Al-Khaiwani Update

Posted by Beth on May 22nd, 2008 filed in Blogs, General, International, Islamofascism, Journalism, Petitions, Politics, Support this Yemen

A few updates for today:

First, the really important news! The sentencing for Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani has been postponed until next week. Jane says the government is putting it off, that “it’s a ploy to wait until attention is focused elsewhere.” Our efforts are having an impact!

Also postponed, the trial in the lesser known but just as stupid case of Fahd al-Qarni, a singer/comedian who is charged with attempting to overthrow the regime with a song. Yes, really: (al-Qarni) has been charged with inciting an armed overthrow of the government and insulting the President.

A song. I’d laugh at the stupidity, but it’s so outrageous it’s hard to laugh. (God only knows what happens to cartoonists there!)

Keep spreading the word and pushing for signatures! We can do this - so often we wish blogs could do more; and while this isn’t as close to us personally as other things, we can have a real impact on people’s lives.

Next, International journalist unions call for charges to be dropped:

No one knows better how retarded the charges are than the other Arab journalists.
International Federation of Journalists Statement:
[...]
Journalists’ Unions and Associations representing thirteen different countries from throughout the Arab World and Iran meeting in Casablanca at a regional meeting of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today called upon the Yemeni authorities to drop charges against journalist Al Khaiwani and to take measures to guarantee his safety.

This call is also supported by the National Union of Journalists in the United Kingdom and Ireland, the Deutscher Journalisten-Verband, and Deutsche Journalistinnen- und Journalisten-Union (dju) in ver.di and the East African Journalists’ Association.

Now, as a reminder for us, Conservative Belle has a must-read post today: Population, Privilege, Prestige, Pride and Power - The Five Reasons We Are Obligated to Fight for Democracy

At the time of this writing, there were 1172 signatures on this petition. Of that number, based on Jane’s reports, at least two or three hundred of these signatures are a direct result of the NZZ story. But in America, between the story in the New York Times and at least 50+ stories in the blogosphere, we could only generate approximately 800 signatures for freedom and democracy? This is shamefully pathetic. So now I’m going to take us to task for it.

Are we so arrogant, lazy, selfish and apathetic that we cannot take 30 seconds to click and sign this petition for a man who is willing to be separated from his family or even worse, possibly die for journalistic freedom and truth? How can the Yemeni government possibly be intimidated by a petition if Americans don’t even appreciate the very freedoms we have by signing it?

We have this huge population. We have people willing to fight and die to protect our freedoms and provide them for others. There is safety in numbers in this affluent nation of ours. The number of signatures on this petition should be overwhelming just based on our population. Why aren’t they there?

Amen, Vivian. See, while Karim al-Khaiwani is eternally grateful (as is Jane) for what’s been done so far, I’ve been a little disappointed. I’m not going to name names, but there are some big blogs linking to this, and I don’t see those bloggers’ names on the thing, much less the numbers one would expect to see considering the traffic they get. This isn’t about linky love for Jane, it’s about a man’s life.

THANK YOU to those of you who have signed, and who have tolerated my incessant nagging. You know who you are, and your support is deeply appreciated.

But for those who haven’t, I wonder, is it because al-Khaiwani is accused by the Yemeni government of “supporting terrorism?” I can understand why that would give some pause. Remember, the Yemeni government is the same government that FREED THE USS COLE BOMBERS. Obviously they aren’t ones to speak of who is “supporting terrorism.” Read through Jane’s archives - the regime’s hands are drenched in the blood of innocents, and they routinely charge liberal dissidents with absurd charges of sedition or support for terrorism because they (unfortunately, often correctly) believe it immunizes them from international criticism.
Anyway, does anyone question the dedication of the Jawa Report writers to fighting terrorism? They all support al-Khaiwani; they know he’s one of the good guys.

So what is it? Is it just apathy because it’s “just one guy” and people feel powerless? Is it because it’s “just” a letter? It is so much more than that - this is for all those like him, and the letter is making an impact. Imagine if there were ten times as many signatures, as there should be.

Is it because of having names publicly displayed? There is an option to have your name displayed as “Anonymous,” but I only see two “anonymous” signatures there. Is it because you don’t want spam? You don’t get spammed.

Isn’t this exactly what we should be supporting if we want to spread freedom in the totalitarian Islamic world? Wouldn’t it be better if they were able to have freedoms that we have without our government’s intervention? What if we had been able to do this for Iraqi dissidents under Saddam’s regime?

Vivian gets it.

We have the power to make a difference. In the past the Yemeni government yielded to outside pressure and a petition for al-Khaiwani when he was jailed on another occasion. Did you get that? He has survived this oppression before. Please don’t dismiss this as a waste of time or as something unlikely to have an impact. This is not the case.

Again, to those of you who have supported this - thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

For anyone else - if you’re reading this, I believe it’s your moral obligation as a free human being to step up to the plate. It only takes a minute. Sign it, blog it, just do it.