Armies of Liberation

This is the third Southern leader killed in cold blood this year. Thousands of demonstrators were arrested and dozens killed since the movement began in 2007. On June 28, in Abyan , security opened fired on the protesters again. Yesterday, security authorities of Aden province arrested (kidnapped?) leaders, Brigadier General Ali Mohammed Al-Saadi and Brigadier General Qassim Aldaari, triggering new protests. ( English here.)Today, a cold blooded murder.

Soutanlgnoub: Friday Morning 03/07/09 Report on the assassination of Ahmad Ajam President of the National Council of Aqqan

The Occupation forces proceeded from Al-Anad, this morning to break into the house of Ali Ahmed, the president of The National Council for the liberation, independence and restoration of the South, in Aqqan - Al-Musaymar in the Lahj Governorate. They used lived ammo on him and showered his body with bullets, until he fell to his death, right in front of the eyes of his children and family members.

In response to this act, the citizens of Musaymar blocked the main road that connects Aden to Tai’z to express their anger, denunciation and condemnation of this barbaric criminal act, and demanding that those terrorists be prosecuted.

And in the mean time the armed forces of the occupation distributed heavy weapons along the Aden-Tai’z line, as well as on the hills overlooking Aqqan.

Translated: Rasha Rashed
Source: Sout al ganoub

There have been several reports of new weaponry shipped to the South in advance of the protests.

So if Iranian ships are docking in Yemen and all is honky dory with Gaddafi, then the slew of accusations and allegations of Iranian and Libyan support of the Houthi rebels likely was just more bizarre spin and propaganda.

Yemen, Libya to strike deal

(Read on …)

Just shutting down all forms of communications with the outside world.

Yemen Times SANA’A, June 24 - In an attempt to safeguard the morality of Yemen’s youth, the Ministry of Culture will step up its campaign to search internet cafes and CD sellers without warning.

(Read on …)

The rebels deny kidnapping the foreigners, say security’s announcement of “hunting” for the victims is a sham.

The government’s massive campaign to blame the rebels lacks authenticity, considering the chrages were made with no investigation or proof. The three day delay in expanding the search beyond Sa’ada is bizarre.

Earth Times: A rebel group in Yemen which denies any role in recent abductions there has charged via a statement on their website that government efforts to save the hostages are a sham. The rebels led by Abdul-Malik al-Houthi alleged that two suspects had been tortured by Yemen’s political security forces into uttering a false claim that the rebels were to blame for the June 12 abduction of nine westerners, of whom three were then murdered.

Al-Houthi’s Shiite rebels, who are based in Saada province, put the statement online Thursday evening.

They commented that the likelihood of finding the German family of five and a British engineer were low, because the abductors would fear capture. No one has claimed responsibility for the crime.

The rebels also quoted local eyewitnesses saying that there had never been a systematic search of the region where the westerners were abducted or of the valley where the bodies of three murdered women were found.

All they do is lie. Its really a very Stalinistic regime- they lie big lies. From the ruling party’s website- no one was hurt in Dhalie:

Almotamar.net - Yemeni official information source has on Thursday (6/25) denied Al-Jazeera TV channel and other media instruments reports on occurrence of killed or wounded in the massive demonstration supporting the unity in Al-Dhalie governorate on Wednesday. The march was organised by political, social and cultural activities in the governorate in loyalty to the unity and in condemnation of the voices calling for separation, sedition and sowing feelings of hatred among the sons of the one homeland.

On the other hand the source condemned the attack on Al-Jazeera TV channel team while it was heading for Dhalie to cover the march in support of the unity, at the hands of anarchic outlaw elements.

AQAP are insisting robustly that they knew the route of the Korean investigators though intensive surveillance. Otay AQAP! Discounting of course the logical and widespread assumption that the terrorists were tipped off, ie- elements in the Yemeni security knew in advance of the plot and provided the route of the motorcade. t gets flakier- the youth wandered around Sana’a for months looking to hook up with Wahishi.

Also the other thing to note, tangentially, is the journalist Abdel-Elah Haidar noted in the article as one who interviewed Wahishi previously is now insisting that AQAP would not have carried out the kidnapping of the medical workers in Sa’ada because it is against their principles. (Killing women like the Belgiams tourists in Hadramout is apparently less of an offense than kidnapping them.) I dont think Haidar would be taking such a strong position in his analysis (which was published in News Yemen) without there being something behind it, one way or another. From Al Masdar:

Al Qaeda announces military intelligence security information on the preparation of new processes and the implementation of Hadramout and Sana’a
المصدر أون لاين - محمد العزكي Source Online - Mohammed Aezzki

كشف تنظيم القاعدة عن معلومات أمنية عسكرية جديدة حول منفذي العمليتين الانتحاريتين في حضرموت وصنعاء ضد السياح والمحققين الأمنيين الكوريين في مارس الماضي، مستهدفا سمعة الأجهزة الأمنية اليمنية وإفشال الحكومة اقتصاديا. Detection al-Qaeda military security of the information on the perpetrators of a new double suicide bombing in Hadramout and Sana’a against the security of tourists and Korean investigators last March, the reputation of the security target and the failure of the Yemeni government economically.

