http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=NzkxNDcxNDIx
Human Rights group reports violations in Arab countries Published Date: December 09, 2009 CAIRO: US-allied Arab governments in the Middle East are flouting human rights through violations including torture, extra-judicial killings and repressive laws, an Egyptian human rights group said yesterday. In a report chronicling the human rights records of 12 Arab countries, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies accused the Obama administration of not applying enough pressure for Middle East reforms. The single most worrying sign for the future of the Arab region is the widespread impunity and flagrant lack of accountability that persists," according to the report. "President Barack Obama avoided taking a clear stance on human rights issues in the Arab region." The report also said political and social protests remained targets for repression. In Egypt, a major US ally, the report noted that the government resorts to emergency laws and state security tribunals to stifle opponents. Other US allies such as Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf states "remain dangerous for human rights activists." In Bahrain, which hosts the US Navy's 5th Fleet, human rights are increasingly targets for arbitrary arrest, torture, trials and smear campaigns, the rights group said. Other countries criticized in the report include Tunisia, Iraq and Syria, where President Bashar Assad "continues to crack down." Officials from Egypt and Saudi Arabia did not comment on the report. Other Arab countries in the past have scoffed at such reports as being "hostile" and have refused to comment. The report added that gains achieved by the political opposition and civil society over the last five years have now become targets of attack by the Arab governments. The rights group partially blames the US government, saying US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton failed to address the issue during a meeting with her Arab counterparts in Morocco last month. "This was a a kind of a green light given to the Arab governments to continue these practices," said Bahey El-Din Hassan, head of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies. - AP [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
