Armies of Liberation

Give this guy a blog. He’s snarky enough. From the Yemen Times: Yemeni judiciary is rotten to the core. People don’t trust it, and don’t like to resort their cases to it. Why did it reach this miserable state?

Then the writer lists examples in each of the following catagories:
Waiting for years
Cheating and extortion
Lack of trust
Judiciary corruption
Judiciary is not independent
Bribery became a must
The citizens do not claim their rights
(check it out)

my my, that didnt take long…..

Saleh says he wont run, like he said three times before he ran, so the announcement may be a ploy. His ruling party seems rather determined to keep him in office (and themselves in power.)

20/7/2005 Hadi says president Saleh still PGC candidate for upcoming presidential polls

Al-Sahwa net- The Yemeni vice president Abdraboo Mansor Hadi on Monday affirmed that the PGC was still committed to the nomination of president Saleh in the upcoming presidential elections slated for September, 2006. Speaking at an inauguration ceremony of the summer educational centers organized by the Ministry of Endowments, Hadi said “ the PGC would announce the candidature of president Saleh in the forthcoming presidential elections during its sixth conference scheduled to be held next November”.

Also this very good bit of advice: Mohammed Qahtan, chairman of Islah political department,in press statement to Al-Sahwa net, urged the opposition parties to consider the president’s decision and adopt a unified national vision in this regard. (Actually my new favorite book, Building Democracy in Yemen, gives the same advice to the opposition as well as the womens’ movement, 43% of the registered electorate is women.)

Nadia: Who is the future hero?…Who will calm the burning hearts in the streets.

YT headline: Government spends YR50 million on religious education

What it says, What it means:

Sheikh Yahya al-Najjar, Under-secretary of the Ministry of Endowments and Guidance, confirmed that the Cabinet has offered YR50 million through his ministry to finance religious summer schools.

The Yemen goverment is financing the spread of Salafist ideology among Yemeni children basically converting them by force.

Sources mentioned to the Yemen Times that government had requested 3000 teachers from al-Iman University to teach at the religious schools during the summer vacation.

al-Iman University is run by Sheik Zindani, a US classfied “Major Terrorist, ” primary mentor to bin Laden, who issued the Fatwa that legitimizes civilian killings. al-Iman University is where John Walker Lind attended school, along with several other known terrorists. These teachers will be indocrinating Yemen’s children through the summer in the Salafist interpretation of Islam.

Some sects, including the Zaidia’s, are rumored to consider the new government support as an attempt to homogenize religious education in the country and that it is a violation against the human freedom.

Zaidia, shiites, are being methodically repressed. Their religious books and libraries have been trashed. The public school’s religion class descriminates against them. Moderate Sunnis dont do much better. Forget about the socialists, they are fatwa-ed. (Actually anyone not in with the web of corruption is a target.) The Yemeni government is attempting to “homogenize” religious thinking in Yemen: all Wahabbi.

Procedures taken against religious schools have become severe after the recent blood clashes in Sa’ada between the government and supporters of al-Houthi, who had been controlling numerous religious schools in the north province of Sa’ada.

The violence in Saada is targeted against Zaidia Shiites civilians because they have a different interpretation, and religious pluralism in Yemen is being actively discouraged.

Speaking of kids: the actual number of (Yemeni) children who have never attended primary school is distressing – a little short of 50% (male: 46.79% and female: 47.24%).

Fifty dead, hundreds injured, no photos allowed

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL 22 July 2005

“Yemen: International rules on law enforcement must be upheld
Amnesty International is concerned at reports that dozens of people have been killed during violent protests over the last two days. Scores of protesters, including children, are said to have been arrested and may be at risk of torture.“

Yahoo What began Wednesday as anger over Yemen’s crumbling economy turned into a rare open expression of fury at the country’s leaders, with rioters demanding the government’s ouster and burning pictures of top officials.

The clashes have not been confined to the capital, erupting in at least a half-dozen cities in the worse civil strife in more than a decade.

The decrepit economy has sparked growing resentment in the mountainous, tribal-dominated nation. Yemen discovered oil in 1986, but the profits have not trickled down to the public and the government has been accused of rampant corruption. Unemployment is 36 percent.

Update 7/22: Protests Spread to all the Governates
Hi MSNBC readers: theres lots more about Yemen all over my blog. Take a look for the real story about this “reforming democray” that is in actuality a brutal dictatorship with a strong indiginous pro-democracy movement that is repressed at every turn.

