UN Panel Kills Resolution Critical Of Uzbekistan

China argued the draft was confrontational and that Uzbekistan had made progress since a similar resolution was passed by the General Assembly last year in reaction to the Uzbek crackdown in Andijon in May 2005.

Witnesses says hundreds were killed when troops opened fire in Andijon. The Uzbek government blamed the unrest on Islamic extremists and said most of the dead were armed insurgents.

This year's draft resolution by the UN's Human Rights Council criticized Uzbekistan for not allowing an independent inquiry on Andijon and detaining representatives of local organizations who wanted to watch secret trials of some 266 defendants.

The resolution was based on a report by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan earlier this month, saying there had been no rights progress over the past year, including "ample evidence" of torture by security authorities.

(Reuters)