| by Dr Ruwantissa Abeyratne
( January 26, 2013, Montreal, Sri Lanka Guardian) In a recent interview conducted by Foreign Affairs’ Managing Editor Jonathan Tepperman, Abdullah Gul, President of Turkey, when asked the question as to what kind of increased international role Turkey would be playing, said inter alia, “what matters is for a country to have its own standards raised to the highest possible point, enabling the State to provide its citizens with prosperity and happiness… and when I say standards, I mean standards such as democracy and human rights…then you start being followed by other countries; you become an inspiration to them. And once that happens, what matters is to combine your hard and soft power and translate it to virtuous power – for your immediate environment, for your region, and for the whole world.”
Gul went on to explain that “a virtuous power is a power that is not ambitious or expansionist in any sense”. He said on the contrary, “it is a power where the priority lies with safeguarding the human rights and interests of all human beings in a manner that also entails the provision of aid to those in need without expecting anything in return…a power that knows what is wrong and what is right and is also powerful enough to stand behind what is right”.
The emphasis in Gul’s political philosophy is on safeguarding human rights and helping those in need without expecting anything back. Above all, the key driver of a virtuous State is its knowledge of what is right and what is wrong and the ability to stand by what is right.
Philosophically speaking, this principle is seemingly a combination of Jeremy Bentham’s Utilitarian Doctrine – which espouses the of the greatest good for the greatest number - and Immanuel Kant’s Categorical Imperative - which speaks of a moral compulsion to do what’s universally accepted as correct.
Let us examine this in a practical perspective: Pope John Paul II once said: “a truth, if it is really true, must be universal”. A virtuous State would adhere to universal truths and not merely to consequentialist laws. The word “universal” is defined as an adjective as “ Of, affecting, or done by all people or things in the world or in a particular group”, and as a noun as “a person or thing having universal effect, currency, or application, in particular”. Either way the words “done by all people or things” are the key to the composition of a virtuous Power.
In terms of the universal practice of human rights, the first thing that comes to mind is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This is not a multilateral treaty requiring formal adherence. It is simply a code of conduct which has hitherto not been rejected by the world community. In an earlier published article, I laid out the manner in which I read out the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (from a book I picked up from the library in the United Nations building in New York) to my seven year old son:
“All people are born fee; all people are born equal and so have equal rights. People can think for themselves and understand what’s going on around them. Everyone should act as brothers and sisters. It does not matter what race you are; it does not matter whether you are a man or a woman; it does not matter what language you speak, what your religion is, what your political opinions are, what country you come from or who your family is. It does not matter whether you are rich or poor. It does not matter what part of the world you come from; whether your country is a kingdom or republic - these rights and freedoms are meant to be enjoyed by everyone.”
“Everyone has the right to live, the right to be free and the right to personal safety. No one can be someone else’s slave. No one is to be hurt or to be punished in cruel or humiliating ways. The law must be the same for everyone. The law must protect everyone. People have the right to be protected by the courts, so that their rights are respected. People cannot be arrested or sent away from their country, unless it is for a very serious reason. Everyone has the right to a fair trial. No one has the right to interfere in other peoples’ lives, in their families, in their homes or in their correspondence. People have the right of free movement within their country. People have the right to leave any country, even their own, and then return. No person or people shall have their nationality taken away from them This means everyone has the right to belong to a nation. And they also have the right to change their nationality, if they want to.
“All men and women have the right to get married and start a family, once they have reached a certain age. It does not matter what race, nationality or religion they are. A man and woman can only get married if they want to.
“Everyone has the right to own property. Anything that belongs to a person cannot be taken away from him or her unless there is a fair reason. Everyone has the right to think the way they like. People have the right to hold opinions and tell other people what their opinions are, and they have the right to practice their religion in private or in public. All people have the right to meet together and to form associations. But no one can be forced to join an association if he or she does not want to.”
It is my belief that the true value of a government lies not in its achievements but in its compassion for its fellow beings and those of other nations of the world. The essence of a government should be founded on human rights that are contrived from single instances of wrongs committed against the people. According to this principle, a right becomes something that is legitimately due to a person which he can justly claim as secured to him by law, and which ensures that some wrong committed in the past is effectively precluded by the right so secured. A right should not be confused with power, the former being based on moral justification and expectation and the latter being based on enforceability. Protection by the state of an individual, freedom to attend church or temple, and freedom to educate oneself are examples of a right where as sovereignty of State, authority to censor speech and enforce martial law are examples of power. A wise and virtuous government distinguishes between the two and maintains a balance.
 In a recent interview conducted by Foreign Affairs’ Managi...){kind=link}