By Meredith Lee-Clark

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

JERUSALEM, Israel/West Bank – The Palestinian Central Election Commission has recommended that the national elections scheduled for January be delayed. The Commission said it has encountered problems in Gaza and in Jerusalem, and that elections would be “impossible.”

 

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had called for national parliamentary elections to be held on January 24. Abbas added that he would not seek reelection for the presidency. Abbas’s office issued a statement after the Central Election Commission’s announcement on November 12, saying that Abbas would issue a decision about elections “in light of this development” and after consulting with Palestinian law experts.

 

There has been turmoil in the Palestinian political arena since Abbas called for elections. Hamas, the rival party to Abbas’s Fatah Party and the governing party in Gaza, said it would not participate in the scheduled elections, nor allow any Gaza residents to vote. Problems worsened when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he would not allow elections in East Jerusalem, even though the Oslo Peace Accords between the Israelis and Palestinians expressly stipulate that Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem are allowed to run in and vote in Palestinian elections.

 

The dispute over national elections is the latest in a series of power struggles between Hamas and Fatah. Hamas ousted Fatah from the Gaza Strip in 2007 after winning control of the Gaza legislature in 2006 elections. In October 2009, Egyptian-mediated talks aimed at a reconciliation agreement between the two parties stalled after Hamas and Fatah failed to reach agreement on key conditions. Spokesmen from both parties were quick to blame the other party for the delay of elections.

 

Ghassan Khatib, a Palestinian political analyst and director of the Palestinian government media center, was still hopeful for a compromise between the two parties. Khatib told the New York Times that the delay may provide an opportunity for reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas, and that an election could be held within six months. The extra time may give the parties time to consider and sign the Egyptian-brokered reconciliation agreement, which calls for national elections in June 2010.

 

For more information, please see:

 

Al Jazeera – Palestinian Poll Delay Recommended – 13 November 2009

 

Ma’an News Agency – Hamas, Fatah Spar Over Elections Delay – 13 November 2009

 

Palestinian News Network – Fatah Official: Palestinian Elections Likely to Be Delayed – 13 November 2009

 

Christian Science Monitor – Palestinian Election Body Urges Vote Delay, Reflecting Political Disarray – 12 November 2009

 

New York Times – Palestinian Officials Push for Delay in Elections – 12 November 2009

By Meredith Lee-Clark

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

JERUSALEM, Israel/West Bank – The Palestinian Central Election Commission has recommended that the national elections scheduled for January be delayed. The Commission said it has encountered problems in Gaza and in Jerusalem, and that elections would be “impossible.”

 

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had called for national parliamentary elections to be held on January 24. Abbas added that he would not seek reelection for the presidency. Abbas’s office issued a statement after the Central Election Commission’s announcement on November 12, saying that Abbas would issue a decision about elections “in light of this development” and after consulting with Palestinian law experts.

 

There has been turmoil in the Palestinian political arena since Abbas called for elections. Hamas, the rival party to Abbas’s Fatah Party and the governing party in Gaza, said it would not participate in the scheduled elections, nor allow any Gaza residents to vote. Problems worsened when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he would not allow elections in East Jerusalem, even though the Oslo Peace Accords between the Israelis and Palestinians expressly stipulate that Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem are allowed to run in and vote in Palestinian elections.

 

The dispute over national elections is the latest in a series of power struggles between Hamas and Fatah. Hamas ousted Fatah from the Gaza Strip in 2007 after winning control of the Gaza legislature in 2006 elections. In October 2009, Egyptian-mediated talks aimed at a reconciliation agreement between the two parties stalled after Hamas and Fatah failed to reach agreement on key conditions. Spokesmen from both parties were quick to blame the other party for the delay of elections.

 

Ghassan Khatib, a Palestinian political analyst and director of the Palestinian government media center, was still hopeful for a compromise between the two parties. Khatib told the New York Times that the delay may provide an opportunity for reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas, and that an election could be held within six months. The extra time may give the parties time to consider and sign the Egyptian-brokered reconciliation agreement, which calls for national elections in June 2010.

 

For more information, please see:

 

Al Jazeera – Palestinian Poll Delay Recommended – 13 November 2009

 

Ma’an News Agency – Hamas, Fatah Spar Over Elections Delay – 13 November 2009

 

Palestinian News Network – Fatah Official: Palestinian Elections Likely to Be Delayed – 13 November 2009

 

Christian Science Monitor – Palestinian Election Body Urges Vote Delay, Reflecting Political Disarray – 12 November 2009

 

New York Times – Palestinian Officials Push for Delay in Elections – 12 November 2009

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

ERBIL, Iraq – A report released by Human Rights Watch (HRW) warns of a possible disaster for northern Iraqi minorities. The human rights organization released their analysis on November 10, declaring that the policies and tactics of the Kurdish authorities were posing a significant risk to the rights of the region’s minority groups.

The HRW report, released in the Kurdish region’s capital, Erbil, was focused on Christians, Shabaks and Yazidis located in the Nineveh Province. Members of these groups are singled out by insurgent groups. The minority groups are caught in the middle of a battle for land and resources. The battle has pitted the Arabs and the central government against the leaders of Iraq’s Kurdish region.

The Nineveh province of Iraq is one of the most ethnically diverse regions of the country with both Arab and Kurdish leaders laying claim to the territory. After decades of repression under Saddam Hussein, Kurdish groups have grown in strength since the beginning of the U.S.-led invasion.

