Ferguson crackdown sparks rebuke, Tiananmen Square comparison

The violent protests in Ferguson, Missouri, reflect simmering U.S. tensions over racial discrimination that could undermine the country’s stability, a senior Russian diplomat said Tuesday. Moscow appeared to relish turning the tables on the U.S. after repeated U.S. criticism of Russia’s rights record and its policies toward Ukraine. The comments by the Russian Foreign Ministry’s human rights envoy, Konstantin Dolgov, were among the sharpest from a foreign official. Relations between the two nations are at their lowest point since the Cold War due to the crisis in Ukraine.

The developments in Ferguson and other cities highlight serious challenges to the American society and its stability.

Konstantin Dolgov, Russian human rights envoy

Meanwhile, a photograph of a demonstrator standing in front of a row of armored vehicles during Monday night’s protests has sparked comparisons to one of the 20th century’s most famous images — Tiananmen Square’s iconic “Tank Man.” Aerial video footage of the incident was also shot Monday night, capturing the protester lifting his hands in the air on the streets of Ferguson as the vehicles inched closer. Raised hands have become a symbol of dissent in the greater St. Louis area, based on witness accounts that Michael Brown had his hands stretched toward the sky in a show of surrender before his death.

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