The decision by the British Minister for Home Affairs, Jack Straw, to release the ex-Chilean leader General Augusto Pinochet and allow him to return to Chile is a blatant case of double-standards and hypocrisy on the part of the British government.

The fact that the government of Tony Blair came to power claiming that it wanted to exercise an "ethical foreign policy" and promote human rights elsewhere in the world makes the entire sordid affair appear even more shameful.

Pinochet, the ex-dictator of Chile, first flew to Britain nearly two years ago for a routine medical check-up. He was then detained and placed under house arrest after pressure was put on the British government which had opened its doors to the man who is said to be responsible for the killings and torture of thousands of students, trade unionists and members of the opposition in his own country.

The abuses of human rights in Chile during the 70s and 80s are well documented, and various human rights groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have called for the arrest and trial of Pinochet for the part that he played in the repression in his own countrymen and women when he was in power (backed, incidentally, by Western countries like the US).

After placing the general under house arrest for 17 months, Britain announced on March 2 that the general was "unfit" for extradition to Spain or to stand trial. Human rights campaigners in Spain and Chile were shocked and appalled to hear the news that the man responsible for the killing and torture of so many has been set free by the British government on technical grounds.

The Minister for Home Affairs claimed that he was convinced by medical reports that Pinochet was not fit enough to undergo a trial, and so has ordered his release.

The Pinochet affair has brought to light the contradictions, uncertainties and double-standards that have become the norm in international relations today. Countries like Britain claim that they wish to pursue "ethical foreign policies" in their relations with others, but feel free to offer refuge to war criminals and dictators who happen to have good connections and are favoured by the governments of the West.

The same treatment would obviously not be given to Britain's enemies (or the enemies of the US, the real power behind Westminster these days) such as Saddam Hussein or Osama Ben Laden.

What is at issue here is the fact that Britain claims for itself the right to decide which countries ought to be penalised and which should be spared. And so dictators and despots from pro-Western client states like Saudi Arabia, Israel and Chile are allowed to go free while offenders from other countries are given sanctimonious lectures on human rights instead.

Here we see the double-standards of the global system at work. Britain has always used the tool of conditionality related to human rights in its dealing with other countries. Like many economically influential countries in the developed North, it claims the right to boycott countries or refuse aid to them if they fail to meet Western standards of human rights.

But in the case of Pinochet, Britain has failed to see that his regime's period of despotic rule was a clear cut case of gross abuse of human rights. While it continues to lecture weaker countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia, Britain has let loose one of the biggest and notorious perpetrators of human rights abuses in recent history.

This in itself robs Britain of the right to assume the moral high ground in its dealings with others. The release of Pinochet by Jack Straw has shown that the "ethical policy" of Tony Blair's government was nothing more than liberal froth with no substance.

Behind the facade of moral rectitude and respectability that the British government claims for itself, the same realpolitik considerations are at work. Those who speak of 'ethical policies' are often the ones who need to be taught what it means more than others.

DR FARISH A NOOR is a Malaysian political scientist and human rights activist. He is also the secretary-general of the International Movement for a Just World. The opinions expressed here are his own.