By Anwar Iqbal UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL

     WASHINGTON, March 31 (UPI) -- Secretary of State Colin Powell Monday described the United States as a leader in a world "marching toward democracy and respect for human rights."

     Amnesty International, however, said there's a "widening gap between America's words and action."      Powell, who released the State Department Human Rights Report for 2002, reported a general improvement around the world, but warned that in some places people are still denied these basic rights.      Human rights, the secretary said, were "not grounded exclusively in American or Western values but their protection worldwide serves a core U.S. national interest."      Commenting on the report, Amnesty International said: "As the scale and intensity of the war on terror increases, the distance between the words in this report and the actions of the U.S. government is greater than it has been in more than a decade."      Powell said this year's report covers 196 countries, ranging from defenders of human rights and democracy to the worst violators of human dignity.      "No country is expect from scrutiny," he added.      "Despite the generally honest and factual character of the report, it is reduced in value by being set adrift from this administration's development of foreign policy," said William F. Schulz, executive director of Amnesty International USA.      "The report serves as a gauge for our international human rights efforts, pointing to areas of progress and drawing our international human rights efforts, pointing to areas of progress and drawing our attention to new and continuing challenges," said Powell.      "When the administration does acknowledge the torture, abductions and killings that the report compiles so extensively, the policies it enacts are often selective, inconsistent and damaging to human rights," warns Amnesty International.      "In a world marching toward democracy and respect for human rights; the United States is a leader, a partner and a contributor. We have taken this responsibility with a deep and abiding belief that human rights are universal," declared Powell.      Over the period that the report covers, Amnesty International says it has documented Washington's elective attention to human rights, including the White House's citing torture in Iraq as partial justification for military action while dismissing concerns about its own ill-treatment of prisoners, including transfers of prisoners to countries where they are at risk of torture.      "The U.S. is the Jekyll and Hyde of human rights, at once praising the protection of human rights and discarding those protections at will," said Schulz. "In the name of combating terror, the U.S. has turned a blind eye to the effects its own actions have to the detriment of human rights in the world. Missing from this report is any shred of contrition for the rights trampled this past year as a result of increased U.S. support of governments that commit abuses," he added.      The report points out:      -- In Asia, democratic politics continued to develop in East Timor, with the ratification of a constitution, election of a president, and efforts to establish governance based on the rule of law and human rights protections. Taiwan's strides were also notable, with consolidation and improvement of civil liberties catching up to its free and open electoral system.      -- The push to meet European Union entry requirements resulted in positive human rights developments in aspirant countries. Turkey passed extensive human rights reform packages that covered a broadening of laws on freedom of speech, political activity and association, and fair trial. At the same time torture, although illegal, was still a serious problem and restrictions on freedom of the press remained.      -- Other positive developments in Europe included the first general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina to be conducted by local (not international) authorities since the Dayton Peace Accords. Macedonia also reaffirmed the strength of its democracy through peaceful elections while its parliament laid the legal groundwork for improving civil and minority rights by completing nearly all of the constitutional and legislative actions related to the Framework Agreement.      -- In the Middle East, several positive steps were taken. In May, the first open municipal council elections were held in Bahrain, and in October women joined men in exercising their right to vote for the first time in nearly 30 years to elect a national parliament. Morocco saw its first open elections in September, and in Qatar, a new constitution has been drafted and municipal elections are scheduled for April 2003. Female candidates will participate for the second time.      -- In Russia, a new Criminal Procedure Code that took effect in July permitted for the first time the application of existing Constitutional provisions that only upon a judicial decision could individuals be arrested, taken into custody or detained. The changes appeared to be having an effect on police, prosecutorial behavior and the judicial system, although there were reports of non-compliance in some regions.      -- The Chinese also continued to carry out some structural reforms in the areas of the rule of law and democracy. Direct elections at the village level took place in several provinces and pressure to move them to higher levels grew. Economic reform has led to legal reform, and legislatures continued experimenting with public hearings to incorporate public opinion into policy.      Political rights:      -- In 2002 six nations in the Western Hemisphere -- The Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica and Jamaica -- held elections for their chief of state or government. The Organization of American States, which adopted a democracy charter in 2001, put its collective commitment into action in 2002 with vigorous efforts to resolve the political crisis in Venezuela.      -- In Africa, Kenya's free election and peaceful transfer of power in December signaled hope for the consolidation of democratic politics there. A political crisis in Madagascar during the first half of 2002 was eventually resolved, and legislative elections were held. In Swaziland, respect for rights and rule of law took steps backward with a government declaration that it would not abide by court decisions.      -- In 2002 China continued to commit serious human rights abuses in violation of international human rights instruments and at year's end, a spate of arrests of political dissidents and the imposition of the death sentence on two Tibetans, the continued detentions of Rebiya Kadeer, Wang Youcai, Qin Yongmin and others, and restrictions on religious freedom and repression of some ethnic minorities were particularly troubling.      -- Zimbabwe's government has used a systematic campaign of violence and intimidation against stated and perceived supporters of the opposition, even to the extent of routinely and publicly denying food to these individuals. The government manipulated the composition of the courts and repeatedly refused to abide by judicial decisions, which undermined the judiciary.      -- In Central Asia, several republics of the former Soviet Union resisted positive change. In Turkmenistan the human rights situation deteriorated markedly after an attack on President Niyazov's motorcade in November, leading to serious violations of due process under the law including widespread arrests and forced evictions of suspects' families, use of torture, threats of rape and summary trials.      -- In Kazakhstan the government's poor human rights record worsened, including selective prosecution of opposition leaders and a pattern of media harassment suggesting an attempt to silence media critics. While there were positive steps in the first half of 2002, such as registration of the first human rights non-governmental organization and abolition of prior censorship of the media in Uzbekistan, there were also setbacks that are a cause of concern, including at least four deaths in detention due to torture.      -- The Kyrgyz Republic held a regional by-election in October, judged by independent monitoring groups to be marred by irregularities such as multiple voting and lax standards of voting eligibility. Harassment of media and civil society continued and police killed six unarmed protesters.      -- Pakistan's military regime began the process of restoring elected civilian governance at the national and provincial level in October. Observers deemed the elections to be flawed, but the new government seems reasonably representative.      Internal and other conflicts:      -- Throughout 2002, Sri Lanka made progress in implementing a cease-fire agreement between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil-Eelam. Prisoners have been exchanged, roadblocks reduced, internally displaced persons returned, and investigations into abuses by security forces have increased. There were unconfirmed reports that LTTE continued to commit extra-judicial killings, but observers believe the number decreased in 2002. There were also reports that LTTE continued to conscript children.      -- In Nepal, the Maoist campaign included killings, bombing, torture, forced conscription of children and other violent tactics. Government forces were accused of killing civilians and abusing others suspected of Maoist sympathies.      -- The war in Sierra Leone was officially declared over in January, and the Revolutionary United Front was disarmed. Remarkably peaceful presidential elections were held in May, although there were reports of election irregularities.      -- Elsewhere in Africa, conflicts continued to fuel human rights abuses. In Côte d'Ivoire, a coup attempt and ensuing civil unrest sparked violations by government and rebel forces. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, major abuses continued. Rwanda withdrew its troops by October, and Uganda only had 1,000 troops left in the country at year's end.      -- After 27 years, peace came to Angola in February. The former National Movement for the Total Liberation of Angola, or UNITA, rebel movement has disarmed and is transitioning into an unarmed political party, and the government -- working with the opposition -- is beginning to move the country toward new elections. The massive human rights violations of the civil war have come to an end, although an increase of abuses in Cabinda Province is worrisome. The primary focus will now be on the civil and political rights necessary for the conduct of free and fair elections as well as the establishment of the rule of law throughout the country.      -- Eritrea's record worsened through 2002. However, all recorded Ethiopian prisoners of war from the former conflict were released. Ethiopia also released the last of the Eritrean POWs during 2002.      -- In the Chechnya conflict, Russian forces and Chechen rebels continued to commit serious human rights violations. Government forces committed extra-judicial killings and at times used indiscriminate force, which resulted in civilian casualties. A number of government "cleansing" operations involved extensive abuses of civilians. Chechen rebels increased their killings of civilian officials and militia associated with the Russian-appointed Chechen administration. On Oct. 23, approximately 41 members of Chechen terrorist groups took more than 750 people hostage in a Moscow theater. The terrorists killed one hostage; another 128 hostages died in the rescue effort.      -- Iraq's Republican Guard and other members of the security apparatus committed widespread and systematic human rights abuses including killings, torture, disappearances, rapes and imprisonment of Iraqi political opposition and ethnic and religious minorities.      -- In Cambodia, incidents of extra-judicial killings began to increase as the country prepares for 2003 elections amidst a culture of impunity and with serious shortcomings in the government's investigations.      -- In Afghanistan there was dramatic improvement over the past year, but respect for human rights varied widely in different parts of the country. The reappearance of the Taliban's Department of Vice and Virtue, in the form of the new authority's Department of Accountability and Religious Affairs, bears monitoring. Likewise, reprisals against ethnic Pashtuns -- albeit with a limited religious dimension -- occurred in areas controlled by some local Northern Alliance commanders.      -- Other internal conflicts have a more pronounced religious dimension. Saudi Arabia continued to deny religious freedom to non-Muslims by prohibiting them from engaging in public worship. In some cases, non-Muslim individuals and private gatherings of worshippers were subject to harassment, leading to arrest, detainment, torture and deportation. Shiite Muslims faced widespread discrimination, including imprisonment and torture.      -- Sectarian violence erupted in India's Gujarat Province in February, where as many as 2,000 people -- mostly Muslims -- died. Elections in Jammu and Kashmir, and in Gujarat, were held successfully despite widespread terrorist violence and the new state government has proposed steps to ease repression and reduce alienation. Throughout India however, light punishment for instigators of violence and perpetrators of abuse remained a stumbling block to further improvement.

