America’s next president will have quite a task: boosting our international standing.
In an effort to get the ball rolling, Equality Forum asked Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton if they would help persuade British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to stay 19-year old Iranian Mehdi Kazemi’s deportation.
Kazemi’s been shuttled back and forth between Britain and The Netherlands as the government decides whether to send him home, where he’ll likely face an execution.
Hillary Clinton’s campaign says they’ve already discussed the matter with Brown and are “encouraged to learn that the deportation order for Mr. Kazemi has been deferred and is now under review.” A staffer also said they will follow the story as it develops. That’s hardly uplifting, but it’s better than nothing.
Barack Obama, meanwhile, offered a far lengthier statement, which Washington Blade helps paraphrase:
How about we take this to the next level?
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Obama’s campaign, the first to respond, said in a statement Monday that the senator “believes that the United States and countries around the world have both a legal and a moral obligation to protect victims of persecution based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
“Under an Obama administration, the United States will lead by setting a strong example, which includes making clear that asylum for persecuted people is a bedrock principle of American and international law,” says the statement. “Moreover, Obama will exert diplomatic pressure and employ other foreign policy tools to encourage other nations to address human rights abuses and atrocities committed against LGBT men and women.”
John McCain did not offer his support or even a statement. Shocking, right?
Charley
What bullshit. Neither will remember Mr. Kazemi once they get in the White House saying it is a matter for the British Prime Minister to decide and that they have no jurisdiction.
FreeMe
It is for the British people to decide and the U.S. does not have jurisdiction.
Rather than posing a question which forces the candidates to interject their (U.S.’s) opinions in the immigration policies of a foreign, soverign country, why not just ask them to assist Kazemi in obtaining asylum here in the U.S? They are U.S. senators afterall.
Would anyone be willing to bet that this never would be an issue if Mr. Kazemi was say from…Bangladesh?
Leland Frances
EXCUUUSE me, Obama Girls, but you need to reread the article.
All the head of Equality Forum got from Obama was more pretty words. “Ben LaBolt, an Obama campaign spokesperson, would not say whether Obama planned to write to Brown on the issue, as Equality Forum requested.” That is, NOTHING! By the time “an Obama administration” could begin Kazemi’s dangling corpse could already be drawing flies. But, hey, maybe he’d like an Obama 08 t-shirt.
Appreciate your acknowledging that Sen. Clinton’s campaign had “already discussed the matter with Brown,” verifying that the deportation has been at least deferred, which is REALLY SOMETHING.
Chris
They should request to deport Jacqui Smith to Iran.
Ian J UK
I don’t think we should pick on Jacqui Smith, we should be an equal oppotunity deporter.
Lets just deport anybody who has ever expressed a desire to get elected to anything….
That way we won’t miss any of the bigots!
CitizenGeek
Wow, Barack Obama is so fantastic. The world, and not just the US, needs a leader like him!