Guardian Discovers Repression... Abroad
The Guardian breathlessly reports that Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan is set to 'retain power' in an election from which rivals have been conveniently barred, following a trend of government critics being 'abducted, killed or arrested.' A shocking development, indeed, for those who exclusively read headlines. Meanwhile, here in the U.S., a bipartisan consensus forms time and again to fund
regimes engaged in very similar tactics, just with better PR. While The Guardian details the 'strengthening grip' in Tanzania, one might wonder why the grip of certain allied powers, who also jail journalists and assassinate critics, rarely garners such strong reprobation. Perhaps it's just harder to critique your own government's foreign policy when congressional votes, like the recent HR 815
(which passed 309-118, with numerous recipients of foreign lobbying funds), greenlight billions in military aid to said repressive allies. How many 'democratic backslides' does it take before The Guardian connects the dots to who's funding them?