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| US Human-Rights Report Includes Terror War Allies |
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Posted by FoM on March 05, 2002 at 07:10:31 PT By Howard Witt, Tribune Senior Correspondent Source: Chicago Tribune 
In a generally bleak overview of the human-rights situation worldwide, the State Department on Monday said serious rights violations exist in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the Central Asian republics--all key anti-terrorism allies that are receiving substantial American military assistance.But the fact that those allies harbor the very conditions that breed extremism is not so much a contradiction as an opportunity, American diplomats contend. By supporting undemocratic countries in an alliance against terrorism, they say, the United States gains opportunities to press those countries to improve their human-rights records. "The United States welcomes the help of any country or party that is genuinely prepared to work with us to eradicate terrorism," Secretary of State Colin Powell said in releasing the State Department's annual report on human rights in nearly 190 countries. "At the same time, we will not relax our commitment to advancing the cause of human rights and democracy, for a world in which men and women of every continent, culture and creed, of every race, religion and region, can exercise their fundamental freedoms in a world in which terrorism cannot thrive," Powell said. Human-rights watchdog groups generally gave the State Department report, which covers 2001, high marks for its detail and frankness, noting that none of the new U.S. allies in the war on terrorism got a pass on their human-rights records, as some had feared. U.S. report lauded for candor "I think they deserve a lot of credit for maintaining the tradition of forthright, candid reporting," said Tom Malinowski, a spokesman for Human Rights Watch. But, he added, "a human-rights report is not a human-rights policy. There is a tendency on the part of U.S. diplomats to use the report as a substitute for having a policy. The report itself makes the case that terrorism gains adherents in countries where human rights are denied. Respect for human rights is critical to draining the pond." Israel came in for sharp criticism in the report. Restrictions placed on Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, targeted killings of suspected Palestinian militants, and improper detentions were among the human-rights abuses singled out by the State Department. While noting that the Israeli government "generally respects the human rights of its citizens," the report said many actions taken in response to Palestinian terrorist attacks were human-rights violations. "Israel's overall human-rights record in the occupied territories was poor," the report said. "Israeli security forces committed numerous, serious human-rights abuses during the year." The Bush administration has rarely voiced such criticisms of Israel as the violence in the Mideast has escalated, instead reserving its strongest condemnations for the Palestinian militants who stage suicide attacks against civilians. The administration maintains that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat bears primary responsibility for halting the violence being committed by his followers and by Palestinian extremists. Bright spots cited The report did have some bright spots, highlighting "demonstrated momentum toward democratic reform" in Peru, the release of political prisoners in Bahrain, and successful elections in Thailand, East Timor, Kosovo and Bangladesh. But Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko was singled out for illegally extending his term of office; Zimbabwe's president, Robert Mugabe, was criticized for a campaign of violence against political opponents; and Cuba's government was rapped for denying its citizens basic civil and political rights. What President Bush termed the "axis of evil"--Iraq, Iran and North Korea--also was strongly criticized for human-rights abuses. In Pakistan, the report noted the military government of Gen. Pervez Musharraf had made some improvements in human rights and was moving toward holding legislative elections later this year. Musharraf has emerged as a pivotal ally in the war to oust the Taliban and Al Qaeda terrorists from neighboring Afghanistan. He also has launched a crackdown against Islamic extremists who have staged terror attacks against India and are alleged to have murdered Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Nevertheless, the State Department noted, "police committed numerous extrajudicial killings" and "abused and raped citizens. While the officers responsible for such abuses sometimes were transferred or suspended for their actions, no officer has been convicted and very few have been arrested." In Uzbekistan, where American forces are using air bases in the Afghanistan campaign and U.S. military aid is sharply increasing, the State Department cited a grim roster of human-rights abuses committed by the autocratic government of President Islam Karimov. "Citizens cannot exercise the right to change their government peacefully; the Government does not permit the existence of opposition parties. Security force mistreatment resulted in the deaths of several citizens in custody," the report said. "Police and [security] forces tortured, beat, and harassed persons. Prison conditions were poor, and pretrial detention can be prolonged. The security forces arbitrarily arrested and detained persons, on false charges, particularly Muslims suspected of extremist sympathies, frequently planting narcotics, weapons, or banned literature on them." Lorne Craner, assistant secretary of state for human rights, said the United States has made clear to troubled countries such as Uzbekistan that continued American support depended on improvement in human-rights practices. "When you send American troops overseas, they come with values," Craner