Yemen unrest 'may delay presidential election' - BBC News

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Activists and opposition groups are keen to see a quick transfer of power after months of unrest Yemen's foreign minister has warned that the presidential election due next month may have to be postponed.

Abu Bakr al-Qirbi told al-Arabiya TV that if several security problems were not resolved, it would be difficult to hold the vote on 21 February.

The poll is part of a deal brokered by Gulf states to end a year of political turmoil that has left hundreds dead.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh handed over power to his deputy in November in return for immunity from prosecution.

Security forces controlled by the president and his family, as well as armed loyalists, have been accused of killing anti-government protesters.

Islamist advance

Mr Qirbi's comments to al-Arabiya on Tuesday were the first suggestion by a member of the national unity government appointed last month that the presidential election might be delayed.



"I am among those who hope that the issue will take place in the planned manner," he said.

"But unfortunately, there are a couple of events relating to security, and if they are not solved... it will be difficult to run the elections on 21 February."

Mr Qirbi said the government required the co-operation of all political parties, including the former ruling General People's Congress.

He did not list the security issues, but in addition to ongoing clashes between demonstrators demanding the president face prosecution and Saleh loyalists, government forces have been battling separatists in the south, Houthi rebels from the Zaydi Shia community in the north, and Islamist militants allied to al-Qaeda.

On Sunday, as many as 1,000 militants believed to be loyal to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula seized the town of Radaa in al-Baida province, about 170km (105 miles) south-east of the capital Sanaa.

Islamists began taking control of parts of the neighbouring southern province of Abyan last year, including the town of Jaar in April and the provincial capital, Zinjibar, in May. Security forces have tried unsuccessfully to push them out and suffered heavy losses.

View the original article here

Yemen,unrest,aposmay,delay,presidential,electionapos

Read More | comments

Syria's President Assad grants amnesty for crimes committed during unrest

Monday, January 16, 2012

BEIRUT –  Syria's state news agency says President Bashar Assad has granted a general amnesty for crimes committed during the unrest of the past 10 months.

SANA says the amnesty issued Sunday covers those who have peacefully demonstrated, those who have carried unlicensed weapons and those who hand over their weapons to authorities before the end of January.

It also applies to army deserters who fled military service if they turn themselves in before Jan. 31.

It was not clear how many prisoners would be affected by Sunday's pardon.

Since the outbreak of the uprising against Assad's rule in March, Assad has freed 3,952 prisoners, according to SANA.

The opposition claims there are thousands more in Syrian prisons.

Assad's action comes after the U.N. Secretary General demanded Sunday that he stop killing his own people, saying the "old order" of one-man rule and family dynasties is over in the Middle East.

In a keynote address at a conference on democracy in the Arab world, Ban Ki-moon said the revolutions of the Arab Spring show that people will no longer accept tyranny.

"Today, I say again to President (Bashar) Assad of Syria: Stop the violence. Stop killing your people," Ban said during the conference in Beirut.

Thousands of people have been killed in the Syrian government's crackdown on a 10-month-old uprising, which has turned increasingly violent in recent months. The Syrian regime blames the revolt on terrorists and armed gangs -- not protesters seeking an end to nearly four decades of Assad family rule.

Arab League observers began work in Syria on Dec. 27 to verify whether the government is abiding by its agreement to end the military crackdown on dissent, but the bloodshed has only increased. The U.N. says about 400 people have been killed in the last three weeks alone, on top of an earlier estimate of more than 5,000 killed since March.

Opposition and army defectors meanwhile have increasingly been taking up arms to fight back against government forces.

Ban acknowledged challenges facing Arab states in the wake of the uprisings sweeping the Arab world, in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Syria.

"Democracy is not easy," he said. "It takes time and effort to build. It does not come into being with one or two elections. Yet there is no going back."

He encouraged Arab countries to usher in real reforms and dialogue, and to respect the role of women and the young.

"The old way, the old order, is crumbling," Ban said. "One-man rule and the perpetuation of family dynasties, monopolies of wealth and power, the silencing of the media, the deprivation of fundamental freedoms that are the birthright of every man, woman and child on this planet -- to all of this, the people say: Enough!"

The U.N. chief also urged an end to "Israeli occupation of Arab and Palestinian territories ... Settlements, new and old, are illegal. They work against the emergence of a viable Palestinian state."

On Saturday, the leader of Qatar was quoted as saying that Arab troops should be sent to Syria to stop a deadly crackdown on anti-government protests.

Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani's comments to CBS' "60 Minutes," which will be aired Sunday, are the first statements by an Arab leader calling for the deployment of troops inside Syria.

Asked whether he is in favor of Arab nations intervening in Syria, Sheik Hamad said that "for such a situation to stop the killing some troops should go to stop the killing."

Excerpts of the interview were sent to The Associated Press by CBS a day before it was to be aired.

Qatar, which once had close relations with Damascus, has been a harsh critic of the 10-month crackdown by President Bashar Assad's regime. The wealthy and influential Gulf state withdrew its ambassador to Syria in the summer to protest the killings.

Since the Arab Spring began more than a year ago, Qatar has taken an aggressive role, raising its influence in the region. It contributed war planes to the NATO air campaign in Libya, tried to negotiate an exit for Yemen's protest-battered president Ali Abdullah Saleh, and has taken the lead in Arab countries pressuring Assad.

View the original article here

Syrias,President,Assad,grants,amnesty,crimes,committed,during,unrest

Read More | comments

Syria's President Assad grants amnesty for crimes committed during unrest

The U.N. Secretary General demanded Sunday that Syria's president stop killing his own people, and said the "old order" of one-man rule and family dynasties is over in the Middle East.

View the original article here

Syrias,President,Assad,grants,amnesty,crimes,committed,during,unrest

Read More | comments