October 2001 • Rockbites Alternative Daily
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October 2001 • Rockbites Alternative Daily
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Asian governments toss human rights in new clamp down 15 October 2001
The governments of China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, and Turkmenistan, among others, are reacting to the 11 September terrorist attacks in part by escalating their ongoing violations of human rights, according to reports from rights advocacy group Amnesty International. Their basic strategy is to clamp down on all Muslims, not only those belonging to extremist factions. To offer some perspective, an equivalent sort of policy in America might be for the US government to detain and torture people from all branches of Christianity based on the terrorist acts of extremists that kill workers at abortion clinics. But the clamp down goes beyond targeting of devout Muslims. Amnesty writes “The Chinese authorities do not distinguish between 'terrorism' and 'separatism.' Separatism in fact covers a broad range of activities, most of which amount to no more than peaceful opposition or dissent. Preaching or teaching Islam outside government controls is also considered subversive.” Amnesty International recently expressed concerned that the blurring of separatism and terrorism will escalate China’s oppression of the people of Tibet. In Uzbekistan, the government is, in effect, enforcing a state religion despite constitutional guarantees for separation of church and state. Tactics include arbitrary arrest, detention, and torture, according to Amnesty. Starting in November of last year, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan closed their borders to fleeing Afghan refugees, out of fear that soldiers of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan—widely considered the most dangerous threat to the region’s stability—would enter the country as well. As a result, 10,000 destitute Afghan citizens were stranded. We have not seen reports of numbers of additional stranded refugees since the start of the NATO bombing against the Taliban, but we’re hopeful that some of the US food air drops are reaching them. Meanwhile, the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) have called on the US government to halt military and financial support of the Northern Alliance, whom they claim have a longstanding history of committing atrocities and because of the NA’s antidemocratic and oppressive policies. They’ve posted a statement on their Website (check our link). | Amnesty International 11 Sep coverage | | AI press releases | | RAWA | | top of page | |
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