The protests are about the huge rise in oil and gas prices. Someone should note that in this very corrupt country gas is sold at half of the current market value. Oil revenue is reported on the books with a sale price of $22/barrel when it goes for what now $45? Wonder who is benefitting from that? Not the Yemeni people.

Update 7/21: Khaleej Times (probably written by the reporter who got his car demolished by the Yemeni security forces):

Twelve (more) people were killed during clashes on Thursday between security forces and armed demonstrators in a second day of deadly protests against a government decision to hike fuel prices, witnesses said.

At least 50 protestors were also wounded in the capital and at least six towns in the south and north, with government forces, backed by army tanks and armored vehicles, deployed along main roads.

A number of journalists working for foreign television told AFP the Yemeni information ministry has banned them from airing footage from the violence via satellite transmission. (ht: Strata-sphere, analysis from AJStrata further down.)

The Yemen Observer reports today’s days events this way: The city has returned to state of calm….However, peaceful gatherings have been reported in some parts of the city.

Also: Prime Minister Abdul-Qader Bagammal said in a television address, “We are not accusing anyone but we call those infiltrating the masses to stop harming society. They are the true saboteurs and we will confront them,” he said without elaborating. (Should we take bets on who he’s going to “confront”: the democracy advocates, the journalists, the Popular Forces Union, the Houthis?)

Original post

via email:
We are all worried. Things may get out of control. In my neighborhood and around it today, there was a total loss of control. Nothing held people except that they all view the gov as the enemy. In other areas, things went differently. Demonstrators smashed cars, signs, and glass windows. They ransacked some gov buildings, banks, and other key buildings.

As the sun rises tomorrow, we will know what to expect.

There’s a lot of pent up fustration in Yemen. This is about more than just the price increases, its about a brutal dictator pillaging the economy and stealing the future of a generation of children. (Half of Yemen’s children have never been to school, but theres loads of new weapons-that come in handy now-and millions in private bank accounts of the elite. )

Update, Yemen Obbserver:
Crowds then turned on the police and military with sticks and rocks. The scenes, repeated in other cities throughout Yemen, left the city in a state of shock.

The current death toll stands at 6 in Sana’a, 3 in Dhamar, and 6 in Dhali’. Dozens more people have been injured, according to local media reports. There’s no official statement to confirm or deny the figures above.

Several banks were attacked in Sana’a, including the Central Bank of Yemen, as well as a number of governmental institutions, among them the headquarters of the Ministry of Oil & Minerals and the Ministry of Finance, and several other government buildings.

After 25 years of President Saleh’s brutal rule, Yemen is among the most impoverished in the world, illiteracy is near 50%, and unemployment is very high, while the country’s elites have become richer and more powerful. They are so powerful, the ruling party this week closed down a lawful political oppositon party by taking over its headquarters and newspaper at gunpoint. But in addition to lacking free speech, civil rights, and an independent judiciary, the Yemeni people also lack food, an educational system, and doctors.

Saleh is reputedly worth 20 billion. Economic reforms repealing goverment subsidies on commodity items were instutited yesterday, the impact of which will be felt most keenly by the poor who are barely sustaining themselves now. The massive governmental corruption, noted as among the pervasive in the world, has not been addressed. So again the Yemeni people pay the price for the privileged postions of those in power. This time they’re protesting.

Yemen Times: Observers expect massive rallies across the country after the death of at least 15 civilians in violent demonstrations mainly in the cities Sanaa, Dhamar and Dhale’. The demonstrations were caused by anger due to the government’s decision of raising the prices of petroleum directive products between 50% and 100%.

Thousands of angry men took into the streets in the capital Sana’a and set fire to tires, blocked streets and hurled stones at the prime minister’s office while shops closed for fear of looting.

Demonstrators shouted slogans attacking Bagammal and the ruling party of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Police, using tear gas and water cannon to control the crowds, blocked off the house of Vice President Abd-Rabbu Hadi where protesters converged.

“This is a natural reaction because the government’s reforms are a lie and we can’t take it any more…This government is making the rich richer and the poor poorer,” said one young man in Sanaa.

Opposition parties say such measures will increase pressure on the poor and demand instead a crackdown on corruption, which they blame for Yemen’s economic problems.

These are not the protests begging Saleh to stay in power that some of his loyalists were predicting here yesterday. This the people putting the blame where it belongs.