WAR.WIRE

CARACAS (AFP) Mar 31, 2003 Venezuela, the only Latin American member of OPEC, remains opposed to the US-led invasion of Iraq but has ignored Baghdad's demand for oil-producing countries to stop sales to the United States and Britain.

"We have always defended the idea at the heart of OPEC, and it is the policy of the current government, not to play politics with the oil supply," said Venezuelan Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez, as he guaranteed his country's supplies to the United States.

Iraq had called on its fellow OPEC members last week to stop the flow of oil to the United States and Britain.

Venezuela is the fifth largest oil exporter and the eighth largest producer, and along with Saudi Arabia and Mexico is a major supplier to the United States.

President Hugo Chavez has repeatedly made clear his government's opposition to US-led military action in Iraq. Some government spokesmen have even suggested that a side-aim of the conflict was to break up OPEC.

Therein lies a contradiction, according to oil expert and university lecturer Victor Poleo.

"The agression against Iraq being about oil, and Iraq being a member of OPEC, it's contradictory that Venezuela should assure the United States of its supplies," he said, adding that oil was inherently political and that the conflict in Iraq would leave a deep wound in OPEC.

A second oil analyst close to the Venezuelan opposition disagreed.

There was no other position for the country to adopt, except to guarantee supplies to its principal client, according to Alberto Quiros Corradi.

Ideological differences "are one thing, commercial and bilateral relations are another," he said.

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<a href=Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Monday, March 31, 2003 By: Gustavo Coronel

VHeadline.com commentarist Gustavo Coronel writes: When Hugo Chavez won the Presidential elections in 1998, I had been fighting government corruption for some years, under the governments of Perez, Lusinchi, Herrera and Caldera. Although I did not vote for Chavez, I welcomed his promise to fight corruption. He won but ... four years later ... not only he has not fulfilled his promises but, worse, he has allowed government corruption to attain even higher levels than those of the preceding governments.

There is no doubt that the fight against corruption has to originate within government itself.

As president of a NGO engaged in fighting corruption in Venezuela since 1990, I had established excellent contacts with Transparency International, a worldwide organization which fights corruption. In fact, I became its representative in Venezuela.

I had the moral and the financial support of a US-based civic group. I had developed good chemistry with the government office leading the anti-corruption efforts.

