Djibouti president leads in vote, calls for unity, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Vote gives president Guelleh a third term

* President calls on the country to unite

* Opposition leader asks Guelleh to accommodate all

(Adds opposition leader quotes, background)

By Abdourahim Arteh

DJIBOUTI, April 9 (Reuters) - Djibouti's President Ismail Omar Guelleh garnered 80.58 percent of votes cast in the country's elections on Friday, provisional results showed on Saturday, giving him a third term in power.

Interior Minister Yacin Elmi Bouh said Guelleh's rival, Mohamed Warsama, got 19.42 percent of votes cast in the election, which had a 69.68 percent turnout.

Just over 152,000 people are registered to vote in the small Red Sea state which has the only U.S. military base in Africa and the largest French army camp on the continent. It is also used by anti-piracy naval patrols.

Guelleh called on television for all Djiboutians to unite and start work so they could overcome the challenges ahead together.

He said whatever people voted, there were more things that united Djiboutians than divided them, adding the election result was not a victory for one side, but for the nation as a whole.

The opposition in the former French colony initially boycotted the ballot and tried to start Egyptian-style protests in February. Thereafter it supported independent candidate Warsama, a former president of Djibouti's Constitutional Court.

The opposition claimed ahead of the election there was little chance of it being free and fair, given the crackdown on demonstrations in a country which is ranked by the United Nations as one of the poorest in the world.

NATIONAL UNITY

U.S.-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the U.S.-funded Democracy International election monitoring organisation was expelled from Djibouti in March. The government said the body had failed to maintain its neutrality in the run-up to the vote.

Abdourahman Boreh, a leading opposition leader who withdrew from the presidential race, said Guelleh could now foster national unity by consulting opposition groups inside and out of the country on the best way to move forward.

"We knew that the election would not be fair and free, and I've already said that it will not be a legitimate government, he told Reuters by phone from London.

"He should accept that people should have a political voice, and work with them together to open up the democracy in Djibouti and create a proper parliament in 2012 and to accommodate all the opposition."

Asked about the possibility of any anti-government demonstrations in future, self-exiled Boreh said what mattered now was for the country to be united.

"Personally what is more important for me is to have national unity, to discuss these things, to open up the democracy and to see whether we do it in a more civilised manner," he said.

Guelleh, 63, has been in power since 1999 and a change in the constitution in 2010 allowed him to run for a third term, a move that angered opposition leaders.

Djibouti serves as a port for its landlocked neighbour Ethiopia, which accounts for about 70 percent of traffic, and is also bordered by Eritrea and Somalia.

Its economy is chiefly based on the port, which is run by Dubai's DP World. (Writing and additional reporting by George Obulutsa in Nairobi; Editing by Sophie Hares)

US says cannot predict how Mideast revolts play out, Posted by Meosha Eaton

By Arshad Mohammed

WASHINGTON, April 8 (Reuters) - The United States on Friday said it was impossible to predict whether democratic upheavals in the Middle East would take root, noting in its annual rights report that Egypt has yet to end its state of emergency.

The spread of camera-enabled mobile phones and online video has dramatically amplified democratic protests around the world but also produced a government backlash seeking a tighter grip on information flows, the U.S. State Department said.

The survey of human rights in 194 countries -- but not the United States -- identified three trends: an explosion of civil society groups promoting rights, the growing importance global communications networks, and greater violence and discrimination against vulnerable racial, religious and ethnic minorities.

The report, covering 2010, did not address in detail the popular revolutions that toppled long-time authoritarian leaders in Tunisia and Egypt and that have led to power struggles in Bahrain, Libya, Yemen and other Arab nations.

"At this moment, we cannot predict the outcome of these changes and we will not know the lasting impacts for years to come," the State Department said in the introduction of its 2010 "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices" document.

"The United States will continue to monitor the situations in these countries closely, knowing that the transition to democracy is not automatic and will take time and careful attention," it added.

The Obama administration, and much of the world, has been stunned by pace of the upheavals sparked by a Tunisian man who immolated himself in a protest against his treatment by local authorities.

The resulting protests forced former Tunisian strongman Zine al-Abedine Ben Ali into exile in January and toppled Egypt's long-time leader Hosni Mubarak in February.

In the report, the United States noted that the military committee that took control of Egypt in February has not yet ended the state of emergency that has been in place since the assassination of President Anwar Sadat in 1981.

"We await the lifting of the state of emergency," the report said, noting that the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has promised to do so before parliamentary elections, currently scheduled for September.

The State Department said that many countries have ramped up their efforts to control nongovernmental groups that press for civil liberties, citing a new law in Ethiopia that cut the number of such groups to 1,655 from 3,522.

It also cited government efforts to control the flow of information over the Internet, saying that Saudi Arabia restricted access and violated its citizens' online privacy and that China "tightly controlled content on and access to" the Internet and detained those who criticized the government. (Editing by Vicki Allen)

I Consulted with Congress Leadership before Taking Action---Obama Says on Libya, Posted by Meosha Eaton

By Williams Ekanem for MACTV News

Against the growing criticism that United States President, Barack Obama took a unilateral decision to attack Libya, the President said yesterday that he consulted with bipartisan leadership at the Congress before taking action.