said. "If you want, as I said, this kind of meaningful, long-term dialogue with us, which they say they want, and a friendship then you're going to have to do better on these issues." Craner declined to offer examples of how such a dialogue had improved the human-rights situation in Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally in the Persian Gulf that the report singled out for a general absence of democracy, arbitrary arrests and detentions, and allegations of torture committed by security forces. That kind of silence alarmed Amnesty International. "Sadly, Amnesty International does not believe that the U.S. acts on a fraction of the serious violations of fundamental rights that this report documents in detail," the group said in a statement. "Those who read this report in Riyadh, Moscow, Ankara or Beijing will have already blunted the sting of criticism with the foreknowledge that it is unlikely to be followed by diplomatic pressure." Concern over Colombia Another country of American concern is Colombia, where the government is battling a leftist terrorist insurgency and a huge cocaine export industry that have become tightly intertwined. The United States provides military assistance to Colombia, but that aid is restricted to the fight against drug traffickers because of long-standing U.S. concerns about Colombian government human-rights abuses and connections to right-wing paramilitary squads. Congress requires the Bush administration to certify that the Colombian government is making progress on human rights in order for the military aid to continue. But the State Department report suggests that certification may be problematic. "Government security forces continued to commit serious abuses, including extrajudicial killings," the report said. "Impunity remained a problem. . . . Members of the security forces collaborated with paramilitary groups that committed abuses." Source: Chicago Tribune (IL) Related Articles & Web Site: Amnesty International US-Funded Colombian Unit Linked to Terrorist U.S.: Colombian Abuses Continue Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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| Comment #4 posted by Zero_G on March 05, 2002 at 11:14:25 PT |
| include (according to the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights) not only those which we take for granted (although under attack) such as freedoms of speech, press and assembly, but also, economic rights, such as the rights to sustainable employment, housing, medical care and so on. As always, the US Gov't defines only those "rights" it supports, and then, only when convenient. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #3 posted by kaptinemo on March 05, 2002 at 10:01:48 PT:
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| It never ceases to amaze me: "In Uzbekistan, where American forces are using air bases in the Afghanistan campaign and U.S. military aid is sharply increasing, the State Department cited a grim roster of human-rights abuses committed by the autocratic government of President Islam Karimov. "Citizens cannot exercise the right to change their government peacefully; Lets see: the 1996, the citizens of California did just that; changed their government...to include access to cannabis for the sick. And the Feds have run roughshod over that process, harrassing those who have sought to use their medicine, those who grew it for them, and those who dispensed it. ...the Government does not permit the existence of opposition parties... The Dems and Reps have, over the last 10 years, managed to make the inclusion of alternative parties in the political process almost impossible. By rigging the ballot access laws so that those other parties would not be able to place themselves on the ballot, they have sought to prevent any challenges to their political control of this country. ...Security force mistreatment resulted in the deaths of several citizens in custody," the report said. I welcome the curious to visit an interesting site: Twisted Badge http://www.twistedbadge.com/ To learn how such incidents are not limited to rinky-dink 3rd world countries. "Police and [security] forces tortured, beat, and harassed persons. Prison conditions were poor, and pretrial detention can be prolonged. The security forces arbitrarily arrested and detained persons, on false charges, particularly Muslims suspected of extremist sympathies, frequently planting narcotics, weapons, or banned literature on them." Well, here in the US, you could just have easily inserted the word "minorities" to substitute for "Muslims", and it would have made no diference. the most notable example of this kind of domestic terrorism is the Rampart Case. For the US to piously wave it's fingers and cluck its' tongue about human rights abuses is but one more instance of the pot calling the kettle black. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #2 posted by Dan B on March 05, 2002 at 09:52:23 PT:
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| For a country that just eliminated all rights to privacy for its own citizens, imprisons more of its own citizens (including the sick and dying) than any other country in the world, and engages in secret military tribunals of basically any non-citizen against whom the government has a grudge, the U.S. has a lot of nerve citing human rights violations in other countries, particularly when it is not prepared to do anything to stop those violations--either on foreign soil or on its own. Welcome to the United States of Hypocrisy. Dan B [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #1 posted by MikeEEEEE on March 05, 2002 at 07:52:47 PT |
| By supporting undemocratic countries in an alliance against terrorism, they say, the United States gains opportunities to press those countries to improve their human-rights records. Anyway they spin it these countries are still violating human rights. [ Post Comment ] |
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