Armies of Liberation

Excellent interview!! Ms Mansour has a big job and perhaps it is the most critical ministry. If respect for human rights is the linchpin of the new Yemen, then she is correct, the youth will be satisfied, AQAP’s reach will diminish and the free market economy can take root.

Yemen Fox: Houria Mashhoor is one of Yemeni women who rebelled against Yemeni traditions and decided to take part in everything that used to be restricted to men.

Mashhoor is a Yemeni influential politician who is reputed to have neutral positions; even though she was a part of the previous regime.

Mashhoor has defected to the Yemeni revolution and become the spokeswoman for the youth revolutionary council. After the Saudi-brokered initiative had been signed in November, the conciliatory government was formed accordingly and Mashhoor was among the ministers who have been nominated. (Read on …)

Update: Saleh’s subordinates would only get immunity in “political cases:”

A Yemeni draft law granting immunity to the outgoing president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, from prosecution over the killing of protesters was amended on Thursday to limit the protection his aides would enjoy, a minister said.

The draft law, which has been heavily criticized by rights groups, the United Nations and Yemeni protesters, will now shield the aides only in “political cases,” Legal Affairs Minister Mohammad Makhlafi told Reuters.

The illegitimate Parliament still has to vote on it to give it a veneer of legitimacy just like the uncontested election has no point other than to provide international cover for appointing Hadi. The US should just recognize him as president and avoid the unnecessary expenditures. Easing Saleh out of office was never a viable plan and only wasted a year, destroyed the economy and allowed AQAP to flourish. Sooner or later, Saleh has to be kicked out.

Original: Saleh the mass murderer, objects to immunity for those he alleges tried to kill him in the mosque bombing, Ali Mohsen al Ahmar and Sheik Sadiq etc.

But Ali Mohsen’s crimes extend far beyond that one incident to include the conduct of the first five rounds of the Saada War as well as embezzlement, all types of black market smuggling, land appropriation and torture. The US cant grant immunity to everyone in Saleh’s regime and exclude the current and former opposition. UN envoy Ben Omar is trying to placate Saleh’s victims’ families with financial compensation and its their choice, but many already turned down hush money and blood money from the regime at the time of the murders. The notion that the families and the protesters are out of line somehow for demanding Saleh’s trial is Orwellian.

Yemen Times
A source close to negotiations told the Yemen Times that one of the disagreements on a political level stemmed from the fact that Saleh did not want the law to include his opponents Major General Ali Mohsen and the leaders of the Hashid Tribal confederation. Both were accused of the June 3 attack on the presidential compound, which left 12 dead and injured president Saleh and other key government figures.

In December, the Yemeni revolution turned towards institutions as employees of government institutions protested and went on strike, commonly demanding the prosecution of “corrupt” officials and mangers – many of whom are members of the General People’s Congress.

The proposed immunity law goes against their demands if it is approved in its current form. It suggests that seeks to grant immunity not only to Saleh, but also to all who worked with him in state, civil, military and security institutions during his rule.

Law expert Nabeela Al-Mufti, said: “The problem is that the law is too general, giving immunity to all who worked with Saleh for 33 years. This gives it a dangerous dimension.”

Another issue is the proposal that the law be implemented both inside and outside Yemen. “The Yemeni parliament cannot dominate the world parliaments and force them to implement the immunity,” said Al-Mufti.

Many Yemenis wonder whether or not Saleh or his fellows can be prosecuted outside of Yemen. According to Al-Mufti Saleh can be prosecuted outside of Yemen but his crime must have been committed in the prosecuting country. However, the International Criminal Court (ICC) can still receive cases against Saleh for crimes committed in Yemen – but any case must meet the ICC standards as a humanitarian or war crime.

“It is possible that a Yemeni person could raise a suit against Saleh for a crime that was committed in Yemen in any of the 81 countries that signed the Roma Law and became a member of the ICC,” Al-Mufti explained, adding that ICC procedures are complicated and lengthy but still possible.

Issues with the immunity law led to the idea of a Transitional Reconciliation Conference. The brainchild of UN envoy Jamal Benomar, the conference would serve as a way to bring together Yemen’s conflicting parties for a new beginning, forgetting past crimes but also proposing compensation to victims and their families – an idea that worked both in Morocco and South Africa

“The law denies individuals their right to prosecute; the concept of reconcilement should be by satisfaction not by force,” she added. “Any reconcilement should offer something to the victims’ families and whoever was harmed by Saleh’s regime.”

