By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – On November 22 the Iraqi parliament amended an election law that governs the general elections scheduled for January 2010. An earlier version of the law was previously vetoed by Iraq’s Sunni vice president, Tariq al-Hashemi. The amended law, however, fails to address the concerns of Vice President Hashemi.

Hashemi claims that the version of the law passed on November 8 failed to give sufficient voice to Iraqis living abroad. Many of those living abroad are Sunnis. The amendment passed by the Iraqi parliament on November 22 called for Iraqis living abroad to have their vote counted toward their home province. The law also increased the number of member of parliaments elected by the Kurdish region of Iraq.

The changes made differ from Hashemi’s request. The Iraqi vice president request that the new law create seats allocated for voters outside of Iraq. It is expected that Hashemi will veto the law again and send it back to the parliament. Analysts say that even if a law is eventually approved, it now appears unlikely that it will happen in time for elections to be held by the end of January, as required by the Iraqi constitution.

Sunni government officials do not agree with the amendments plan to add seats to the Kurdish-run province. Osama al-Nujefi, a Sunni parliamentarian, said that the amendment would have the effect of stealing seats from Northern provinces where Sunni’s have a strong presence and giving them to the Kurds. According to Nujeifi, the taking of seats would be done in “an illegitimate way.”

A veto by Hashemi would serve as a second veto of the law. Under Iraqi law, if a second veto is used, Iraqi parliamentarians can overturn it with a sixty percent majority vote in the two hundred seventy five seat assembly. An alliance of Shi’ite and Kurdish members would pass threshold with thirty votes to spare.

The United States has linked the pace of troop withdrawal from Iraq to the elections planned for January a hopes to take a more active role in ensuring that they take place on time. Christopher Hill, the US Ambassador to Iraq, has warned against “slippage” in staging the country’s election. US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said that the US will present “a number of ideas” with the goal of ending the stalemate.

For information, please see:

AFP – US Warns Against Iraq Election ‘Slippage’ – 24 November 2009

AP – Iraq Election Law Faces Second Veto – 24 November 2009

Al Jazeera – Iraqi MPs Amend Election Law – 23 November 2009

BBC – Iraq Parliament Passes Amended Election Law – 23 November 2009

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – On November 20 the United Nations rebuked Iran for numerous human rights violations. The violations allegedly took place in the wake of the disputed presidential election. The UN’s condemnation came int he form of a draft resolution approved by members of the UN committee on human rights. The resolution passed by a vote of seventy four to forty eight with fifty nine countries abstaining.

A resolution condemning Iran for their treatment of their own citizens is not rare for the UN. However, the current resolution expressed particular concern for the increase of human rights violations that followed President Mahomoud Ahmedinejad’s disputed re-election. Those who abstained from the vote were reportedly concerned with singling out specific countries for condemnation.

In a similar vote last year, Iran garnered slightly more support. Among those who removed their support from Iran was Saudi Arabia, who had voted “no” in 2008. This decision appears to be linked to Saudi Arabia’s displeasure with Iranian support for a Shi’ite rebellion in Yemen. The rebellion has reportedly spilled over onto Saudi territory.

The resolution expressed “particular concern at the response of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran following the Presidential election of 12 June 2009 and the concurrent rise in human rights violations.” Among the violations listed by the UN were “harassment, intimidation and persecution, including by arbitrary arrest, detention or disappearance, of opposition members, journalists and other media representatives, bloggers, lawyers, clerics, human rights defenders, academics, (and) students.”

Iran’s disputed election lead to street rallies that broke out after the vote. Protesters claimed that Ahmedinejad’s re-election came as a result of a rigged vote. Four thousand individuals were arrested. Among them were one hundred forty senior reformers and journalists who were later shown on television in mass trials. They were charged with seeking an overthrow of the regime.

Iran’s UN ambassador, Mohammad Khazaee, protested against the measure. He alleged that the resolution, introduced by Canada, showed the country’s “ill intentions.” He also criticized bringing such resolutions to the assembly as they have “created an atmosphere of confrontation and polarization.”

