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Amnesty condemns 'War on Terror'<br><br>
Wednesday 26 May 2004 10:47 AM GMT <br><br>
<br>
<b>Washington's global ''anti-terror'' policies are bankrupt of vision,
according to a leading human rights group.<br><br>
</b></font><font size=2>Amnesty International charged the US on Wednesday
with sacrificing basic human rights in the blind pursuit of security.
<br>
<br>
The watchdog also rapped War on Terror partners across the world for
jailing suspects unfairly, stamping on legitimate political and religious
dissent and squeezing asylum-seekers. <br>
<br>
"The global security agenda promoted by the US administration is
bankrupt of vision and bereft of principle," Amnesty head Irene Khan
said, launching its annual report. <br>
<br>
"Violating rights at home, turning a blind eye to abuses abroad and
using pre-emptive military force where and when it chooses has damaged
justice and freedom - and made the world a more dangerous place."
<br>
<br>
<b>Specifics<br><br>
</b>Amnesty lashed Washington for unlawful killings of Iraqi civilians;
questionable arrest and mistreatment of prisoners in Iraq, Guantanamo Bay
and Afghanistan and opposition to the new global criminal court. <br>
<br>
"The world is crying out for principled leadership," Khan
added, saying the negative effects of US-led anti-terror policies had
spread far and wide. <br>
<br>
"Governments are losing their moral compass, sacrificing the global
values of human rights in a blind pursuit of security." <br>
<br>
<b>More reproaches<br><br>
</b>In Europe and Asia, Amnesty criticised regressive anti-terror
legislation, attacks on refugee protection and restrictions on freedom of
association and expression. <br><br>
It singled out Britain for holding 14 foreigners without charge, Spain
for closing a Basque-language newspaper, the EU for ignoring human rights
in its asylum thinking, and Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan for internal
repression. <br>
<br>
In China, India, Malaysia, Pakistan and Thailand "the belief ...
that human rights could be curtailed under the War on Terror umbrella was
particularly apparent," with hundreds of detainees left in legal
limbo, Amnesty's report said. <br>
<br>
Arab nations also came in for criticism for allowing the transfer of
people between states without judicial proceedings. <br>
<br>
<b>Pretext of War<br><br>
</b>"While some states, such as Egypt and Syria, had long-standing
states of emergency in place, the War on Terror was used as a pretext to
legitimise existing practices, such as long-term administrative detention
and unfair trials by special courts whose procedures fell far short of
international standards," the annual report said. <br>
<br>
"Other states, such as Morocco and Tunisia, introduced new
'anti-terrorism' laws during the year, which posed a further threat to
basic human rights." <br>
<br>
Amnesty also condemned the "callous, cruel and criminal
attacks" by groups such as al-Qaida. <br>
<br>
The combined effect of those attacks and states' violations of rights was
to create the most serious assault on rights and humanitarian law in half
a century and make "a world of growing mistrust, fear and
division", it said. <br>
<br>
With Iraq and anti-terror policies dominating, world attention has been
diverted from old wars, the group also noted. <br><br>
Conflict in Chechnya, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan
and Nepal remain "a breeding ground for some of the worst
atrocities."<br><br>
</font><font size=3><b>Reuters<br>
<br><br>
</b>You can find this article at:<br>
<a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/EEE7ED4B-2E82-45DA-84C7-13CB95C9E907.htm" eudora="autourl">http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/EEE7ED4B-2E82-45DA-84C7-13CB95C9E907.htm</a>
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