Amnesty scathing of Asian rights abuses

Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International, speaks at a press conference in London at the launch of the annual state-of-the-world report

(CNN) -- A host of Asian-Pacific countries have been criticized for human rights abuses in the latest annual report issued by the worldwide rights watchdog, Amnesty International.

The September 11 attacks on America and the subsequent crackdown on perceived national security threats were the focus of much of Amnesty's wrath, although the report also targeted China, Singapore, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Pakistan and India were both chastised for indulging in state-supported torture of prisoners in custody.

In Sri Lanka, the police were alleged to have committed wide-scale rape while the northern separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) movement was singled out for its practice of taking hostages and using child soldiers.

China's continued repression of religious groups and ethnic minorities, such as the Uighurs in Xingjiang and the Himalayan Tibetans, were highlighted once more.

China

Perennial appearances on Amnesty's annual blacklist did not appear to have quelled human rights abuses in China, with the group reporting that serious rights violations increased in 2001.

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"Around 200 Falun Gong practitioners allegedly died in custody as a result of torture, scores of nuns and monks remained in prison in Tibet," the report said.

"The Chinese government used the 'war against terrorism' to justify a crackdown on ethnic Uighur 'separatists,' saying they were linked to international terrorism. Many alleged separatists were detained and some were executed," it said.

China's open declaration of a war on crime, the so-called Strike Hard Policy, also came in for criticism from the rights group, which is strongly opposed to capital punishment.

The 2002 report said at least 4,015 people were sentenced to death and 2,468 executed, with the true figures believed to be far higher.

Press suppression

The conservative city-state of Singapore and neighboring Muslim-dominated Malaysia both came under fire in the Amnesty report for curtailing press and political freedoms.

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In Singapore, the ruling People's Action Party -- the holder of 82 out of 84 parliamentary seats -- was criticized for enforcing the Internal Security Act (ISA), which allows indefinite detention without trial, and for undermining the rights to freedom of expression and assembly.

Similarly, across the strait in Malaysia, another variant Internal Security Act was branded "intimidatory."

Under the guise of taking a tough stance on the war on terror, the goverment arrested and detained without trial opposition activists and suspected Islamic ''extremists'' under the Internal Security Act (ISA), putting them at risk of torture or ill-treatment, the report said.

Indonesia and separatists

The violent suppression of separatist movements in Aceh and Papua blighted Indonesia's human rights record, although Amnesty attributed a year of political upheaval to the government's apparent inability to act.

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The report said dependence activists in Papua and Aceh, as well as labor and political activists, were among at least 13 people who were sentenced to terms of imprisonment for the peaceful expression of their views.

Also cited were "deaths and injuries resulting from excessive force used by the military and police, including against striking workers, protesters and in areas of religious and ethnic conflict."

In India, the police were alleged to have engaged in torture in custody, with people from socially and economically marginalized sections of society said to be particularly vulnerable.

The religious violence that has pitted the majority Hindi population against Muslims in the north of the country was also exacerbated by police who were "believed to have taken a partisan role," said Amnesty.

Kashmir detentions

The dispute with Pakistan in Kashmir was the source of criticism for both countries.

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Indian authorities have continued to use the lapsed Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act (TADA) to detain people in Jammu and Kashmir by linking them to ongoing cases filed before 1995.

Hundreds of people remain in detention under the TADA, despite Supreme Court orders for a review of all cases, the report said.

Freedom of expression was curtailed in 2001 in Pakistan, said Amnesty.

Kashmir, and the broader assistance Pakistan's leader General Pervez Musharraf offered the United States in its war on terror, were used by the military government to ban organizations ''involved in terrorism'' and to ban media distribution of materials ''conducive to terrorism.'

Women and children were also said to have been victimized in Pakistan, with the report condemning the state for "failing to take adequate measures to protect women from abuse".

Muslim children queue to enter a classroom set-up in a relief camp in the riot-torn city of Ahmedabad

Several hundred girls and women were killed in 2001 for allegedly shaming their families. Their supposedly immoral behavior included marrying men of their own choice or seeking a divorce.

The non-governmental Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reported that 62 women had been killed in such ''honor' crimes in the first quarter of 2001 in Sindh Province alone.

Over 4,000 juvenile detainees were held during the year, many residing in cells with adult offenders and suspects for minor offences such as vagrancy and theft.

Few unscathed

Few nations escaped unscathed in Amnesty's annual compilation of human rights abuses, with 152 countries listed as having breached what it says should comprise the basic tenets of any fair society.

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The U.S. and U.K. came under fire for response to the September 11 attacks on the United States' east coast.

Other countries did not escape criticism. Australia for its prolonged detention of asylum-seekers in remote camps; Cambodia for not pursuing Khmer Rouge criminals; military-run Myanmar for extrajudicial killings, political imprisonment and forced labor; North Korea for executing political activists and South Korea for imprisoning more than 1,600 conscientious objectors to military service.

Amnesty International is an independent body with more than one million members worldwide.