In an address to the nation at the National Defense University, Obama said, “after consulting the bipartisan leadership of Congress, I authorized military action to stop the killing and enforce UN Security Council Resolution 1973.

Giving justification for leading the initial attack, the United States President said that “in the face of the world’s condemnation, Gaddafi chose to escalate his attacks, launching a military campaign against the Libyan people.

Innocent people were targeted for killing. Hospitals and ambulances were attacked. Journalists were arrested, sexually assaulted, and killed. Supplies of food and fuel were choked off. The water for hundreds of thousands of people in Misratah was shut off. Cities and towns were shelled, mosques destroyed, and apartment buildings reduced to rubble.

Military jets and helicopter gunships were unleashed upon people who had no means to defend themselves against assault from the air.”

According to Obama, “ confronted by this brutal repression and a looming humanitarian crisis, I ordered warships into the Mediterranean. European allies declared their willingness to commit resources to stop the killing. The Libyan opposition, and the Arab League, appealed to the world to save lives in Libya.

At my direction, America led an effort with our allies at the United Nations Security Council to pass an historic Resolution that authorized a No Fly Zone to stop the regime’s attacks from the air, and further authorized all necessary measures to protect the Libyan people.”

In assessing the effect of the action so far, Obama said that, “we hit Gaddafi’s troops in neighboring Ajdabiya, allowing the opposition to drive them out. We hit his air defenses, which paved the way for a No Fly Zone.

We targeted tanks and military assets that had been choking off towns and cities and we cut off much of their source of supply. And tonight, I can report that we have stopped Gaddafi’s deadly advance.”

On the next steps forward, he indicated that Secretary of States, Hillary Clinton is to meet with representatives of the opposition in London on Tuesday where she will meet with the Libyan opposition and consult with more than thirty nations.

These discussions, he stated, will focus on what kind of political effort is necessary to pressure Gaddafi, while also supporting a transition to the future that the Libyan people deserve. This is because while the military mission is narrowly focused on saving lives, the United States will continue to pursue the broader goal of a Libya that belongs not to a dictator, but to its people.

“Going forward, the lead in enforcing the No Fly Zone and protecting civilians on the ground will transition to our allies and partners, and I am fully confident that our coalition will keep the pressure on Gaddafi’s remaining forces.

In that effort, the United States will play a supporting role – including intelligence, logistical support, search and rescue assistance, and capabilities to jam regime communications.

Because of this transition to a broader, NATO-based coalition, the risk and cost of this operation – to our military, and to American taxpayers – will be reduced significantly,” the President added.
Substantiating his resolve to attack Libya, Obama insisted that, “to brush aside America’s responsibility as a leader and – more profoundly – our responsibilities to our fellow human beings under such circumstances would have been a betrayal of who we are.

Some nations may be able to turn a blind eye to atrocities in other countries. The United States of America is different. And as President, I refused to wait for the images of slaughter and mass graves before taking action.”

UN assembly suspends Libya from human rights body, Posted by Meosha Eaton

UNITED NATIONS, March 1 (Reuters) - The General Assembly on Tuesday unanimously suspended Libya's membership in the U.N. Human Rights Council because of violence by Libyan forces against protesters.

(Reporting by Patrick Worsnip; Editing by Louis Charbonneau and Sandra Maler)

White House News: The President on the Middle East Serious Human Rights Abuses, Posted by Menelik Zeleke, White House Correspondent

 

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                              February 23, 2011

Statement by the Press Secretary on the Designation of Iranian Officials

Responsible for or Complicit in Serious Human Rights Abuses

The historic events unfolding in the Middle East underscore the importance of protecting human rights around the world, which all nations have a responsibility to uphold.  In accordance with U.S. law and the Administration’s commitment to supporting the universal rights of the Iranian people, the Departments of State and Treasury designated today two Iranian government officials responsible for serious human rights abuses against the people of Iran.  

Today’s designation of Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, Tehran Prosecutor General, and Mohammed Reza Naqdi, commander of the Basij Forces, supplements the list of eight Iranian officials designated in September 2010 for human rights abuses pursuant to the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010, which imposes sanctions against senior officials in the Iranian government who, based on credible evidence, were involved in the commission of serious human rights abuses during or after Iran’s 2009 presidential election.  The individuals designated will be subject to financial sanctions and visa ineligibilities under U.S. law.  The list of names is not exhaustive and will continue to grow based on events in Iran, and as additional information and evidence becomes available. 

As President Obama has said, human rights are a matter of moral and pragmatic necessity for the United States.  The people of Iran should be able to express their opinions and their grievances without fear of reprisal from their government.  The United States reaffirms its support to all those in Iran and around the world who are struggling to have their voices heard and rights respected.  We continue to call upon the Iranian government to respect the rights of its people and we will continue to hold accountable those who infringe upon those universal rights.