British responsible for today's world problems?

An article from Mirror, a UK's newspaper; a admission by a Prime Minister from Britain that Britain was responsible for “so many of the world’s problems”. He is David Cameron, the youngest Prime Minister in Britain. Congratulation to the courage that he has to speak the truth.

He insisted that it was not his place to intervene in the dispute, saying: “I don’t want to try to insert Britain in some leading role where, as with so many of the world’s problems, we are responsible for the issue in the first place.”

If you read the history of colonies under Britain; the best strategy that Britain used was to divided and ruled, based mainly on racial classification or religion classification. You see the problems left for the new nation with multiracial background, or even multi-religion background. Look at Burma, North East India, Malaya, Pakistan, India, Ceylon, and some African and Middle East countries; where the problems still exists....

British was worry of China become another America in Asia, which will adversely affected their political and trade interest. The corruption of the Japan’s leadership, from the Emperor down, by the British. It began with the British manipulation of Japan into the Sino-Japanese War of 1894, followed by the Anglo-Japanese Alliance(日英同盟 Nichi-Ei Dōmei, にちえいどうめい ) of 1902, the Russo-Japanese War, and then Japan’s entry into the First World War as an ally of the British Empire. The first Anglo-Japanese Alliance (日英同盟, Nichi-Ei Dōmei) was signed in London at what is now the Lansdowne Club, on January 30, 1902, by Lord Lansdowne (British foreign secretary) and Hayashi Tadasu (Japanese minister in London). It was a military alliance between the two countries, which boost the militarism in Japan and encourage its expansionary agenda in China. A diplomatic milestone for its ending of Britain's splendid isolation, the alliance was renewed and extended in scope twice, in 1905 and 1911, before its demise in 1921. It officially terminated in 1923. British played a positive role in development of Japanese militarism, just like today's Libya dictatorship.

Look at Tibet, the problem start from Britain....which was eying Tibet from India, taking strategic advantage of weakness in the Manchu, and the newly formed Chinese Republic of China by Dr Sun Yat-sen and its power struggle in the new nation.

and their human right abuse records in the colonies all over the world; typical example was the The Batang Kali massacre, an incident that took place in Malaya on December 12, 1948 during British military operations against native and Chinese[1] communists in the post-World War II Malayan Emergency. The 7th Platoon, G Company, 2nd Scots Guard surrounded a rubber estate at Sungai Rimoh, Batang Kali, Selangor in Malaya and shot 24 villagers before setting fire to the village....



Lately, the role Britain played to develop and finance a dictator in Libya...

These are the truth, and reality....

Is Britain really responsible for the world's problems?
by Tristram Hunt, Daily Mirror 7/04/2011

Yet that is what David Cameron was up to when he suggested in Pakistan this week that Britain was responsible for “so many of the world’s problems” – and, as such, had no right to ¬intervene in conflicts like Kashmir.

The UK is certainly not the cause of Pakistan’s current instability.

But in the week which saw four elderly Kenyans take the Government to court over their treatment in British detention camps in the 50s, David Cameron was right to highlight the unpleasant edges of Empire.

What is true is that Britain’s rapid retreat from former colonies exposed historic fault-lines which now cause wars and unrest across the world.

The expansion of the British Empire brought many advantages.

Hong Kong island might have remained a barren rock had it not been for the Royal Navy in the 1840s.

Their desire to trade – mostly opium – with the Chinese mainland turned this “fragrant harbour” into the “pearl of the orient” – the booming free-trade emporium we know today. In West Bengal, in north-east India, the ¬foundations of Calcutta were laid by the East India Company.

Exports to the West turned this settlement on the banks of the Hooghly into a ¬commercial metropolis and cultural powerhouse.

The British presence in India led to the development of legal systems, transport infrastructure and, of course, the English language – which is a vital part of India’s competitive advantage today.

Across the world, we might point to the laying of railways, digging of canals, the rule of law, and the spread of Christianity as the fruits of Empire.

However, the ledger on the debt side weighs equally heavy. In India, the British built up the great cities of Bombay (Mumbai), New Delhi, and Madras (Chennai), but stood idly by as millions died in famines.

In India, as well as Africa, human rights were abused and attempts at independence brutally snuffed out.

The suffering of the Mau Mau in British camps was an echo of concentration camps in which the British had imprisoned the South African Boers in the 1900s.

The wealth from Empire was also drawn from ugly sources. The traffic in humans from Africa to the ¬Americas ensured the ¬prosperity of sugar-cane planters in Barbados and Jamaica. Yet it left millions dead from the “middle passage” across the Atlantic or, if they survived, enduring untold suffering as slaves.

Few Empires – from the Romans to the Ottomans – end well. And the decline and fall of the British Empire was no exception.

