With 'America First,' Trump mutes U.S. voice on human rights in Asia
Source: Reuters
#Trump Effect
November 2, 2017 / 1:57 PM / Updated 25 minutes ago
Matt Spetalnick, Prak Chan Thul
9 Min Read
WASHINGTON/PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Just days after the killing of a prominent Cambodian government critic last year during a crackdown by the country’s longtime leader, President Barack Obama dispatched Washington’s chief human rights envoy to Phnom Penh to attend the activist’s funeral.
In meetings with Cambodian authorities, then-Assistant Secretary of State Tom Malinowski warned the military not to intervene in the political turmoil or else crucial U.S. ties would suffer, sending a clear message that America stood behind the opposition.
It was one example of the kind of high-level, rapid-response U.S. diplomacy that President Donald Trump has so far avoided in Cambodia even as the Southeast Asian nation – together with many of its neighbors - has lurched increasingly away from the democratic path.
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The dominant view within Trump’s White House is that under his “America First” world-view human rights concerns related to allies and strategically important countries should be managed gently to avoid impeding job-creating business deals or undercutting security efforts such as isolating North Korea, several Trump aides said.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-trump-effect-asia-rights/with-america-first-trump-mutes-u-s-voice-on-human-rights-in-asia-idUSKBN1D22LJ?feedType=RSS&feedName=politicsNews&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social
FILE PHOTO: Rohingya refugees walk after crossing the Naf River at the Bangladesh-Myanmar border in Palang Khali, near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, November 2, 2017. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/File Photo
