At different times but
in the same fashion – arbitrary. And in total contradiction to Czech
laws protective to the weaker party in labor relations – to employee.
Court Cases Against RFE/RL as Failure in Public Diplomacy The
Center for Constitutional Rights, a non-profit legal and educational
organization, calls Guantanamo "the human rights disaster". By the
same token, BBG and RFE/RL can be called a human rights hoax. But they
also are what Guantanamo was never meant to be – a highly visible
tool of American public diplomacy. In that capacity they failed
miserably. Their failure is multilingual, international, public,
thunderous, and with no end in sight.
Lawsuits against RFE/RL brought in Czech courts by Anna Karapetian and
Snjezana Pelivan received an unprecedented media echo – in Russian,
English, Czech, Armenian, Serbo-Croatian. The list of negative media
publications is virtually endless. Here are some headlines, to mention
but a few: "Czech Sovereignty Ends at RFE/RL", "Free Europe With Its
Own Laws in Colonial Czech Republic?", "Radio Liberty Betrays its
Ideals", "Radio Free Europe – Guantanamo in Prague", "Equality With
Precondition. Practice of Free Europe Contradicts Its Ideals", "From
Human Rights Show to Human Rights Court", "Public Disaster Instead
of Public Diplomacy", "Prague Spring of 2009 Leads to Strasbourg",
"U.S. Attorney General is Asked to Investigate Fraud at RFE/RL",
"Doomsday of Radio Liberty. From Double Standards to Double Morals?",
"New Administration Must Undo RFE/RL Anti-Diplomacy Abroad", "BBG,
RFE/RL: Bring Public Diplomats Instead of Public Bureaucrats",
"Don’t Feed Kremlin’s Public Diplomacy With U.S. Public Hypocrisy",
"A Sense of Betrayal", etc.
The most devious anti-American mind would not be able to design
such an international media campaign devastating to RFE/RL and,
by natural extension, to American image and trustworthiness abroad,
as the American RFE/RL managed to cause on its own.
It is worth to note that this already incessant media coverage of the
lawsuits only precedes the actual submission of legal claims against
RFE/RL to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. Snjezana
Pelivan whose case is the first to go to Strasbourg, will formally
apply to the European Court by September 16th as dictates the European
Conventions for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms. Karapetian’s application will follow. Predictable: the
avalanche of indignant media voices in support of discriminated
colleagues will follow too. Their tenor is just as easily predictable
(see above): hypocrisy, betrayal of ideals, violation of human rights,
lawlessness, double standards, moral disaster, fraud, cynicism.
On June 3rd, an authoritative American website "Understanding
Government" called for out-of-court settlements of "the unfortunate
and unpopular legal disputes" that cause "headaches for the Obama
Administration and especially for Secretary of state Clinton", and
reported: "The Croatian and Armenian governments are supporting their
lawsuits" (in Strasbourg – H.D.). It makes the international scandal
perfect. Incidentally, Board of Directors and National Advisory Council
of "Understanding Government" includes, among other prominent names,
two former White House press secretaries, Pulitzer prize winners,
former state governors, Harvard and Yale University professors.
BBG, RFE/RL: Blind, Deaf, and Illiterate?
But who are they – those myopic American officials who manage BBG
and run RFE/RL with such a harm to not only the institutions to them
entrusted, but also to ethical standing of the American Congress
that provides them with public dollars, and to moral integrity of
Obama Administration?
Concerning BBG that yearly distributes close to 700 million dollars to
all U.S. non-military broadcasters worldwide, including RFE/RL, the
most realistic answer is bewildering and disheartening. It may sound
as the line from a B-rated horror movie, but BBG, which according
to the latest official survey is ranked as the worst place of work
in American government, practically does not exist. At present,
it is a host Agency. Service terms of all eight BBG members assigned
still by President Bush, have expired. Four of them, including the BBG
chairman, long ago had left the chairs. The remaining four are working
on temporary extensions. Collectively, they may form a decision able
quorum only together with Hillary Clinton. As the serving Secretary of
State, she is an ex officio the ninth, i.e. presently the fifth member
of BBG. However, as American media notes, Clinton is represented at
BBG meetings (if any) by her Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and
Public Affaires Judith McHale who is new in the government.
