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October 19, 2011

Nobel Laureate Tawakel Karman Calls for International Sanctions on Saleh Regime 
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As the violence crackdown on the popular uprising continues in Yemen,
the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Tawakel Karman has made a surprise visit
to New York City to press her campaign for international pressure on the
Saleh regime. Speaking outside the United Nations, Karman called for the
freezing of all Yemeni government assets, as well as the prosecution of
Yemeni officials at the International Criminal Court.

Tawakel Karman: "We are here calling on the United States and the United
Nations to stand up for human rights and democracy, which are principles
they were founded upon. We came here to tell them that Ali Saleh and
[Syrian President] Bashar al-Assad are criminals and have to be held
accountable and prosecuted. We want from them two things: freeze the
assets of the regime and forward the files of the criminals in Yemen to
the International Criminal Court. The attacks on peaceful protesters are
crimes against humanity. And just like the civilians and peaceful
protesters are being killed Egypt and Libya, they are now are being
killed inside Yemen and elsewhere."

Karman also rejected a proposed measure from the U.N. Gulf Cooperation
Council that would grant immunity to Saleh and his administration.

Tawakkul Karman: "We reject and refuse any immunity for the criminals
and anything not consistent with the UN declaration of human rights. And
any is against what the UN was founded upon. Anything like that is
against the U.N. treaty."



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