(Read on …)

The criminalization of the state leads to incompetence and lack of oversight in all areas. I think the Yemeni “government” gave up trying to provide basic services a while ago and now its just wack-a-mole (reactive decision making).

Dead shrimp are one thing, but theres whole villages that have been sickened by enviornmental contaminaton of the extractive industries and other pollution. And the Health Ministry is so inept that its criminal. From SABA:

GAMSR warns of crude oil leaking in Shabwa

ADEN ,July 01 (Saba) - The General Authority for Marine Science Research (GAMSR) has warned of crude oil leaking due to negligence of the companies working in Balhaf, near Bir-Ali area ,in the eastern governorate of Shabwa which causes death of shrimp and various fish.

Deputy Chairman of GAMSR Saleh Awadh told Saba that this phenomenon discovered late of last June has caused death of many shrimp in Bir-Ali which is known of shrimp existence in trade quantities.

A technical research team led by Awadh headed to the mentioned area, he made it clear to study the situation.

Accordingly, the team reported to the authorities in Shabwa governorate and the government to take necessary measures and to put an end for this phenomenon which appears as oil spots at the sea, Awadh added.

He indicated that the search team did not reach a scientific result yet after examining a shrimp as they were found rotten, warning of environmental pollution in the area.

Munir Mawari reviews the possible meanings of the divergence between Yemen and Saudi Arabia on the capture of “major financier” Saudi Hassan Alwan. Yemen says they captured him; the Saudis haven’t heard anything yet.

Its quite a similiar situation to the seven Saudis that Yemen breathlessly reported captured in February. The Saudis issued an official statement at the time denying any knowledge, later re-published by SABA, Yemen’s official news agency. (See Oh Seven Saudi Al Qaeda Weren’t Captured in Yemen?) And it looks like they did it again.

Jamestown: Analysts and observers often hesitate to trust Yemeni authorities when they issue their periodic announcements regarding their fight against terrorism. Their often exaggerated or cosmetic claims of their anti-terrorist activities and victories are not as credible as claims made, for instance, by the Saudi authorities, who have a better history of credibility. The uncertainty surrounding the arrest of Alwan should cause any independent observer or analyst to have two hypotheses on the matter, each supported by evidence from openly available sources…

Read the whole thing at Jamestown for a thoughtful analysis of the possible scenarios, the broader picture and its implications.

Whoa, last time we checked, it was 2 million abroad. What did they do- give out six million bogus passports in the last two years? (The statistical anomaly is not unusual- during the 2006 elections, there were more registered male voters than men. The official unemployment statistics are pretty funny too.) And now the plan is to establish a monitoring system on Yemeni expats… Does Yemen really need 62 embassies; they’re such money pits. There were those big and repeated announcements in 2005 that the regime was going to close some embassies as money saving measures, Romania I think it was, but it never happened. From the Yemen Observer:

Yemen plans to conduct comprehensive surveys for Yemeni expatriates that would focus on their numbers, jobs, families and activities, and their remittances to their homeland.

(Read on …)

A good report entitled Social discrimination still dominates Yemeni culture from the Yemen Times. As I’ve noted since 2005, the Sa’ada War, to a degree, has its roots in the social inversion between the Hashemite class and the tribal class following the 1962 Republican revolution. But back to the article, it lays out the stratification of Yemeni society and its evolution through the decades.

Saeeda was a young Yemeni woman from the akhdam. She was working as a street cleaner in Sana’a when a group of men began to harass her. The men ended up slicing Saeeda’s neck, killing her, and stabbing her brother in the chest several times. Nothing was done by authorities to investigate or avenge Saeeda’s death.

More than 50 decades ago, there were only two visible classes, the Imam and his family who were descendants of the Prophet, and the rest of the public. But after the Imamate rule ended, three classes emerged: the Hashemite or saada, the tribes, known as a’raab or qabail, and the mazaayina, also known as atraaf.

(Read on …)

Second statement by Southern Yemeni Womans Union:

Our fighting sons and revolutionist brothers,

We as southern women believe in the right to restore our land, the land of law and order, The Peoples Democratic Republic of Yemen.

We came to protest in front of the Ayyam newspaper, the paper that provided the truth, and acted as a torch of light and liberty in the darkness that the occupation made us live in. We reject the repression of freedom that was given to us a right in all the constitutions and international covenants.

(Read on …)

No news on the six missing westerners. Fighting reduced, army moving. US denies claims of mapping project. 1200 remain in jail despite Saleh’s order to the contrary and the truce agreement.

Yemen Times

SA’ADA, July 1 — The Sa’ada governorate has been relatively calm for the past few days, after a recent series of armed conflicts between the state and the Houthi movement.

(Read on …)

Must adhere to the party line or else… The French maintain the plane was banned; Yemeni authorities insist it never happened. The military aircraft have similar problems with upkeep on their fleet. The maintenance budget(s) are subject to embezzlement, there’s no oversight and the press is barred from reporting on the military. A journalist who did was kidnapped a few years ago.

al Motamar
Aviation Committee is to sue media instruments that offended Yemeni Airways reputation
Thursday, 02-July-2009
Almotamar.net - The Yemeni Higher Committee for follow-up Aviation Incidents has on Thursday on all different media instruments to the necessity of observing the facts about the crashed Yemeni Airbus plane A 310 that crashed offshore Comoros last Tuesday.

