Yemeni Nobel laureate seeks drone end

Yemeni activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Tawakul Karman has called on American President Barack Obama to terminate drone strikes against Yemen in his second term in office in order to prevent “stoking popular anger” against the west. In remarks delivered at the 15th International Anti-Corruption Conference held in Brasilia, Karman said “the American President-elect must stop targeted killing operations that take place outside the scope of law and due process.” The only Nobel Prize winner said “We reject drones, whether they are American or Yemeni. I call on President Obama and all the countries that are using drones to stop immediately.” The activist condemned the method as aiding in recruiting young men to “terrorist organizations,” rather than ending terrorism. There have been growing criticism of the American administration for the drone strikes on Yemen, not only due to civilian deaths, but also because of the weak surveillance of those on what it called “American hit lists.” The “Financial Times” said: “The debate over the strikes has also crystallised arguments over Washington’s attitude to the revolts that have swept the Arab world over the past two years.” Yemeni activists criticised Karman last week and asked her to condemn American drone strikes which target “al-Qaeda members” but instead result in the deaths of women and children who have nothing to do with the terrorist group. The last drone strike on a Sanaa suburb caused a wave of protests by human rights groups denouncing the strikes and the government’s silence about them, considering Washington’s actions to be a kind of “unlawful killing.” The drone strike resulted in the death of a man named Adnan al-Qadhi suspected of being a senior member of al-Qaeda believed to be responsible for the 2008 American Embassy car bomb in Sanaa. Three more were killed in the strike, sources said. Former President of Yemen Ali Abdullah Saleh and other military leaders with connections to al-Qadhi also hail from that region.