"If peaceful protests face continued repression in coming days, a more violent and dangerous confrontation is almost certain to develop," says Human Rights Watch.

The Administration recently decided to renew most-favored-nation trading status for Beijing and has also maintained high-level diplomatic contacts with China despite continued repression there.

In the mid-1990's, they flirted with the Chinese model of combining openness to technology and foreign investment with continued political repression.

But in Seoul, both the Government and the opposition took the message as intended - as a notice that the United States would not support continued repression.

The House had voted to raise the trade tariffs to protest the continued repression of pro-democracy movements.

Turkey's government had cultivated warm ties with Assad, but has grown highly critical of Damascus over its continued violent repression of the anti-government protests.

Moscow's human rights policies appear to be in transition, according to Western diplomats, with some signs of improvement mixed with examples of continued repression.

He has argued that free trade would help bring down Fidel Castro's regime and that the embargo only helps justify the continued repression in the island.

Without them, we would have seen the continued brutal repression of the Shias and the Kurds.

"It combines the economic carrot with a political stick of continued repression."