WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States on Thursday praised the “Arab Spring” popular revolutions in the Middle East but said instability and violence often precede greater respect for human rights.

In its annual survey of human rights around the world, the State Department also recognized Myanmar for freeing opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest and for starting to open up its political system after decades of repression.

“Many of the events that have dominated recent headlines from the revolutions in the Middle East to reforms in Burma began with human rights, with the clear call of men and women demanding their universal rights,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters as she presented the report.

The report, covering 2011, described as “extremely poor” human rights in Belarus, China, Iran, North Korea, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, all perennial targets of U.S. criticism for denying their people basic freedoms and democratic governance.

The report highlighted the treatment of religious minorities and what it described as “marginalized people,” including those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender as well as people with disabilities.

“Men and women who want to speak, worship, associate, love the way they choose – we will defend their rights; not just on the day we issue these reports, but every day,” said Clinton.

On the Arab Spring, the report sounded notes of optimism and caution, saying an open political culture would not appear overnight after decades of repression.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker confirmed on Tuesday that he plans to step down this summer because of ill health, and sources said the highly regarded career diplomat was leaving at a time of his choosing and was not pushed out.

Reuters reported on Monday that Crocker, a veteran diplomat who came out of retirement to take the demanding Kabul post, was expected to step down soon, leaving as Washington negotiates a host of challenges on its course out of the long, costly war.

“Today, Ambassador Ryan Crocker confirmed to the Afghan Government, U.S. Mission Afghanistan, and the ISAF community that he intends to depart his post for health reasons in mid-summer,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said, referring to the International Security Assistance Force.

The spokeswoman declined to elaborate on Crocker’s health but said “he wanted to make it clear that this should not in any way be seen as a lessening of his personal commitment and our national commitment, obviously, to Afghanistan.”

Nuland said U.S. Deputy Ambassador James Cunningham was expected to run the embassy after Crocker leaves, which she said will not be before a July donors conference in Tokyo. She declined comment on who might replace him permanently.

A summit of the 28-nation NATO security alliance, which makes up the core of ISAF, endorsed an exit strategy on Monday that calls for handing control of Afghanistan to its own security forces by the middle of next year.

However, it left unanswered questions about how to prevent a slide into chaos and a Taliban resurgence in Afghanistan after the pullout.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Jeffrey Feltman, the top U.S. diplomat for the Middle East, is expected to leave the Obama administration to take a senior post at the United Nations, sources familiar with the matter said on Monday.

Feltman, who is assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, is expected to replace Lynn Pascoe, another career U.S. diplomat, as U.N. under-secretary-general for political affairs, a key post at the world body.

In that position, Feltman would help to formulate U.N. policy in negotiations on the Middle East peace process and other conflicts and to oversee U.N. mediation efforts.

It was not clear when Feltman might step down but one source said it could be as early as next week.

Spokesmen for the U.S. State Department and the United Nations declined comment on the matter.

Feltman has extensive experience in the Middle East, having served as U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, as head of the Coalition Provisional Authority’s office in the Irbil province of Iraq and as a senior official at the U.S. consulate general in Jerusalem.

Earlier in his career, the diplomat – who speaks French, Arabic and Hungarian – worked at the U.S. embassies in Israel, Tunisia, Hungary and Haiti.

WASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) – The United States warned supporters of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Wednesday it may freeze their assets if they hamper the transfer of power in the Gulf nation.

President Barack Obama signed an executive order allowing U.S. authorities to sanction members of Yemen’s government or others who endanger its stability, notably by obstructing a Nov. 23 deal that ultimately brought an end to Saleh’s 33-year reign.

The order aims to bolster President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who has given Washington much greater latitude to attack the Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) group blamed for a failed Christmas Day 2009 underwear bomb attack.

U.S. officials said last week they had foiled an AQAP plot to plant a suicide bomber with an upgraded underwear bomb on an airliner bound for the United States or another Western nation.

An uprising against Saleh last year split the Yemeni armed forces into warring factions and allowed AQAP and its allies to bolster their manpower, resources and control of territory, notably in south Yemen.

