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U.S. Continues Uzbek Aid Despite Rights Record
Mon Jan 12, 1:53 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush (news - web sites) has decided to continue U.S. aid to Uzbekistan to dispose of Soviet-era weapons of mass destruction programs despite the Central Asian ally's failure to meet U.S. conditions on human rights, U.S. officials said on Monday.
The White House on Dec. 30 announced Bush's decision to grant Uzbekistan a "waiver" under a U.S. law that otherwise would have required an end to U.S. money for Cooperative Threat Reduction programs set up after the demise of the Soviet Union to prevent the proliferation of Soviet weapons and technology.
U.S. officials who asked not to be named said the so-called Nunn-Lugar programs, named for Indiana Republican Sen. Richard Lugar and former Sen. Sam Nunn, a Georgia Democrat, depended on annual human rights certification of Uzbekistan, a supporter of the U.S. "war on terrorism" long criticized by rights groups.
One official said Uzbekistan failed last year because of allegations of torture as well as impediments to investigating torture and restrictions on the ability of nongovernmental organizations to operate in Uzbekistan.
Human Rights Watch in December reported that a 25-year-old man had died while under detention in Uzbekistan and that his body showed signs of severe torture. The New York-based rights group has documented a dozen similar cases in Uzbek prisons since late 2001.
"The secretary examined the human rights record of the Uzbekistan government and determined that there had not been enough progress on human rights to meet the criteria this year (in 2003)," said a U.S. official who was reading from State Department comments prepared for release in late December.
"However, the president determined that Cooperative Threat Reduction programs in Uzbekistan are sufficiently critical that he decided to exercise his waiver authority," the U.S. official added.
"This waiver means that we can continue to fund Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction programs in Uzbekistan. We plan to continue to provide nonproliferation aid to secure left over Soviet-era WMD sites and to engage the Uzbeks in defense and military contacts," the official said.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Beth Jones called in the Uzbek ambassador to inform him of the two decisions, the U.S. official said.
Remove one torturer and pay another one....
-Bam
Mon Jan 12, 1:53 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush (news - web sites) has decided to continue U.S. aid to Uzbekistan to dispose of Soviet-era weapons of mass destruction programs despite the Central Asian ally's failure to meet U.S. conditions on human rights, U.S. officials said on Monday.
The White House on Dec. 30 announced Bush's decision to grant Uzbekistan a "waiver" under a U.S. law that otherwise would have required an end to U.S. money for Cooperative Threat Reduction programs set up after the demise of the Soviet Union to prevent the proliferation of Soviet weapons and technology.
U.S. officials who asked not to be named said the so-called Nunn-Lugar programs, named for Indiana Republican Sen. Richard Lugar and former Sen. Sam Nunn, a Georgia Democrat, depended on annual human rights certification of Uzbekistan, a supporter of the U.S. "war on terrorism" long criticized by rights groups.
One official said Uzbekistan failed last year because of allegations of torture as well as impediments to investigating torture and restrictions on the ability of nongovernmental organizations to operate in Uzbekistan.
Human Rights Watch in December reported that a 25-year-old man had died while under detention in Uzbekistan and that his body showed signs of severe torture. The New York-based rights group has documented a dozen similar cases in Uzbek prisons since late 2001.
"The secretary examined the human rights record of the Uzbekistan government and determined that there had not been enough progress on human rights to meet the criteria this year (in 2003)," said a U.S. official who was reading from State Department comments prepared for release in late December.
"However, the president determined that Cooperative Threat Reduction programs in Uzbekistan are sufficiently critical that he decided to exercise his waiver authority," the U.S. official added.
"This waiver means that we can continue to fund Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction programs in Uzbekistan. We plan to continue to provide nonproliferation aid to secure left over Soviet-era WMD sites and to engage the Uzbeks in defense and military contacts," the official said.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Beth Jones called in the Uzbek ambassador to inform him of the two decisions, the U.S. official said.
Remove one torturer and pay another one....
-Bam
