Immunity Deal in Yemen
BY ALIREZA AZIZI , November
28, 2011
After many months of
back and forth negotiations, last week President Ali Abdullah Saleh, finally
singed the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) agreement for a power-transfer. Even
though the details of the full agreement have not been made public, it is
widely believed that the agreement offers the president and some others
government officials immunity from criminal investigation and prosecution.
Under the GCC agreement,
president Saleh will retain the title of president until the new presidential
election takes place within 90 days. But he will hand over some of the
presidential powers to Vice-president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, to implement the
agreement. A member of the opposition will head a government of national
reconciliation for the next two years. President Saleh, who has been in power
for 33 years and has hinted at stepping down several times in the past several
months, only to change course later.
Unarmed protesters
have marched in different cities in Yemen opposing the deal, calling for Saleh
and other officials to stand trial for their role in abuses. Over the past 10
months, more than 200 people have been killed and thousands injured as security
forces and armed supporters of the president Saleh attempted to quell mostly
peaceful pro-reform demonstrators.
Amnesty International
and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights have called for an
independent, international investigation into Yemen’s ongoing human rights
violations.
There cannot be a true
reform and justice without accountability, and the only way to ensure
accountability is to carry out an independent, international investigation into
the allegations of serious crimes under international law.
As Amnesty
International has said “immunity leads to impunity”
