Armies of Liberation

The Yemen Times has a section where they translate what in the local papers. Its always enlightening.

al-Sahwa, paper of the opposition party Islah

- International reports: Rima elections were not free and decent (precurser for the presidential elections)

- The government decision concerning Head of Judiciary Council, deception for the international community
(I was afraid of that. Its very good idea to dislodge Saleh as head of the judiciary, but so many announcements sound good but are propaganda for the international community. There was that big round of talk about closing some of the embassys overseas which are money pits for the well connected. So far its Romania.)

- Deputy American ambassador: Arab regimes are slow in implementing their laws and talk much
(This must be Khoury. He talks straight. Krajeski whos a very good diplomat has that whole diplospeak thing down very well.)

- More than ninety teachers demonstrate in protest to abolishing their jobs

Electorial Commission: (1/3 tot gpc, 1/3 to jmp) The remainder third of representation could be given to people in judiciary, university students, unemployed graduates or any social segment to be agreed on. (Currently the remaining third goes to the election commisssion itself which is a gpc prop.)

al=Migthaq, affiliated with the govt

The newspaper’s editorial says some of opposition parties continue their hostile campaign against the General People’s Congress just to discredit its status and achievements, using a type of language full of hatred and misleading and provocation….Those who try to hunt for small mistakes happening here and there as in any society and work to exaggerate them and use them in their hostile tendencies have become clearly known to the people and will not succeed in their pursuit. (The poor GPC the victim of that mean old opposition exaggerating its small mistakes here and there.)

al-Shumoo (must be some kind of govt affiliate because its talking about a foreign conspiracy.)

- The American ambassador to Yemen demanded giving the GSM third operator to an American company instead of a Chinese

- Imminent movements for the arrest of a number of personalities supporting the rebellion

- Conspiracy targeting unity of the Socialist Party, Observers emphasize its parties are local and regional political forces

- Suspicious clandestine contacts between local societies and foreign parties lead to boycott activities of some of them

- Through hundreds of jobs provided by its consulates around the world, Washington courts the youth of Sana’a and Riyadh

In its editorial the newspaper says the political variables on the ground, whether at the local or the regional and international levels, emphasize the necessity of the national alignment to encounter foreign interventions aiming at disruption of the political life on the Yemeni arena. Those interventions are planned according to an agenda that it is not to rule out its adoption of a strategy working for dismemberment of the country into sectarian entities. The features of this scheme could be observed through what it seems an insistence on prolongation of the duration of al-Houthi rebellion events in the country….

The loss of confidence between opposition parties and he ruling party represents one of the most important factors supporting continuation of al-Houthi rebellion activities, or any similar conspiratorial forces which try to implement their plots against Yemen as a homeland and people.

al-Thoury, paper of the oppositon Socialists party, see the contrast?

- Because of its partiality to the ruling party, JMP demands re-formation of the Election Supreme Commission

- JMP declares rejection of the Supreme Commission’s formation of election committees

- YSP secretary-General congratulates Chile president

- Woman sector of the YSP in Aden re-organized

Writer Mansour Al-Surouri tackles in is article the problem of waters in Yemen, saying it is one of the most irremediable ones for a long time….

According to estimates of the World Bank, there are 45 thousand artesian wells exposed to danger due to absence of modern management and because of following backward methods, especially in irrigation as well as non-existence of programs for rationing water consumption. Thus large quantity of underground waters is threatened of loss. The policy ignoring by the government of such a dangerous problem and its tragic dimensions is no longer convincing for the citizens or of avail for a ruling regime the first responsible for that and others. The ruling regime has therefore to get ready to bear its responsibility for the future because the essence for life continuation is water.

Its beyond bizzare.

SANA’A, Jan. 29 — The Sana’a University Staff Syndicate refused administration’s demand to impose pledges on staff members.

In a statement Saturday, the syndicate described the pledges as violating the simplest legal and constitutional rights of staff and their assistant lecturers. They also considered it a personal insult, expressing concern that it could lead to institutional collapse.

The statement said ignoring and postponing the legal right of more than 500 staffers to receive remaining unpaid salaries is irresponsible treatment. It also said that ordering others to sign pledges to receive remaining salaries reveals indecent treatment that will trigger crises. The statement noted that continual staff treatment such as slander, humiliation and extortion recently has increased.

