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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: lurqer who wrote (41974)	4/9/2004 1:30:08 PM
From: lurqer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

US war on terror takes its toll on democracy: Study NEW YORK : Key US allies in the war on terror such as Pakistan , Jordan and Uzbekistan are undermining democratic principles and violating the basic human rights of their citizens, concludes a study released by a pro-democracy non-profit group. The growing involvement of the military in Pakistani society is a "major obstacle" to democracy, and Uzbekistan has committed "gross violations" of human rights and religious freedom, said the report released on Tuesday by Freedom House. Jordan , which has provided valuable intelligence on terrorist plots to the US , has "significantly limited" the ability of its citizens to choose their leaders or shape public policy, the report said. Pakistan is crucial to US efforts to hunt down al-Qaeda leaders, and Jordan allowed US troops to operate from its territory during the war in Iraq in 2003. Hundreds of US troops are also in Uzbekistan , where police battled dozens of suspected terrorists in the capital, Tashkent , last week. The survey, which was funded by the US State Department, assessed 30 countries that are "at a crucial phase in their democratic evolution" and "(significant) to the future of democracy in their region." The report said its findings could be helpful to the US government in allocating foreign aid. In Afghanistan, the report found that the "rule of the gun largely supersedes the rule of law" and said that additional military support is urgently needed to stabilise the country outside of Kabul, where warlords still hold enormous power. It said the rights of some Afghan women remain at Taliban-era levels in regions such as Herat , where the provincial governor imposed restrictions on women's freedom of movement and education and forced virginity tests on young women. The report described Pakistan as a "semi-authoritarian state" ruled by President Gen Pervez Musharraf, who governs "with a veneer of constitutional democratic rule." The report attacked repressive laws against women such as the Hudood Ordinance, which "equates rape with consensual sex" and regards 10-year-old females as adults. It said Uzbekistan has instituted few reforms since it became independent after the breakup of the Soviet Union and shows a "monolithic unwillingness to make meaningful democratic reforms." The report also accused the government of conducting mass arrests of opposition Muslims. timesofindia.indiatimes.com lurqer