The Yemeni Transport Minister called, in a press conference he held at Sana’a International Airport a short while ago, on the media hat published wrong information to correct them , affirming their keeping the right to sue those media instruments that endeavour to target and offend the reputation of the Yemenia Airways Company via publishing wrong information.

The Minister also pointed out that the Committee has established an information centre at Sana’a International Airport for providing in formation and developments on the crashed plane and operations of rescue that would be reported by an official spokesman in the name of the Committee via continuous news conferences.

The Yemeni Transport Minister also confirmed that the crew of the Yemeni plane was of high skill and efficiency and that the Company would remain adhering to safety criteria.

Thats hysterical. Cloning is a time honored tactic of the Yemeni government in all areas- political parties, NGO, protesters etc.

Terrorist attacks mostly organized by al-Qaeda, Yemeni official
SANA’A, July 02 (Saba) - Interior Minister Mutahr al-Masri has said that terrorist attacks carried out in Yemen during the last period were mostly organized by al-Qaeda.

(Read on …)

The South Koreans are looking to sell, if I recall correctly.

nasdaq

SANAA, Yeman (AFP)–Unknown attackers blew up an oil pipeline in southeast Yemen operated by a South Korean firm, causing a leak, police and industry officials said Thursday.

The attack took place Wednesday night in a region of Shabwa province that produces 10,000 barrels of oil a day.

Local police chief Saïd Saleh al-Souleimany told reporters that the assailants planted an explosive device under the pipeline and detonated it from a distance.

Technicians were sent to repair the damage, which he described as not serious, after the unclaimed attack.

Yemen’s judiciary is a tool of political vengence.

This is the same brutal dictatorship that is now promising to solve all problems by empowering the GPC dominated local councils, but has not yet changed the electoral laws as promised in 2006.

Sahwa Net – The Supreme Council of the Joint Meeting Parties has called human rights and freedom organizations to stand against an unfair sentence of death against three of Islah’s representatives in poll centers during the presidential and local council elections held in 2006.

Khalid Nahshal, Mabkhoot Nahshal and Abdu Nahshal were sentenced to death last week on charges of killing an officer and a soldier in crossfire during the presidential and local council elections led held in 2006.

In a statement, JMP said that the sentence was a settlement of political accounts and political pressures were practiced on justice and there were several violations to judiciary.

“The sentence was issued inside the jail, not in a court and that apparent evidence of legal violations” said the statement.

I’m so happy to see this. The power, courage and wisdom of Yemeni women is an essential requirement to free Yemen, which ever way it goes in the end. Once the women mobilize for justice, its all over. Democracy is about “the people” holding the government to account and making it better. Everyone talks about the fractured nature of Yemeni society holding back progress, and there is no bigger fracture than the gender differential. The most discimination occurs not by region or sect or tribe, but by gender. There’s less of that in the South but it exists. Also and unsurprisingly, the Woman’s Union has a darned good plan of action and most likely will carry it out steadfastly.

My Southern sisters:
We ask for each Southern woman to join our Union, which aims to restore the South. We’d like to inform you that the Union held a meeting on Tuesday in the city of Khormaksar at 4 p.m., and resulted in the following resolutions:
1) To continue with the peaceful struggle until the liberation and restoration of South is achieved.
2) The participation of southern women in all peaceful activities carried out by the leaders of the south revolution.
3) To monitor the violations carried out by the system on the sons of the South
4) To visit the injured, and the families of detainees and martyrs of the south
5) To provide financial and moral support to the university students who were harassed by the system in Sana’a
6) Forming committees in all the southern states
7) To work with the newspapers, and sites which have been blocked by the system, such as Alayyam and Al Ghara’a newspapers, and Shabwa press and Mukalla press (websites).
We condemn such practices that are designed to blind the media as the crimes that are committed against the defenceless people of the south
8 We also strongly condemn the kidnappings and murders of tourists and foreigners, and we consider theses actions as an ac of terrorism, and we demand that these criminals be brought to justice.
We believe that the Sana’a regime is responsible for the murder, injury and abduction of the children.

The Southern activist Zahra Saleh Abdullah, the president of the Union, Dhia Al-Hashemy and Jihad Al-Radfani, and a huge selection of southern women attended the meeting.

Issued by the Southern Women’s Union
23/06/09
Khormaksar
Translated by: Rasha Rashed
Source: Sout al ganoub

http://sa-times.co.cc/

Thats the link or just click here to take a look.

Its excellent- both the site and the concept. It will have a good impact in bringing out the truth. Its requires a lot of work to keep a news site like that updated, but its very important for Yemen in general and Southern Yemenis in particular to overcome the language barrier.

Next the journalists need an English site…

One of the distressing stories among many distressing stories coming out of South Yemen today is that Southerners report their homes are being marked with an “X”, purportedly to indicate which homes require vaccines, although no northerners houses were marked and some of the marked homes do not have small children. What’s that about?

