As his autobiography rapidly becomes a remainder, these quotes remind us of Tony Blair's very selective concern for human rights.
Jeremy Paxman: So there is a distinctive British foreign policy. Does it have an ethical dimension still?
Blair: Of course it does, yeah.
Paxman: How then can you publicly endorse a country which bans political parties, bans trade unions and uses institutional torture?
Blair: The country being?
Paxman: Saudi Arabia? You called it a friend of the civilised world.
Blair: Yes, but it is also important to realise that if we want a secure progress in the Middle East, we should work with Saudi Arabia. I don't decide— An ethical foreign policy doesn't mean that you try to decide the government of every country of the world. You can't do that.
Paxman: You called it a friend of the civilised world.
Blair: It is. In my view, what it is doing in respect of the Middle East now—
Paxman: It chops people's arms off. It tortures people.
Blair: They have their culture, their way of life.
And another occasion
Time Magazine: Your wife chaired a press conference about the treatment of women in Afghanistan. What about Saudi Arabia? Do you approve of the way women are treated there?
Blair: I'm not going to get in the business of attacking the Saudi system.
Time: But you do attack the Afghan system.
Blair: yes, but we are in a conflict with the Taliban regime...At. the present time I don't think it's very helpful for us to tell the Saudis how they should live
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