"Russia Accuses U.S. of Double Standards on Rights"
"Russia said the U.S. State Department's "latest opus'' on human rights reflects the double standards of a country that uses the issue as a foreign policy tool while failing to examine its own actions.
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement it rejects criticism of Russia's human rights record from a country that "has in effect legalized torture, uses capital punishment on minors and denies responsibility for war crimes and human rights violations in Iraq and Afghanistan.''
The U.S. report, published two days ago, said President Vladimir Putin's centralization of power in the Kremlin, selective law enforcement and restrictions on aid groups and the media have eroded government accountability. The Foreign Ministry called it "a hackneyed set of claims.''
"The U.S. uses the struggle to spread democracy and the defense of human rights as a cover'' to advance its interests, the ministry said in the statement issued late yesterday.
The ministry said the report was prejudiced, mistaken, poorly sourced and counterproductive.
What, the Russians got it from the AmeriKan MSM?
"Many passages are copied from previous reports; the impression is that the State Department simply collected facts to suit the conclusions formulated in advance,'' it said."
Sort of like the case we made for war against Iraq, except those weren't even facts!!