YO: Eight deaths have, as of Wednesday mid-afternoon, been confirmed following violent confrontations between police and protestors against the rise in fuel prices…

Soldiers entered a building in search of a journalist who had been on the roof taking photographs of the scenes below, but they did not find him. “The taking of photographs is not allowed,” declared one solider.

“This is our only option to make our feelings known and exercise our rights. What else can we do to make government listen?” said one of the protestors.

The price of petroleum for has risen by around 90%, while the price of gas has gone up to 400 YR a cylinder, an increase of almost 80%.

I’m very worried. There’s 20 deaths already and over a hundred injured.

Quoting other coverage: Mad Dog Vinnie: We need to stand up and support these people in their quest for freedom.

Willisms: These demonstrations are not about poverty itself, nor about gas prices. These demonstrations, targeted against Saleh’s rule, were nothing less than the early stages of revolution.

Don Surber: One victim was all of 12.

Searchlight Crusade references this LGF post. And Thanks Glenn.

Strata-sphere: The protestors have done what they needed to do at this moment – gain world wide attention. They are paying a price for these acts in lives and injuries. But they need to also make sure they can control the outcome towards a peaceful end.

Guardian: “Critics said that curbing general public expenditure, including military spending, would have been a more effective way of tackling the budget deficit.” (ed: oh yes, enough toys for Ali Mohsen already: Russian copters, arms from North Korea, if I recall correctly there’s a $400 million dollar deal with Russia for various weapons. The blackmarket Yemeni weapons pipeline is taking food out of the mouths of starving children. ) Loads and loads more about Yemen all over this blog.

additional coverage: (Read on …)

What an excellent decision, what a good example.

Lets hope its not propaganda. Or just a move to get his son in power. But on the whole a wonderful development. ap:

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, leader of this Arab nation for more than a quarter-century, said Sunday he will not run in next year’s elections, and he urged political parties to nominate “young blood” to lead the country.

Saleh, president since 1978, said he would remain in office until the September 2006 elections. He did not give a specific reason for stepping down.

“We want to establish a model for peaceful handover of power,” Saleh said during a meeting with political parties and diplomats.

“Political parties must nominate for this post young leaders capable of bearing responsibility based on clear programs to manage the country.”

So now why try to dismantle the PFU? Why all the pressure on the electorate to join the GPC? Why the targeting of the oppositon parties? The sudden proliferation of letter bombs? In any event, there’s an opening for a real democracy that wasn’t there yesterday.

HT: Iraq War News

Update: a little perspective from our good friend Amin in the comments:

I read the news about the president stepping down. I admit, this will be positive for us as a nation but for many years he announced this in 1985, 1988, 1995 and 1999. During the last four occasions, he said the same thing, exactly the same, but he simply did not do it.

Here is a link from the archive in 1999
Salah not to run for reelection 7/5/1999

But here is what he did a week after. What an irony!!!!
President Saleh a candidate for the coming Yemeni Presidency, 7/9/1999

“Who has been bitten by a snake once, will not believe it next time.”

Thank you Amin. Four days, huh? Also the whole concept of an inherited aristocracy is a little scary. Think Syria. Prince Ahmed may think its his turn now. In order to break up the web of corruption, it has to be anybody else.

But still, for today there’s a hope that wasn’t there yesterday.
Daily Star editorial: But Saleh’s announcement is nonetheless a historic gesture in the Middle East, where peaceful and democratic transitions can only be witnessed in a handful of states. It is unheard of for an Arab leader to step down from office voluntarily in the absence of a constitution mechanism that would force him to do so. In this respect, Saleh has certainly raised the bar for Arab leaders across the region.

ash-Sharq al-Awsat: It told him “we want you to make our wish come true that there is a former Arab president, a title that has not been accorded to any Arab until now.” The paper urged Saleh not to retract his decision and to “convince your son not to seek election so that no one says the president passed on his seat to his son.”

OK, back to work on the PFU.

Related: Journalist recieves letter bomb: The press syndicate condemned the use of violence in dealing with free writers.

Islah strongly condemned the authorities’ illegal measures exercised against the Popular Forces’ Union (PFU) as a direct contravention of the Yemeni constitution,

Yemen: al-Khaiwani remains a target of the Yemeni government.

Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani, Yemen’s main democracy advocate and reformer, recently released from jail, targeted by the government again along with the Popular Forces Union, his political party.