For more information, please see:

AFP – UN Blasts Iran’s Human Rights Violations – 21 November 2009

BBC – UN Condemns Iran’s Response to Post-Election Unrest – 21 November 2009

New York Times – In Draft Resolution, United Nations Rebukes Iran For Rights Violations Since Election – 20 November 2009

Reuters – UN Panel Condemns Iran For Post-Election Crackdown – 20 November 2009

By Meredith Lee-Clark
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

GAZA CITY, Gaza – Israel reported that Palestinians fired rockets into Southern Israel on November 21. The Israeli military responded with air strikes in the early morning of November 22.

Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, had announced soon after the initial Palestinian attack that it had reached a truce with all Palestinian militant groups in Gaza. Since the rocket launch, several militant factions in Gaza have denied responsibility for the attack. An Israeli military spokesperson said that the homemade Qassam rocket landed in Southern Israel’s Negev Desert, and caused no damage or casualties.  The Israeli raids left eight Palestinians injured, one seriously.

The attack damaged the credibility of Hamas’s announcement of a truce among militant groups on November 21. A Hamas spokesperson said that the truce was an effort to reduce retaliatory attacks by Israel and to give Gazans opportunities to continue to rebuild their homes. Much of the Gaza Strip remains in rubble after last winter’s military offensive by Israel, known as Operation Cast Lead. As well as damage to the Gazan infrastructure, approximately 1,400 Palestinians and thirteen Israelis were killed during the three-week offensive during December 2008 and January 2009.

Israel’s air raids were the most comprehensive single-night military action by Israel since last winter’s offensive. An Israeli spokesperson said the raids were aimed at two rocket-building facilities in Gaza. Since the end of Operation Cast Lead, 270 rockets were launched from Gaza into Southern Israel, compared with over 3,300 launched in 2008.

Despite Hamas’s announcement of a truce, many locals fear the exchange of hostilities is a signal of escalating tensions between Gaza and Israel. Hamas political advisor Ahmed Yusuf said that his party has “no interest” in military engagement with Israel, preferring to focus instead on reconstruction. Yusuf added the caveat that Hamas would respond to any attacks by Israel.

“If the Israelis target us, people will react,” said Yusuf. “It’s a normal thing. And [Hamas] can’t stop anyone from fighting back against Israeli attacks.”

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Gaza Groups Deny Rocket Ceasefire – 23 November 2009

Ha’aretz – Gaza Rocket Hits Israel, Despite Hamas Moratorium on Qassams – 23 November 2009

Ma’an News Agency – Israel: Gaza Projectile Falls – 23 November 2009

Christian Science Monitor – Israel Air Strikes in Gaza: Will Hamas Rocket Truce Hold? – 22 November 2009

New York Times – Israeli Aircraft Strike Gaza Targets – 22 November 2009

By Ahmad Shihadah

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SA’NA, Yemen – According to Huthi rebels, Saudi Arabian forces have carried out an incursion into Yemeni territory using tanks, artillery and aircraft. The statement from the Yemen-based group said that the attacks on Monday were taking place in the border districts of Malahiz and Shada provinces.

Hashem Ahelbarra, Al-Jazeera’s correpondent in northern Yemen, said Saudi Arabia’s incursion could be a rescue operation. Witnesses from the northern border town of Razah told the Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the Saudis began the offensive on Monday, but a Yemeni official denied that a Saudi assault was taking place. “These are allegations and lies that the rebels often repeat to expand the scope of the conflict, and also to give themselves more importance than they really have,” he told AFP.

The Saudi military is trying to enforce a buffer zone around the border, but has denied crossing into Yemen. The Saudi media has reported that three soldiers had been killed in the raids, and said the military claimed to have stopped a rebel plan to seize the Yemeni port town of Midi. Prince Nayef bin Abdel Aziz Saudi, Saudi Arabia;s interior minister, said on Monday that “other countries should not interfere” in Yemen’s affairs. “We condemn any interference in Yemen, and any action is to be be taken by Yemenis themselves,” said the minister.

The Huthis pushed through the border and took over a mountainous region of Saudi Arabia on November 3rd. The incursion was wiped out by Saudi airstrikes days after it happened. The Saudi and Yemeni governments have been bombarding them in an attempt to drive them back from the border.

For more information, please see:

Agence France-Presse – Yemen Rebels Accuse Saudi of Launching Major Attack – November 23 2009

Al-Jazeera – Saudi Forces ‘Fighting in Yemen’ – November 23 2009

BBC – ‘Saudi Casualties’ in Border Fight with Rebels – November 23 2009

By Brandon Kaufman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East