Smuggling And Trafficking Of Somalis Must Stop, Says Human Rights Expert

February 15, 2012

(Newsroom America) -- The smuggling and trafficking in innocent Somalis must end, an independent United Nations human rights expert said, expressing deep shock over the recent boat disaster in the Gulf of Aden that resulted in the death of 11 people, while another 34 are still missing.

Last week, survivors found on Somali beaches explained that their boat, crewed by three smugglers and carrying 58 passengers, had set sail for Yemen. They also recounted to local authorities how smugglers forced 22 passengers overboard soon after the engine failed, according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

“Smuggling and trafficking in persons in Somalia has been a sad facet of the Somali conflict,” said UN Independent Expert on the situation of Human Rights in Somalia, Shamsul Bari. “Such tragedy highlights the critical need to find a lasting and sustainable peace in Somalia so that people can live in a decent manner at home and are not forced to flee constantly their country to save their lives.”

The conditions endured by Somalis who are smuggled by boat are strenuous and painful. In his report to the Human Rights Council in 2009, Mr. Bari described that hundreds of people are squeezed into small boats that can easily capsize, and must survive a choppy ride that lasts on average 36 hours without food or water, and without very limited movement. Many times passengers develop skin diseases during the trip, and they run the risk of being thrown overboard by smugglers who fear getting caught.

“I offer my heartfelt condolences and my grievances to the deceased families and of those injured and who are suffering from skin burns caused by fuel inside the boat,” Mr. Bari said.

Mr. Bari also expressed his concern over recent reports about the violence faced by Somalis at the hands of the local population in transit countries, and urged Somali authorities at the national and sub-national level to work in close cooperation with the international community and the UN to end this issue.

In addition, he called on the international community to strengthen the capacity of the Somali authorities, and stressed that the London Conference on Somalia scheduled for 23 February would be a good opportunity for them to address smuggling and trafficking in the country.

“The upcoming London Conference will focus the world’s attention on Somalia,” Mr. Bari noted. “As we try to address the suffering of Somalis inside the country, I would like to remind all transit and host countries of their legal and humanitarian obligation to guarantee the safety and dignity of Somali refugees.”

No Questions For Yemen President In USS Cole Case

February 15, 2012

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A military judge in the war crimes trial of a Guantanamo prisoner charged in the attack on the USS Cole has denied a defense request to question Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh as a witness in the case.

The ruling by Army Col. James Pohl is subject to a Pentagon security review and has not been released. But the military defense lawyer who submitted the motion to depose Saleh, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Stephen Reyes, said Wednesday that it had been denied.

Reyes is the Pentagon-appointed lawyer for Guantanamo prisoner Abd al-Nashiri, who is charged before a tribunal at the U.S. base in Cuba with war crimes for allegedly setting up the 2002 bombing of the USS Cole, an attack that killed 17 sailors.

Pohl issued the ruling Tuesday and did not give a rationale, stating only that he would explain his decision in a later ruling, Reyes said. Earlier, the State Department said that Saleh, who is in New York for medical treatment, could not be questioned because he has diplomatic immunity.

Reyes had argued that diplomatic immunity did not apply because he wanted to question Saleh as a defense witness, not a suspect, to collect information on the Yemeni government's investigation into the bombing of the Cole in the Yemeni port of Aden.

"We believe that Saleh's testimony is necessary for this case and that it prejudices our ability to defend our client in a capital case," Reyes said.

He said he was looking into whether he could appeal but he would have to move fast. Saleh, who has said he intends to be back in Yemen in time for Feb. 21 elections, is expected to leave the U.S. within days.

Saleh, who was president at the time of the Cole attack, arrived in the U.S. on Jan. 28 for treatment of burns suffered in an assassination attempt in June.

Saleh orders to remove his photos from state's bodies and public squares

SANA'A, Feb. 15 (Saba) - President Ali Abdullah Saleh ordered Wednesday to remove his photos from the governmental corporations and public squares throughout the country.

Saleh gave his directives to the government, local authority and all state's bodies to replace his photos with others for Vice President Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi, the candidate in the upcoming presidential election.

President Saleh is now in New York, USA, to complete medical treatment for injuries sustained during the attack on the presidential palace's mosque in June 2011.