Summary of events: A security guard employed by the Yemeni government took over the PFU (pluralistic opposition political party) building at gunpoint. Then he took over the building of its newspaper, al-Shoura. The Yemen govt then recognized him, their own gunman, as the new leader of the party.

Nifty way to silence the oppositon, huh?

Partial History of prior Yemeni Govt Targeting of al-Khaiwani:

May 2004 al-Khaiwani recieves death threats and threats to KIDNAP HIS KIDS .
September 2004, al-Khaiwani imprisoned for insulting the president in an oped in al-Shoura.
al-Khaiwani refuses to buy his freedom with an apology.
He spends six months in prison for his opinions.
March 2005, he is finally released.

Now, four months later, the Yemeni government is targeting al-Khaiwani again: taking the paper, the building, the party, leveling false charges, trashing him in the official media, and there’s more death threats.

Chronolgy 2005:

1- May 14, govt security guards take over the democratically oriented, politcal party, the Popular Forces Union building at gunpoint. District prosecutor orders the gunmen brought in. The Interior Minister over rules the order. Twice. (May 20 and 23) The police go to the building and the gunmen fire at them. The police leave and dont return. (June 1)

2-The gunmen steal the computers of the PFU paper, al-Shoura, edited by our friend al-Khaiwani.

3- al-Khaiwani writes in al-Wasat about the death threats he is receiving.

4- The gunmen take over al-Shoura’s building at gunpoint and say al-Khaiwani is no longer the editor. (July 4)

5- The gunmen issue a bogus issue of al-Shoura full of lies with a new editor. (July5) The bogus issue says there is a party dispute.

6- The independent printing press is shut down (July6), so the opposition papers can’t publish. (The bogus al-Shoura was printed on the government’s printing press.)

7- The official government newspaper says weapons were found by the new editor who called the police (attempt to frame al-Khaiwani).

8-The new editor and the police say no such thing ever happened.

9- And the person listed as the new editor says he never set foot in the building, isnt a journalist, and never saw weapons. (July 9) The people listed as rebeling against the party say they are not.

10- The Yemeni government recognizes THE GUNMEN as the legal representative of the PFU. (July 13) (Do they really expect anyone to believe this garbage? Its preposterous.)

11- Members of the PFU party report they are receiving death threats and other intimidation to force them to ally with the gunmen, not the legitimate leadership.

Yemen Times: “The guards” who occupied the headquarters of the Joint Meeting Parties last month, have issued a new Al-shura Journal holding the same name. They also made a decision of discharging Abdulkreem Al-khiwani, from the post of chief editor of the paper. They directed a memorandum to the Ministry of Information with these changes. The Ministry has indorsed these changes…

The (ed: state controlled) Yemeni TV has devoted ten minutes for the news of the discharges and the changes that the Guards have made.

The JMP joint meeting last Monday has denounced the practices that the consultation council was subjected to. They described it as it a provocative act that cancelled a legal party. It cloned this party and tailored it to the desire of a group of the party opponents. Those opponents purport that they represent the consultant council of the party. They have nothing to do with the party.

Several Political observers considered the closure of Al-shora paper and the change of its chief editor Al-khiwani as an effort to satisfy the authorities’ desire. Al-shora paper is the first local paper to open the heated discussions on the presidential affairs (inheritance of governance). Read the rest at the Yemen Times.

For more background see

Statement of Popular Forces Union (issued about the occupation of the building, before the gunman was declared the head of the party.)

and my articles (many of which were translated into Arabic and published by al-Khaiwani in al-Shoura, also by the independent paper, the Yemen Times, in English):

Ayatollah Sistani and the War in Yemen
Yemen: al-Qaeda in Broad Daylight
Yemen’s Reformers vs. the Pact of Evil
Yemeni Elections 2006: A Fraud in the Making

Update fromYemen:

hi jane

some party leaders and members are being threatened to leave the party and join the imposter party

PFU leader in the gov of IBB issued a statment condemning the attak on PFU branches in the governerat of ibb by GPC leader ship through puting pressure on them and threatining them . the last one on last friday PFU leader in IBB Abdulhakim Alnuzily recieved a phone call from unknown accused him that he is disloyal and an agent for foriegn country the statment added that the unknown caller threatened Alnozaily that he would be killed if he doesnot join those occupaying the party head quarter. the caller asked him not to talk about people sufferings

the same statment mentioned that AHMed al shouabi PFU member in Ibb and member of the party concel in ibb was also threatened by one of GPC members that he would be transfared from IBB to another place . alshouibi is a teacher
(Translation of this News Yemen report.)

