Former US diplomat Nicholas Burns said on Friday that the killing of George Floyd, a black man, at the hands of a police officer in the United States was “horrible”. Burns was speaking to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi via video-conferencing.
“Our greatest American in the last 100 years is Martin Luther King Junior. He fought peaceful and non-violent battles. His spiritual idol was Mahatma Gandhi. King led us to become a better country. We elected an African-American President Barack Obama. And yet, you see race come back now. You see African-American mistreated,” said Burns.
“It was horrible, horrible murder of George Floyd, a young African-American man by the police in Minneapolis. There are millions of Americans protesting peacefully as is our right. And yet, the President treats them like terrorists,” he added.
“Countries sometimes have to go through a discussion, a political debate about who are we? At the core, what kind of nation are we? We are an immigrant nation, a tolerant nation,” said Burns.
Floyd died after a police officer pressed his knee against his neck in Minneapolis on May 25. His last words “I can’t breathe” have been a rallying cry for the protesters who have launched demonstrations in various parts of the Unites States.
The issue has also led to serious debate in the American society about race.
Gandhi held a conversation with Burns on how coronavirus crisis was reshaping the world order. The interaction between also covered a wide range of issues, including racism in the United States.
Burns is currently the Professor of Practice of Diplomacy and International Politics at Harvard’s John F Kennedy School of Government. At the Harvard Kennedy School, Burns is the Director of The Future of Diplomacy Project and Faculty Chair for the programs on the Middle East, India and South Asia.
During his career in the State Department, he was United States Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs within the United States Department of State. He was also the chief negotiator of the India-US nuclear deal.