Odd details about the tragedy:

They started the search five hours after the plane went down.

The numbers of passengers announced aren’t adding up: 142 passengers along with a crew of 11 onboard crashed. There were 66 French nationals, according to France verses “The authorities have identified the nationalities of 93 passengers in addition to the crew of the airplane… 26 Frenchmen, 54 Comorian, 6 Yemenis, a Canadian, a Philippines, an Indonesian, two Moroccan, and an Ethiopian.”

The captain and a five year old survived the crash. Later reports say a 14 year old girl is the only survivor.

The chairman of Yemenia is President Saleh’s son-in-law, Abdul-Khalek Al-Qadi.

The plane was barred from France and the EU was monitoring the airline itself.

Three people en route from Comoros today on a Yemenia plane were found to have false French passports.

The flight is so bad, Yemenia has its own dedicated protesters, a group called SOS Comoros Travel. A spokesman said, “Flights between Sanaa and Moroni are carried out by cowboy operators…”They treat people like cattle, they pile them in, they don’t respect timetables, there are always technical problems.”

The Yemeni government of course is blaming bad weather.

(Read on …)

al Jazeera: Talkshow host: Ahmad Zeidan

Guest: Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, the commander-in-chief of al Qaeda in Afghanistan

Date of Show: June 21, 2009

Ahmad Zeidan:

Yes. A few days ago, statements from al-Qaeda in Yemen were published saying that they supported the secession, the secession of the south. Do you look at these statements? How do you see them?

COMMANDER MUSTAFA ABU AL-YAZID:

We did not look at this new news, and we think that the brothers do not support this, we think. The fundamental is the unity of the Muslim Ummah, and the Islamic states and everything that unified the Ummah as much as possible, because this is in the interests of Islam and the Muslims. We do not support the secession, and this does not concern us much, because the case is the case, but in the end, Islamic rule will come and will govern the united country instead of a country divided.

Earlier reporting here.

The Yemeni government has shut down seven independant Arabic language newspapers and established a new press court for trials of journalists. Now the government is taking aim at the English language Yemen Post, warning the paper not to cooperate with international media- or else.

From the Yemen Post

Over the last two weeks, the Yemen Post received numerous threats from different sides due to its coverage of the foreigners that were kidnapped and killed. The Yemen Post was the main independent source for 90% of the international media. Its comments were even given priority over the government and what it announced.
Last week, meetings took place between the Yemen Post and leading figures of the government. In the meetings, The Yemen Post was firmly asked not to work with international media outlets and to limit its self to local media. Direct threats were given. The option on the table was to agree to cooperate with the government whether it was right or wrong in what they announce. In the end, the Yemen Post refused.
It is sad that these people don’t understand that the job of media is not covering what it is asked of it to cover, but to cover the truth.
Yemen has not yet understood the difference between independent and governmental media, and the Yemen Post has vowed to show everyone the difference.
What I clearly want to say is that the Yemen Post is doing what it was established to do, and that is lead Yemeni media, raise its standards, and through its sources throughout the country, be able to serve not only Yemen, but the international community with concrete information about what is really happening.
Even with the threats we are given, the Post will not soften its stance and will work to be the most trusted local and international news source in Yemen.

I’m happy to report that I have an analysis included in the new book published in Yemen entitled: Yemen Unity.. Discussions and Studies

The following article which appears in the book in English and Arabic concludes, “Almost any strategy is better than pinning the future of 22 million Yemenis on dreams of rehabilitating President Ali Abdullah Saleh.”

Yemen on the Brink of Civil War

On May 3, the U.S. Embassy in Sana’a issued a statement on the political violence in South Yemen that claimed eight lives last week. The United States stressed that “Yemen’s unity depends on its ability to guarantee every citizen equal treatment under the law.” What the Yemeni government calls unity, the protesters call occupation.

Since protests erupted in South Yemen in May 2007, dozens were killed, hundreds injured and over a thousand arrested. As police shot into the crowds, Southern claims of institutionalized discrimination turned into calls for independence. After regional protest marches last week, Yemen began shelling the town of Radfan. Some Southerners took up arms for the first time.

Southern grievances include overt theft of public and private land by Northern officials, the embezzlement of oil revenues and the subjugation of the south after Yemen’s 1994 civil war.

Northern citizens outside President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s ruling elite are just as impoverished and face the same brutality. The Yemeni military bombed cities and villages in the northern Sa’ada province, countering an isolated Shiite rebellion that flared from 2004 to 2008. (Read on …)

The rebels in Yemeni prison were supposed to be released with the last negotiated truce, and the two truces before that. Their families have been holding weekly sit-ins to try to get their relatives back. I have a copy of the presidential order directing their release.

From Al Sahwa: The media office of al-Houthi rebels has affirmed that 25 soldiers were released on Thursday. The office said that the soldiers were repatriated to a mediation committee. In a statement, the office accused the authorities of holding repels , torturing and harassing them.

Meanwhile Interior Ministry accuses the rebels of drug dealing….

from the Yemen Post

The Security Media Center at the Ministry of Interior reported that security apparatuses arrested 58 outlawed elements – affiliated with the Southern Mobility – who had been involved in chaotic and sabotage acts that threaten Yemen’s stability.

