LOC00:48
21:48 GMT
By Mahdi Al-Nimr (with photos)
ITALY, Feb 6 (KUNA) -- To freeze the overseas assets of former Yemeni
president Ali Abdullah Saleh and bring him to justice are among the key
prerequisites of a successful political transition in the country, visiting
Tawakkol Karman said here on Monday.
Karman, a Yemeni journalist, political activist and Nobel Peace Prize
laureate, said "there can be no peace without justice."
She made the press remarks after meeting Italian Foreign Minister Giulio
Terzi in the presence of Emma Bonino - former member of the European
Parliament and current vice president of the Italian Senate.
Karman, an advocate of nonviolent political struggle and woman rights, is
currently on a visit to Italy to attend the celebrations marking the
International Day Against Female Genital Mutilation.
She asked, on behalf of the Yemeni revolution youths, the Italian minister
to do his utmost to slap an asset freeze on Saleh and refer him to the
International Criminal Court for "his crimes against humanity."
"Such measures are the key to successful peaceful transition in Yemen after
the planned early presidential elections," Karman said, warning that the
former president could use his ill-gotten funds to create problems for the
Yemeni people.
Regarding the status of woman in the wake of the Arab Spring events and the
rise of fundamental parties in the recent elections, she said there should be
no concern about women and their leading roles in the Arab societies.
Meanwhile, the Italian minister said the civil society in Yemen pins high
hopes on Italy and other European countries in the process of democratic
transition.
He added that Karman promised that the Yemeni youths and women would pursue
the non-violent struggle for democracy. (end)
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