Jimmy Carter warns racial injustices 'undermine' US democracy
05 June, 2020
US ex-president Jimmy Carter said Wednesday he was pained by last week's police killing of an unarmed black man and urged authorities to end discriminatory policing and other systemic injustices that "undermine" American democracy.
George Floyd died on May 25 after a officer pressed his knee to the handcuffed man's neck for a few minutes, pinning him down on a Minneapolis street. The killing has triggered days of often violent protests in the united states.
"Folks of power, privilege, and moral conscience must stand up and say 'no more' to a racially discriminatory police and justice system, immoral economic disparities between whites and blacks, and government actions that undermine our unified democracy," Carter said in a statement released by the Carter Center.
Carter, 95, may be the last of the four living ex-presidents to touch upon Floyd's killing, the outbursts of unrest -- and violent police crackdowns on protesters.
Carter said his and his wife's hearts are with Floyd and other victims of violence, but also with "all who feel hopeless when confronted with pervasive racial discrimination and outright cruelty."
"Most of us must shine a spotlight on the immorality of racial discrimination. But violence, whether spontaneous or consciously incited, isn't a remedy," he added.
"We desire a government as good as its people, and we are much better than this."
Carter's four-year presidency ended in 1981. In the decades since he is a champion of human rights, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his efforts.
Source: www.thejakartapost.com
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