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- Press Release: Obama Counterterrorism Official Says al-Qaeda Poses “Immediate Threat” in North Afric Feb 19 2010
Calvin Dark / 202.587.0855 / cdark@moroccanamericancenter.com
Obama Counterterrorism Official Says al-Qaeda Poses “Immediate Threat” in
Stresses Need to Resolve
Washington, DC (February 19) — In remarks at an event hosted by the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) this week, Ambassador Robert F. Godec, Principal Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the State Department, said that al-Qaeda’s regional terrorist network in North Africa, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), poses a serious threat to countries in the Maghreb, as well as to Americans and other Westerners in the region. He pointed to resolution of the Western Sahara conflict as an essential step to improve regional cooperation and effectively fight terrorism in
Ambassador Godec called AQIM “the biggest challenge facing the Maghreb in the terrorist area” and said that regional organizations like the Arab Maghreb Union [
“While the
Godec said it isn’t known whether AQIM is planning an attack from North Africa like the attempted al-Qaeda Christmas-day bombing of an airliner over
The International Center for Terrorism Studies (ICTS) at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies recently issued a report, “Maghreb & Sahel Terrorism,” documenting a dramatic 558% percent increase in the number of terrorist attacks by al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups in North and West/Central Africa since September 11, 2001, with more than 900 terrorist bombings, murders, kidnappings, and ambushes claiming more than 1,500 lives and 6,000 victims in the region.
The full ICTS report is available at http://www.potomacinstitute.org/attachments/525_Maghreb%20Terrorism%20report.pdf.
For more on the CSIS panel, “The Dynamics of North African Terror,” including Ambassador Godec’s full remarks, go to: http://csis.org/event/conference-dynamics-north-african-terror
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The Moroccan American Center for Policy (MACP) is a non-profit organization whose principal mission is to inform opinion makers, government officials, and interested publics in the
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PR_PressRelease CSIS 021810.pdf - Press Release: Congressional Leaders Urge UN Refugee Agency to Address Reports of “On-Going Huma Feb 03 2010
Calvin Dark
202.587.0855
cdark@moroccanamericancenter.com
Congressional Leaders Urge UN Refugee Agency to Address Reports of “On-Going Human Rights Failures” in Polisario-Run Camps in
Letter from Bipartisan Refugee Caucus Co-chairs follows meetings with Congress and visits to region by LOST’s Jeff Fahey, USCRI’s Lavinia Limon, and former
Washington, DC (February 3) — Last week, US House of Representatives Refugee Caucus Co-Chairs Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL) called on the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to “actively work” to protect Sahrawi refugees in Polisario-controlled camps near Tindouf in southern Algeria and expressed concern over a recent report by the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) that describes three-decades of “ongoing human rights and resettlement failures.”
In a letter sent to UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres—who in 2009 became the first UNHCR High Commissioner to visit the camps in more than thirty years—the Members of Congress expressed serious concern over accounts in the USCRI report of “dire living conditions in the camps” and “human rights abuses” suffered by tens of thousands of refugees at the hands of the Polisario.
“It is critical that UNHCR take a strong position on behalf of refugees,” wrote Reps. Diaz-Balart and Lofgren. “[B]efore yet another generation of refugees is born in these camps, we respectfully request that you actively work with the UN Security Council and other interested States to establish a credible system to protect the population of these camps who have reportedly suffered far too much already.”
The Members of Congress expressed concern over human rights abuses and resettlement failures described in the report such as denial of freedom of movement, the right to be repatriated to a country that will accept them, and the alleged diversion of international humanitarian aid. The letter’s authors wrote that “establishing an accurate count of the number of refugees living in the Polisario-controlled camps is required to ensure the security of the refugees and to adequately assess whether foreign aid is meeting the needs of the people.”
A copy of the letter can be downloaded from http://www.moroccanamericanpolicy.org/refugee/RefugeeCaucusUNHCRLtr012810.pdf
“The Co-chairs of the House Refugee Caucus have sent a strong message to the UNHCR that this horrible humanitarian crisis has gone on for too long and are concerned that it may be worsening,” said former U.S. Ambassador to Morocco Michael Ussery during an interview with the Moroccan American Center for Policy in Washington, DC. “By increasing international pressure and attention on the plight of these refugees, we can end their suffering–-which is not only what they deserve, but is also their right guaranteed by international law.”
On October 27, Ussery, joined LOST cast-member and international advocate Jeff Fahey, and USCRI president Lavinia Limon in meetings on Capitol Hill where they urged Congress to help end the suffering of the refugees in the Tindouf camps. They also recently travelled to the Western Sahara and conducted interviews with refugees who escaped from the Polisario-controlled camps in southern
For more information:
‒ In October 2009, USCRI published “Stonewalling on Refugee Rights: Algeria and the Sahrawi”, a detailed report—cited in the Congressional letter to UNHCR—outlining findings and recommendations based on interviews with current and former Sahrawi refugees. [http://www.refugees.org/article.aspx?id=2398]
‒ In September 2009, the Inter-University Center for Legal Studies and the Moroccan American Center for Policy published “Group Rights and International Law: A Case study on the Sahrawi Refugees in Algeria” [http://www.moroccanamericanpolicy.org/refugee/report.pdf], an in-depth look at the long history of human rights abuses in the Polisario-controlled camps in Algeria and lack of attention to the refugee plight by the UNHCR.
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The Moroccan American Center for Policy (MACP) is a non-profit organization whose principal mission is to inform opinion makers, government officials and interested publics in the
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PR_UNHCRLetter020310.pdf - Press Release: New Counterterrorism Report Warns of Rising al-Qaeda Threat in N. Africa Jan 29 2010
Calvin Dark
202.587.0855
cdark@moroccanamericancenter.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday, January 29, 2010
New Counterterrorism Report Warns of Rising al-Qaeda Threat in N. Africa; Calls Resolving
Report by
Washington, DC (January 29) — Just days after President Barack Obama underscored in his State of the Union address America’s commitment to “take the fight to al-Qaeda,” a new counterterrorism report was issued today documenting a dramatic 558 percent jump in terrorist attacks and activity by al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups in North and West/Central Africa since 9/11.
The report was released at the 11th annual terrorism review and outlook seminar of the
The panel was unanimous in identifying al-Qaeda as the most serious terrorist threat to the
The new report, authored by Professor Yonah Alexander, Director of the
The special report “Maghreb & Sahel Terrorism: Addressing the Rising Threat from al-Qaeda & other Terrorists in North & West/Central Africa,” was published by the International Center for Terrorism Studies at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. It analyzes and provides a timeline for how al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations have taken root and flourished in the region since 9/11.
As a key step to combat terrorism, the report recommends resolving the more than 30-year-old
The full report, including its detailed recommendations and a chronology of terrorist attacks in the region since 9/11, is available online at the Potomac Institute’s website, www.potomacinstitute.org (by Monday, February 1), or by contacting Reina Matsuzawa at icts@potomacinstitute.org or 703-562-4522.
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The Moroccan American Center for Policy (MACP) is a non-profit organization whose principal mission is to inform opinion makers, government officials and interested publics in the
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PR_TerrorismReportMaghrebSahel012910.pdf
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