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Congo complaint

A former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations is outraged over today's scheduled White House visit by the president of the Republic of Congo, whom he calls a "corrupt, Marxist dictator."

Kenneth Adelman, U.N. ambassador under President Reagan, warns that President Bush is "endangering [his] historic legacy" by meeting with President Denis Sassou-Nguesso, who grabbed power in a military coup in 1997 and won a seven-year term in a disputed election in 2002.

In a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday, Mr. Adelman said he respected Mr. Bush's call for worldwide democracy in his second inaugural speech and the message that "every dictator in the world had to fear American disapproval."

"How then can the likes of Sassou-Nguesso -- given his long record of brutality, Marxist politics and stunning rip-offs -- be given the biggest prize of American approval: a White House meeting with the president?" he asked.

Mr. Adelman cited a Freedom House report that ranked Congo "partly free" and noted gradual improvements in human rights in a government that, nevertheless, remains deeply mired in corruption. The latest State Department human rights report said Congo's record "remained poor" and pointed to limits on press freedom, arbitrary arrests, domestic violence and trafficking in human beings.

Diplomatic traffic

Foreign visitors in Washington this week include:

Today

• Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank; and Toshiro Muto, deputy governor of the Bank of Japan. They participate in a panel discussion at a conference sponsored by the American Bankers Association.