The United States sharply criticized China and some allies in the U.S.-led "war on terrorism" for violating human rights in its annual survey of other countries' treatment of their own citizens.
The State Department document, deeply resented by some foreign governments, assesses the performance of every country in the world except the United States on protecting rights such as freedom of religion, speech and political expression.
Among the 49 nations listed as part of the U.S. coalition against Iraq, Uzbekistan was cited for the deaths of at least four people in detention from torture last year. And the report said Eritrea's "poor human rights record worsened," citing "serious abuses" such as arbitrary arrests and detention.
In Turkey, a U.S. ally against Iraq despite its failure to give basing rights to U.S. ground troops, the report said "torture, although illegal, was still a serious problem and restrictions on freedom of the press remained."
Other nations that came in for criticism include Iraq, accused of killings, torture and rapes; Zimbabwe, where the report cited a "systematic campaign of violence and intimidation" against the political opposition; and Cambodia, where it said "extrajudicial killings" were on the rise.
Human rights group Amnesty International accused Washington of being "the Jekyll and Hyde of human rights" by praising the protection of basic rights but by "turning a blind eye" to the effects of its own actions in the U.S. war on terrorism.
"Overall it's a candid report that pulls no punches, even with respect to key allies," said Tom Malinowski, Washington advocacy director for Human Rights Watch. "The key question is what are the implications for foreign policy? ... How does the department use these findings the other 364 days a year?"
SHARP WORDS FOR CHINA
The United States launched its war on terrorism after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on Washington and New York by toppling the Taliban government in Afghanistan and has continued it with its invasion of Iraq nearly two weeks ago.
"We do not believe it is inconsistent to work with nations who are willing to assist in this effort (against Iraq) who themselves have some problems with respect to human rights that we candidly talk to them about and encourage them to change," Secretary of State Colin Powell told reporters.
The report had some sharp words for China, accusing it of violating political rights by arresting dissidents, restricting religious freedom and cracking down on minorities.
"In 2002 China continued to commit serious human rights abuses ... and at year's end, a spate of arrests of political dissidents and the imposition of the death sentence on two Tibetans ... restrictions on religious freedom and repression of some ethnic minorities were particularly troubling." it said.
"As we have said to the Chinese, we have seen some slippage over the past year and it is of concern to us and we have raised it with them on a number of occasions," Powell added, saying the United States had not decided whether to back a resolution against China at the U.N. Human Rights Commission.
The report did cite some progress in China, saying it had carried out some reforms in the rule of law and had permitted direct elections at the village level in several provinces.
'INDISCRIMINATE FORCE'
The report also cited some steps forward in Russia, where it said a new criminal procedure code for the first time applied constitutional provisions that people may be arrested, taken into custody or detained only upon a judicial decision.
But it faulted both sides in the conflict pitting the Russian government against separatist rebels in Chechnya.
"Russian forces and Chechen rebels continued to commit serious human rights violations. Government forces committed extrajudicial killings and at times used indiscriminate force, which resulted in civilian casualties," it said.
"Chechen rebels increased their killings of civilian officials and militia associated with the Russian-appointed Chechen administration," it added, singling out for criticism the rebels' October 2002 Moscow theater hostage-taking.
The report also made the following findings:
-- In Nepal, Maoist rebels were accused of killings, bombings, torture, forced conscription of children and other violent tactics and government forces of killing civilians and abusing others suspected of Maoist sympathies;
-- Saudi Arabia continued to deny religious freedom to non-Muslims by barring them from public worship; with some non-Muslims subject to harassment, arrest and deportation and Shi'ite Muslims faced with imprisonment and torture;
-- The situation in Turkmenistan "deteriorated markedly" after a November assassination attempt against its president, with widespread arrests and forced evictions of suspects' families, use of torture, threats of rape and summary trial;
-- Kazakhstan's "poor human rights record worsened," with selective prosecutions of opposition leaders and media harassment suggesting an attempt to silence critics;
-- In Cuba, security forces and prison officials beat and abused detainees and prisoners, including rights activists, while the authorities routinely harassed, threatened and arbitrarily arrested human rights advocates and journalists.