Authoritarian regimes the world over reacted to protests with thinly disguised glee, noting scenes of unrest in Missouri undermined US credibility to criticise other countries on human rights

Russia, China and other authoritarian regimes around the world reacted to violent protests in Ferguson with thinly disguised glee and schadenfreude on Tuesday, noting that the scenes of unrest in Missouri undermined the US’s credibility to criticise other countries on human rights.



The liberal use of teargas by police, the firing of non-lethal rounds and the enveloping sense of chaos featured extensively in coverage by international state media, including the Kremlin-backed news channel Russia Today, which often concentrates on highlighting deficiencies in western society.

RT broadcast live from the scene and ran a picture-gallery from Ferguson under the headline: “Ferguson burning: Torched cars, tear gas, clashes in massive night riots (DRAMATIC IMAGES).” RT also quoted UN human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein decrying America’s “troubled” record on race relations and pointing out that African Americans ended up in jail – or worse – in disproportionate numbers.

Russian commentators and state media implied that the disorder in Ferguson was a kind of cosmic payback for the US’s meddling in Ukraine, currently the scene of a war in the east of the country. The Kremlin blames the conflict on the west and “neo-Nazis” in Kiev, rather than on Moscow’s covert invasion of Ukrainian territory. Russia’s “human rights ombudsman” Konstantin Dolgov, meanwhile, fired off a series of tweets accusing the US administration of hypocrisy and serial failure.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A demonstrator sits in front of a street fire during a demonstration following the grand jury decision in the Ferguson. Photograph: Stephen Lam/Reuters

He observed: “Racial and ethnic tensions continue to rise in US society. It’s about time the US authorities paid attention to this rather than focusing on lecturing the rest of the world on human rights.”



China’s foreign ministry also took the opportunity to poke Washington in the eye. Its spokeswoman Hua Chunying initially described the trouble, which began after a grand jury refused to prosecute a white police officer for the shooting of a black teenager, as an internal US affair. She then went on to hint, however, that the US might be better served by a little humility: “I would like to say that there’s no such thing as perfection when it comes to human rights regardless of whatever country you’re in,” Hua said. She added: “We have to improve the record of human rights and promote the cause of human rights. We can learn from each other in this area.”

In Egypt, social media users drew comparisons between Ferguson and events in Cairo, where rampant police brutality since the 2011 revolution has only once resulted in a conviction, and which has consequently often sparked bloody clashes between police and protesters. “Ferguson now looks like police assaults in Egypt,” tweeted the Cairo-based former Human Rights Watch researcher, Scott Long. “Our world is melding into a single military regime.”

Egypt’s government did not comment on the most recent violence in Ferguson, though during a previous round of protests, the Egyptian foreign ministry issued a barbed statement urging US officials to exercise restraint in their treatment of demonstrators. It was payback for the many times the US has criticised the excesses of the Egyptian police, who have killed around 2,000 protesters since 2011.

Egypt’s police force has itself previously issued five top tips to American police about how to deal with the unrest in Ferguson. “I ask the American police not to use excessive force in dealing with peaceful demonstrators,” said General Hany Abdel Latif, the police spokesman, in an interview this summer. Abdel Latif also suggested opening a dialogue with protesters, and bringing errant policemen to swift justice.

Ordinary citizens across the Middle East expressed solidarity with Ferguson’s unhappy residents. In particular, Palestinians expressed their support – and even offered handy tips as to how protesters might best deal with attacks by cops using tear gas. @MariamBarghouti advised:

مريم البرغوثي (@MariamBarghouti) Always make sure to run against the wind /to keep calm when you're teargassed, the pain will pass, don't rub your eyes! #Ferguson Solidarity

Twitter users shared photos of Palestinians who had made homemade signs expressing solidarity with protestors in Ferguson. One held by a girl in a headscarf read: “Ferguson with love from Palestine”; another sign written by a young man read: “The Palestinian people know what it mean [sic] to be shot while unarmed because of your ethnicity #Ferguson #justice”.