The United States has stepped up its drone attacks in Yemen since Hadi replaced Saleh on Feb. 25. U.S. counter-terrorism officials say their ability to conduct operations against AQAP inside Yemen has improved significantly since Hadi’s ascent.

In a message to Congress, Obama said he issued the executive order because of the “the actions and policies of certain members of the Government of Yemen and others to threaten Yemen’s peace, security, and stability.”

WASHINGTON/BEIJING, May 1 (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton left on Monday on a high-stakes trip to Beijing, where a blind dissident is reportedly holed up in the U.S. embassy in a drama threatening to overshadow top-level meetings between the two governments.

Dissident Chen Guangcheng, according to one of his helpers, will demand to stay in China and press on with his campaign for reform, adding to tension between Beijing and Washington that poses risks for both governments as well as to relations between the world’s two biggest economies.

Both governments have scrupulously avoided official comment on the Chen case and neither has confirmed that he is under U.S. protection in Beijing.

Chen’s audacious escape from house arrest, under the watch of the world’s largest domestic security apparatus, was a “miracle” of planning and endurance, said Guo Yushan, a Beijing-based researcher and rights advocate who has campaigned for Chen and helped bring him to the Chinese capital after his escape.

But he said the 40-year-old, self-taught lawyer wants to stay in China and campaign for reform.

“He was adamant that he would not apply for political asylum with any country. He certainly wants to stay in China, and demand redress for the years of illegal persecution in Shandong and continue his efforts for Chinese society,” said Guo on Monday, speaking in his first long interview since he was released from days of police questioning.

Chen, who campaigned against forced abortions as part of family planning, was confined to his village home in the eastern province of Shandong since September 2010, after release from jail on charges he rejected as spurious.

WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng, said to be under U.S. protection in Beijing, wants reform, not asylum, said one of his key helpers as the United States’ top diplomat heads to Beijing for talks likely to be overshadowed by Chen’s case.

The blind activist’s escape from house arrest was a “miracle” of planning and endurance but Chen wants to stay in China and campaign for reform, said Guo Yushan, a Beijing-based researcher and rights advocate who has campaigned for Chen and helped bring him to Beijing after his escape.

“He was adamant that he would not apply for political asylum with any country. He certainly wants to stay in China, and demand redress for the years of illegal persecution in Shandong and continue his efforts for Chinese society,” said Guo on Monday, speaking in his first long interview since he was released from days of police questioning.

Chen, a self-schooled legal advocate who campaigned against forced abortions used to implement family planning goals, was confined to his village home in Shandong since September 2010, after release from jail on charges he rejected as spurious.

He is under U.S. protection in Beijing, according to a U.S.-based rights group, creating a diplomatic dilemma as the U.S. secretaries of state and treasury prepare to travel to China for annual talks on Thursday and Friday with Chinese officials.

President Barack Obama nudged China on Monday to improve its human rights record and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she will raise the issue in Beijing this week, but both stayed mum about Chen’s case.

At a news conference, Obama appeared to be walking a fine line between not saying anything that would make it harder to resolve Chen Guangcheng’s case while conveying U.S. concern for human rights and appreciation for wider cooperation with China.

WASHINGTON/MIDLAND, Texas (Reuters) – President Barack Obama nudged China on Monday to improve its human rights record and his top diplomat said she will raise the issue in Beijing this week, but both stayed mum about a Chinese dissident said to be under U.S. protection.

At a news conference, Obama appeared to be walking a fine line between not saying anything that would make it harder to resolve Chen Guangcheng’s case while conveying U.S. concern for human rights and appreciation for wider cooperation with China.

Chen’s case arose as the U.S. secretaries of state and treasury prepared to travel to China for talks on Thursday and Friday with senior Chinese officials, an annual meeting likely to be overshadowed by the fate of the blind dissident.

Chen, who has opposed forced abortions in China, escaped house arrest in rural China and is under U.S. protection in Beijing, according to a U.S.-based rights group, creating a diplomatic dilemma for the world’s top economic powers.

Analysts said the dissident appears to have two options: going into exile, which he has told associates he does not want to do, or getting the Chinese authorities to allow him to live in freedom within China, a challenge at best.

