US panel wants Pakistan blacklisted for ‘violating’ religious freedom

[candypreet]

US panel wants Pakistan blacklisted for ‘violating’ religious freedom

WASHINGTON: A US Congress-mandated commission advised the government on Wednesday to blacklist Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for alleged violation of religious freedom and beliefs.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom also sought the removal of India from the government’s list of “countries of particular concern” following “significant” improvements in that country since the defeat of the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2004 polls.

The State Department annually blacklists countries for alleged religious freedom violations based on recommendations from the commission, whose 10 members are jointly appointed by President George W. Bush and Congress.

Last year, the department added Eritrea, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam to the blacklist, which already included China, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea and Sudan.

Countries added to the department’s blacklist could face government sanctions on various fronts.

Commission chairman Preeta Bansal, in announcing the panel’s findings at a news conference Wednesday, said the governments of Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan “have engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom.”

The commission also included Bangladesh on a “watchlist” of countries where conditions do not rise to the statutory level that requires blacklisting but are of enough concern to warrant “close monitoring.”

Those already on the watchlist are Belarus, Cuba, Egypt, Indonesia and Nigeria.

Georgia and Laos have been removed from the watchlist this year, the commission said.

Bansal also said that for the first time, the commission had received a formal invitation from the Chinese government to visit China.In a letter containing the commission’s recommendations to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Bansal said: “We hope to work with you and your staff as we negotiate a commission visit to China this year.”

The commission slammed the Chinese government “for pervasive and severe violations of religious freedom and related human rights.

“Every religious community in China is subject to restrictions, discrimination and state control,” it said. afp
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_12-5-2005_pg7_42

[Becky]

I was wondering how long it would take for people to recognize the religious persecution in those areas.

[candypreet]

bump :) :)

[candypreet]

:add09: hello again:)

[candypreet]

I was wondering how long it would take for people to recognize the religious persecution in those areas.
years?

[rabzon]

US panel wants Pakistan blacklisted for ‘violating’ religious freedom
I am all for it!

[candypreet]

I am all for it!

but its not going to happen very soon

[candypreet]

any comments..............................?........... .

[Bman]

Agence France Presse -- English

January 4, 2007 Thursday 5:04 AM GMT

US should consider suspending aid to Pakistan's police: study

WASHINGTON, Jan 3 2007


The United States should consider suspending financial aid to Pakistan's internal security forces because of their failure to respect human rights, a leading US think tank said in a report Wednesday.

The RAND Corp. study evaluated US assistance to security forces in Afghanistan, El Salvador, Uzbekistan and Pakistan since the attacks of September 11, 2001, examining whether police performance improved as well as human rights practices.

"The United States should significantly restructure or even withdraw its assistance to repressive regimes if their internal security agencies fail to improve transparency, human rights practices and overall effectiveness," said Seth Jones, one of the lead authors of the study.

In repressive climates, "cooperation might continue, but assistance to law enforcement agencies should stop," Jones said. And "this option should be considered in Pakistan," the think tank said in a statement.

Despite US assistance, Pakistani security forces continue to impose "highly draconian punishments such as home demolition, the seizure of businesses, and the forfeiture of other properties and assets," according to RAND.

"We found little evidence that the United States has paid very much attention to human rights issues in its programs of security assistance to Pakistan," said Olga Oliker, the other principal author of the report.

"Moreover, there is little evidence of improvement in Pakistan's accountability and human rights practices over the last five years," she added.

Pakistan's foreign ministry Wednesday rejected the report.

"Well, this is a report by one think tank. I don't think it is important to dignify this report," said ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam in Islamabad.

"Human rights are important and we attach great importance to the protection and promotion of human rights," she said, adding that human rights violations occur everywhere, "even in the United States."

Human rights "are closely linked with development and as we make progress and move towards a fairer global trade regime, we hope that it would facilitate our effort of promoting human rights in Pakistan," she said.

Of the four countries studied, the aid directed to countries moving from an authoritarian system to democratic reform, such as Afghanistan and El Salvador, "has been more effective in improving their internal security forces than assistance to governments that remain repressive, such as Pakistan and Uzbekistan," the study said.

Countries emerging from conflict provide a window of opportunity to shape new security forces and are more open to advice from outside actors such as the United States or the United Nations, the report said.

As for Uzbekistan, US assistance was "largely unsuccessful in fostering broader reform." RAND recommended improved oversight of the aid effort and curtailing less effective programs.

Entitled "Securing Tyrants or Fostering Reform," the study was conducted by California-based RAND for the Open Society Institute, a private foundation founded by investor and philanthropist George Soros.

[Camp]

The list coincides nicely with the worst human rights records as well.

Religious intolerance=disregard for human life.

Mohammad's minions need to evolve.