China, Russia, U.S. focus of human rights report; World "looks to U.S. as role model."

[DeepModem Mom]

CNN: China, Russia, U.S. focus of human rights report


Amnesty International protestors outside the US Supreme Court in January dressed as Guantanamo Bay detainees.

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Human rights and freedom of the press in China, the detention of terrorist suspects by the United States and Russia's treatment of political dissent are the focus of scrutiny in Amnesty International's annual report, released Wednesday, which looks at the state of human rights around the world....

Irene Khan, Amnesty's secretary-general, said that in particular, "the human-rights flash points in Darfur, Zimbabwe, Gaza, Iraq and Myanmar demand immediate attention."...

Of the 150 countries and regions listed in the report, Amnesty paid particular attention to China, the host of this summer's Olympic Games. The group said growing numbers of human rights activists were imprisoned or harassed in China in 2007, with ethnic and religious minorities -- including Tibetans, Falun Gong practitioners and Christians -- repressed or persecuted. Death penalty statistics in China are difficult to assess, Amnesty said, but based on public reports, the group estimated that at least 470 people were executed in 2007. Amnesty also noted the repression of free speech in China and said censorship of the Internet and other media intensified last year....Around 30 journalists and at least 50 others are known to be in prison for posting their views online, Amnesty said.

Amnesty also criticized the death penalty in the United States, where 42 people were executed last year....

As it has in previous annual reports, Amnesty criticized the detention of hundreds of foreign nationals at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. "The USA must close Guantanamo detention camp and secret detention centers, prosecute the detainees under fair trial standards or release them, and unequivocally reject the use of torture and ill-treatment," Amnesty said. The group noted that Guantanamo detainees are held indefinitely, most of them without charge and without recourse to U.S. courts. Most detainees there are held in isolation in maximum-security facilities, heightening concerns for their physical and mental health, Amnesty said.

In fact, more is written on the United States than any other country listed in the report. Asked about that at a press conference Tuesday, Khan said, "We certainly devote a lot of time to Sudan, to China, to Zimbabwe and other countries. But we look to the U.S. to provide leadership around the world. Governments around the world look to the United States as a role model for their own behavior."...

***

Russia must show greater tolerance for political dissent, Amnesty said. "The Russian authorities were increasingly intolerant of dissent or criticism, branding it 'unpatriotic,' " the report said. "A crackdown on civil and political rights was evident throughout the year and in particular during the run-up to the State Duma (parliament) elections in December." The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Russia was responsible for enforced disappearances, torture and extrajudicial executions in 15 judgments relating to the recent conflict in Chechnya, Amnesty said. There were fewer reported disappearances in the Chechen Republic in 2007 than in previous years, Amnesty said, but continued human rights violations made people reluctant to report abuses....

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/05/27/human.rights.report/index.html

[electropop]

1. We sure are a role model.

Governments around the world look to the United States as a role model for their own behavior."...
..."The Russian authorities were increasingly intolerant of dissent or criticism, branding it 'unpatriotic,' "

Putin has taken a page right out of Bush's book (not "My Pet Goat").