Bob Fu, whose religious and political rights advocacy group ChinaAid is the chief source of information on Chen, suggested the most plausible solution would be for him to leave China for the United States with his family, ostensibly for medical care.

“Another option that is more realistic is for him and his family to come to the U.S., face-savingly for the Chinese government, to receive medical treatment,” Fu told Reuters in an interview in Midland, Texas, where his group is based.

WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng, said to be under U.S. protection in Beijing, wants reform, not asylum, said one of his key helpers as the United States’ top diplomat heads to Beijing for talks likely to be overshadowed by Chen’s case.

The blind activist’s escape from house arrest was a “miracle” of planning and endurance but Chen wants to stay in China and campaign for reform, said Guo Yushan, a Beijing-based researcher and rights advocate who has campaigned for Chen and helped bring him to Beijing after his escape.

“He was adamant that he would not apply for political asylum with any country. He certainly wants to stay in China, and demand redress for the years of illegal persecution in Shandong and continue his efforts for Chinese society,” said Guo on Monday, speaking in his first long interview since he was released from days of police questioning.

Chen, a self-schooled legal advocate who campaigned against forced abortions used to implement family planning goals, was confined to his village home in Shandong since September 2010, after release from jail on charges he rejected as spurious.

He is under U.S. protection in Beijing, according to a U.S.-based rights group, creating a diplomatic dilemma as the U.S. secretaries of state and treasury prepare to travel to China for annual talks on Thursday and Friday with Chinese officials.

President Barack Obama nudged China on Monday to improve its human rights record and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she will raise the issue in Beijing this week, but both stayed mum about Chen’s case.

At a news conference, Obama appeared to be walking a fine line between not saying anything that would make it harder to resolve Chen Guangcheng’s case while conveying U.S. concern for human rights and appreciation for wider cooperation with China.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama on Monday ducked a question about a Chinese dissident believed to be under U.S. protection in Beijing but said China will be stronger if it improves its human rights record.

At a news conference, Obama appeared to be walking a fine line between not saying anything to make it harder to resolve Chen Guangcheng’s case while conveying U.S. respect for human rights and U.S. appreciation for wider cooperation with China.

Chen’s case arose with the U.S. secretaries of state and treasury due in China on Thursday for talks with senior Chinese officials, an annual meeting sure to be overshadowed by the fate of the blind dissident.

Chen, who has opposed forced abortions in China, escaped house arrest in rural China last week and is under U.S. protection in Beijing, according to a U.S.-based rights group, creating a situation that complicates the ties of the world’s top economic powers.

Asked directly about Chen’s case, Obama replied: “Obviously I am aware of the press reports on the situation in China but I am not going to make a statement on the issue.”

Obama said the issue of human rights comes up every time there are senior U.S.-Chinese talks, saying the United States does so both on principle and because “we actually believe China will be stronger as it opens up and liberalizes its own system.”

“We want China to be strong, we want it to be prosperous and we are very pleased with all the areas of cooperation that we have been able to engage in,” he said at a news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – When Hillary Clinton made her first trip abroad as secretary of state, she baldly said the United States could not let human rights disputes get in the way of working with China on global challenges.

Now that the blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng is under U.S. protection in Beijing, according to a U.S.-based rights group, the United States will find out if China has made the same calculation.

Chen’s escape after 19 months of house arrest and apparent request for U.S. protection comes at a vexing time for both countries, with diplomats preparing for annual economic and security talks in Beijing this week, and with China’s Communist Party trying to contain a divisive political scandal involving a former senior official, Bo Xilai.

Assuming it has Chen, it is inconceivable that the United States would turn him over to the Chinese authorities against his wishes, said current and former U.S. officials.

That leaves China with a choice – let the broader relationship suffer in a standoff with the United States, or seek a compromise, a scenario analysts, current and former officials saw as probable though by no means certain.

“I can’t imagine they will tank the relationship,” said a senior Obama administration official who spoke on condition that he not be identified. “This isn’t the same as a spy plane incident or Tiananmen Square. I do think they will try to manage it.”

In 2001, relations between Beijing and Washington suffered a plunge after a collision between a Chinese fighter jet and U.S. surveillance plane.