By Ahmad Shihadah
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SA’NA, Yemen – Yemen, under international pressure to quiet domestic unrest and focus its sights on al Qaeda, has offered to hold talks with southern separatists and hear their grievances, state media said on March 9.

The move by President Ali Abdullah Saleh follows an escalation in violence on both sides in south Yemen that has left a trail of dead and wounded in recent weeks even as insurgent violence elsewhere in the country fades.

North and South Yemen united in 1990, but many in the south – home to most of Yemen’s oil facilities – complain northerners have seized resources and discriminate against them.

“We say to them: Come talk with your brothers in the authority, and we will talk with you. We extend the hand of dialogue without having to resort to violence or blocking roads or raising the flag of separation,” Saleh said in an address at a military academy.

“I am certain the flags of separation will burn in the days and weeks ahead. We have one flag we voted on with our free will. We welcome any political demands. Come to dialogue,” he said, according to the Defense Ministry’s online newspaper.

Civil war between southern and northern forces shook Yemeni unity in 1994. A crackdown on separatists in recent weeks left several dead on both sides, though Sa’na claimed it arrested dozens of high-profile figures in recent weeks. Secessionist leaders in February called for an uprising against the government in Sa’na.

Yemen is dealing with looming presence of al Qaeda as well as threats from secessionist supporters. A truce with the Houthi rebel group in the north appears to be holding. However, Saleh said he would form a committee to have a dialogue with those who were interested in talks but stressed sustainable development required a strong stance.

“I don’t want the chair of presidency or Cabinet, I want to be a soldier to serve the nation and its unity,” he said.

For more information, please see:

 

Al-Jazeera – Yemeni Leader In Dialogue Call – 9 March 2010

AFP – Yemen President Warns Separatists But Offers Talks – 9 March 2010

Reuters – Yemen Offers Talks With Separatists As Unrest Flares – 9 March 2010

UPI – Yemen’s Saleh Open To National Dialogue – 9 March 2010

By Meredith Lee-Clark
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
 
GAZA CITY, Gaza – British reporter and filmmaker Paul Martin continues to be held in a Gaza prison, over three weeks after he was arrested by Hamas officials at a trial of Palestinian man who was accused of collaborating with Israel. According to a Hamas military court, Martin “committed offenses that harmed the security of the country.” Hamas has refused to publically specify Martin’s alleged offenses.
 
Hamas security officers arrested Martin on February 14, and after the fifteen-day detention period lapsed, security officers petitioned the Hamas military court for another fifteen-day extension, which was granted on March 1. Martin had been working on a documentary about Mohammed Abu Muaileq, the accused collaborator, when he was arrested. Martin has previously produced stories for the BBC, The Times of London, Al Jazeera International, CNN, and Channel Four News.
 
Martin’s lawyer, Sharhabil Zayim, said that the fifteen-day extension would be the longest that investigators could hold Martin without filing formal charges. When the Associated Press interviewed Zayim on February 28, Zayim said he had last seen Martin ten days previous, that he looked fine, but that he had not been allowed to see his client since.
 
Since that interview, Martin’s family in the United Kingdom have broken their silence and expressed concern about Martin’s well-being. Martin’s wife, Anne Martin, released a statement saying that her husband “has been kept in solitary confinement and interrogated whilst being denied access to his Gazan lawyer or to official British representatives. …We understand that he is now being held without reading and writing materials and without means of communication with the outside world.”
 
The British Embassy in Israel has also expressed concern, echoing Anne Martin’s statement that her husband’s arrest was the first arrest of a foreign press representative in Gaza.
 
“We are urgently looking into the matter and following up with the responsible people so we can sort this matter out on the consular level,” said Fadi Adeeb, a spokesperson for the British consulate in Jerusalem.
 
For more information, please see:
 
Sky News – Family’s Fears for Briton Held by Hamas – 2 March 2010
 
BBC News – Hamas Extends British Reporter Paul Martin’s Detention – 1 March 2010
 
New York Times – Hamas Says it is Extending Briton’s Stay in Detention – 1 March 2010
 
Associated Press – Hamas Seeks Extension of Detention of UK Reporter – 28 February 2010
 
Ha’aretz – Hamas Seeks to Extend Gaza Arrest of U.K. Journalist – 28 February 2010
 

By Nykoel Dinardo
Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

GRENADA, Spain – On March 6, Morocco became the first Arab country to join the Summit of the European Union (EU).  Twenty-seven states attended the summit, and concerns about the state of human rights in Morocco joined the agenda. 

EU President Herman Van Rompuy called on Morocco to make progress in their human rights department – addressing specifically the challenge of Western Sahara, an area that has been demanding independence from Morocco since the region was annexed in 1975.   Van Rompuy stated that a “just and lasting” solution for the region needed to be created. 