According to the same source, Al-Dhale security forces arrested 35 elements accused of inciting chaos and attacking citizens who were participating in a grand march run by pro-unity citizens.

The source added that other 12 elements were arrested in Hadramout’s Al-Mukalla City after they had instigated chaos and sabotage acts, hinting these people were involved in acts that undermines the governorate’s national security, stability and peace.

Similarly, security apparatuses in Abyan arrested 11 elements over committing outlawed acts, instigating chaos and sabotage acts and destroying public and private property in the Abyan’s capital city, Zingbar.

The arrested elements were referred to the concerned prosecutions in their provinces to look into their cases before referring them to judiciary for trails.

Good!

RESEARCHERS’ APPEAL TO THE YEMENI GOVERNMENT TO SUPPORT A FREE ENVIRONMENT FOR THE LOCAL PRESS

Your Excellency,

We researchers, who had the special opportunity to conduct our studies on Yemen, are writing to express our deep concern about the current situation of the Yemeni press.

During the past month, May 2009, we noticed a sharp increase and intensification of confiscation of newspapers, restriction of access to printing facilities and distribution systems, lawsuits against publishers, detention of journalists, blocking of web sites, and use of force against press offices as well as the announcement of establishment of a special press court. We would like to express our particular worry that all of this seems to harm not only the Yemeni press, but also Yemen’s international reputation. While reports, articles and books used to testify to the comparatively free press of the Republic of Yemen, we fear Yemen is losing this distinction among the countries of the Arabian Peninsula.

However, the Yemeni press – its diversity of viewpoints, capacity of reporting and multiplicity of newspapers and magazines – is, in our professional experience, an essential source for historical, political, social and economic understanding of the country.

For this reason, we jointly decided to appeal to your position of leadership in the Yemeni government to end these restrictions on the press and to support to free circulation of ideas, opinions, and information.

Conscious that we share a common dedication to the study of Yemen, we respectfully ask your consideration of our appeal.

Sincerely,
- Paul Aarts (the Netherlands)[1]
- April Alley (the United States)
- Caroline Blayney (the United States)
- Robert D. Burrowes (the United States)
- Sheila Carapico (the United States)
- Nora Colton (the United States)
- Susanne Dahlgren (Finland)[2]
- Marina de Regt (the Netherlands)[3]
- James Dickins (the United Kingdom)
- Charles F. Dunbar (the United States)[4]
- Iris Glosemeyer (Germany)
- Bradley Heinz (the United States)[5]
- Jean Lambert (France)
- Kamil Mahdi (the United Kingdom)
- Brinkley Messick (the United States)[6]
- Martha Mundy (the United Kingdom)
- Monica Perini (Italy)
- J.E. Peterson (the United States)
- Charles Schmitz (the United States)[7]
- Jillian Schwedler (the United States)[8]
- Anna Wuerth (Germany)
(June 15, 2009)

[1] Senior Lecturer International Relations, Department of Political Science, University of Amsterdam.
[2] Academy Research Fellow, Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies
[3] International Institute of Social History, Amsterdam.
[4] Professor of International Relations, Boston University.
[5] Stanford University.
[6] Professor of Anthropology, Columbia University, New York.
[7] Towson University
[8] Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Massachusetts Amherst.

الرئيس علي عبدالله صالح

السفارة اليمنية c/o
;فخامة الرئيس, تحية طيبة و بعد

.نحن الباحثين ممن كانت لهم الفرصة للدراسة في اليمن, نعرب لكم عن قلقنا الشديد في الوضع الراهن للصحافة اليمنية
ًًًًًًًًًًخلال الشهر الماضي, مايو ٢٠٠٩ , لاحفظنا تزايداً ملوحظاً في مصادرة الصحف, تقييد للطباعة و النشر, دعاوى قضائية ضد رؤساء التحرير, اعتقال للصحافيين, حجب مواقع على شبكة انترنت و استعمال للقوة ضد مكاتب صحافية و كذلك اقامة محكمة خاصة بوسائل الاعلام

.نود بذلك الاعراب عن قلقنا و أسفنا العميقين, لأن ذلك لا يمس الصحافيين اليمنيين فقط, و انما يمس ايضاً بسمعة اليمن الدولية

.بينما تشهد التقارير و المقالات و الكتب لليمن لحرية صحافتها مقارنة بغيرها من دول شبه الجزيرة العربية, نحن على خوف شديد من ان تفقد اليمن هذه الميزة
.رغم ذلك الصحافة البمنية بتعدد وجهات نظرها, بقدرتها التقريرية, وتعدد صفحها و مجلاتها, بحسب بتجربتنا المهنية, تعد مصدراً اساسياً لتفهم أمور الدولة تاريخياً و سياسياً و اجتماعياً و قتصادياً

ً
.من أجل ذلك كله, قررنا معاً ان نتوجه بهذا النداء الى سيادتكم و من موقعكم في قيادة الحكومة اليمنية, لانهاء هذه القيود على الصحافة اليمنية,و دعم تبادل الأراء و الأفكار و المعلومات

.علماً بأننا جميعاً نتاشرك في تفانينا و فخرنا بالدراسة في اليمن, نتوجه اليكم بكل تقدير وبتبجيل بأن تأخذون بالحسبان نداءنا هذا مع فائق الشكر

(ترجمة احمد)

Its very good of the CPJ and RSF and other journalists organizations are staying on top of the assualt on the Yemeni media, but why are the donors so quiet on the issue that is so clear cut?