All the reporting about Dammaj is skewed one way or another. The article below is from Yemen Fox, an outlet of Gen. Ali Mohsen al Ahmar, and says the Houthis looted the relief convoys. The Houthis have an opposite story–the relief convoys were smuggling weapons into the school. It is sadly ironic that one of Ali Abdullah Saleh’s war crimes is the denial of international aid to the citizens in Houthi held areas of Saada for years, and now one of the main humanitarian issues regarding the current clashes is the lack of food in the school.

However the numbers of foreign students killed in the fighting are undisputed as is the fact that the siege is not completely lifted, impacting the women and children at the school. Only France and Russia called the school regarding the identity of the dead, although Sheik al Hajoree’s phone number is widely published on the web (usually in the context of refuting those who say they are collecting money for the school.)

Yemen Fox: Human Rights Information Center in Sana’a and Office of Media Coordination for beleaguered people of Dammaj condemned continuous violations by Houthis in Sa’adah against relief convoys for Dammaj Area.

“Despite the announcement of Houthis to lift blockade from Dammaj according to reconciliation convention sponsored by Sheik Hussein al-Ahmar, Houthis still denied access of relief convoys to Dammaj Area,” said Human Rights Information Center in Sana’a and Office of Media Coordination for beleaguered people of Dammaj in press release Sunday morning in Sana’a.

During the press release, Women’s Committee of Solidarity with the children and women of Dammaj was declared headed by Rasheeda al-Qaily, Member of Council of Peaceful Revolution Forces.

Human Rights Information Center in Sana’a and Office of Media Coordination for beleaguered people of Dammaj asserted that Houthis confiscated two relief convoys of Dammaj since the announcement of reconciliation convention, sponsored by Hussein al-Ahmar, one of which organized by Women’s Committee of Solidarity with the children and women of Dammaj estimated at more than YR 5 million.

Delegated member to accompany the relief convoy which started from the Change Square in Sana’a, Abdul-Malek al-Shaibani, said in the press conference that the convoy started from Sana’a on Friday 22 December after the announcement of the convention sponsored by Sheik Hussein al-Ahmar.

Shaibani added that Houthis held back the convoy in al-Amsheea from Harf Sufian side, adding that Houthis confiscated cell phones, copies of the Holy Quran, Janbyas and money of the committee accompanying the convoy. He pointed out that Houthis conveyed him to Al Amar Area and arrested him in a school used as prison for them.

“They emptied the load of the convoy and stole it,” said Shaibani, pointing out that the prison where he was arrested there was of other detainees who Houthis had arrested due to rejection to pay Zakat to Houthis.

Shaibani asserted that Houthis investigated him and accused him of transferring military supply to Dammaj, pointing out that focus of the investigation was concentrated on asking him about his doctrine. He said that they insulted the Companions of the Prophet in front of him in an attempt to provoke him.

During the press conference, the total number of dead foreigners fell in Dammaj was revealed. Wounded foreigners were 41 while dead foreigners reached 32 people. They dead were 5 Indonesians, 5 Algerians, 4 Russians, 4 French, 4 Libyans, 2 of the Sudan, one Iraqi, 2 Americans, an Ethiopian, an Indian, a British, a Malaysian and a Somali.

The committee which organized the conference condemned the ignorance of embassies of states of those dead foreigners from following their citizens who died in Dammaj, pointing out that only French and Russian embassies had contacted Dammaj Center to inquire about the identities of their killed people.

The committee said that dead of Yemenis of Dammaj people during clashes with Houthis reached 41 people including 6 children and two women one of whom was old. The number of wounded of children and women reached 25 wounded including 6 children and 19 women.

Then the update from the Yemen Times has the Houthis accusing Saudi Arabia of instigating sectarianism, a run down on the fighting in Hajjah and battling accusations of state collusion: “The Houthis released a statement on Wednesday evening accusing Saleh’s 101st Brigade of handing military sites to pro-Salafi tribes in Kittaf. For his part, Al-Yamani denied the Houthis’ accusations and said they are baseless, insisting that the 101st Brigade, led by general Fadl Hasan, is neutral.”

Update: Tariq al Dhahab responds as al Masdar.

YPost: Tribal chieftains in the southeast province of Al-Baytha, some 260km southeast of the Yemeni capital of Sana’a, gave on Wednesday 24 hours for al-Qaeda militants to leave their town of Rada.

Earlier the day, local tribal dignitaries accused outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh of conniving with the terrorists and letting Rada falls into their control, as the army looked on militants with simple weapons take control of an entire town.

