Friday, January 31 1997; Page A16, The Washington Post
The State Department chastised several of this country's closest allies and biggest trading partners for human rights abuses yesterday, saying that despite some gains "patterns of repressions and systemic human rights abuses continued in many countries, including some of the world's largest and most influential."
Among the countries cited for a wide range of abuses, such as prison brutality and curbs on freedom of speech, were close U.S. partners Turkey, Egypt and Pakistan. The report also criticized economic powerhouses courted by the Clinton administration including Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and China.
Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, releasing the department's annual country-by-country assessment of individual freedom and the rule of law, said "Human rights are and will remain a key element in our foreign policy, both in our bilateral relationships and in our leadership within international organizations."
It was clear from the massive report, however, that while concern over rights abuses and restrictions on freedom are the determining factor in relations with some countries -- notably Cuba and Burma -- they are often subordinated to economic and strategic interests.
The Clinton administration has made that choice most dramatically in the case of China. Strategic and economic concerns there are so powerful that Albright, Vice President Gore and President Clinton are all planning to visit this year despite what yesterday's report called "widespread and well documented human rights abuses."
In China last year, the report said, "all public dissent against the party and government was effectively silenced by intimidation, exile, the imposition of prison terms, administrative detention or house arrest. No dissidents were known to be active at year's end."
Asked why the administration would pursue good relations with China under those circumstances while ostracizing Cuba for similar policies, Assistant Secretary of State John Shattuck observed that "every country is different in this world and every country needs to be treated in our foreign policy with a particular approach. There are many different interests that the United States has in many countries of the world."
Business leaders and strategic planners have applauded this approach as a pragmatic and realistic recognition that some countries are too important to be snubbed over their human rights records, however dismal. Conversely, human rights activists have criticized the administration for maintaining ties to unsavory regimes.
The human rights report "is strong and hard hitting but what the administration needs is an equally tough and consistent human rights policy," said Mike Jendrzejczyk, Washington director of Human Rights Watch/Asia. "On China, the report documents an escalation of abuses while the White House follows a failed constructive engagement policy. How useful is a well done report if it has little or no impact on U.S. policy?"
"The administration's policies often don't follow the State Department's findings," complained the New York-based Lawyers Committee for Human Rights.
In country after country, yesterday's report makes clear, the "many different interests" cited by Shattuck have led the administration to set aside its distaste for human rights conditions in pursuit of good relations.
In Egypt, for example, where the main U.S. interests are Middle East peace and the restraint of Islamic militancy, the State Department found "the government's human rights record improved somewhat over the past year, although it remains poor. . . . Security forces continue to mistreat and torture prisoners, arbitrarily arrest and detain persons, hold detainees in prolonged pretrial detention and occasionally engage in mass arrests."
In Saudi Arabia, where the overriding interest is oil, the report asserted that "the government commits and tolerates serious human rights abuses" and "severely limits freedom of speech and the press. The authorities do not countenance criticism of Islam, the ruling family or the government."
In Indonesia, which Clinton has visited and where the United States has growing trade interests, the State Department found the government "continued to commit serious human rights abuses. Rising pressures for change, including those by political activists and opponents, triggered tough government actions that further infringed on fundamental rights."
The State Department report had predictably harsh words on Iran and delivered a scathing assessment of the performance of the beleaguered government of President Slobodan Milosevic in Serbia.
In Serbia, the State Department said, "the police committed numerous, serious abuses including extrajudicial killings torture, brutal beatings, and arbitrary arrests."
As expected, the report stepped up criticism of Germany for an officially sanctioned campaign of harassment and discrimination against members of the Church of Scientology, noting some church members have lost jobs or been barred from political party membership because of their religious affiliation. Perhaps the most surprising section of the report deals with conditions in Haiti, where the Clinton administration made a major political and financial investment by sending troops to restore a democratically elected government to power -- an investment heavily criticized by congressional Republicans.
While conditions are better than under military rule, the report said, "A significant number of serious abuses occurred, and cases of abuse remained steady in frequency and severity during the course of the year."
Haiti's judiciary remains "weak and corrupt," the State Department said, and the U.S.-trained security forces engaged in "arbitrary arrests" and "extrajudicial killings."
SOME PROBLEM AREAS
EXCERPTS FROM THE STATE DEPARTMENT'S HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT
CHINA
"All public dissent against the party and government was effectively silenced by intimidation, exile, the imposition of prison terms, administrative detention or house arrest."
CUBA
"Remains a totalitarian anachronism, where human rights deteriorated in 1996 and suppression of dissent worsened."
HAITI
"In practice the judiciary is weak and corrupt. . . . Arbitrary arrests, the clogged judicial docket, lengthy pretrial detention, poor prison conditions, illegal searches and vigilante activity -- including killings -- also contributed to widespread human rights violations."
NIGERIA
"Security forces committed extrajudicial killings, tortured and beat suspects and detainees; prison conditions remained life-threatening; and security officials continued routinely to harass human rights and democracy activists."
WEST BANK AND GAZA STRIP
"Both Israel and the P.A. [Palestinian Authority] were responsible for serious human rights abuses. . . . There were also credible reports that Israeli authorities continue to abuse and torture Palestinian detainees and prisoners. . . . There were also credible reports that the P.A. continues to abuse and torture detainees."
RUSSIA
In Chechnya, "Russian forces engaged in the indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force, resulting in numerous civilian deaths. They also prevented civilians from evacuating from areas of imminent danger and humanitarian organizations from assisting civilians in need."
SAUDI ARABIA
"The government commits and tolerates serious human rights abuses. There is no mechanism for citizens to change their government, and citizens do not have this right."
SOURCES: State Department, Associated Press
@CAPTION: Secretary of State Albright calls human rights "key element" in U.S. policy.
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