The Yemen Times received a copy of a letter sent by Sana’a University Deputy Rector Dr. Ahmed Al-Kibsi asking college deans to force staff to sign pledges to abide by university regulations. It also demanded first and second semester timetables and lecture hours be sent. The letter said the pledges and other demands would be sent to civil service in order to approve remaining unpaid salaries.

Stalinism

News Yemen

The latest edition of the Arabia Felix magazine carries the stories of two of the most famous and expensive jambias ever – one costing a US$1million and the other, US$600,000. The first belonged to Imam Ahmed Yahia Hameed Al Deen before Sheikh Naji Bin Abdul Al Aziz Al Shaif, the sheikh of all sheikhs of the Bakeel tribes, forked out a million dollars to buy it for himself. The other, considered the second most expensive, was bought by Sheikh Abdullah Bin Hussein Al-Ahmar, the head of the Yemeni Parliament. Al-Ahmar, who bought it from Sheikh Ahmed Hameed Al Habbari, later gave the precious jambia to his son, Sheikh Himyar Bin Abdullah Al-Ahmar, MP.

Wait a minute. Its the third issue of the magazine and Faris (president Saleh’s press secretary and owner of the Yemen Observer) puts *himself* on the cover? “Its editor in chief, Farris Al Sanabani, is shown wearing his jambia proudly strapped at his waist in a photograph at the front of the magazine.” (I wish I could remember what this guy was yelling about me on al-Jazeera. I think it was that I work too hard and at night. Im still laughing.)

I’m into books lately. There’s actually a lot of good ones in 2005.

Synopsis of Faith in Moderation: Islamist Parties in Jordan and Yemen

Does political inclusion produce ideological moderation? Schwedler argues that examining political behavior alone provides insufficient evidence of moderation because it leaves open the possibility that political actors might act as if they are moderate while harboring radical agendas. Through a comparative study of the Islamic Action Front party in Jordan and the Islah party in Yemen, she argues that the IAF in Jordan has become more moderate through participation in pluralist political processes, while the Islah party has not. The variation is explained in part by internal group organization and decision making processes, but particularly by the ways in which the IAF has been able to justify its new pluralist practices on Islamic terms while the Islah party has not. Based on nearly four years of field research in Jordan and Yemen, Schwedler contributes both a new theory of ideological moderation and new detail about these powerful Islamist political parties.

Via Amazon. UK

Update: Yemeni Folk Tales, new book.

are apparently also politicized. From the Yemen Observer:

The two parties discussed common interests and mutual cooperation, according to a press statement by the teachers syndicate issued last Monday.

The American foundation delegate met also on Monday with representatives of the Union of Educational Professions. The Union of Educational Professions, an affiliate of the ruling party, issued a press statement before the meeting with the American federation representative, which said that the Yemeni Teachers Syndicate claims they represent teachers. “The Yemeni Teachers Syndicate [an affiliate of the opposition Islamic party] has never resorted to the false media propaganda that serves the interest of a certain partisan affiliation,” the statement said accusing the syndicate people of disloyalty.

“The intensions of those who work for personal or partisan interests are immediately revealed by themselves and their acts. For instance, interference of those who went to ask help from the American Labor Organization to impose them as legitimate representatives was a dangerous sign to the country,” the statement reads.

“They should have sought help from God and joined the Union’s national action.” Specht said that his union will launch a cooperation program with a democratically elected union in Yemen. The cooperation is expected to be on union administration and professional training of teachers.

Ok so what is happening here? The opposition alligned teacher’s syndicate called some foundation? The article never actually states the name of the American organization. Who is Specht? And what is his union?

It could be the AFT (American Federation of Teachers.) The AFT is huge -its a voluntary organization but almost every American teacher and school worker belongs to the AFT, they have great retirement benefits. Its part of the AFL. The AFL-CIO is a bohemoth and represents tens of millions of American workers.

(Update: but then theres always Google, “AFT staff member Larry Specht is quoted in the article. ” Kewl, Im glad its not some dummy foundation but actually the AFT, a powerful union. And apparently they do things like this all the time, recently in Lebannon.)

