U.S. Should Oppose Allies' Misuse of 'Anti-Terror'

(New York, September 25, 2001) --
In recent days, a number of governments around the world have taken
advantage of the attacks of September 11 to justify internal crackdowns
against those they deem to be terrorists and "separatists."
Russia has compared the U.S. war on
terrorism to its own brutal
campaign against Chechen rebels. China has requested support for its
repressive policies in Tibet and the Muslim region of Xinjiang. Egypt
has lashed out against outside criticism of its human rights record,
saying that the world should now adopt its fight against terrorism as a
model.

"If an American-led counter-terrorism effort becomes associated with
attacks on peaceful dissent and religious expression, it will undermine
everything the United States is trying to achieve," said Kenneth Roth,
Executive Director of Human Rights Watch. "Many countries are sensing
that the United States will condone actions committed in
the name of anti-terrorism that it would have condemned a short time
ago."

The danger of this kind of opportunism is particularly acute in Central
Asia, Human Rights Watch said. Uzbekistan, which U.S. military forces
will be using as a staging ground for operations in Afghanistan, has in
recent years imprisoned thousands of non-violent Muslims for worshiping
outside state controls or joining unregistered religious organizations.

"President Bush has rightly said this can't become a war on Islam," Roth
said. "Uzbekistan's indiscriminate persecution of non-violent Muslims is
directly undermining his message."

Human Rights Watch called on the U.S. administration to continue denying
U.S. security assistance to those who might use it to commit human
rights abuses, to avoid cooperative activities that will be read by
abusive governments as condoning their practices, and to publicly
condemn efforts by repressive governments to take advantage of the
recent attack.

A copy of the letter sent to Secretary Powell can be found at
http://www.hrw.org/press/2001/09/uspowell0924.htm.

For more information on human rights and the September 11 attacks,
please see Aftermath of the September 11 Attacks: Human Rights
Implications (HRW focus page) at
http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/september11/.

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