All this ended with the arrival of Chavez.

The Moral Power, organism in charge of fighting corruption according to the new Constitution, became staffed with Presidential friends, and has never moved a finger to attack government corruption.  Without the government will to engage in the fight, our own efforts soon came to a halt.  I wrote Transparency International saying that if the government did not try, our efforts would be futile.

The results of these four years of government without accountability, without checks and balances, without a strong civil society auditing capacity, have been tragic. Venezuela is today the fourth more corrupt country in Latin America, only perceived as more "honest" than Ecuador, Haiti and Paraguay.

In spite of its civil war, Colombia has made significant progress in the fight against corruption, due to the existence of a government will.

Corruption in Venezuela generally has three main causes: Motive, Opportunity and Impunity.

Motive is claimed by thousands of public employees who feel underpaid and distrusted by the community. Many of them feel that they might as well get what they can while they can. Their Code of Ethics has only one word: Greed.

Opportunity is everywhere present in our government. When you combine ineptness with lack of controls and administrative procedures, chaotic management and indifferent bureaucrats, opportunities for corruption are present in every government office. The President has made this tendency worse as he tries to take all decisions and control all agencies, from the financial to the industrial. As a result nobody is moving things along and the backlog of pending tasks is piling up. This is the ideal "soup" for the microbes of corruption.

Impunity and is the most damaging. No one is punished, no one is indicted, everybody is doing "a great job." Some $10 billion have been wasted or stolen during these four years but no one is made accountable. If you ask how can an elephant go unnoticed in Main Street, the answer is simple: As part of a large group of elephants! Scandals are already so numerous in the times of Chavez that one more is bound to go unnoticed.

Fortunately, Transparency International is coming back to Venezuela, now allied with a new civic group called "Mirador Democratico." They know all about the Venezuelan situation and this will put them in a collision course with the government.

In their first meeting, held in Caracas last Thursday (March 27), they accepted that the fight against corruption has to go on ... in spite of the indifference of the government ... in spite of the government being part of the problem and not part of the solution. The speakers already noted that corruption in time of Chavez has been enormous.

• I, personally, contributed a list of the ten major scandals under this government ... what could be called the Hit Parade of Venezuelan Corruption ... at least two of these scandals directly involve the President.

An organized reaction against corruption during this administration ... and we use this term with considerable poetic license ... has started in earnest. National and international organizations are, again, together in this fight.

We welcome these renewed efforts!

Gustavo Coronel is the founder and president of Agrupacion Pro Calidad de Vida (The Pro-Quality of Life Alliance), a Caracas-based organization devoted to fighting corruption and the promotion of civic education in Latin America, primarily Venezuela. A member of the first board of directors (1975-1979) of Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), following nationalization of Venezuela's oil industry, Coronel has worked in the oil industry for 28 years in the United States, Holland, Indonesia, Algiers and in Venezuela. He is a Distinguished alumnus of the University of Tulsa (USA) where he was a Trustee from 1987 to 1999. Coronel led the Hydrocarbons Division of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) in Washington DC for 5 years. The author of three books and many articles on Venezuela ("Curbing Corruption in Venezuela." Journal of Democracy, Vol. 7, No. 3, July, 1996, pp. 157-163), he is a fellow of Harvard University and a member of the Harvard faculty from 1981 to 1983.  In 1998, he was presidential election campaign manager for Henrique Salas Romer and now lives in retirement on the Caribbean island of Margarita where he runs a leading Hotel-Resort.  You may contact Gustavo Coronel at email ppcvicep@telcel.net.ve

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Monday, March 31, 2003 By: Gustavo Coronel

"A map of the World which does not include Utopia is not worth even glancing at..." Oscar Wilde.

VHeadline.com commentarist Gustavo Coronel writes: In James Hilton´s novel "Lost Horizons" the main character Conway is last "seen" going back to Tibet, trying to reach Shangri-La, the place where he had found love and happiness. The novel closes with someone asking someone else the wistful question: "Do you think he will ever find it?"... meaning, of course: "Do you think We will ever find it?"....

