11.50 am
WASHINGTON - The United States found fault today with the human rights records of its allies in the "war on terrorism" but said that closer contact at least provided a chance to talk with them about their abuses.
In its annual report on human rights throughout the world in 2001, the US State Department said the victory of the year was ending Taleban rule in Afghanistan -- the outcome of a US military campaign in conjunction with Afghan allies.
"Afghan citizens have been released from the brutal and oppressive rule of the Taleban. Afghan women, who suffered violence and repression, are now beginning to resume their roles in society," the report said.
"Indeed Afghanistan is a triumph for human rights in 2001. There is, however, much more work still to be done," it added.
After the attacks on the United States on September 11, the Bush administration tried to muster an international alliance against the Taleban and the al Qaeda organisation of Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden, the group blamed for the attacks.
It turned to Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Central Asian countries with poor human rights records for bases and overflight rights so US forces could hit Afghanistan.
The human rights report said the process of alliance building had at least put human rights on the agenda.
"In addition to bringing the world together in a common cause, this effort has provided an opportunity to expand the dialogue on human rights and fundamental freedoms with a broad spectrum of countries," it said.
The introduction to the report, in which the United States highlights trends, found fault with Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Saudi Arabia and also Israel, Russia and Turkey.
The black list also includes predictable targets of US criticism such as Belarus, Burma, China, Colombia, Cuba, Kenya, Liberia, Iran, Iraq, Mexico, North Korea, Sudan, Ukraine, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.
In the case of China, the report said the authorities had tried to use the "war on terrorism" pretext to justify a crackdown on Muslim separatists among the Uighur ethnic minority of Xinjiang province.
"A perceived opportunity to legitimize measures against Muslim Uighur activists under the antiterrorism umbrella led to an intensification of a crackdown in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China late in the year," it said.
The Russian authorities have made a similar argument in the case of Chechen separatists alleged to have links with bin Laden's al Qaeda organisation. The human rights report noted Russian allegations of support from al Qaeda.
It added: "Russian forces in Chechnya continued to root out separatist fighters. ... These sweeps often were accompanied by credible reports of disappearances, extrajudicial killing, extortion, torture, and arbitrary detention."
In Uzbekistan, Washington's most important Central Asian ally for military purposes, thousands of people accused of crimes against the constitution remain in detention, it said. Most of them are Muslims who reject the state's officially sanctioned version of their religion.
It added: "In Uzbekistan security forces continued to arrest and detain persons arbitrarily on false charges, particularly Muslims suspected of extremist sympathies.
"The government continued to view those who practiced an unauthorized version of Islam as enemies of the State and indiscriminately treated them as potential terrorists."
In much of Central Asia, the media had a particularly hard time in 2001, with new restrictions in Kazakhstan and harassment in Kyrgyzstan. "An independent media was virtually nonexistent in Turkmenistan," the report added.
Saudi Arabia, which provided an important command base for air attacks on the Taleban last year, fell foul of the State Department for restricting non-Muslim religious practices.
It said the Saudi government had never made clear what it meant in saying that non-Muslims can worship in private.
"This lack of clarity, combined with instances of arbitrary enforcement, has meant that most non-Muslims worship clandestinely. When discovered some worshippers have been detained and deported," it said.
Israel, Washington's closest ally in the Middle East, comes in for criticism in its handling of the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation. "Israeli security forces sometimes used excessive force in contravention of their own rules of engagement," it said.
Om Malinowski, Washington advocacy director with Human Rights Watch, said the report appeared to be "candid, accurate and thorough" in its treatment of US allies.
He said: "The report is straightforward and good in saying that defending human rights is critical in defeating terrorism, but moving from description to action is somewhat harder.
"We would like to see the findings of the report better reflected in the alliances the United States is forging, the money it is spending and the bases it is building overseas."
- REUTERS
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US finds fault with allies in 'war on terrorism'
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