Update 2: THANKS TO EVERYBODY FOR LINKING.
It makes a difference.
The light pains the roaches.

The story: the Yemeni government goes to arrest a human rights worker, a college kid. They cant find him, so they kidnap his 12 year old brother.

via HOOD: The Yemeni Organization defending Rights and Democratic Freedoms condemns targeting of Mr. Ismail Mohammed Ahmed Al Mutawakel, one of the organization’s activists, and the serious violations that his family has been subjected to. A group of armed persons kidnapped his brother the juvenile Ibrahim Mohammed Ahmed Al Mutawakel who has not exceeded 12 years old as a hostage on the 25th of May 2005.

This happened after attacking his house and horrifying the women and children inside it. The armed persons attacked the house and took some possessions without any warranty or legal document and this has been confirmed by human rights organizations that are concerned of this repeated action.

These actions practiced on human rights activists is a bad omen

They held the 12 year old for three weeks before they let him go.

There’s also quite an assortment of children as young as nine in Yemeni prisons.

New toys:

A military Meg 29 Russian plain crashed in Amran, when its rear engine caught on fire, a military source in the ministry of defense said. The pilot jumped with his parachute after he discovered the fire.

Yemen has said lately that it had bought 14 Meg 29 planes from Russia, to be received in batches this year.

Better to bomb your own civilians with. Civilians who are starving I might add. And no one can help them under penalty of law.

Saada: The Yemeni authorities last month closed 21 charitable and private societies in Sa’ada on charge of exploiting their activities in supporting al-Houthi’s insurgency.

The Yemeni authorities accused people running these societies, some of whom were arrested, of exploiting activities of their societies to spread political and sectarian thoughts against the law. (yes the mind readers in Yemen arrested them for their thoughts.)

According to the government, these people practice illegal activities and collect money for supporting al-Houthi’s rebellion in the guise of charitable works.

The Sa’ada security forces stormed all the head-offices of these societies, shut them down, invalidated their permissions and froze their assets and financial accounts.

Actually, the people in Saada (Zaidi Shiites) are being subject to ethnic cleansing. The men in whole villages are rounded up for arrest- and they take the little boys too- leaving their families destitute and without financial support. Now other Yemenis are unable to take up collections for food for them. Bombed, arrested, starved, villified in the official media- this is the fate of the Zaidis and many Yemenis, including Sunnis, are very disturbed. But if anyone speaks out (see Lugman, al-Khaiwani, and Yahya Al-Dailami who got the death penalty) they are arrested. This is the whole reason behind the unrelenting targeting of the Popular Forces Union Party: its a party with Zaidi leadership.

A statement by a coalition of opposition parties:

The Joint Meeting Parties reconfirms its position which it has declared before, and drawing attention to the fact that violence is not the correct means to deal with internal issues, which has been proven by the events and developments in Sa’ada.

The joint meeting refuses these accusations which say that there will be a rebellion on the republican system.

Its not a rebellion. Its a prolonged attack on civilians, most of whom were armed.

(Everyone in Yemen is armed because there is no law, so you have to protect yourself from the criminals. The police are a private army for the elites and useless to the regular citizens, so every one has an AK. There’s about 20 million weapons in Yemen in the hands of the public.)

This article nails it.

“Anyway, the government has taken care of them and now is starting to take care of the Non-Houthis in the rest of us! Now, anyone who has any inclination of enjoying democracy will submit only to the democratic principles laid out by the Government and anyone who deviates will be rendered as having Houthi tendencies. Thus, they should think twice about becoming too resilient in opposing the Government. In fact, the Houthi stigma is being used as an excuse to do away with any semblance of political and sectarian pluralism left in our marginal democracy, and to do away with what ever remains of civil society.

If you have a genuine religious charity, even if licensed and ordained by the Government, the Government will close it down, on the pretext that it is propagating Houthism. Never mind that you have the religious institutions and charities of the so called strategic allies of the ruling party operating freely without any hindrance and they are the ones more suspect of harboring terrorism.