The militants took control of al-Baytaha’s main town of Rada on Monday, with the army looking on. (Read on …)

But its not a problem for the US, UN and GCC which all strongly endorse an immunity package for the Saleh regime and consider the Yemeni public a nuisance.

Yemen Post: The Yemeni Human Rights Organization, HOOD, has affirmed that hundreds of officers, troops and protesters are being detained and brutally tortured inside military camps affiliated to the outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The body said that these soldiers were detained due their support to anti-regime protests.

Hood indicated that the Yemeni authorities have recently released 44 detainees from the Central Prison in Sana’a.

Yemen security and army services have arbitrarily detained hundreds of peaceful protesters across the country, subjecting them to torture and ill-treatment, since anti-government demonstrations began in February 2011.

“A military court has recently released four officers and troops of the Special Forces Service led by son of Saleh, Ahmed,” Hood said.”They were arrested on charges of taking part in anti-regime demonstrations.”

One of the released persons revealed that 75 protesters and 70 soldiers of the defected First Armored Division are being held inside a custody in Alsama’a military camp located in Arhab district of Sana’a governorate.

The protester told Yemeni activists that he was kidnapped from the capital in December, 2011, pointing out that he was immediately transferred to this camp.

He said he was subject to brutal forms of tortures, including electro-shock devices and beating with cables and whips, as he was blindfolded and handcuffed.

Yemenis have been demonstrating across the country demanding the release of hundreds of detainees held by Security services which are still controlled by people loyal to Saleh.

Yemeni activists had urged all international human rights organizations to press on the Yemeni regime to release all detainees who are subject to brutal torture.

The exact number of detainees being held by the authorities is unknown, but activists say that it could be as high as 1,400.

The analysis below by the Abaad Center has some correct information but is missing the facts that Nabil al Dhahab (brother of Tariq) was in the same PSO jail cell as his brother in law, Anwar al Awlaki, and later was on Syrian TV taking responsibility for the Damascus bombing, that was blamed on al Qaeda, link here.

It is probable that the National Security orchestrated the take over of Radaa, one town in the province of al Baydah. It was entirely true when I wrote that the Yemeni National Security transported Nasir al Wahishi, head of AQAP, from Marib to Shabwa in 2009 or 2008, whenever it was. The implications were and remain enormous.

There’s no way the US can feign ignorance anymore or that the collusion doesn’t go to the top. So what does the continued US support mean? It can’t be fear of Islah and fundamentalists when the US designed transition plan empowers Islah, endangers the democrats and puts the fractured regime back together, a regime that by its very nature is massively corrupt and prone to sporadic blood baths, and that has created, enabled and deployed al Qaeda for over a decade.

Then we get this: “Jane, my family are from Radaa. This ALQ stuff is load of rubbish. Ali Saleh’s troops entered the city on the pretext that the city had been taken over by ALQ when no such thing had happened. They then opened the prison and let everyone out. Opposition to Saleh in Radaa has been quite strong.” Others with family in Raada disagree and say its very scary, residents have been warned to stay indoors and men are arming themselves to protect their families.

Its clear that Saleh plans on delaying the “election” by any means possible. It was clear from day one that he would never relinquish his throne and that the US was helping him stall, first by announcing there was no post-Saleh planning and then by demanding Yemenis accept the clearly unworkable (and illegal) GCC plan. I’m mystified by US support of the Sanaa regime and all its elements (including Islah), when Saleh and the Yemeni security and intelligence forces are obvious and undeniable Al Qaeda puppet masters.

al Sahwa

Think-Tank: Absence of government, armed Houthi existence behind Al-Qaeda expansion

Alsahwah.net- A news analysis released by Abaad Centre for Studies and Research has said five factors supported Al-Qaeda existence in Rada’a of Baidha governorate:

First, planning of expansion in the stage that witnesses a weakness of the central government, as Al-Qaeda took this opportunity to enlarge in some eastern areas that lack the power of government.

Second, Rada’a is a predominantly tribal region and it witnessed provocations four months ago by militants who were affiliated to the Zaidi Shia Houthi group as they were walking around the town with their arms.

Third, forces of the Republican Guard did not deal with the militants seriously. A brother of Tariq Al-Dhahab who leads the militants was wounded, but when Tariq came to town was not interrupted and his positions located between Rada’a and Marib were not attacked.

Fourth, Al-Qaeda exploited the kinship between Al-Dhahab and Anwar Al-Awlaki, Al-Qaeda leader who was killed in a American drone strike last fall to expand.

