The Heros of Yemen
Although I focus a lot on the villians, there are an astounding amount of couragous, uncorruptable, determined, and heroic people in Yemen fighting each in their own way for their country. Meet Faisel Abu Rais, honest politician who resigned in protest from Parliament and the ruling party and set something in motion thats still just at the beginning:
Parliament unanimously rejected last Tuesday the resignation of Member of Parliament Faisel Ameen Abu Ras.Abu Ras attributed his resignation to an inability to carry out his duties satisfactorily due to outside interference. He described the government as a “government of mass destruction” and said that the only way to improve the situation was to hold a vote of no-confidence in the government. “This government,” he said, “is the most corrupt in the history of modern Yemen. Corruption has become inherent.”
Abu Ras continued in his utter condemnation of government practices by saying it had doubled the suffering of the people, increased poverty and unemployment, and brought the number of crushing policies to an excruciating level.
He also alleged government involvement in dubious deals and that it had turned the country to feudalism and permitted individuals and their private interests to hold control over certain areas.
The welfare of the public, Abu Ras said, is bottom of the list of government priorities, claiming it had sold off land and sea resources, leading to a future of no hope. “The government is selling everything off as if it were its own property, and is selling lies and deceit over the complete failure of reform programs,” he said.
Abu Ras, of the ruling People’s General Congress party (PGC), also attacked the parliamentary leadership, describing it as “illegitimate”, and accused it of conspiring with the government in the latter’s corrupt projects which encouraged the government to exploit Parliament to the full.
“There have been conspiracies between the parliamentary leadership, and some leaders of parliamentary factions have overlooked and approved issues without the knowledge of the parliament,” he added.
“The situation is catastrophic and if it is not dealt with will grow rapidly worse,” Abu Ras said, addressing the MPs. “We here are in possession of all our rights, but we have forgotten the rights of the public and our hands are marked with the oppression of our people who are the victims of Parliament’s tardiness in taking action against those guilty of corruption.
The resignation speech, read by Abu Ras in Parliament, finished with the declaration that he had preserved his dignity and would inform the people who voted for him that in Sana’a the people do not rule themselves.
The subsequent discussion of the resignation turned into confrontation between MPs and the parliamentary leadership, with each side accusing the other’s behavior for provoking the resignation.
The discussion then took another turn, and addressed what was described as illegal procedures on the part of the parliamentary presidency through discouraging and impeding MPs in their corruption monitoring and auditing work in parliamentary discussions.
The Speaker of Parliament, a member of the Islah Party, described the resignation of Abu Ras as “fleeing from responsibility”. Ali Abu Huleiqa, head of the Institutional Committee in Parliament and an MP for the PGC, said the resignation was legally correct, but described it as a failure of Parliament and also of Abu Ras himself. He called for Abu Ras to change his mind about the resignation promising that the Parliament will take a serious discussion for his letter’s content.
MP Al-Khadher Al-Azani of the PGC urged Parliament to investigate the accusations and invalidate them or present a vote of no-confidence in the government. A no-confidence vote against the MP Abu Ras himself was rejected by other members on the grounds that such a move is illegal.
PGC parliament member Zukrya Al-Zukri said it was the complacency of the parliamentary presidency that had led Abu Ras to his decision. It was, Al-Zukri said, a serious sign of a collapsing Parliament, and that Abu Ras’s resignation may be followed by others. Many MPs agreed with Al-Zukri, among them Abdul-Razaq Al-Hejri of the Islah Party and Saber Al-Jom’ai of the PGC, who said that honorable MPs should take their lead from Abu Ras and do the same. Another PGC MP said Abu Ras should be investigated for slander for his allegations against Parliament.
MP Sakhr Al-Wajeeh of the PGC called on fellow MPs to verify Abu Ras’s claims of a conspiracy between the parliament presidency and the government and appealed to MPs to reject Abu Ras’s resignation. He urged “ineffective MPs” to immediately offer their resignations, which. He said, would be accepted forthwith.
MP Ali Ashal of the Islah Party gave his backing to Abu Ras’s criticisms of the parliament presidency and the government. Ashal accused MPs of being an “army of lions following the orders of wolves”.
The resignation of Abu Ras, Ashal declared, meant nothing but even greater freedom for corrupt individuals to pursue their interests.
