Yemeni minister heads to Washington

Yemeni Human Rights Minister Houriah Mashhour left here on Friday to Washington leading a governmental delegation for a several days’visit to the United States. In a pre-departure statement, Mashhour said during the visit, she will have talks with the US officials concerned on bilateral relations with a special emphasis on the Yemeni detainees held in Guant?namo detention camps who are nearing 100 . Yemeni Human Rights Minister said the yemeni detainees were on hunger strike since last February and they are “in very bad condition”. The US government is about to close down such a detention camp and hand over the detainees to their respective countries, Mashhour said. The Yemeni Minister further said that she will also attend the World Bank fund meetings due to open in Washington on Monday noting that she will present a working paper to the meetings about Yemen’s experience on integrating Yemeni women in the political process and all economic development sectors. Earlier Thursday with new head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation in Yemen Cedric Schweizer and former head Eric Marclay. During the meeting, the Minister and ICRC officials reviewed aspects of cooperation between the ministry and the ICRC delegation in areas of training the ministry’s cadres and building their capacities in Humanitarian International Law (HIL). She was also briefed on the activities and assistances the ICRC provides in areas of displaced people. Meanwhile the U.S. military has acknowledged for the first time the number of prisoners on hunger strike at the military prison has topped 100. About a fifth of the hunger strikers are now being force-fed. Lawyers for the prisoners say more than 130 men are taking part in the hunger strike, which began in February. One of the hunger strikers is a Yemeni man named Samir Naji al Hasan Moqbel. In a letter published in The New York Times, he wrote: “Denying ourselves food and risking death every day is the choice we have made. I just hope that because of the pain we are suffering, the eyes of the world will once again look to Guant?namo before it is too late.” We speak to attorney Carlos Warner, who represents 11 prisoners at Guantnamo.