Fifth, It used the detention of one of Al-Dhahab’s brother as a grief to provoke armed men to fight.

The analysis also indicated to the character of Al-Dhahab who led Al-Qaeda militants positioned in a archeological mosque in Rada’a.

” Tareq Al-Dhahab is a brother of a late prominent tribal leader of Rada’a” added the analysis. ” After the death of this leader, his nephew, Majed, was crowned as a leader, but Tareq did not accept that.”

” Tareq’s brother at the age of 35, Nabil, was submitted by Syrian authorities as he tried to cross the country to fight in Iraq in 2006.”

Al-Dhahab has criticized, in a comment to Marib Press, the detention of his brother, considering that as arbitrary, and pointing out that Nabil was imprisoned inside a jail of the Political Security, added the analysis.

” After the release of Anwar Al-Awlaki in 2007, Al-Dhahab angered on his tribe escaped to a region between Marib and Rada’a and gathered around dozens of militants who came from Al-Jawf, Marib, Shabwa and Baidha,” added the centre.

” Al-Dhahab generously spends money for his followers and sponsors scores of families, but his resources are still unknown up to date.”

The think-tank said the name of Al-Dhahab was not included in any operation of Al-Qaeda, he did not travel abroad, and was not known of his affiliation to Al-Qaeda, but the Yemeni authorities suspect that he was responsible for attacking a security checkpoint in Rada’a in May, 2011.

” The authorities have not stated about the event or attacked the region in which he has been basing for years” added it.

” Al-Dhahab emerged as a member of Al-Qaeda in his sermon on Friday, 13 January, 2012, after he along with approximately 80 militants stormed Rada’a, using light and medium weapons including RPG and gun machines,” added the analysis. ” They positioned inside an archeological mosque which has been shut down for 15 years.”

Its like a carbon copy of the Abyan events.

al Sahwa: Alsahwah.net – A tribal leader of Rada’a, Khalid Al-Dhahab, has said that the National Security coordinated with his brother, Tariq who leads Al-Qaeda militants, to capture Rada’a.

In a comment to Alarabya TV on Monday, Khalid said that the National Security and the former Interior Minister, Rashad Almasri, have been contacting Tariq for long period.

Al-Dhahab pointed out that he had suggested to the Yemeni regime to submit his brother, Tariq, but the regime procrastinated regarding his arrest.

Alsahwah.net – Three protesters and two policemen were killed, and 20 others were wounded on Friday as security forces used live ammunition against supporters of the Southern Movement.

Medics said that 26 protesters were taken to receive treatment.

Thousands of the Southern Movement’s followers protested on Friday to mark the annual anniversary of the civil war erupted in 1986 between fictions of the ruling regime then.

Witnesses said forces of the Central Security used gas bombs, live ammunition to disperse the protesters.

Press reports quoted eyewitnesses as saying that snipers shot fire on the protesters from the back of security forces.

Yemeni human rights organizations and political parties have called to swiftly identify those responsible for the killing of protesters and bring them to justice.

Yemen National Conference, “The Yemen that we desire”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Upcoming National Conference in Beirut: “The Yemen that we desire”

Sana’a, Yemen, January 16, 2012

On January 18 and 19, 2012, a Yemeni national conference will be held in Beirut, Lebanon entitled: The Yemen that we desire”. The conference is organized by the Change and Defense of Rights and Freedoms Organization, in cooperation with civil society organizations and media representatives. The conference will have active participation by youth representatives from various blocs, coalitions and alliances from the squares nationwide.

This conference comes at the threshold of a new phase of Yemen’s modern history, where an exceptional new awareness is being born. This is reflected in the determination of a courageous people and youth pushing towards reform. This new found awareness is linked to calls for a new Yemeni modern civil state based on the principles of freedom and equality and the rule of law. (Read on …)

The US continues to freeze out the most democracy minded of the Yemeni population (as the unity government and GCC plan re-establishes the status quo and empowers traditionalist elements of society) in order to retain its CT investment and permissions, as the Sana’a regime mobilizes its terrorist paramilitary in order to prove the need. Its a very dangerous game. I thought Def Sec Gates was being dramatic when he said the US had “no post Saleh planning” in March 2011, but apparently not. Why we are continuing to support a regime that overtly enables terrorists at the expense and against the will of 22 million people is beyond me.

The US always insists the National Security is the cleanest of the intel services. It may be but its not saying much when we are comparing it to the PSO. There’s such a long list of double crosses involving the National Security specifically, and they are doing it again in the AQAP takeover of al Beydah.