From News Yemen:

Six newspapers the Ministry of Information have suspended since a month have lost Yr 80 million (almost $400,000) and as many as 200 staff lost their income sources due to the suspension and suppression against those newspapers, said a press report prepared by journalist Mohammad al-Hakimi.

A source in the Aden-based al-Ayyam daily said the newspaper lost Yr 181 million until now, approximately Yr 21 million per a week. He said the paper continues to lose money. It added that 1185 vendors who used to circulate the paper have lost their income resource due to the suppression against the paper.

The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the government of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to end censorship of independent newspapers and to identify and prosecute those who assaulted Al-Jazeera journalists on two occasions in the south of the country.
Fans of the suspended newspapers organized in Karesh district in Lahj last Thursday a protest to the government’s policy against newspapers.

More from the Yemen Post:
(Read on …)

Lets see if Mujawar can get his orders implemented and if the Ministry of Information recognizes his authority. Government journalists to get a raise. Meanwhile the non-governmental media has been crippled.

Mujawar order to transform journalists’ inspiration into action SANA’A, June 25 (Saba) – Prime Minister Ali Muhammad Mujawar on Thursday ordered the relevant authorities to implement the March 10 cabinet decision on the journalists job description as soon as possible.

The project calls for job description and classification at the media institutions including the Yemen News Agency Saba, the General Radio and Television Corporation and the military media institutions.

The PM’s order comes in reply to notes sent by the Yemeni Journalist Syndicate in which the government was urged to transform the idea into a concrete action as well as providing necessary funds for the media sector within the next year’s budget.

Mujawar also ordered to give back money cut from the budget allocated for the journalists and approve salary increases ordered previously.

He also called on the Ministry of Public Health and Population to care of the journalists and their families through enabling them to get special treatment at the public hospitals.

The PM also called on the Communication Ministry to provide free internet services for the journalists, asking them to go after many Arab countries.

He also ordered the Information Ministry to continue publishing national newspapers at the al-Thawra Printings according to contracts signed with papers.

Yemeni women are ranked as the least equal on earth for the last two years in a row on the gender equality scale which measures educational, employment and political inclusion etc.

From the Yemen Post In an address to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Yemen rejected outright 13 of the recommendations as they violate the Islamic law and content with the Yemeni social norms, Yemennews.net reported.

Yemen told the United Nations that more than 13 recommendations other countries say will improve Yemen human rights standards cannot be fully accepted, the source added.

Meanwhile, the source said that the United Nation Human Rights Council recommended that different forms of violence against women in Yemen should be abolished.

The sources revealed that the most important recommendations included all violations of the human rights of women in situations of capital punishment, and in particular, murder, systematic rape, sexual slavery and forced pregnancy.

In a statement, Amnesty International said Yemen “has shown little commitment to take new steps to address serious human rights concerns in the country.”

The so-called Universal Periodic Review is the way the council launched in 2006 to replace the discredited Human Rights Commission, assesses the respective human rights records of all 192 UN member states.

Earlier this year, Amnesty International condemned the execution of ‘Aisha Ghalib al-Hamzi and has called on the Yemeni authorities not to execute Fatima Hussein Badi and to halt all other executions immediately. The organization opposes the death penalty unconditionally in all situations as a violation of the right to life and the ultimate cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment.

Wow. What are the Iranians going to be delivering? All the Yemeni accusations that Iran was supporting the Shiite rebellion must be resolved. I’m joking, that was posturing.

PressTV Tehran and Sana’a have agreed to confront piracy off the coast of Yemen and the Gulf of Aden, says the Iranian foreign minister.

“Yemen has agreed to permit Iranian warships to dock at Yemen’s port (of Aden) to provide security to Iranian commercial ships in the region,” IRINN quoted Manouchehr Mottaki as saying.

The deal was reached during a meeting between Mottaki and Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sana’a. The agreement came a month after Iran announced that six Iranian vessels were joining the international efforts against piracy off the coast of Somalia.

“Six warships and support vessels have been dispatched to the Gulf of Aden region and international waters,” said commander of the Iranian Navy Real-Admiral Habibollah Sayyari…Iran’s first deployment came after Somali pirates hijacked the Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship, Delight, operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) in the Gulf of Aden in November, 2008.

The latest incident involving an Iranian ship came in March when pirates attacked an Iranian vessel for what they called “illegal fishing” in the northern semi-autonomous region of Puntland.

Related: Prime Minister flies to Syria to firm up transportation agreements

SANA’A, June 27 (Saba) – Prime Minister Ali Muhammad Mujawar will leave today for Syria on an official visit during which he will head the Yemeni side in the 9th meeting of the Yemeni-Syrian Supreme Committee.

The two-day session, which will start on Sunday, would be held in Syrian capital, Damascus. Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Naji Etri will head his country’s side.

