Yemen: American and Yemeni activists protest together against drone attacks and indefinite detention in Guantanamo

Yesterday, 17 June 2013, Yemeni and American activists organized a sit-in in front of the American embassy in Sanaa to protest against drone attacks in the context of American counter-terrorism policy, and to denounce the inability of the Obama administration to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. This campaign, launched under the slogan "Human Dignity" in April 2013 by Alkarama and other human rights organizations in Yemen, aims for the closure of Guantanamo and Bagram detention centers. Several members of Code Pink, a pacifist American organization, joined Alkarama and Hood yesterday to show their support to the families of Guantanamo detainees and pay a tribute to the victims of American airstrikes.

Code Pink members who arrived one week before the sit-in were able to meet with the families of victims of American airstrikes, as well as with relatives of Guantanamo detainees. According to the organization, 94 of the 104 detainees in Guantanamo are Yemeni, and Yemen is reportedly the country where most of the American airstrikes have taken place. Representatives of the organization asked for the relations between the Yemen and U.S. governments to remain diplomatic and not to be based on such close cooperation in counter-terrorism matters, which encompasses airstrikes and indefinite detention.

This first American-Yemeni gathering in Sanaa was also the occasion for the families of the detainees to hand over an open letter addressed to President Obama to a representative from the American embassy. This letter reads: "We, families of Guantanamo detainees, pacifist activists, demand that the government honor the American ideal of justice. [...] On 23 May 2013, President Obama pledged that he would order the release of 56 Yemeni detainees cleared for repatriation, and allow them to return home. He also said that he would respect the promise he made during his presidential campaign, namely to close Guantanamo and ensure the right of the detainees to a fair trial."

This open letter also states that "Every day that passes since Obama made this promise is another day of pain and suffering for the detainees and their families as the date of their release remains unknown. [..] Children fall asleep without their fathers, wives provide for their families without their husbands [....] For the Yemeni people and other countries around the world, the Americans' image is tarnished."

"The American Congress adopted an amendment to its legislation in that no US military funds could be used to transfer prisoners from Guantanamo back to Yemen. President Obama, the American Senate and the American people must make a stand against these violations of Yemeni's state sovereignty which infringes international human rights norms at the expense of individuals who have been detained for over 12 years without the right to defend themselves."