When President Benjamin Ladner laid out a 15-point plan to change the way that American University operates, he made Point Eleven to "enhance our profile as a values-based institution, emphasizing long-held university commitments to such values as human rights and dignity, social justice, environmental protection, diversity, and individual freedom." I regret to say that the actions of AU are not consistent with Point Eleven.
Under the auspices of the Department of State, AU invites the security forces of various nations to campus in order to train them in counter-terrorism methods. This program is known as the Antiterrorism Executive Forum. Unfortunately, many of the nations that take part in this program are brutal dictatorships in which the security forces commit human rights abuses.
For example, according to the Jan. 18 edition of American Weekly, "AU will host a delegation from Uzbekistan at the end of April." According to Amnesty International, Uzbekistani forces systematically torture dissidents, beat and detain human-rights workers, ban opposition parties, and are currently holding "at least 6,000 political prisoners" in "cruel, inhumane and degrading conditions." Two human rights workers in the country were forced to live in an insane asylum for four months due to their work. A 19-year-old who surrendered himself to Uzbekistani police as a witness to a murder was held and beaten for an entire week before he signed a confession of guilt. The Uzbekistani courts, ignoring signs of the torture, sentenced him to death.
If AU truly wishes to enhance its profile as a value-based institution and emphasize its commitment to human rights, it must disassociate itself from dictatorships such as that of Uzbekistan. AU must shut down the Antiterrorism Executive Forum.
Michael Baney
SPA '06