Moroccan Prime Minister Abbas al-Fassi acknowledged that there had been rights violations.  However, he said that they had been handled in much the same manner as a violation would be handled by an EU state.  Al-Fassi stated that Morocco would like to see Western Sahara as an autonomous region, but an area that is still part of the Moroccan territory.  He also accused Algeria of interfering in the process of creating a viable solution, claiming that the neighbor state was preventing any solution from coming forth.

The Summit meeting also addressed the problems of lack of development and illiteracy in the Maghreb state.  Morocco signed an association agreement with the EU in 1996, and the two regions are working together to improve development opportunities. 

On Saturday, before the Summit, the Moroccan Ministers of Agriculture, Economy, Education, Trade and Foreign Affairs met in Spain with Spanish Employer and Industry Association representations.  The meeting was set to address future opportunities in the transport, logistics, infrastructure, energy, and renewable energy sectors.   This meeting, together with the Summit, is hoped to bring about new plans for development and common economic programs between Morocco and the EU.

For more information, please see:

AFP – EU Demands More Rights Progress From Morocco – 7 March 2010

Earth News – EU Presses Morocco on Human Rights – 7 March 2010

AFP – Morocco to be First Arab Nation in EU Summit – 6 March 2010

iStockAnalyst – EU Enhances Cooperation with Morocco – 6 March 2010

By Ahmad Shihadah
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SA’NA, Yemen – Yemeni security forces have arrested eleven men suspected of links to Al-Qaeda in a house raid in the capital Sa’na.

In a statement, Yemen’s interior ministry said that the men were arrested while meeting in the family home of one of the suspects.

The father of one of the suspects was killed when he reportedly opened fire on police during the raid.

Yemeni authorities have threatened punishment for people who harbor suspected terrorists. The warnings are part of a crackdown on alleged al Qaeda hideouts since the attempted bombing of an American airliner in December, according to SABA.

The U.S. has become increasingly worried about militants based in Yemen since al-Qaida groups there and in Saudi Arabia merged last year to become al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. The group organized a failed attempt to blow up a U.S. airliner on Christmas day in Detroit with a bomber smuggling exposives in his underwear.

The suspect in the failed attack, Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, spent time in Yemen and is said to have acquired the explosive device from someone in that country. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has claimed responsibility for the plot.

The Obama administration has recognized the risks posed by Yemen becoming a failed state and voiced support in its struggles against terrorism.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also has pressed Yemen to implement key reforms and shore up its faltering economy. “Yemen’s challenges are not going to be solved by military action alone,” she said at a recent meeting of Western powers and Arab nations. “Progress against violent extremists and progress toward a better future for the Yemeni people … will also depend on fortifying development efforts.”

For More Information, Please See:

BBC – Yemen Arrests Al-Qaeda Suspects – March 4 2010

Al-Bawaba – Yemen: Al-Qaeda Suspects Arrested – March 4 2010

AP – Yemen: Police Arrest Suspected Al-Qaeda Members – March 4 2010

CNN – Report: Yemen Arrests 11 Terrorism Suspects – March 4 2010

By Brandon Kaufman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

ANKARA, Turkey– The Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution that described the mass murders of Armenians during World War I as the “Armenian Genocide.”

The 23-22 vote sends the measure to the full House of Representatives, where prospects for passage are uncertain.

The Prime Minister’s office in Turkey released a written statement which said “we condemn this resolution accusing Turkey of a crime that it had not committed.  Our Ambassador to Washington Namik Tan was recalled tonight to Ankara for consultations after the development.”

The non-binding resolution calls on President Obama to ensure that U.S. foreign policy reflect an understanding of the genocide and to label the mass killings as such in his annual statement on the issue.  The U.S. has time and again condemned the mass killings of Armenians which took place from 1915-1918, but they have always refrained from calling them a genocide.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Turkey would assess what measures it would take, adding that the issue was a matter of “honor” for his country.

“The picture shows that the U.S. administration did not put enough weight behind the issue,” Davutoglu told reporters.  “We are seriously disturbed by the result.  We expect the U.S. administration to, as of now, display more effective efforts. Otherwise the picture ahead will not be a positive one,” he said. He complained of a lack of “strategic vision” in Washington.

The resolution comes at a time when Washington is expected to press Turkey to back sanctions sought against Iran by the U.N. Security Council.  Turkey currently holds a seat on the council.  Turkey’s cooperation is also important to U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The genocide issue is one of a number of obstacles preventing Turkey from acquiring membership in the European Union.  Turkey has been trying to block similar genocide bills in parliaments across the globe.

For more information, please see:

The Associated Press- Turkey Warns U.S. Over Armenian Genocide Vote– 5 March 2010

Christian Science Monitor- Turkey Recalls Ambassador after U.S. Resolution on ‘Armenian Genocide’– 4 March 2010

Wall Street Journal- Genocide Vote Riles Turkey– 4 March 2010