On the contrary, the latter have been given the green light to take over all religious activity in the land and they can storm into any mosque and remove its normal preachers and put their extremist sermon preacher on the platform and their custodians to run and manage the mosques. I am really confused. How can we say we are fighting terrorism, when all of us know that these extremist institutions, that are now enjoying a free hand to impose their dogmatic beliefs on the nation, are the breeding grounds for terrorists and misguided extremists?”

Read the whole thing at the Yemen Times. Well worth it.

Also my article in the Yemen Times.

bound to make Faris cranky:

Curiously the story made front-page news in a country that never reports prison escapes (unless it is in its interest to do so), notes Yemen-expert Jane Novak….

And despite a UN Security Council Sanctions Committee order to freeze 144 terrorist-affiliated accounts, only one bank account has been frozen, Novak says…..

Jane Novak, apparently the only person in the world concerned about Yemen’s ethnic cleansing campaign, quotes the Chief of the Yemeni Supreme Shi’ite Council saying, (Iraqi) military men are advising President Saleh to “kill Shi’ites in the country as did Saddam in Iraq.”

At the American Spectator.

On June 28, Lebanon’s new parliament picked Fouad al-Sanyoura as prime minister. The selection of an anti-Syrian politician was the culmination of a half year of democratic agitation. In Egypt, too, popular pressure has forced President Hosni Mubarak to implement reforms. From Cairo to California, pundits seek to predict where the democratic wave will strike next. Many suggest it could reach Syria or Saudi Arabia. It may. But it is in Yemen where citizens and civil society alike are both impatient and ready for democracy.

Uneasy over events in Lebanon and Egypt, Yemeni authorities have sought to convince diplomats and governments that they are committed to reform. They often point to the success of the reunification of North and South Yemen in 1990 as a sign of commitment to reform. Unification has been popular, but the bulk of its success occurred more than a decade ago.

Yemeni journalists have taken the lead to transmit to Yemen’s 20 million citizens the success of their Lebanese and Egyptian brothers. They juxtaposed the Lebanese revolution with their own authorities’ unwillingness to address monopolization of power, corruption, illiteracy, poverty, and absence of justice and equality.

The Yemeni government soon showed the Potemkin nature of its commitment to reform. In May 2005, a Yemeni journalist and politician inaugurated a movement he called Irhalu (Leave). It was modeled after the Kifaya (Enough) movement in Egypt which stood up to Mubarak’s continued abuse of power. Irhalu founders said they chose the name to suggest that authorities should “leave their seats before bad governance further damages the country.” Not surprisingly, the Yemeni government refuses to recognize such an independent manifestation of civil society.

While Yemeni President Ali Abdallah Salih tells U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that he supports reform, his government continues to crack down on the press and nongovernmental organizations whenever they counsel political reform. Like Uzbekistan, Yemen has sold itself to the Bush administration as an ally in the war against terrorism. And like Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov, Salih hopes that the Bush administration will give his regime a pass on the drive for democracy.

The Salih administration meanwhile works to undercut its dissidents and civil society. It levels false charges against journalists in order to tie them up with litigation and criminal proceedings. Yemeni courts sentence journalists to harsh sentences in response to dubious charges. While Western journalists and the U.S. State Department often highlight the Iranian government’s tendency to close reformist papers, they seldom comment on the same practice in Yemen. Furthermore, under the Salih administration, truly independent newspapers cannot get licenses. His regime has tried to undercut demands for reform by coopting journalists with financial inducements or offers of special partnership. Largely, the government has not been successful. In Yemen, journalists have pushed the limits of freedom; most will not sell their futures. The government has also sponsored the creation of a number of new papers, each claiming to be independent, but which the government uses to slander journalists and activists who refused to tow the government line or who question Salih’s corruption. Yemenis want reform, and journalists are not willing to accept that Lebanese should have rights than they cannot.

The Salih administration has also sought to undercut dissent with legislation. It has drafted a press and publications law which restricts freedom and curtails the independent media and has further sought to monopolize the ownership of broadcast media. Independent radio and television stations are not allowed.

Nongovernmental organizations have just as much trouble operating in Yemen. Salih’s government has put already weak Yemeni NGOs on life support. It has sought to stop Yemeni organizations from reaching out independently to their foreign counterparts. Those organizations which work with foreigners outside official government sanction are accused of working for foreign intelligence services; constitutionally, this can lead to the death penalty. The U.S. embassy in Sanaa, despite President Bush’s rhetoric, remains largely silent.

