Opinion
Rule of law, the principles of Western civilization, international conventions. Words are charitable; their fragile reality deceives and comforts us. We, however, are civilized only to the extent that we do not trumpet our slaughterhouses – 123 countries around the word interrogate and impose their power via torture – 90 of them in a systematic fashion. The more advanced countries consider these acts to be a crime when on their territory but they foster their use outside their borders, making huge profits from them. Now that the debate over the return of torture as a counterterrorist method has resurged, will the technology that is exported by the cradles of civilization to the non-liberal regimes also be used under them? For, as it is widely known, one of the most profitable industries of the last 20 years has been that of the manufacture of modern torture mechanisms. Humanitarian organizations have located more than 100 such companies which sell electroshock instruments for police use – at $200 each…. And since, officially, the USA and other nations do not export such devices to countries that violate human rights, the traders of torture instruments and of the ultimate humiliation of human dignity find other ways to sell their goods by establishing the window of their business – production and exports – in other countries like Russia, Mexico and Taiwan… Let us not delude ourselves, there will always be floods. Sometimes, because technology does not offer complete protection against nature; sometimes, because we lack the necessary funds to exploit available technology to the fullest. The point is to clearly define the risk and prevent disasters stemming from minor causes. The first presupposes that the State is frank enough to say what it guarantees and what it does not, while the second presupposes its readiness to monitor and punish individuals whose trespasses undermine public safety.
