Turkey remains on a US panel's watch list of 12 countries for its violations of religious freedoms, Today's Zaman daily newspaper reports.
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released its annual report on Thursday, designating 13 Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) in terms of such violations while also putting 12 others on a watch list for close monitoring in that regard. Turkey remains on the watch list this year also. It was designated for close monitoring for the first time in 2009. The fact that very little has changed in terms of restrictions imposed on people has resulted in it retaining its status as a violator country in the view of the USCIRF. According to the report, this year’s CPCs are Myanmar, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Vietnam. In addition to these 13 countries, designated the worst violators of religious freedoms around the world, the 2010 watch list includes Afghanistan, Belarus, Cuba, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Laos, Russia, Somalia, Tajikistan and Venezuela as well as Turkey with respect to "the nature and extent of violations of religious freedom engaged in or tolerated by the governments." The panel’s report also criticized the current and former US administrations for doing little to make basic religious rights universal.