And just as the Yemeni government sought to coopt the independent press, it now sponsors its own non-governmental organizations. Salih has worked to push independent groups out of business. His administration wields its monopoly over registration. Yemeni opposition parties, like many of their counterparts in Egypt, are largely impotent. Many wait like bystanders for someone else to make the first move. All sides understand, though, that any move which challenges the regime’s monopoly will not be tolerated. The main role of officially registered opposition parties today is as a sounding board when the Yemeni government pushes too far. At most, they ask the government to honor pledges concerning democracy and reform.

Next year, Yemen will hold presidential elections. As with Mubarak in Egypt and Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia, Salih looks prepared to use all the mechanisms of state to crush dissent while positioning himself as a model of reform in the Middle East. Yemenis do not buy it, and neither should the White House. If reform is to be genuine, it must be based on more than rhetoric.

gold star for this guy

God Bless the UK

Bush: We will not yield to these people, will not yield to the terrorists.
We will find them. We will bring them to justice. And at the same time we will spread an ideology of hope and compassion that will overwhelm their ideology of hate.

(Guest Post, from the mail bag. I have no idea who wrote this but its very good.)

THE YEMEN PRESIDENT:

Lt. Ali Saleh, Not Only a Down To Earth Dictator, But A Dangerous, Corrupt, and Destabilizing Element to the Peace and Security of the Region

It has been established for sometime now that the Yemen dictator Lt. Ali Saleh is a corrupt and an unqualified partner in the process of democracy in the Middle-East.

Apart from his indulgence in demanding huge amounts of money from local and overseas investors, the dictator of Yemen and his men are partners in major illegal businesses including arms trafficking to neighboring countries such as Somalia, Sudan, and across the border to Saudi Arabia.

Today the 3rd of July, 2005 the Saudi daily OKAZ newspaper published a news item confirming that Saudi border security arrested Yemeni smugglers attempting to cross into Saudi territory. A large quantity of arms consisting of 300 machine guns, 6 bazooka rockets and 7000 rounds of ammunition were confiscated. All the smugglers were Yemeni nationals.

The smuggling of arms, drugs, and children has become a daily, unlawful activity in Yemen. Thus, proving beyond doubt that the Yemeni authorities are most inefficient and/or retain mutual benefits with unlawful bandits.

The Yemeni opposition groups appeal to all fair-minded governments and democratic groups and institutions to isolate the dictator of Yemen and his regime. Dictators in the Middle-East must be pressured to step down, thereby, giving way for truly elected governments to emerge through transparent elections supervised by impartial observers.

The unlawful cash money and properties of dictators which are outside their countries, i.e. Yemen, Libya, Egypt, and Syria must be ceased and accounted for. The Middle-East dictators and in particular, the Yemeni dictator, should be seriously and immediately investigated vis-à-vis his record of criminal mishandling of trust, misappropriation of public funds, coupled with constant violations of human rights, civil liberties, and in particular, freedom of the press.
The democratic governments in Europe, USA, and Canada should refrain from dealing at any level with Middle-East totalitarian governments. They should consider these dictators as irrelevant.

To conclude, we would appeal to all concerned to extend support to Yemeni, Egyptian, Syrian, and Libyan opposition groups and call upon governments in the free-world to sponsor an ad-hoc committee capable of organizing the ‘First Conference For Arab Elite’ striving to establish genuine, representative governments through peaceful means.

(This is a Guest Post, I cant even tell you who wrote it. But it certainly is an interesting point of view. I get the most interesting things in the email some days. But mostly very many sad things.)

Do you know Who Ali Abduallah Saleh is ?

In fact the Yemeni president , Ali Abduallah Saleh , is the worst president ever found on the face of the earth , also the biggest liar who has been lying to his citizens ( Yemenis) since he took power more than quarter of a century ago . I am sure he is the only leader who can’t speak his mother tongue properly , for example , it is absolutely hard for him to use relative pronouns correctly , even the names of some Yemeni cities are not pronounced accurately such as Sa’da , a small city , instead of saying Sa’da , he says Sata . what a shame ! a president unable to use his mother tongue properly , a president who has no certificate , no high school , no bachelor degree , master , doctorate , a president with nothing , so what can we expect from such mentality full of darkness ,ignorance , backwardness , literacy , in other words , can a literate and ignorant person lead or rule ten people , let alone a country ? Certainly , it is impossible .

