Congressman Lantos remembered

Tom Lantos used his seniority to bring attention to human rights abuses in Burma and Tibet. He decried unfair elections in Ukraine and the jailing of politicians in Russia. Lantos got himself arrested after protesting outside the Sudanese embassy. His strong beliefs were formed in his childhood. He was sent to a Nazi labor camp when he was 16. Lantos escaped twice. Most of his family was killed. This author says the Holocaust framed Lantos the politician. Just three months ago Lantos led a hearing into Yahoo!’s business practices in China. Yahoo! had given China information about two Chinese journalists who were later jailed. This analyst says he was articulate about talking about human rights. Lantos also believed in a strong military and argued the US should use its force when a moral imperative was at stake. Lantos played a key role in giving Bush the authority to invade Iraq.