While the Kurdish Regional Government has offered financial inducements to win the support of minorities, the HRW says that they are simultaneously using repressive measures to control the groups. Among these measures include “arbitrary arrests and detentions, intimidation, and in some cases low-level violence.”

The HRW also reported that the extremist elements of the Sunni Arab insurgency views the minority groups as “crusaders” and “infidels.” The Sunni Arab insurgency is particularly strong in Nineveh and in August 2007 truck bombings, allegedly by Sunni Islamists, killed more than three hundred Yazidis. This marked the single worst attack against civilians since the beginning of the war.

Another attack on minorities occurred in late 2008, where “targeted killings and violence” resulted in the death of forty Chaldo-Assyrians. Human Rights Watch has urged Kurdish leaders and the central government of Iraq to attempt to improve the security of Iraqi minorities.

While the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) questioned the validity of the report, they promised to look into the allegations made. The KRG released a statement saying that they had “done more for protection of minorities than any other entity in Iraq.”

For more information, please see:

BBC – Iraq Minority Rights Fears Grow – 11 November 2009

New York Times – Minorities in Iraq’s North Seen as Threatened – 11 November 2009

AFP – Iraq’s minorities victim of northern conflict: HRW – 10 November 2009

AP – Rights Report Criticizes Kurds Over Minorities – 10 November 2009

By Ahmad Shihadah

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East Desk

SA’NA, Yemen – Yemen told outside powers Wednesday to stay out of its battle with the Hutis, a Shi’ite rebel group in its northwest. This came amid concerns that Iran and Saudi Arabia are being drawn into the conflict. The statement was issued by the official state news agency Saba, following a statement of concern for Yemen’s “national unity and territorial integrity” by Iranian Foreign Minister Manoucher Mottaki on Tuesday.

Yemen continued saying the fight between the government and the al-Huthi rebels was an internal issue and that Yemen was able to tackle its own problems without any interference or mediation from others. An unnamed Yemeni foreign ministry official issued a statement saying “as we welcome what Mr.Mottaki said about Iran’s stance towards Yemen’s stability and unity, Yemen affirms that it absolutely rejects any intervention in its internal affairs.”

Yemen has repeatedly accused Iran of supporting the rebels, and in October announced it had captured five Iranians attempting to smuggle a boatload of weapons to them, but no hard evidence was provided.  A Yemeni government official told CNN on Tuesday that Yemen’s navy was ‘on the highest state of alert.”

International concern continues to grow amid the conflict in Yemen, as many view the impoverished nation as a potential safe-haven for al-Qaeda. Further, the stage could be set for a proxy struggle between Shi’ite-dominated Iran and the Sunni-led Saudi monarchy. Yemen has signed an agreement with the United States for co-operation on military intelligence and training, according to Saba, Yemen’s official state news agency. The deal aims to strengthen co-operation in the “extermination of terrorism smuggling and piracy” according to Yemen’s chief of staff Ahmed Ali al Ashwal.

The United Nations continues to express alarm over the fighting and said there has been a “significant increase” in the number of people displaced in recent weeks. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees estimates as many as 175,000 people have affected by the conflict since 2004, U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said Tuesday.

For more information, please see:

CNN – Yemen Warns Against Intervention in Rebel Conflict – 11 November 2009

The National – Yemen ‘Rejects Outside Interference’ – 11 November 2009

WashingtonTv – Yemen Rejects Iran’s “Interference” in its Affairs – 11 November 2009

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – Three American hikers detained in Iran will be charged with espionage. Tehran’s general prosecutor, Abbas Jafari Doloatabadi confirmed the news on November 9. Doloatabadi also said that the investigation into the actions of the three would continue. Under Iranian law, the hikers face death if convicted of the espionage charge.

The three Americans, Shane Bauer, Sarah Shroud and Joshua Fattal, are thought to have crossed into Iranian territory while hiking in the Kurdish region of Iraq. The area is known to have a poorly marked border and their loved ones insist that this was an innocent mistake on the part of the three hikers.

The three hikers’ friends and families released a statement calling the spy allegations “entirely at odds with the people Shane, Sarah and Josh are and with anything that Iran can have learned about them since they were detained on July 31.” They  have urged the Iranian government to have compassion for the three and release them from custody.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton commented on the issue while in Berlin. She stated that there was “no evidence” for Iran to charge the hikers. Clinton urged the release of the hikers based on humanitarian grounds. After meeting with the family members of the three Americans, she explained that her “hear went out to all of them.” Clinton told the families that all options to getting the hikers back were being explored.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs argued that the three were innocent and that their release should come as quick as possible. As the United States does not have diplomatic relations with Iran, Switzerland has done the job of directly appealing for the hikers’ release. A Swiss diplomat has twice been allowed to visit the Americans in prison.

The most recent meeting took place on October 29 at Evin Prison in Tehran. The Swiss diplomat was able to confirm to the State Department that the detained hikers were in good physical shape. A State Department official confirmed a report that the three seemed nervous and scared, but appeared to be in good psychological health.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Families of US Hikers in Iran Deny Espionage Charges – 9 November 2009

Al Jazeera – Iran Accuses Americans of Spying – 9 November 2009

BBC – US Trio ‘on Iran Spying Charge’ – 9 November 2009

CNN – Iran to Charge 3 American Hikers With Espionage, Says Prosecutor – 9 November 2009