In Rights Report, U.S. Criticizes Nations Vital to War on Terror

A number of countries vital to the U.S. war on terrorism come under harsh criticism for severe violations of basic freedoms in the annual U.S. human rights report, released Monday by the State Department.

The countries include Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Turkey, China and even Israel.

The violations include torture in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Russia; extrajudicial killings in Pakistan; and prolonged detentions without trial in Uzbekistan on the basis of evidence planted by security forces.

The survey of nearly 190 countries also charges that nations such as China and Uzbekistan have used the war on terrorism as cover for crackdowns on dissidents demanding freedoms and reform.

The report underscores the basic dilemma faced by the Bush administration as it struggles to hold together a coalition to combat terrorism while promoting--and staying true to--its own values.

Before unveiling the report, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said the United States “will not relax” its commitment to advancing the cause of democracy, because terrorism cannot thrive in places where fundamental freedoms are available.

“Freedom fights terrorism, instability and conflict,” Powell said at a news conference.

Yet the 6,000-page survey immediately triggered criticism of the administration from international human rights groups and members of Congress. One of the foremost complaints was that there is a growing gap between the United States’ rhetoric and its practices.

“The administration is candid and accurate in pointing out the problems, but it’s still doing virtually nothing to address them,” said Thomas Malinowski, advocacy director of Human Rights Watch, an international monitoring group.

“Its argument that human rights still matters is not reflected in the alliance that the United States is forging, the money it’s spending or the military bases it’s building overseas,” Malinowski said.

Rep. Tom Lantos of San Mateo, Calif., the ranking Democrat on the House International Relations Committee and co-chairman of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, called on the administration to “redouble” efforts to promote democracy in nations such as Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Syria and China that are pivotal in the war against terrorism but cited in the report for major rights abuses.

“The war against terrorism is the ultimate struggle for human rights,” he said.

Human rights groups also charged that the administration is going soft on abuses in countries that are key allies in the anti-terrorism campaign. The survey is striking for the way it recasts abuses in the context of the war, thereby easing pressure on governments to act, the groups said.

“The characterization of human rights violations has changed this year,” said Alex Arriaga, Amnesty International’s director of government relations in Washington. “There’s greater reporting on the countries that the administration believes are involved in terrorism, while there’s some soft-pedaling on U.S. allies.”

In the past, for example, the survey has reported on Pakistan’s practice of holding families hostage in order to pressure suspected extremists into turning themselves in, she said. Although the practice continues, the report this year did not mention it.

The report’s language has also changed. Rebels in the breakaway Russian republic of Chechnya were described in last year’s report as “separatists,” while this year they are “fighters.” Last year, Uzbek security forces were cited for arbitrary arrests and detentions of “pious Muslims” on false charges; this year they are linked to arrests of Muslims “suspected of extremist sympathies” on false charges, according to Sharon Burke, advocacy director of Amnesty International.

As for the Mideast, the report says that in response to about 2,000 terrorist attacks, Israel has detained Palestinians without charges, coerced confessions and engaged in harassment and abuse at checkpoints.

The report describes Israel’s record in the occupied territories as poor. Israel is also cited for its treatment of Arab citizens in its own territory.

But Amnesty officials said the report is soft on Israel compared with past years.

The report indicates that all Israeli actions against the Palestinians were the result of provocations, and it does not cite Israel for acts such as Ariel Sharon’s controversial visit to Jerusalem’s Temple Mount in September 2000, several months before he was elected prime minister. The visit enraged Muslims and immediately preceded the outbreak of the current intifada.

The document this year “goes out of its way to justify” Israeli actions, Burke said.

The Palestinians, the report says, have “attacked Israelis, including settlers, other civilians and soldiers, on a daily basis in the occupied territories and Israel proper.”

The survey, mandated by Congress, also says:

* Pakistani police have engaged in chronic abuses, including rape and murder, for which no officer has yet been convicted.

* Saudi Arabia has employed torture, forced confessions, arbitrary arrests, trial without legal counsel and widespread intimidation of both its own citizens and foreigners. Riyadh has also failed to issue a report on its findings in the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing, which killed 19 U.S. troops.

* In Uzbekistan, security forces have tortured, beaten and harassed dissidents and planted narcotics, weapons and banned literature on Muslims suspected of having extremist sympathies.

* In dealing with Chechnya, Russia has shown “little respect” for basic human rights. Credible reports also claim that both the government and rebels have engaged in extrajudicial killings.

* China has used the U.S.-led war on terrorism to cover up its crackdown on Uighur Muslims in the western region of Xinjiang. Beijing has also suppressed “any person, group, whether religious, political or social,” viewed as a threat to government power. Practices include torture and extrajudicial killings.

* Turkey, which has problems with its Kurdish population, has engaged in “widespread” torture and beatings of prisoners.