Shangri-La is one of the many Utopias created by man´s imagination, from the fictional island of Utopia conceived by Tomas More in 1516 to the most recent social, religious or political experiments in search of happiness.

This search has adopted many forms:

1. The yearning for the natural life, as in the innocence of the American Indians before Columbus´arrival, or as in the Tahiti of Robert Louis Stevenson or Gauguin, or as in the dreams of equality among the good savages of Rousseau.
2. The search for the Kingdom of God on Earth, religious Utopias such as in Muslim fundamentalism, in Amish, Quaker or Mormon communities.
3. In capitalist Utopias such as the Scandinavian societies, or as in the planned urban communities like Sedona, Reston, La Jolla, all in the US or Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela.
4. Ideological Utopias, such as Mao´s China, the Zionist Kibutz Shalom or the Soviet or Hungarian revolutions.

Some Utopias have been small in size, others covering entire countries. Most have failed in fulfilling collective expectations. The Tahitians, upon contact with the English, developed an "Utopia" of their own based on the worst habits of the visitors. Many stopped bathing, became rum addicts, started to steal.

When Cook left back home many islanders insisted in going with him but could not and were left crying in the lagoon. Many kibutzniks quit after resenting the excessive supervision and the hard work,

The flower children communes blossomed by the thousands in the US, only to disappear months or short years later.

Most of them were only held together by the charisma of a leader, often mentally unbalanced, which made stability of the commune very fragile and often led to tragedy.

As an adolescent, I read many Utopias and developed a strong interest in the subject. For some years I accepted the traditional meaning of Utopia as an impossible dream, as a place "which does not exist."

I was happy enough to think that what made Utopia worthwhile as a concept was to live yearning for it, knowing that we would never get there. As in the case of the other famous island in literature, Ithaca, what seemed to be important was the journey itself. But I now realize, as surely many others have or will, that Utopia is not only a spiritual reality that is born within us but is also a very physical reality, a real place.

In his book "Voyages to Utopia" William McCord says that "in Greek, with slight changes in spelling Utopia can either mean "nowhere" or "a good place" ... this means that many of us have probably spent a good portion of our lives in Utopia. This happens to be true in my case since I have felt happy and well adjusted in several "good places" and because those places possessed objectively many of the qualities which its habitants, including me, were looking for.

I certainly grew up in Utopia, the town of Los Teques, near Caracas, a town of some 16,000 people in the 1940-1950 period. The town was almost a mile high and came complete with a train, a municipal band which played twice a week at the main square and a superb high school managed by Salesian priests, among the best teachers in the world.

The town was like a big family, as it usually happens in groups which accomplish great things together, such as baseball teams that win the world series. Even today the "tequenos" of that time are united by very strong bonds of special friendship. When they meet they feel that "points of light flash out," as in the verse of W. H. Auden.

The objective reality of the town had a lot to do with this. The great climate, the luscious vegetation, the wonderful sense of humor that grew wild in young and old alike and the predominant zest for life, all contributed to an overall feeling of well-being. Our family was poor but I did not realize it, as we lived as decorously as the only millionaire in town. After all he only could eat three times a day, like we did.

This model of Utopia as a good place has accompanied me through adulthood and into the threshold of old age. I have lived in several Utopias: Tulsa, Oklahoma; Lafayette, Louisiana; The Hague, Holland and, for the last ten years or so, Sabana del Medio, near Valencia. Only that, this last place, probably one of the most wonderful Utopias of them all, is under siege by social groups which have very different values and manners of living to ours.

Their Utopia is clearly not ours.

Utopias are very much alive, not only in our hearts but as physical realities, in communities of people who share some basic values, where common problems are faced with solidarity and unselfishness.

These Utopias tend to be small, no bigger than 50,000 inhabitants.

Large communities almost inevitably become impersonal and hostile. Some, like Caracas, have gone from being "the subsidiary of Heaven," during the 1940s and 1950s, to being hell on earth today due to a combination of filth, crime and government ineptness.

To be a good candidate for living in Utopia, no money or social status is required. A good humanistic education helps a lot, as well as a good sense of humor and unshakeable self-esteem.

Look out for Utopia ... it could be just around the corner!

