President of Ecuador says Obama rhetoric sounds a lot like Nazi Germany

Thursday, October 17, 2013 by: J. D. Heyes
Tags: Obama rhetoric, Nazi Germany, Ecuador

(NaturalNews) The way President Obama says that "America is exceptional" strikes Ecuador's president as, well, just a little too spooky for his liking.

In a wide-ranging interview with RT Spanish, President Rafael Correa said that's the way Hitler and his Nazi regime spoke about Germany "before and during World War II."

When Obama recently said the U.S. was "exceptional" because America stands up not only for its own "narrow self-interest, but for the interests of all," Correa said, "Does not this remind you of the Nazis' rhetoric before and during World War II? They considered themselves the chosen race, the superior race, etc. Such words and ideas pose extreme danger."

'One day this unjust world will have to change'

The Ecuadorean chief executive was also put off by Obama's pledge regarding massive global U.S. spying, primarily via the National Security Agency, when he said the U.S. would try to respect the sovereignty of countries in Latin America and elsewhere "in cases where it will be possible."

Correa isn't buying. He says he believes the United States will continue violating the sovereignty of other nations at will, but that, eventually, it will change.

"What Plato wrote in his [Socratic] dialogues more than 2,000 years ago is true," he said. "Justice is nothing other than the advantage of the stronger. They are strong, that's why they will continue lying, violating other states' sovereignty, and breaching international law. But one day this unjust world will have to change."

When asked if the United Nations Headquarters should be moved out of the U.S., Correa said, "Definitely, yes." But he pointed out that other things carry more importance.

For instance, he said that, despite the fact that the headquarters of the American Convention on Human Rights is located in Washington, D.C., the U.S. failed to "ratify the Pact of San Jose, that is, the American Convention on Human Rights...but the headquarters of the organization is in the US and they finance their activities. This is outrageous and an example of a relationship the US established with developing countries in the form of subordination."

Correa also addressed other issues, such as damage done in Ecuador by U.S. oil companies Chevron and Texaco. In responding to questions about the two oil giants, Correa said the U.S. would not be able to hide the truth about what has happened in his country, despite having the power of money and vast legal resources.

"Chevron has caused irreparable damage to the Ecuadorian jungle," Correa said. "Texaco did nothing to clear the area...At the time, there were cleaner technologies available, but they wanted to save a few bucks, and they destroyed the environment and did not even bother to pay for the damages."

The Ecuadorean leader said the scale of damage in his country caused by the oil giants was 85 times greater than the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and 18 times more than the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska.

"But they decided that if it happened in the Amazon region of Ecuador, then there is nothing to worry about," he said.

Chevron says it has been absolved

As further reported by RT Spanish:

The case against Chevron-Texaco has been ongoing for two decades, and stems from the oil company's operations in the Amazon, which date back to the period between 1972 and 1990.

In February 2011, a judgment by a provincial court in Ecuador produced a multi-billion dollar award against Chevron. However, as the company currently has no holdings in Ecuador, the plaintiffs have instead attempted to force payment in Canada, Brazil, and Argentina.

The $19 billion verdict was the result of a 1993 lawsuit filed in New York federal court by a group of American attorneys - including Steven Donziger - on behalf of 88 residents of the Amazon rainforest. In the intervening period, Texaco was acquired by Chevron in 2001, and plaintiffs re-filed their case in Ecuador in 2003.

Chevron says it has been absolved of responsibility for any environmental damage per a 1995 cleanup agreement. Further, Chevron places additional responsibility for other resulting damage on PetroEcuador, the country's national oil company.

Sources:

http://rt.com

http://www.bloomberg.com

http://www.reuters.com