| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"Tuttles Almanac" |
| Date: |
30 Sep 2005 09:11:12 PM |
| Object: |
Bush bows to Saudi Child Sex Slavery |
State Department Delays Action Against Saudi Arabia
http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBQ20MZ8EE.html
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration has postponed punishing
Saudi Arabia for restricting religious freedom, giving the U.S. ally
six more months to show it has made progress in its treatment of
religious minorities.
One year ago, the State Department declared that religious freedom
was absent in the Arab kingdom. Under U.S. law, the Bush administration
could have imposed sanctions such as trade restrictions - as it has
done with some other countries.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice notified Congress last week that
she had authorized a 180-day waiver of action against Saudi Arabia
"in order to allow additional time for the continuation of discussions
leading to progress on important religious freedom issues."
Rice raised the issue last week in a meeting in Washington with the
Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, and stressed the
importance of continuing to work on it, said State Department
spokesman Kurtis Cooper.
Last week, the department notified Congress that Rice had banned
commercial export of certain defense articles to Eritrea.
The African country was cited a year ago along with Saudi Arabia
and Vietnam as having records of serious concern on religious freedom.
It was the first time sanctions were applied to any country under
the U.S. religious freedom law.
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom,
a federal agency established by Congress in 1998 to promote
religious freedom around the world, disclosed Rice's action on Friday.
The religious freedom commission, in a statement, said real progress
was absent in Saudi Arabia on religious conditions and that the
U.S. government should use the 180 days to achieve real progress.
Otherwise, the commission said, licenses should not be issued for
exports to Saudi Arabia of technology that could be used in
military programs and Saudi officials responsible for religious freedom
violations should not be permitted to visit the United States.
"Freedom of religion does not exist," the State Department said
last year in summing up the situation in Saudi Arabia in a report
that covered religious freedom in 191 countries.
The report said that those who do not adhere to the officially
sanctioned strain of Sunni Islam practiced in the country can face
"severe repercussions" from religious police.
It also cited instances in which government-paid mosque preachers
"used violent anti-Jewish and anti-Christian language in their sermons."
Last week, President Bush waived financial sanctions on Saudi Arabia
for failing to make significant efforts to stop slave trade in
prostitutes, child sex workers and forced laborers.
Saudi Arabia was one of 14 countries the State Department listed in
June as failing to address the problem adequately. But Bush decided
it was not in the national interest of the United States to punish
Saudi Arabia as well as Kuwait and Ecuador, who were among the 14
censured nations.
_______________________________________________________
His buddy Tom Delay also has a little sex slavery trade
going in the Marianas Islands, part of the U.S.
http://www.house.gov/georgemiller/marianasupdate.html
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