US strongly condemns Yemen crackdown on protests
Friday, 18 March 2011
Yemeni protesters carry “down with the regime” banner
WASHINGTON (AFP)
The United States Friday strongly condemned a bloody crackdown on protesters in Yemen, after a second key Middle Eastern ally in a week rebuffed its calls to safeguard peaceful protesters.
Yemenis loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh earlier pumped bullets at anti-government demonstrators, killing 46 people, two days after another U.S. ally Bahrain unleashed a crackdown on Shiite opposition protests.
Both assaults took place despite repeated U.S. calls for its strategic allies to observe "universal rights" and to allow peaceful protests as a wave of revolts demanding reform sweeps across the Arab world.
The United States Friday strongly condemned a bloody crackdown on protesters in Yemen, after a second key Middle Eastern ally in a week rebuffed its calls to safeguard peaceful protesters.
Yemenis loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh earlier pumped bullets at anti-government demonstrators, killing 46 people, two days after another U.S. ally Bahrain unleashed a crackdown on Shiite opposition protests.
Both assaults took place despite repeated U.S. calls for its strategic allies to observe "universal rights" and to allow peaceful protests as a wave of revolts demanding reform sweeps across the Arab world.
"I strongly condemn the violence that has taken place in Yemen today and call on President Saleh to adhere to his public pledge to allow demonstrations to take place peacefully," President Barack Obama said in a written statement.
"Those responsible for today's violence must be held accountable."
"The United States stands for a set of universal rights, including the freedom of expression and assembly, as well as political change that meets the aspirations of the Yemeni people."
"It is more important than ever for all sides to participate in an open and transparent process that addresses the legitimate concerns of the Yemeni people," Obama said.
The U.S. president also called for a "peaceful, orderly and democratic path to a stronger and more prosperous nation" in Yemen, where the government is allied with Washington in battling al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
Obama's top anti-terror advisor John Brennan, the main point of U.S. contact with Saleh's government, also condemned the use of force in Sanaa, describing overnight developments as "very disturbing."
Brennan told journalists in New York that the turmoil in Yemen was "very detrimental" to long-term U.S. interests in the region and said he would call Saleh later Friday to express his concerns.
"Those responsible for today's violence must be held accountable."
"The United States stands for a set of universal rights, including the freedom of expression and assembly, as well as political change that meets the aspirations of the Yemeni people."
"It is more important than ever for all sides to participate in an open and transparent process that addresses the legitimate concerns of the Yemeni people," Obama said.
The U.S. president also called for a "peaceful, orderly and democratic path to a stronger and more prosperous nation" in Yemen, where the government is allied with Washington in battling al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
Obama's top anti-terror advisor John Brennan, the main point of U.S. contact with Saleh's government, also condemned the use of force in Sanaa, describing overnight developments as "very disturbing."
Brennan told journalists in New York that the turmoil in Yemen was "very detrimental" to long-term U.S. interests in the region and said he would call Saleh later Friday to express his concerns.
"Violence needs to stop"
In a further sign of U.S. disquiet over the crackdown, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also weighed in, saying "the violence needs to stop" and called for negotiations to defuse the political crisis in Yemen.
Saleh earlier ordered a state of emergency following the deadliest incident in weeks of unrest.
Saleh expressed his "regret" at the bloodshed, describing the victims as "martyrs of democracy" and accusing those responsible of trying to undermine a peace initiative backed by Saudi Arabia.
Thousands of people have camped out at a square in Sanaa University since Feb. 21, demanding the departure of Saleh, an autocratic U.S. ally.
On March 10, Saleh offered to devolve power to parliament under a new constitution and pledged to protect protesters.
The United States, welcomed the gesture, but Yemen's opposition says the president has lost all credibility and must resign this year.
The crackdown in Yemen followed an assault on opposition protesters in Bahrain, a key U.S. strategic ally which hosts the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet. Three people were killed.
The killings came after a Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Council force entered Bahrain to bolster the Sunni minority government -- which had been weakened by weeks of protests -- without offering much advance notice to Washington.
The two crackdowns in defiance of U.S. calls for calm raised questions over the Obama administration's capacity to influence domestic political crises rocking its allies in the Middle East.
They also put Washington in the dicey political position of calling for universal rights and political change, while some of its closest allied governments resort to crackdowns against civilians demanding change.
Saleh earlier ordered a state of emergency following the deadliest incident in weeks of unrest.
Saleh expressed his "regret" at the bloodshed, describing the victims as "martyrs of democracy" and accusing those responsible of trying to undermine a peace initiative backed by Saudi Arabia.
Thousands of people have camped out at a square in Sanaa University since Feb. 21, demanding the departure of Saleh, an autocratic U.S. ally.
On March 10, Saleh offered to devolve power to parliament under a new constitution and pledged to protect protesters.
The United States, welcomed the gesture, but Yemen's opposition says the president has lost all credibility and must resign this year.
The crackdown in Yemen followed an assault on opposition protesters in Bahrain, a key U.S. strategic ally which hosts the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet. Three people were killed.
The killings came after a Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Council force entered Bahrain to bolster the Sunni minority government -- which had been weakened by weeks of protests -- without offering much advance notice to Washington.
The two crackdowns in defiance of U.S. calls for calm raised questions over the Obama administration's capacity to influence domestic political crises rocking its allies in the Middle East.
They also put Washington in the dicey political position of calling for universal rights and political change, while some of its closest allied governments resort to crackdowns against civilians demanding change.
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