Gustavo Coronel is the founder and president of Agrupacion Pro Calidad de Vida (The Pro-Quality of Life Alliance), a Caracas-based organization devoted to fighting corruption and the promotion of civic education in Latin America, primarily Venezuela. A member of the first board of directors (1975-1979) of Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), following nationalization of Venezuela's oil industry, Coronel has worked in the oil industry for 28 years in the United States, Holland, Indonesia, Algiers and in Venezuela. He is a Distinguished alumnus of the University of Tulsa (USA) where he was a Trustee from 1987 to 1999. Coronel led the Hydrocarbons Division of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) in Washington DC for 5 years. The author of three books and many articles on Venezuela ("Curbing Corruption in Venezuela." Journal of Democracy, Vol. 7, No. 3, July, 1996, pp. 157-163), he is a fellow of Harvard University and a member of the Harvard faculty from 1981 to 1983.  In 1998, he was presidential election campaign manager for Henrique Salas Romer and now lives in retirement on the Caribbean island of Margarita where he runs a leading Hotel-Resort.  You may contact Gustavo Coronel at email ppcvicep@telcel.net.ve

By MATHEW INGRAM Globe and Mail Update

If you think the stock market has seen a dramatic reversal of fortune, with a burst of optimism followed by a sharp decline, that's nothing compared with what oil has gone through. After rising to 10-year highs in the lead-up to war, crude tanked by more than 25 per cent after the shooting began, but has since made back more than half that ground — and it's not just bad news on the war front that has traders nervous.

What drove crude up close to the $40 (U.S.) a barrel level in the weeks leading up to the war was fear about a replay of the Persian Gulf war, in which Iraqi forces set fire to hundreds of Kuwaiti oilfields and threw a massive wrench into global oil supplies. When those fears were dispelled by the quick capture of Iraq's major oilfields and the war as a whole appeared to be going well, crude sank back to the mid $20s.

Have those fears come back to the forefront for some reason? No. Although the northern Kirkuk fields are still vulnerable, the majority of Iraq's oil production remains in the hands of the U.S.-led coalition, and U.S. forces continue to control the country's access to the Persian Gulf. So far, the war hasn't spilled over into Kuwait, Iran or Israel either, another fear that helped push pessimism higher.

On top of all that, OPEC — and especially Saudi Arabia, the major swing producer in the global crude cartel — helped pop the oil-price balloon when it said that it was willing and able to pump more to make up for the effect of war. Saudi Arabia alone said that it was pumping about one million barrels a day more than its previous quota, and that it had stockpiled about 55 million barrels. So why has crude climbed again?

Part of the rise is likely as a result of a feeling that the war isn't going as well as it was, and that this will keep Iraqi oil out of the market for longer than expected. But there's more to it than that. In the same way that the stock market has other things to worry about, including weak corporate spending and high unemployment, the oil market has other problems on its mind too — such as supply problems.

In the runup to war it was supply disruptions in Venezuela that were weighing on the minds of oil traders and helping keep prices high, as a labour dispute paralyzed the Latin American OPEC producer's output. As those concerns were dealt with and the war looked to be going well, crude prices began to subside — and now, just as those hopes have been proven too optimistic, the oil market confronts problems in Nigeria.

As of Monday, more than 40 per cent of Nigeria's previous production of 2.2 million barrels a day had been shut down as a result of civil unrest in the oil-producing western Delta region. There have been a series of violent uprisings by ethnic Ijaw militants, and several companies including Royal Dutch Shell have been reluctant to send workers into the area. To make matters worse, a major trade union is threatening a strike, which could further paralyze that country's crude oil production.

On top of all that, OPEC members are producing at or close to their peak production levels, and oil inventories in the United States are 7 per cent below the levels they were at a year ago. As a result, most analysts believe crude is likely to stay in the $30 range, after climbing too high before the war and falling too low afterward. As one trader said: "Prices appear to be entering a sideways phase, which will last until there are definitive developments." In other words, stay tuned.

E-mail Mathew Ingram at mingram@globeandmail.ca

Look for exclusive Mathew Ingram commentary at GlobeInvestorGold