Alsahwah.net- Yemen opposition has accused the outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh of supporting Al-Qaeda and help it control Yemeni towns and areas.

It said Saleh tries to persuade the global world that he is the only who can fight Al-Qaeda.

The Assistant Secretary General of the Yemeni Socialist Party, Yahya Abu Asboa, told an Emirati newspaper, Albyan, that he has information that Yemeni army and security forces loyal to Saleh facilitate the expansion of Al-Qaea.

” Saleh supports Al-Qaeda to disrupt the National Consensus government led by the opposition and make foreign states believe that Saleh’s ouster would strengthen Al-Qaeda” added he.

Al-Qaeda militants extensively expanded in Zinjbar of Abayn governorate, and nearly 5,000 Al-Qaeda militants and recruiters are currently existed at Azan of Shabow governorate.

It further said the main road linking between Shabwa and Abyan is completely controlled by the militants.

Political leaders of Al-Baidha governorate accused leaders of the General People Congress party headed by Saleh of complicity with the militants to capture the town of Rada’a.

A Yemeni journalist, Aref Al-Omari, affirmed that tribal leaders loyal to Saleh cooperated and coordinated with Al-Qaeda to take over Rada’a in attempt to shuffle the cards and hinder the holding of the early presidential election to be held on February 21.

He cited that the militants are led by Tareq Al-Dahab and Abdul-Salam Al-Nosairy, tribal leaders who are known as members of GPC.

Local sources told Alsahwah.net that Rada’a is not a fertile ground for Al-Qaeda, pointing out that the regime of Saleh previously attempted to bring militants to Rada’a, but they were faced and expelled by local residents.

The sources held military commanders of the Republican Guard existed in Rada’a responsible for allowing the militants to capture the town without any resistance.

So we have Mohammed al Nosairi in one article and Abd al Rhaman al Nosairi in another, and they could be the same person or related but GPC member Tariq al Dhahab is described as leading the al Qaeda forces in both.

More from the Yemen Post:

Armed groups affiliated to Al-Qaeda calling itself as “the Islamic Jihad Group” took over on Saturday night a archaeological town of Rada’a and captured the famous castle of Alamiria and its mosque, local sources affirmed.

Local sources said that armed clashes between the militants and residents are still going, pointing out that the number of casualties are unknown.
Flocks of militants flow to the town, some 150 km southeast of the capital, Sana’a, amid fears of residents who worry of turning their town to a conflict battlefield, added the sources.

Yemeni analysts said Al-Qaeda attempts to expand its control on Yemeni areas, pointing out that the capture on Rada’a will help Al-Qaeda reach other Yemeni strategic areas

Yemeni news reports said local residents led by the tribal leader, Mohmmad Al-Nosairi, are strongly fighting Al-Qaeda militants near the castle of Alamria.
They said that the militants are led by Tariq Al-Dahab, a relative of Anwar Al-Walaki, a Yemeni-American cleric who was killed in a American drone strike last fall.

A Yemeni senior opposition leader of the Yemeni Socialist Party, Yahya Abu Asboa, said Yemen’s security forces did not exert enough efforts to prevent Al-Qaeda militants from entering Rada’a.

He further cautioned against plans of Al-Qaeda to attack the oil-rich city of Marib located close to Sana’a.

Critics of the outgoing Ali Abdullah Saleh accused him of turning a blind eye to the expansion of Al-Qaeda to prove to the global world that his existence is vital to face terrorism and other Jihadi groups inside the state.

They also alleged that he used Al-Qaeda as a card to cling to power, use force against anti-regime porters and have American financial assistances.

Gold accused Sheikh Khalid, his brother, Tariq, who leads the gold jihadist groups affiliated with al Qaeda, the city of white Radaa province, in coordination with the National Security Agency, and with points of high and close to the presidential house in Sana’a, such as control of the city Radaa order declaring an Islamic emirate.

Gold said in a statement to «Marib Press» Tariq Hqih that gold is backed regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, said that his brother with the coordinator and former interior minister, Rashad al-Masri disinfectant, and with the National Security Agency.

With denounced the gold entering the jihadist groups to Radaa, under the silence of the camps located in the vicinity of Radaa, said that security forces handed over his brother Tariq gold castle and the city, pointing out that if the cessation of a soldier and a one-stop machine gun rounds fiftieth is able of these groups to take control of the castle and the city.