Of course, the so-called “White Commonwealth” countries of Australia, Canada and New Zealand enjoyed stable paths to independence from the late 1800s, as dominions and then free nations.

However, colonies without a history of mass European migration – in Africa, India and South-East Asia – were not granted liberty so easily.

Despite the activities of parties such as the Pan African Conference and the Indian Congress Party, the British were reluctant to give up control.

The Second World War and American demands for an end to imperialism meant colonial liberation was soon a necessity. Britain could no longer afford its Empire and the Americans did not want to subsidize it.

So the floodgates opened and, in the space of barely 30 years, our imperial possessions were off-loaded.

What Harold Macmillan called “the winds of change” were sweeping across the British, Portuguese and French Empires as India, the multiple nations of Africa, the islands of the West Indies, the colonies of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and Malaya (Malaysia) all tasted freedom.

Some left with careful planning, others like a fire-sale. In many post-colonial nations, British civil servants helped to write constitutions and British troops train up armies.

But there was also an absence of forethought. Arrogant administrators with little feel for culture and history drew lines on maps and conjured up new nations with disastrous ¬consequences. Religious affiliations, tribal ¬loyalties and language barriers were ignored. Nations were cobbled together. And many former colonies battled with the ¬consequences.

But it is no longer good enough to blame Britain. It is an easy get-out-of-jail card for failing and corrupt leaders to blame the last Empire.

Yes, mistakes were made, but that is no excuse for bad government.

The British Empire has a mixed legacy, but the challenge for nations like Pakistan to rise above history.

That should be David Cameron’s message.


Dr Tristram Hunt is MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central and lecturer in history at the ¬University of London.

(source: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/04/07/is-britain-really-responsible-for-the-world-s-problems-115875-23043124/#ixzz1InAQuABl)



But there are still countries which prosper with British administration, like Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Australia and Hong Kong. They inherited the legal and administration legacies from their colonial master, and the parliamentary democracy of free election.... that is the legacies of British empire.

There were good and ugly.....but many was hurt by the past action of British empire, especially the Opium wars.. the slave trade....

Sean Gabb, of the campaign group Libertarian Alliance, said Mr Cameron should not apologise for Britain’s past. He said: “It’s a valid historical point that some problems stem from British foreign policy in the 19th and 20th centuries, but should we feel guilty about that? I fail to see why we should.“Some of these problems came about because these countries decided they did not want to be part of the British Empire. They wanted independence. They got it. They should sort out their problems instead of looking to us.” Wah, great quote, washing the dirty hands....in the first place is the taking away the land and country of other people, forcing people to take opium, a human right violation?.....it is not only human right violation but a crime under British common law, against Christian Church of England's teaching; but why the law did not apply?.....

So David Cameron does not need to be too sorry for what Britain empire had done; the most important is to admit the mistakes, and let historian decided on the history. The people cannot forgot the painful history, but they can forgive and look forward that this will not happen again. Britain can only revert back to his gentleman days, continue fighting for the justice and right of the former colonies, and the world. Britain with its knowledge resources, still can help the former colonies in the platform of Commonwealth countries.

Looking forward, British can played a positive role in the modern world; a real champion....and gain back the reputation she once has......

Suggested articles/websites/books:
1. David Cameron: Britain caused many of the world's problems; http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/david-cameron/8430899/David-Cameron-Britain-caused-many-of-the-worlds-problems.html
2. Cameron admits Mideast policy mistakes; by Alex Barker in Kuwait City, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7899626e-3e6b-11e0-9e8f-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1Injikr3U
3. David Cameron calls for 'fresh start' with Pakistan; http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/david-cameron/8428435/David-Cameron-calls-for-fresh-start-with-Pakistan.html
4. Sharia law will undermine British society,' warns Cameron in attack on multiculturalism; http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-519090/Sharia-law-undermine-British-society-warns-Cameron-attack-multiculturalism.html
5. How London, Wall Street Backed Japan's War Against China and Sun Yat Sen; by Mike Billington, http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2004/3123morgan_v_dr_sun.html
6. http://larouchejapan.com/japanese/drupal-6.14/sites/default/files/text/SYS-Japan-PanAsia-Revolution-FINAL.pdf
7. New documents reveal cover-up of 1948 British 'massacre' of villagers in Malaya,http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/09/malaya-massacre-villagers-coverup
8. UK rejects massacre inquiry call,http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7860287.stm
9. Massacre victims’ families to take matter to British court, http://batangkalimassacre.wordpress.com/
10. British war crimes, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_war_crimes
11. Mau Mau Uprising, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mau_Mau_uprising
12. HISTORY: THE MAU-MAU AND THE END OF THE COLONY (1947-1963); http://www.kenyalogy.com/eng/info/histo13.html