David Cameron says West was wrong to back dictators
Britain and the US have fuelled instability in the Middle East by supporting autocratic regimes that suppress human rights, David Cameron has said.
The Prime Minister said that popular uprisings now flaring across the Middle East showed the West had been wrong to back dictators and undemocratic regimes.
Britain and other Western countries supported Hosni Mubarak, ousted by protests in Egypt earlier this month.
Under Labour from 2004, Britain also strengthened relations with Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, whose regime is now crumbling amid violent scenes. Both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown met the Libyan dictator to promote British energy firms' interests in the country: around 150 British firms have since done business there.
The US and Britain have also been long-standing supporters of authoritarian regimes in the Gulf region including Saudi Arabia, making only limited efforts to push those rulers towards democratic reform....
Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)
The Prime Minister said that popular uprisings now flaring across the Middle East showed the West had been wrong to back dictators and undemocratic regimes.
Britain and other Western countries supported Hosni Mubarak, ousted by protests in Egypt earlier this month.
Under Labour from 2004, Britain also strengthened relations with Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, whose regime is now crumbling amid violent scenes. Both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown met the Libyan dictator to promote British energy firms' interests in the country: around 150 British firms have since done business there.
The US and Britain have also been long-standing supporters of authoritarian regimes in the Gulf region including Saudi Arabia, making only limited efforts to push those rulers towards democratic reform....