Gold revealed that his brother met the elements of the national security apparatus, such as control of the Radaa days, and said that he had spoken with his brother and told him that he coordinated with the government.

Mareb Press

I wonder if these are some of the `16 al Qaeda escapees that Saleh was hiding in one of his palaces near Sanaa, as Sadiq al Ahmar told France 24 . Everyday in Yemen is a carbon copy of the last and after a while, its just absurd.

And yet another a jail break:

Al-Qaida free 250 prisoners in Yemen

16-01-12

Hundreds of al-Qaida militants broke into a central jail in Yemen’s southeastern province of al-Bayda on Monday, setting free about 250 prisoners, a provincial security official said, a day after the terrorist group seized the province’s Radda town.

“Hundreds of al-Qaida bearded men wearing security uniform onboard pickup trucks stormed the central prison in Radda this morning, killing several security soldiers and releasing 250 prisoners,” the official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The militants also took over all security checkpoints around and inside the city, as well as several government facilities, including the post office and the telecommunications center, the official said, adding that the militants were surrounding the building of the Central Bank of Yemen.

“More militants were still flooding into Radda from nearby provinces of Marib, Abyan, Shabwa, Hadramout, Aden, Lahj and Saada,” said the official.

On Sunday,the militants seized Radda town of al-Bayda province, which borders the restive province of Abyan, a key stronghold of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

The AQAP group has seized several cities and towns across the restive southern provinces, as the Yemeni government forces engaged in fierce clashes with militants over past months, leaving hundreds of people killed.

(Xinhua)

Maybe they are trying to weaken the Houthis by opening another front

Yemen Times: 20 or 80?

SANA’A, Jan. 15 — At least 80 militants believed to be from Al-Qaeda entered Rada’, the capital of Al-Baidah, 170 km south-east the capital Sana’a, on Saturday, according to Yahiya Al-Nusairi, head of the governorate’s Architecture Office.

Al-Nusairi told the Yemen Times that they first entered the Al-Ameria Mosque at 3 p.m., and proceeded to perform the afternoon prayer.

“They performed two prayers there and then delivered a lecture. After that, they seized Al-Ameria Castle,” said Al-Nusairi. He added that people cannot stop anyone who wishes to pray in a mosque. He said, however, that he does not “really know how they passed the checkpoints with their weapons and rocket propelled grenades”.

Al-Nusairi continued: “After we asked them not to do any harm to the mosque, nor to break the branch of a single tree, their leader, Tariq Al-Dhahab, promised to comply.”

However, according to the district-based RDA Press website, the militants’ number didn’t exceed 20 and that they left the mosque to stay at an old fort overlooking the district.

The Al-Ameria Mosque and school was built 500 years ago in the Islamic architectural style. Al-Nusairi said that it is currently open only for prayer, but that use of the bathrooms has been suspended because of financial difficulties. People in groups have not prayed together there for 15 years, as it has been under renovation.

Al-Nusairi said that the militants may have been urged on by Islah Party followers from Rada’. Members of the conservative opposition party, he continued, may have pushed the militants to help them open the mosque.

“We do not know what their intention is,” he concluded.

According to Majed Karrod, a reporter from Marib Press, the militants passed through checkpoints and “soldiers might have even greeted them.” He said that Tariq Al-Dhahab was accused a couple of months ago of killing seven government soldiers.

“Al-Dhahab was among the militants who seized Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan governorate, in May. He has a battalion of 400 to 500 warriors,” said Karrod.

Yes it does. The GCC plan was rejected in Yemen since May because it is clearly designed to retain most of the status quo and is the diametric opposite of the public consensus. Its also blatantly illegal and the US has lost its moral authority on human rights and democracy forever in Yemen. Via email:

Yemen: Reject Immunity Law for President Saleh and Aides
Unlawful Blanket Amnesty Bill Gives ‘License to Kill’

(New York, January 10, 2012) – Yemen’s parliament should reject a draft law that would grant amnesty to President Ali Abdullah Saleh and anyone who served with him for crimes committed during his 33-year rule, Human Rights Watch said today. The sweeping measure could result in impunity for serious international crimes such as deadly attacks on anti-government demonstrators in 2011.

“Passing this law would be an affront to thousands of victims of Saleh’s repressive rule, including the relatives of peaceful protesters shot dead last year,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, executive Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Yemeni authorities should be locking up those responsible for serious crimes, not rewarding them with a license to kill.”

The draft law, which the parliament is expected to debate as early as January 11, 2012, violates Yemen’s obligations under international law to investigate and prosecute serious international crimes such as torture, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch said.

