Don't sacrifice religious freedom to achieve war's ends, panel urges
___By Robert Marus
___ABP Washington Bureau
___WASHINGTON (ABP)--Religious freedom shouldn't become a casualty in America's war on terrorism, says a federal commission that monitors religious liberty around the world.
___Some observers say basic human rights already may be falling by the wayside in North Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East as the United States focuses on building a strong international coalition against terrorism.
___The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom in recent weeks has asked President Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell to heed religious-freedom concerns in strategies to build both a military coalition and a new government in Afghanistan following U.S. military action.
___"The commission believes strongly that the United States needs to be laying the groundwork now for a future Afghanistan that respects the rights of all persons--including the right to freedom of religion and belief--and strengthens elements of religious tolerance," the commission said in a letter to Powell.
___The commission later warned both Bush and Powell against becoming too friendly with Uzbekistan, citing the nation's "abysmal treatment of religious exercise." Severe repression of religious practice has been documented in the former Soviet republic, which has been used to support American military operations in nearby Afghanistan.
___In a letter, the commission said any non-humanitarian U.S. aid to the Uzbek government should be tied to ending religious repression. That includes the release of Uzbek citizens imprisoned for their faith and dissolving government agencies that regulate religion.
___In a Nov. 27 hearing in Washington, the commission heard testimony from experts on religious freedom and the war on terrorism. It was the commission's first hearing since U.S. attacks on Afghanistan. Witnesses cautioned that many U.S. allies in the effort are listed among the world's worst abusers of religious freedom.
___Paula Dobriansky, deputy to the Secretary of State for international religious-liberty issues, said the Bush administration hasn't lessened its commitment to religious liberty in the wake of Sept. 11.
___"Many have raised concerns that we are partnering for the sake of our counter-terrorism objectives with some countries with less-than-stellar human rights records," she told the commission. "We have not, however, suppressed our objections to their human-rights violations because of this increased cooperation."
___Commission member and religious-freedom activist Nina Shea, however, questioned the administration's commitment to religious liberty in Sudan, where a Muslim-controlled government has waged a campaign of brutal persecution against Christians and other minority faith groups.
___"There's a perception that, especially in the situation of Sudan, there has been precisely that," a tradeoff of human rights for cooperation against terrorism, Shea told Dobrianksy.
___Shea noted that the administration intervened to block passage of the Sudan Peace Act in the House of Representatives. The act was designed to increase economic pressure on Sudan. Bush officials said economic sanctions against Sudan would result in "politicizing the economy."
___The act passed, but not before a Bush-backed provision reduced sanctions against Sudan.
___Other experts testifying before the commission, meanwhile, said promoting religious liberty in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia ultimately would serve the long-term interests of U.S. national security.
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