Leaders, experts demand action against China over coronavirus pandemic

China tries to cover up outbreak

Mumbai: Did the Chinese government cover-up its failure to contain the outbreak of the Corona virus that has now turned itself into a threatening global pandemic? It is not just China, the global community is angry about, foreign policy experts like Brahma Chellaney are holding World Health Organisation (WHO) and its Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus responsible for failing to detect the spread of the virus in November-December 2019, in China and declaring it as a pandemic only on March 11, 2020. US Republican Congressman James Edward Banks @ Jim Banks has already urged the Trump administration to seek Reparations (compensation) from the Chinese for causing global havoc due to its cover-up bid.

In an interview with Tucker Carlson on Fox News, US Republican Congressman James Edward Banks @ Jim Banks has suggested that US President Donald Trump should “demand reparations” from Beijing. He also demanded that the US administration stop buying Pharma products from Chinese Pharma companies. Banks has already moved a bill in the Congress seeking to “Protecting America From Foreign Investors Compromised by the Chinese Communist Party Act of 2020”.

This is not the first time the global community has sought Reparations from the aggressor. It is interesting to note that Germany paid its last installment of its reparation of World War I to Greece in October 2010, good 96 years after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. Similar reparations were made by the Japanese in the Treaty of Peace signed in 1951 for World War II.

Noted foreign policy expert, Brahma Chellaney had in a tweet slammed WHO director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus for the WHO failing to detect the outbreak of the virus in China. In a tweet @Chellaney said “under Tedros, WHO’s credibility has taken a severe beating. He is not a medical doctor, nor had prior global health management experience. While going out of his way to defend China, he has mismanaged current efforts declaring a pandemic only on March 11”.

When asked for his legal opinion noted lawyer, Advocate Ashish Giri remarked “on the perusal of records on the pandemic of COVID19 which has caused a huge loss & damage across the world  & has caused a loss  to the human life in many countries. The tweet messages from the reporter based in America & the thermal images of the mortuaries being continuously working in various parts of China since the month of December it is prima facie made out that, China has  not revealed the real number of death. The said Virus COVID 19 cannot be denied to have been a product of China by way of a Biological weapon which they intended to use it against certain countries with an ulterior motive.

He further said “how is it a coincidence that till date as many all the epidemics / pandemics have been seen by the world, the epicenter has been China , it cannot be said to be a coincidence but it is a negligence due to which the humanity has been in threat always  hence Chinese President & all the responsible officers to be held responsible for the mass murders and a FIR to be registered against them”.

Advocate Ashish Giri further remarked “the WHO which is a monitoring authority has also not timely taken any steps towards the safeguarding & issuing directives regarding the same which also prima facie proves that they were in collusion with China. Further the economic and human loss caused to the world should also been compensated by China & the Hon’ble International Court of Justice has the Jurisdiction under Article 34 & 36 to take up the said issue and impart justice on the same. Hence I urge India, USA, UK and other countries to move the ICJ and I would be willing to offer my services for the same”.

Another Twitterati @Peanuts0545 tweeted on March 21 “Chinese Communist Regime and WHO are equally responsible for this pandemic. Both need to be dragged to the ICJ for mass murder @WHO hierarchy should be made to resign, thrown behind bars and the key buried forever!”

Jennifer Zeng, a New York based journalist with the NTD network has in a series of tweets charged China of massive cover-up of the outbreak. In one tweet she questioned the sudden disconnection of about 81.16 lakh mobile subscribers in China within a month in January 2020. She even released a video showing health workers shoving off hundreds of mobile handsets in a crematorium.

Another Twitterati @WBYeats1865 in a tweet refuted Chinese claims of having Zero new cases of #WuhanCoronavirus in Wuhan. In his tweet he said “These two official notices issued by Wuhan communities on March 20, 2020, prove CCP is Lying. 1. “Notice: Last night Lishui Kangcheng Community has new cases, please stay home, wash hands, be alert”. The other notice in Chinese dated March 3, 2020 read thus “Two confirmed cases found in Unit 116, the whole unit will be quarantined. Going outside is not allowed.”

But what has baffled Netizens is the rather mysterious Zero cases being reported from China’s next door neighbors – Russia and North Korea.

Two advocate’s from Pune, Hrishikesh Subhedar and Ashish Patankar have in a letter written to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), The Hague, Netherlands have termed it as Bio-terrorism and demanded investigation by an independent United Nations Organisation (UNO).

However, as per the ICJ statute only member state’s (countries) have the right to move the ICJ. Both Subhedar and Patankar had urged the ICJ to accept their Public Interest Litigation (PIL)

Chapter II – Competence of The Court – Article 34 – reads thus – (1). Only states may be parties in cases before the court. (2). The Court, subject to and in conformity with its Rules, may request of public international organisations information relevant to cases before it, and shall receive such information presented by such organisations on their own.

Article 36, clause 2, sub-clause (d) lays down the powers of the ICJ in adjudicating on cases related to reparation filed by its member states. The clause reads thus – “the nature or extent of the Reparation to be made for the breach of an international obligation”. In short aggrieved member states have legal recourse to approach the ICJ for reparation in this case to the economic, social and other damages caused by the spread of Corona virus in their country.