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

By Bobby Rajabi

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

FALLUJAH, Iraq – On March 4 doctors in the Iraqi city of Fallujah reported an usually high level of birth defects.  This has led to some individuals blaming the US and the weapons used by their forces while fighting opposition forces. Fallujah witnessed a great amount of violence in 2004 when US forces carried a major offensive against insurgents who had taken hold in the city. The US military responded to the doctors by saying that they were unaware of any official reports being released.

Samira al-Ani of the Fallujah General Hospital explained that while no data had been documented, “(he) can tell you that year by year the number is increasing.” The BBC announced that it had received reports regarding city officials who were warning women against having children because of the increasing problems with birth defects.

The level of heart defects six years after the city experience major combat is a cause of great concern among medical professionals in Fallujah. Doctors in the city reported that the level of heart defects among newborn babies is thirteen times higher than in Europe. Some doctors in the city have reported seeing heart defect cases as many as two to three times a day. Most of the defects seen by these doctors were reportedly cardiac defects.

Other birth defects are on the rise besides those related to the heart .A correspondent for BBC reportedly saw children throughout the city who were suffering from either brain damage or paralysis. Addtionally, the correspondent reported seeing a photograph of baby who warn with three heads. An Iraqi researcher, Malik Hamdan, told the BBC that she had “seen footage of babies born with an eye in the middle of the forehead, the nose on the forehead.”

Doctors and parents in Fallujah believe that the problem with their newborns are caused by the highly sophisticated weapons used by US forces in the city six years ago. During the assault on Fallujah during the height of the insurgency, US forces used white phosphorus munitions and allegedly used depleted uranium shells. US military forces said that while public health is a great concern, they were unaware of the number of birth defects in Fallujah.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Fallujah Doctors Report rise in Birth Defects – 4 March 2010

Telegraph – Birth Defects in Fallujah Children ‘On The Rise’ Since US Invasion – 4 March 2010

UPI – Report: Birth Defects Soar in Fallujah – 4 March 2010

By Ahmad Shihadah
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East Desk

SA’NA, Yemen – Up to 19 people are believed to have died following the collapse of three buildings in Taiz, Yemen’s second-largest city. The buildings collapsed following an explosion in a dynamite warehouse under one of them.

At least nine bodies were pulled from the rubble on Tuesday and rescue workers were looking for 10 more believed buried and feared dead. Fifteen people were also reported injured and taken to hospitals.
Initial findings gave no indication the explosion was anything other than an accident, an official said. The explosives were stored in the basement of a four-storey building that was reduced to rubble in the residential al-Masbah area of Taiz
The officials say the basement was used by an arms dealer to store dynamite and other explosives. They say the blast was so strong the building, which had six apartments, totally crumbled. “The explosion tore apart three buildings,” Mohammad Saeed, a witness said by phone. “Many people are still under the wreckage.”

The officials say rescue operations are still continuing and that 15 people were injured in the blast. Two nearby buildings were damaged and have been evacuated.

In the past two years a secessionist movement has grown in the south, demanding that the two countries separate again. An al-Qaeda offshoot has also established a base in the country. The government in Sa’na has recently signed a peace deal with a third rebel group in the north of the country, called the Houthis.

In the past week, the government has turned its attention to the southern secessionist movement and cracked down on demonstrations and arrested supporters.

For More Information, Please See:

Al-Jazeera – Deaths in Yemen Building Collapse – 2 March 2010

AP – Officials: 8 Killed in Building Collapse in Yemen – 2 March 2010

BBC News – Yemen Explosion Causes Building Collapse Killing 10 – 2 March 2010