Dozen US rights groups ask Bush to cut off military aid to Pakistan
WASHINGTON (AFP) — A dozen US human rights groups on Tuesday urged President George W. Bush to cut off military aid to Pakistan if President Pervez Musharraf refuses to end emergency rule and release politicians, jurists and rights activists.
In a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the groups said Musharraf's imposition of emergency flew in the face of the Bush administration's policy of supporting freedom and democracy as an antidote to extremism.
"We are writing to urge a significant increase in US pressure on the government of Pakistan to end martial law and to release those who have been detained or are under house arrest," they said.
"This increased pressure should include a strong, unequivocal statement from President Bush explicitly condemning martial law and the subsequent arrests, and a cutoff of all security assistance until these repressive steps are reversed," according to the letter delivered Tuesday to Rice's office.
The groups included Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First, Freedom Home, The Carter Center, Global Rights, International Justice Mission, International League for Human Rights and Physicians for Human Rights.
"This is the first time all key human rights groups have come together and are calling for a cut off to all security assistance to Pakistan because the situation is deteriorating from the human rights standpoint," Amnesty's Asia-Pacific advocacy director T. Kumar told AFP.
Musharraf, citing Islamic militancy and a meddling judiciary, imposed a state of emergency 10 days ago, suspending the constitution, sacking senior judges and cracking down on political dissent and the media.
He announced Sunday that parliament would be dissolved Thursday to pave the way for January polls.
It was cautiously welcomed by the United States and Britain, although they both also demanded an immediate end to emergency rule.
Senior US officials, including President Bush, have criticized the emergency measures and called for a return to democracy but did not explicitly warn Musharraf of consequences should he fail to "reverse the rapidly deteriorating human rights situation," the letter by the rights groups said.
"We strongly urge you to send a clear, consistent, and public message to the government of Pakistan," they said.
Musharraf, a key US ally in the "war on terror," has purged the supreme court of independent-minded judges in his crackdown, which also targeted moderate and democratic critics of his rule -- human rights activists, lawyers, and members of opposition political parties.
"It is critical for the United States government to condemn these serious human rights violations, and for senior US officials to express these concerns clearly and forcefully," the groups said.
