Powell: U.S. leads march to democracy

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.