Madam, – As was reported (World News, April 6th), Mark Toner, a US spokesman for the state department, condemned the recent detention of Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei by the Chinese authorities.
I support this condemnation, however, this sentiment strikes me as as a blatant example of hypocrisy on the part of the United States. The US has imprisoned Bradley Manning since May of last year (as he is allegedly the source of the WikiLeaks files). While imprisoned, he is forced to spend 23 hours in solitary confinement.
PJ Crowley, the former spokesman of the state department was himself forced to resign after criticising Manning’s treatment stating it was “counterproductive and stupid on the part of the department of defence” (World News, March 14th).
The fact that Guantánamo Bay Detention Centre is still in operation, even though its closure was one of President Obama’s key campaign promises, does not give any further credibility to the United States’ stance on China. – Yours, etc,