The meeting will focus on finding ways to strengthen Yemeni-Syrian economic cooperation and deal with six documents including one on transport cooperation between the two countries.

Not only is the Yemeni government beating up journalists and arresting them, but by confiscating the newspapers and not allowing them to print- they are driving them out of business.

Oh and Obama is increasing aid!!! Apparently without conditions. How pathetic is that? Pushing the counter-terror priorities at the expense of civil rights is a short sighted, counter-productive strategy especially considering the duplicity of the Yemeni regime on the terror issue.

Committee to Protect Journalists
330 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001 USA Phone: (212) 465‑1004 Fax: (212) 465‑9568 Web: www.cpj.org E-Mail: media@cpj.org
Contacts:
Mohamed Abdel Dayem, program coordinator
Phone: (212) 465-1004, x103; E-mail: m.abdel.dayem@cpj.org

Mariwan Hama-Saeed, research associate
Phone: (212) 465-1004, x104; E-mail: mariwan@cpj.org

Months-long assault on media continues in Yemen

New York, June 24, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the government of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to end censorship of independent newspapers and to identify and prosecute those who assaulted Al-Jazeera journalists on two occasions in the south of the country.

Yemen’s popular daily, Al-Ayyam, the weeklies Al-Nida and Al-Watani, as well as five other independent newspapers, were banned by the government in early May. Al-Ayyam and Al-Watani remain banned, journalists told CPJ. Although the ban against Al-Nida and the five other publications has been lifted, the state-owned Al-Thawra printing house has refused to print the papers, according to several journalists. As a result, Al-Nida remains out of circulation. The five other newspapers have since contracted with smaller printing houses, journalists told CPJ.

Sami Ghaleb, editor of Al-Nida, told CPJ that government officials had promised to instruct the state-owned Al-Thawra printing house to print his weekly, but that has not happened thus far. Even those newspapers that have resumed publication, he said, have faced sporadic confiscation.

On Monday, Al-Jazeera’s Aden correspondent, Fadel Mubarak, was assaulted by masked individuals while covering protests in Jea’ar in the southern governorate of Abyen. Mubarak, whose camera was also stolen, was treated at a local hospital and required stitches to his head, journalists told CPJ.

On June 17, unidentified individuals threw rocks at an Al-Jazeera crew on its way to Daalea City, in southern Yemen, to cover a rally organized by the ruling party, the satellite news channel reported. No crew members were hurt, but the vehicle was damaged.

“We condemn the continued harassment of independent journalism and the criminal assaults on Fadel Mubarak and other Al-Jazeera personnel. All independent papers should be allowed to resume publication, and the individuals who attacked Mubarak must be brought to justice,” said Mohamed Abdel Dayem, CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. “We hold the Yemeni government responsible for the censorship they have imposed and for their failure to ensure the safety of our colleagues.”

The Freedoms Committee of the Yemeni Journalists’ Syndicate said it has documented dozens of attacks against the press since May. The syndicate and numerous other sources said official and pro-government media have run repeated commentary blaming recent unrest on independent news outlets that offer critical coverage of sensitive issues and interviews with opposition figures.

In previous years, CPJ documented numerous assaults on independent journalists, including Jamal Amer, editor of Al-Wasat and CPJ International Press Freedom Awardee in 2006. No one has been brought to justice in that case, despite government promises to do so.

The most recent round of hostility to independent journalism reached its peak on May 13 when security forces fired on the offices of Al-Ayyam in Aden, the country’s second-largest city and a hot-bed of opposition to Saleh. Physical assaults have been coupled with dozens of arrests of independent journalists, editors, and bloggers, the latest of which was today’s arrest of Abdel Rakeeb Al-Hedyani, editor-in chief of Al-Watani. Al-Hedyani was released later in the day, journalists told CPJ.

CPJ has documented a number of other arrests. Fuad Rashid, editor-in-chief of the news Web site Mukalla ‎Press, who was arrested on May 4, remains in custody, said Samia al-Aghbry of the Yemeni Journalists’ Syndicate.

The Committee to Protect Journalists is a New York-based, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to defending press freedom around the world.

URL: Here

The Yemen Times gets specific on the timeline, details and geography of the kidnapping and the subsequent events.

Amidst false rumors of progress in releasing kidnapped foreigners, Houthis warn of a sixth war in three days

SANA’A, June 24 – Shiekh Saleh bin Shage’ deputy chief of Waela Tribes at the Yemeni Saudi borders explained that the surrendering of two of his tribes men by his brother Rashad to the Yemeni security in Sa’ada has nothing to do with the missing six foreigners kidnapped on Friday June 12.

“It is a hideous crime that we all condemn, but the two men have nothing to do with it,” he said. “In fact, being easily surrendered to the security without any resistance proves that if they had anything to hide they would have fled.”

Mushin Al-Tam and Hassan Kazman, suspected of involvement in the killing and kidnapping of foreigners were were in the remote area of Nushoor while Yemeni security forces were hunting them. When the two heard they were sought after, they reported to their sheikh’s house, proclaiming their innocence. Waela leaders asked them to surrender to the state and they obliged willingly, according to Bin Shage’.

