Yearbook 2000
United Arab Emirates. In March, the United Arab Emirates decided to purchase 80 F-16C/D Block 60 Desert Falcon fighter aircraft from US manufacturer Lockheed Martin. The contract, which was worth $ 6.4 billion, had been discussed since the mid-1990s.
Police were reported in November to have freed two Pakistani little boys who had been kidnapped in their home country and used as riders on camel races for three months. Although riders weighing less than 45 kg may not be used, it is common for small boys to be fetched from southern Asia to be used by camel owners.
The Emirate’s 86-year-old President Sheikh Zayid underwent a kidney transplant in the United States in August and returned home in November, apparently healthy.
In May, 32-year-old Athiraman Kannan committed suicide by leaping from the 126th floor of the Burj Khalifa building. It was the 26th suicide of an Indian in 2011. The background was that Kannan’s employer had refused to allow him to visit India. 88.5% of UAE residents are migrant workers who lack most rights. the right to organize.
- ABBREVIATIONFINDER: Offers three letter and two letter abbreviations for the country of United Arab Emirates. Also covers country profile such as geography, society and economy.
In December, the authorities deprived 6 members of the Islamic NGO el-Islah of their UAE citizenship. In April 2012, eight members of the organization were arrested and charged with subversive business. The arrests continued in the following months. By March, the authorities had closed two international NGOs: the National Democratic Institute linked to the Democrats in the United States and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung linked to the CDU in Germany.
Also in April, the authorities arrested 3 British citizens for narcotic smuggling. They were subjected to torture and electrical torture, prompting the country’s close allies, Britain, to express “concern” over the treatment. When Khalifa visited the UK two years later, the UK visited the case with him and the three were released in July 2013.
In July 2013, a Norwegian woman was sentenced to 16 months in prison for “sex outside marriage” after she reported that she had been raped. She was lucky she was Norwegian, for the verdict triggered international protests that motivated the authorities to pardon and release her. Less fortunate were 61 human rights activists who were also sentenced in July to up to 10 years in prison. They were denied the right to appeal and were tortured as part of the investigation.
In January 2014, sheikh Khalifa was struck by a brain haemorrhage, which he survived. That same month, 20 Egyptians and 10 UAE nationals were sentenced to up to 5 years in prison, accused of wanting to set up a local branch of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in the country. They were subjected to torture and were denied access to legal assistance for several months before the trial.
In August 2014, Khalifa issued Terrorism Act 7. The definition of terrorism is so broad that it can be used against all kinds of political protests and punish the death penalty for them. In November, the state news agency announced that a list of terrorist organizations had been prepared. Including Muslim organizations that worked fully legally in, among other things, US and Norway. The list, like the corresponding western lists, illustrated the complete arbitrariness of the character of terror.
The migrant workers in the UAE work under slave-like conditions. During 2014, dozens of them were deported after conducting a strike, which is illegal in the UAE.
In 2014, the Western world launched a fierce campaign against Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria, accused of using medieval punitive methods. The same methods are used in the Gulf states – including the UAE – and Saudi Arabia. Cutting down limbs, whipping, stoning and capital punishment is written into the laws of the land. 21 were sentenced to death in the UAE in 2014 and at least 1 verdict was enforced. A woman in Abu Dhabi was sentenced to death in May for stoning for adultery.
Population 2000
According to COUNTRYAAH, the population of United Arab Emirates in 2000 was 3,133,951, ranking number 130 in the world. The population growth rate was 5.350% yearly, and the population density was 37.4888 people per km2.
