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Arabia
Human Rights Minister condemns use of drones in Yemen
2013-01-25
[Yemen Post] Yemen Human Rights Minister, Hooria Mashour openly criticized and condemned the use of drones - unmanned planes - in targeting al-Qaeda hideouts and forces of Evil in the country, arguing the collateral loss of lives much out-weighted the benefits of such a policy.

A long-standing human rights
...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions...
activists and member of the Joint Meeting Parties - JMP - before she was appointed Human Rights Minister in Yemen's transitional government, Minister Mashour has been known for a stance against violence and civil rights advocacy.

Only a week after Yemen's National Security Chief, Ali Hassan al-Ahmadi told the press "U.S drone strikes against al-Qaeda will continue as the two government - U.S and Yemen - keep up their counter-terrorism cooperation, Minister Mashour is voicing her disapproval, joining a long list of protesters.

Although the HR minister did nor per se rejected America' counter-terrorism strategy in Yemen she was keen to note "I am in favour of changing the anti-terrorism strategy. I think there are more effective strategies ...
Lay one out. Run it in parallel with the drone strategy and see which is the more effective. If the other one's that much more effective, replace the drone strategy with it. Dumping an effective strategy in anticipation of a newer, more effective strategy in the sweet by-and-by would be the kind of thing you'd expect from an entrenched Qaeda sympathizer or fifth columnist. Never mind.
We're committed to fighting terrorism but we're calling for changing the means and strategies... Strategies can be applied on the ground without harming civilians and without leading to human rights violations."

Human Rights activist in Yemen welcomed Minister Mashour comments, stressing the government needs now to devise a new strategy, in accordance with international law and human rights conventions.

"One cannot justify using terror to fight terror, the rule of law needs to be our weapon ... Otherwise we are no better than the Death Eaters we are opposing," said Mogib Hassan al-Sharafi a youth activist in Aden.
Posted by:Fred

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