Still, are they all blind to see, deaf to hear, illiterate to
read what’s going on around RFE/RL in Europe? Of course, they are
not. But do they really care after expiration of their tenure? And is
Mrs. McHale, a novice at the very beginning of her tenure, daring and
bold enough to push for the revision of fallacious RFE/RL personnel
policies established by BBG? Evident answer to those questions
is "no". Evident result of that answer is "damage". Damage to
reputation of RFE/RL as institution of public diplomacy, damage to
ethical standing of U.S. Congress, damage to moral trustworthiness
of Obama’s White House with its promises to show the world "the best
face of America".
But what about RFE/RL president Geffrey Gedmin? Cannot he himself
stop the scandalous lawsuits against his organization by simply
offering fair out-of-court settlements? Was not he disturbed even by
unprecedented in RFE/RL history recent plenary hearings on the Radio’s
discriminative personnel policies held by Czech parliament? Or is
it him who is blind, deaf, illiterate? Hardly. He permanently writes
and speaks, signs correctly formulated collective letters about the
importance of human rights in American politics — and requests more
money. Is he too passive to act? Not at all. For instance, last May
he traveled to Byelorussia and then let it be known how he was upset
because president Lukashenka did not accept him. Well, Lukashenka,
just as Fidel Castro earlier, also did not accept the Czech senator
Jaromir Stetina who personally protested the trampling on human rights
in Byelorussia and Cuba. Such are they, antidemocratic presidents. But
why RFE/RL president did not even bother to answer the letter of the
same senator Stetina who, alarmed by media reports of human rights
violations at RFE/RL, asked him, Geffrey Gedmin, to look personally
into the court cases brought against the Radio, in order "to protect
the reputation and integrity of RFE/RL in the Czech Republic"? How to
explain that? In his book "Dreams from My Father" published fourteen
years ago Barack Obama wrote how he learned "to disdain the blend
of ignorance and arrogance that too often characterized Americans
abroad". Belongs Mr. Gedmin to that breed? Questions… The simple
truth is that, whatever the answers are, RFE/RL president is simply a
powerless representative figure, for RFE/RL major personnel policies
are formulated by the Office of Human Resources of BBG and not by
the Human Resources Department of RFE/RL.
The vicious circle is closed here. The court cases of Snjezana Pelivan
and Anna Karapetian remain open.
Hospitality Could Be Expensive. To the Host RFE/RL became a litmus
paper and moral test for Obama Administration. It is natural, even
mandatory for modern-days American presidents to speak about rule
of law and human rights – be it Richard Nixon, George Bush or Barack
Obama. It is not easy for any American president to follow human rights
compass in daily political decisions and practical actions – as was
amply demonstrated by Jimmy Carter, the champion of well-meant human
rights pronouncements. But it is rather immoral to tolerate glaring
violations of human rights by American institutions established and
financed by public money in order to further and support the broad
spectrum of human rights. Unfortunately, it seems that six month
after Obama’s inauguration, such is the case of hypocritical RFE/RL
and virtually defunct BBG neglected by U.S. Department of State.
On June 17th, Washington Post wrote that President Obama is
preparing the list of new BBG appointees for approval by the Senate,
as prescribed by the International Broadcasting Act. The newspaper
expects that BBG soon will be reset into working mode. By today,
however, the hearings on BBG assignments are not in the work schedule
of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
In the meantime, it is the Obama’s government, in particular his
Secretary of State as the member of not only BBG but also RFE/RL Board
of Directors, that is able (and probably should) act without further
procrastination: to stop by prudent peaceful offer the court cases
against irresponsible and impotent RFE/RL before they reach European
Court of Human Rights. Ever broadening international scandal already
at hand, may be only exacerbated by the fact that it is the hospitable
to RFE/RL Czech Republic that will be formally sued in Strasbourg for
tolerating on its territory Guantanamo-like human rights violations
by American human rights institution. What a sad irony!