Bowing to international pressure and 10 months of protests against his rule, Saleh agreed in November to cede power under an accord brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). In exchange, the GCC deal instructed Yemen’s parliament, which the ruling party dominates, to act on an immunity law before Saleh is to step down formally on February 21, 2012.

The granting of immunity would not prevent courts in other countries from prosecuting serious human rights crimes in Yemen under universal jurisdiction laws, Human Rights Watch said. “Even if the Yemeni parliament grants immunity, the law will not hold water abroad,” Whitson said.

An article in the draft law bars its “repeal or appeal” by either lawmakers or the courts. However, article 51 of the constitution of Yemen says citizens have the right of recourse to the courts to protect their rights and lawful interests. Article 153 of the constitution designates the Supreme Court as the highest judicial authority in the land and empowers it to strike down laws that are unconstitutional.

The preamble to the immunity law wrongfully suggests it was drafted to implement United Nations Security Council resolution 2014 of October 21, 2011, Human Rights Watch said. In fact, the Security Council resolution calls on all parties in Yemen to implement a political settlement based on the GCC accord – rather than adopt the accord itself – and also emphasizes that “all those responsible for violence, human rights violations and abuses should be held accountable.”

International law rejects impunity for serious crimes, such as genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and torture. International treaties, including the UN Convention against Torture and the 1949 Geneva Conventions, require parties to ensure alleged perpetrators of serious crimes are prosecuted. As recently as January 6, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay reasserted that amnesty cannot be granted for serious crimes under international law.

Human Rights Watch has confirmed the deaths of 270 protesters and bystanders during attacks by government security forces and gangs on largely peaceful demonstrations against Saleh’s rule in 2011, most in the capital, Sanaa. Dozens more civilians were killed last year in apparently indiscriminate attacks by security forces on densely populated areas during clashes with armed opposition fighters. Human Rights Watch also has documented a broad pattern of international human rights violations and laws-of-war violations by government security forces in previous years, including apparent indiscriminate shelling in the 2004-2010 civil war against northern Huthi rebels and the use of unnecessary and lethal force since 2007 to quash a separatist movement in the south.

“From north to south to central Sanaa, the Saleh government has violated the basic rights of the Yemeni people,” Whitson said. “Without accountability for these crimes, there can be no genuine break from the past in a post-Saleh Yemen.”

For More Human Rights Watch Reporting on Yemen, please visit:

http://www.hrw.org/middle-eastn-africa/yemen

Related from from al Sahwa: Republican Guard kills four civilians in rural area

Alsahwah.net- Forces of the Republican Guard headed by Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh, son of the outgoing Yemeni president bombarded on Tuesday some villages of Bani Dihrah, killing four civilians including child.

For its part, Hood Organization for Human Rights and Freedoms affirmed that it received on Tuesday the corpses of the four killed civilians.

Hood said that forces of the Republican Guard rejected to allow human rights organizations to take the bodies of five civilians whow were killed five months ago.

On Sunday , the Republican Guards bombarded villages of Bani Jarmooz and Bait Dihrah, using mortars and machine guns against civilians wounding several and damaging many properties.

Change Square: Sana’a, Yemen. In silent remembrance of the hundreds of lives lost in the youth’s peaceful uprising against the Saleh regime. Friends and loved ones left behind continue their fight for freedom, justice and equality.

Join us at: http://www.facebook.com/supportyemen.org

Follow us on Twitter: #SupportYemen

Obama’s strategic blunder in Yemen may shield Al Qaeda from prosecution

A law passed by Yemen’s cabinet on Sunday provides blanket immunity to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh and all those who served in his governments over the last 33 years. One unintended consequence may be to also immunize those al Qaeda operatives on the payroll of the Yemeni military and security services.

The law grants immunity to Saleh “and whoever worked with him in all the state’s civil, military and security apparatus and organizations during the period of his rule.” The US has pushed for the transition plan since May despite broad public rejection of the immunity clause.

Yemeni military commanders including those now in the opposition are thought be complicit in a range of terror attacks, in addition to a long standing pattern of facilitation of al Qaeda. Many al Qaeda operatives who draw a state salary would then be covered under the immunity deal.

As one example, former Interior Minister Hussain Arab issued an official travel permit to Abdel Rahman al Nashiri in 2000, covering the period of the USS Cole attack that killed 17 US service members. Not only would the law absolve Mr. Arab of any complicity in the al Qaeda attack, it may also absolve Mr. al Nashiri.

