Obama Votes Present on Human Rights Violations in Arab World

And to think that President Obama was reaching out to the Muslim world and trying to make them like us. How's that outreach working out for you, Mr. President?

It certainly isn't doing a great deal to make life easier for those in the Arab world, who incidentally are suffering increased rates of torture since Obama has entered the White House.

Now, we can't lay all the blame on our president for what goes on half a world away. But, at the same time, has he lifted a finger to put pressure on those in the Arab world to put a stop to their tortuous practices? Oh no! He wouldn't want to offend them.

Read about how Obama votes present when it comes to the suffering of his brothers and sisters in Arab countries, just as he did when Iranian freedom fighters were crying out for help from America after their corrupt June election.

From the Global Nation, via Atlas Shrugs:

Arab countries fail on human rights—report
By Samer al-Atrush

CAIRO, Egypt — "Human rights deteriorated across the Arab world in 2009 with torture widely practiced in several countries, an Arab watchdog said in a report released on Tuesday.

The report by the independent Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies surveyed 12 countries and said that most of them repressed human rights activists, press freedoms, and discriminated against religious minorities.

The state of human rights in the 12 countries—Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen—'has worsened compared to 2008,' the report said.

'Arab governments remained wedded to a broad array of repressive laws that undermine basic liberties,' compared to the previous year, said the report, 'Bastion of Impunity, Mirage of Reform.'

'Peaceful rotation of power through representative politics, and clean and competitive elections remained a dream in most countries covered by this report,' it said.

Egypt and Syria were singled out as leading offenders, with Cairo said to lead the region in practicing torture and Damascus for repressing rights activists.

'Egypt continued to top the list of countries in which torture is routinely and systematically practiced,' it said, adding that dozens had died in the country of torture or excessive force by police.

The report also found torture was 'routine' in Bahrain, 'rampant' in Tunisia, and practiced in Saudi Arabia against terrorism suspects.

Human rights advocates faced harassment in several Arab countries, with Syria, which has jailed dozens of democracy activists, holding the 'worst record in this regard.'

Religious and ethnic minorities also continued to suffer discrimination in several Arab countries, such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia, the report said.

'Despite the Saudi regime's attempt to appear to champion religious tolerance and interfaith dialogue in international forums, in practice the national religious police continue to exhibit violent behavior,' it said.

Egypt, where roughly 10 percent of the 80-million-strong population are Coptic Christians who frequently complain of discrimination, 'is increasingly acquiring the features of a religious state,' it added.

The report also said that US policies were 'wholly inimical to reform and human rights in the region,[ and accused President Barak Obama's administration of abandoning support for reform initiatives in the Arab world.

'The last spark of life in the initiatives was quashed once and for all with the arrival of a new US administration,' it said.

Bahey eldin Hassan, the rights group's director, said the 12 countries surveyed were indicative of the region."