Let’s be frank , the Yemeni president knows nothing about something called economy , politics , industry , trade , diplomacy , such terms never exist in his dictionary and it is more catastrophic to hear his EX mispronounce them in front of university professors , scholars and other highly qualified dignitaries .

Whether you believe it or not , I feel extremely shy whenever I see him speaking publicly , especially in Arab summits where millions of people can watch and listen to him , the only thing I do is I switch TV off and I think many others do the same . I feel shy , because he represents Yemen, represents us as Yemenis , I can’t really imagine how the worst person in Yemen represents us .

If there is a real democracy in Yemen , Ali Abduallah Saleh is not supposed to be a president , rather his real position is to be a car cleaner or a shoe sewer , even such positions need some skills Saleh lacks them . I suggested those two jobs for Saleh not because I want to humiliate him but simply because he doesn’t have any qualifications to handle a respected job . (Read on …)

Half a dozen explosions rocked the London subway and tore open a packed double-decker bus during the morning rush hour Thursday.

“Whatever they do, it is our determination that they will never succeed in destroying what we hold dear in this country and in other civilized nations throughout the world,” Blair said a day after London was awarded the 2012 Olympics.

(Y16 at World Press.org, The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies)

A Fraud in the Making

Yemen is a country in trouble. Recently ranked the twelfth most unstable nation in the world, ahead of Haiti, Afghanistan, and Rwanda by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Yemen is teetering on failure. Among the top indicators of Yemen’s instability are factionalized elites, uneven development and delegitimization of the state. The concentration of power in the executive branch has fostered rampant corruption and widespread human rights abuses, including the imprisonment of young children as retribution. Yemen has slid into a painful anarchy and the only consistent law is the supremacy of the personal interests of the ruling elites. Those acting in the public interest do so at great risk to themselves. The threat to regional stability of a failed Yemen could not be greater.

Carnegie notes that in general, “Elections are almost universally regarded as helpful in reducing conflict. However, if they are rigged…they can be ineffective or even harmful to stability.” Presidential elections, scheduled in Yemen for 2006, hold out hope for this battered nation and a generation of Yemeni children. A legitimate Yemeni election may be the linchpin of regional democratization efforts and the battle against extremism. But among numerous other structural distortions in Yemen, a key democratic process, elections in a multiparty system, is dysfunctional.

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh ruled former North Yemen from 1978 through its unification with the south in 1990. He has since remained president of united Yemen. The country held its first presidential election in 1998. Saleh won by a margin of 96% against a little-known member of his own party, the General People’s Congress (GPC). The Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP) was not allowed to present a candidate and called the vote a sham. A primary opposition party, Islah, did not run a candidate but instead nominated Ali Saleh before his own party did. The five year presidential term was later extended to seven years.

The ruling General People’s Congress is not a party of ideology, but rather of opportunity. GPC membership is necessary to gain employment in government, military, and many civil sectors. Businessmen belonging to opposing parties may risk to their livelihood. A rough comparison may be drawn to the Ba’ath party under Saddam Hussain, another society where power was concentrated in the executive and all governmental benefits and privileges flowed through the ruling party. (Read on …)

Liberty and Justice for All
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["Sisters" photoshop created by the very talented IHILLARY via Sondra K]

Check out Star Spangled RINO sightings at Decision ‘08

and not to be missed: The Cotillion Celebrates Milblogger. The Milbloggers are an amazing bunch.

The Declaration Of Independence, July 4th, 1776

When in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the Separation. (Read on …)

29/6/2005 Report shows education crumbling, unemployment edging up

Al-Sahwa net- The Ministry of Human Rights report for the year 2004 should education in Yemen crumbling as the rate of schoolchildren playing truant is rapidly growing. (Read on …)

July 13, 2001 from al Bab

THE STRANGE trial of four Yemenis accused of bombing the British embassy in Sana’a ended on July 9, having raised more questions than it answered. (Read on …)

Kamal Kharrazi told Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh in San’a on Wednesday that Tehran-San’a ties should expand in economic, political and cultural fields and minor obstacles should be lifted with prudence.

http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-234/0506291085170302.htm

Polio: The WHO official pointed out that the spread of the virus was directly related to the lack of proper immunisation in Yemen

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/203a893635e1546c26f88b0f4bb74bcb.htm

The Cabinet approved on Tuesday a previously signed agreement between Yemen and North Korea to encourage trade exchange between the two countries. http://www.sabanews.net/view.php?scope=2dcbae9&id=96501
(Read on …)