Exactly one week ago the US government issued its report on human rights with the findings of 2008. Europe was not absent from it. Some of the problems found were in Belgium accused of discrimination on the labor market; neonazi extremism in Austria and abuses against Gypsies in nine EU countries. The American State Department, the branch of the US government which issues these reports, said that the Belgian government “generally respected the human rights of its citizens,” but found several problems, such as overcrowded prisons, lengthy pretrial detention, poor detention conditions prior to expulsion and “ethnic discrimination in the job market.” Causes of concern in Austria were the “right wing extremism and xenophobia directed against ethnic minorities.” And in nine other European countries- Italy, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania and Bulgaria- discrimination and even violence against Gypsies were found to be on the rise.
When I commented these finds with European acquaintances, there was not so much denial as there was surprise that the Americans with their prisons in Iran and Afghanistan and specially with Guantanamo, not to talk about what might be happening in their own country with minorities and illegal immigrants there were still ready to accuse other countries.
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