Most of the locals in Waela belong to the Ismaili sect, which is the second largest part of the Shiite community

(Read on …)

Great expose on the causes, mechanisms and outcome of media repression in relation to the Sa’ada War from AMS:

Restricting access to information can be as serious a threat to journalism as overt censorship or government persecution. The ongoing insurgency in Yemen’s northern governorate of Sa‘ada is one example of how a state’s attempt to enforce an information blackout has helped hide and sustain a conflict that has festered over four years, killing thousands and leaving a city destroyed, and continuing to stoke fears of a return to violence.

The Sa‘ada governorate, located in Yemen’s mountainous northern region on the border with Saudi Arabia and home to around 750 thousand people, has witnessed stop and go wars since 2004.[1] Precise numbers of the dead and wounded are unknown because no organization, national or international, has been allowed full access to the area to make an independent account of the violence, although most estimates put the death toll well into the thousands.

(Read on …)

What is that? One office for every newspaper that they want to drive out of business?

Yemen Post

As Ministry of Information has recently been transformed to a new site, President Ali Abdullah Saleh paid a short visit to the new ministry building earlier this week. News about the visit has two different sides.

The state-run news agency “Saba” reported that the President congratulated the ministry employees for the new building, and urged members of various media organs, audio, visual and print media, to improve and upgrade the information content and provide a meaningful messages that help the country towards progress and advancement adding that he inspected the various facilities of the ministry, the ongoing work as well as the work plan of the various institutions and organs of the ministry, however informed sources said that the President’s visit had a completely different aim.

Sources at the Ministry of Information said that during his visit to the ministry building, the President directed the ministry leadership to vacate the new building of the Ministry.
“Due to the huge size of the building compared with the small staff number of the ministry, President directed that the ministry should be moved again to the previous building giving no more details about any other body that might receive the building instead ” the source said.
The new six-store building of the Ministry of Information was inaugurated in March 19 2009 at a total cost of YR1, 899,984,000.

The building contains 142 offices; set In 264.43 square meters .It includes a kindergarten for the employees’ children, a hall for events, activities and workshops, in addition to two gardens, inside and outside car parks for more than 300 cars.

Yemen Post

Yemeni economists considered raising the prices of oil derivatives a political suicide, emphasizing that there are no realistic justifications for such a critical decision by the government.
Dr. Mohammad Jubran, Professor of Economics at Sana’a University, said that the 2009 general budget included an increase in some materials’ prices among which were petroleum products.
Jubran pointed out that, raising prices of oil derivatives in such circumstances might lead the citizens’ living conditions even worse.
He stressed that, any justifications for increasing oil prices would seem to be pointless as oil prices are within safe limits, for the time being.

Moreover, Jubran warned that taking such a step would create many problems and unrest for the country. Confirming that not more than 50%of oil derivatives are consumed locally while the rest 50% is smuggled abroad, Jubran said that Yemeni government is not obliged to support foreigners while Yemenis are deprived of their country’s wealth.

Subsidies exceed USD 4 billion, Yemen Post:

Head of Foreign Affairs Circle at the ruling General People Congress (GPC) Mohammed Al-Qubati revealed the government has no plans to increase the prices of oil derivatives on what it known among locals to be a new Jur’ah (dose).

In an interview aired by Al-Saeeda Satellite Channel, Al-Qubati stated that Yemen spends about $4 billion in supporting oil derivatives, stressing this huge sum does overburden the country’s state budget.

The governmental subsidy on oil is a huge structural problem; the subsidies are supposed to be reduced a little at a time and in conjunction with increased social support so the poor is not unduly burdened. Equally important steps include a reduction in military spending and firm anti-corruption measures. Two billion a year of public funds is diverted into the blackmarket with the subsidies, and thats just one vein of corruption in a vast web.

There’s 40 rounded up today and these two who are denying any connection. Weapons dealers and drug smugglers.

News Yemen Two men suspected of kidnapping nine foreign hostages and killing three women of the group have been handed over to the security authorities in Sa’ada, a tribal source told NewsYemen.

Waela tribe leader Rashid bin Shaje said the suspected, identified as Muhsin Attam and Hassan Kazman, have denied the kidnapping and killing of foreigners but he has extradited them to the security.

“The first one was an employee in the Economic Corporation’s office in Sa’ada, but he was fired, and the other one escaped from the military service in Hadramout,” a special source told NewsYemen.

The source added that the two suspects are also charged of smuggling drugs and providing al-Houthis and the army with weapons.

The kidnappers handed over the hostages to a tribal leader in Arrozamat area which is under the control of al-Houthi field leader Abdullah Arrozami and headed for Waela tribe where they asked the protection of Sheikh Shaje, one of Waela chieftains.

The office of al-Houthi denied that hostages are in Arrozamat. “Abdullah Arrozami is now some kilometers farm from his home area,” said the source in a call with NewsYemen.

Asked whether hostages are still alive, Sheikh Shaje said he can not talk until investigations with the two suspects are completed.

Local sources said Yemeni security forces and intelligence services continue searching for the six hostages, checking up passersby and confiscating cameras and tape recorders.