Calvalley Petroleum affected by labour unrest at state-owned Yemeni oil firm

By The Canadian Press | February 14, 2012

CALGARY - Calvalley Petroleum Inc. (TSX:CVI.A) says 1,000 workers of Yemen's state-owned PetroMasila have gone on strike, which will lead to the shutdown of some company operations in the area.

Calgary-based Calvalley said Tuesday that its 7,000 barrel per day Block 9 field will be shut down once storage tanks are full.

Block 9 includes the Hiswah, Ras Nowmah and Al Roidhat fields. The company said Al Roidhat and the Ras Nowmah have been curtailed "due to heightened security risks posed by locals in the area" but production has so far been maintained at the Hiswah field.

The work stoppage is affecting all crude oil producers in the Hadramout province, with some groups organizing blockades on major roads, hampering movement of crude, fuel and supplies.

"The company anticipates production from the Hiswah field will be curtailed within the next few days as a result of both the local blockades and the work stoppage at the export facilities," Calvalley said in a statement.

The company said it continues to work with government officials to help resolve local concerns.

"Management is cautiously optimistic that the current political environment in Yemen will improve after the Feb. 21, 2012 election and that operations will return to normal, however, the timing is uncertain at this point."

Calvalley said it intends to restrict spending on the project until safe operations can be restored.

Yemen army shells Al-Qaeda posts, kills 12: local official

Militants in Yemen face opposition from government as well as heavily armed tribes; army attacks militant hideouts in Zinjibar

AFP, Tuesday 14 Feb 2012

Yemen's army shelled Al-Qaeda positions in the southern city of Zinjibar on Tuesday, killing 12 extremists, a local government official told AFP.

"Twelve Al-Qaeda militants were killed when the army fired artillery shells and Katyusha rockets on their positions across several areas in Zinjibar," said the official in the adjacent town of Jaar, where the militants were buried.

A military official confirmed the shelling but said he could not yet provide a toll.

In May, militants from Al-Qaeda branch in Yemen who declare themselves the Partisans of Sharia (Islamic law), took control of Zinjibar, triggering nine months of fighting between militants and government troops.

Tribal and government officials said on 4 February that the government is trying to negotiate the withdrawal of the extremists from the city, which is the capital of Abyan province.

So far, at least three tribal-mediated negotiation attempts to secure a militants withdrawal have failed.

Hundreds of people have been killed in the fighting and more than 90,000 residents displaced.

On 25 January, hundreds of Al-Qaeda gunmen bowed to tribal pressures and withdrew from the town of Rada, 130 kilometres (85 miles) southeast of the capital Sanaa.

Rada was overrun on 16 January, the latest in a series of towns and cities to fall as Al-Qaeda takes advantage of a central government weakened by months of anti-regime protests.

Heavily armed tribes, which play a vital role in Yemeni politics and society, have been joining the army to battle militants linked to Al-Qaeda who have taken over several regions across the country's south and east.

Yemen’s Houthi Rebels Vow to Boycott Presidential Elections

By Mohammed Hatem - Feb 14, 2012

Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they’ll boycott presidential elections set for Feb. 21, though they won’t stop people from voting in their stronghold in northern Saada province.

The rebels, who have fought a sporadic war against the government since 2004, announced their intentions in an e-mailed statement today. At the same time, they said they back separatists in the south trying to prevent voting from taking place in the regions where they represent the majority. Attempts by the government to use force to ensure ballots are cast “would represent an unjustified aggression,” the rebels said.

Under the Gulf-brokered agreement on power transfer, the interim leader and vice president Abdurabu Mansur Hadi will run unopposed to replace the outgoing president, Ali Abdullah Saleh. Saleh signed the deal in November and passed some power to his vice-president. In return, he received immunity from prosecution, as did members of his inner circle.

Hadi, who has been endorsed by all parties represented in parliament, will run the country during a two-year period leading to parliamentary elections and a new constitution.

A southern Yemeni died today while attempting to plant an explosive device at a voting center in the port city of Aden, Fawaz Sharabi, a resident, said by phone.

Members of the southern separatist movement have painted slogans on walls in Aden against the vote that read “no to the election, yes to secession and liberation,” Sharabi said.

Anti-Saleh protests began with rallies in January 2011 that swelled into mass demonstrations as tribesmen and military members joined the movement. Saleh’s crackdown left almost 900 people dead, according to the Yemen Students’ Union. Saleh has put the death toll on the government side at 1,150.