If Al Nashiri, who is currently scheduled for trial at Guantanamo Bay, can produce witnesses to the involvement of Yemeni government officials in the attack, the Obama administration will be placed in the uncomfortable position of having lobbied for immunity for the al Qaeda operatives who attacked a US war ship.

Similarly another Yemeni detainee with demonstrated foreknowledge of the 9/11 attack in New York had been employed by the Yemeni Political Security Organization prior to his capture in Egypt.

Yemeni officials have openly admitted to paying al Qaeda operatives’ salaries, purportedly as informants or to keep them out of trouble. Some of those currently partaking in the al Qaeda occupation of Abyan have been found with identity cards from the National Security.

Yemeni activists have long asserted that the state uses al Qaeda to attack its enemies and threaten the international community.

Al Qaeda targeted and killed several foreign nationals in Yemen since 2007 including aid workers from Germany, Britain and South Korea as well as tourists from Spain, South Korea and Belgium. Yemeni officials have stated that al Qaeda is able to obtain intelligence from the security services as a matter of corruption rather than ideology.

The law, which will be presented for parliament’s approval within coming days, also covers those government officials guilty of massive corruption and embezzlement, the primary cause of Yemen’s staggering illiteracy and malnutrition rates. Members of the presidential family are thought to have deposited millions abroad.

State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland termed the immunity clause useful if it encourages “the strongman to leave the stage.”

Hundreds of protesters have been killed by security forces, many by sniper shots to the head, since protests began in February 2011 demanding regime change. The killings continued unabated even after Saleh signed the power transfer deal in November.

Saleh supporters and security forces have attacked numerous journalists RSF reported since the departure plan was signed. Calling December 2011 “a particularly black month,” Reporters Without Borders firmly condemned the continuing violations and urged the international community to intercede.

Yemeni protesters largely reject the US backed transition plan because of the immunity clause. Protests calling for Saleh’s trial continue in nearly every governorate.

The UN Security Council endorsed the agreement, which was ironed out by UN envoy, Jamal Benomar. However, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, issued a statement last week asserting that the plan is illegal under international law,

“I have been closely following the events in Yemen, particularly the very contentious debate about an amnesty law to be presented to Parliament shortly,” the High Commissioner said.

“International law and the UN policy are clear on the matter: amnesties are not permissible if they prevent the prosecution of individuals who may be criminally responsible for international crimes including war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and gross violations of human rights.”

Probable war crimes committed during the Saada war (2005-2010) include the “Scorched Earth” campaign during the sixth round of war, 2009-201o, when the Yemeni air force repeatedly bombed civilian villages, refugee camps, and infrastructure. Saudi air support was responsible for bombing a Yemeni hospital, which Saudi authorities called “a mistake” in conversations to US officials, according to a Wikileaks document. The deliberate denial of humanitarian aid and a pattern of mass nationwide arrests are also thought to have contravened international law.

Another pattern of systematic abuse with regard to southern protesters since 2007 is well documented.

The transition plan although forwarded by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is the brain child of President Obama’s counter-terror adviser, John Brennan and US ambassador to Yemen, Gerald Feierstein.

The Wall Street Journal revealed last week that Mr. Brennan was “pissed” when it became apparent that President Saleh had orchestrated a hit on a political rival via US drone by feeding the US false intelligence.

The US drone strike in May 2010 killed the deputy governor of Marib , Jabir Shabwani. Observers questioned Mr. Brennan’s gullibility considering Saleh’s long and extensive history of duping the US on counter-terror issues.

Yemenis have held several protests calling for the expulsion of US Ambassador Feierstein after he disparaged a peaceful 170 mile march from Taiz to Sana’a, held to underscore public rejection of the amnesty deal.

Ambassador Feierstein said the marchers were trying to provoke chaos and thus not inherently peaceful. When state forces killed 11 marchers later in the day, Yemenis charged that the US had given the Saleh regime the green light to murder as well as provided the amnesty afterward.

Over several months, US diplomats have pushed hard for the immunity deal as a way to ease Saleh out of office; however Saleh has outplayed the US at every turn during the 11 month popular uprising. He shows no real intention of giving up power and continues to operate on the political scene through proxies within the unity government.

- Jane

Not to mention that they really have to give immunity to the corrupt opposition now as well or the immunized criminals will have an advantage.

Yemen Observer: The Yemeni cabinet has approved a draft law of amnesty that will give President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his aides immunity from prosecution. (Read on …)