While the IFJ threatens sanctions, apparently in town is the CPJ, and they nailed it, right down to the cloning. Statement follows:

A delegation from the Committee to Protect Journalists expressed alarm today at the deterioration of press freedom in Yemen. Over the last several months, a growing number of Yemeni journalists have been the victims of brutal assaults, arrests, intimidation, and government-sanctioned newspaper closures. They now also face the prospect of a new press law that would impose harsh restrictions on the media.

At a press conference in the capital, Sana’a, the press freedom watchdog called on Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to ensure that a number of recent violent attacks on journalists are thoroughly investigated and that the perpetrators are brought to justice. The delegation included CPJ board members Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune and Dave Marash of the soon-to-be-launched satellite channel Al-Jazeera International, along with CPJ Senior Program Coordinator Joel Campagna.

The delegation met over two days with journalists, press freedom lawyers, and civil society activists, who described a climate of intimidation and mounting restrictions on Yemeni journalists over the last year. Witnesses and evidence point to involvement by government officials and suspected state agents in a number of brutal assaults, according to CPJ research. Journalists who covered protests, reported on official corruption, criticized the president or government policies, or discussed the possibility of President Saleh’s son succeeding him as president have been targeted.

Yemeni authorities have not credibly investigated the attacks or identified the perpetrators. Nor have government officials condemned the assaults. (Read on …)

Reuters
The regime provides free water, the vast of majority of which is consumed by large qat plantations owned by influential people. The water supply is rapidly depleating. About 80% of the people dont have access to clean drinking water.

Many experts have urged the imposition of a fee for water usage, which would cut into the profits of powerful plantation owners. Often, however, landowners are politically connected. The rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in power since 1978, has been marked by a careful balancing act between these conflicts of interest.

Observers in the field, meanwhile, argue that the government is moving far too slowly to solve the problem. Negenman explained that many of the plans to improve water efficiency that were introduced ten years ago had since run out of steam. “The sense of urgency that we saw from the government in the 1990s seems to be lost,” he said.

Update: The Yemen Observer has this story verbaitum on their website as “by Observer staff” with no mention of Reuters. That’s kind of tacky, especially for a newspaper. But they do it all the time.

They really did. I remember. There was a big announcement. The Yemeni government said they were going to crack down on weapons trafficking and stop engaging in it themselves. And yet:

“The weapons trade continues, and that is something where we would like to see some speedy and effective action,” says Mr. Khoury at the US Embassy. “We’re not that concerned about the average Yemeni’s attachment to their personal weapons. We are more concerned with the large-scale availability of such weapons.”

Progress has been slow, however, and Yemen’s government itself has recently broken the international arms embargo against Somalia by smuggling a boatload of weapons into the war-torn African country, says Khoury.

Yemen’s patchy approach to weapons trading makes many suspicious of the government’s motives.

This is a good article in the CSM. I like this quote, “Overall, government authority over the provinces and hinterlands has increased over the past 10 to 15 years,” says Sheila Carapico, a professor of Middle Eastern politics at the University of Richmond, adding that Yemen also has used a range of tactics to gradually erode the centuries-old independence of the tribes. “One of the techniques the government uses to extend its reach is to coopt selected prominent sons of sheikhly families, who are almost always also military officers, into the regime.”

The JMP reform platform calls the regime a black hole. Its a very apt description: it just sucks in and corrupts anything that it comes close to.

Update: The Yemen Observer plagerizes this article. But thats not unusual. They have a tendency to copy and paste articles about Yemen without attribution. At least with this one they mention the CSM. But its a little funny they dont even try to reword the article, and it looks like it was written by the YO but it was written by the CSM. Bloggers use blockquotes for extended quotes and always hyper-link out of courtesy to the author.

Krajeski’s got a very hard job. Dang.

Bahrain News Agency:

US Embassy in Sanaa confirmed the news that Yemeni authorities succeeded in aborting a scheme to assassinate the US Ambassador to Sanaa by Yemenis who had taken part in operations in Iraq.

Yemeni Interior Minister, Rashid Al Alimi told US Cable News Network (CNN) that the involved Yemenis, who are thought to have been in contact with Al Qaeda leader in Iraq, Abu Mosaab Al Zarqawi, had been arrested in Iraq and deported to Yemen before planning to murder the US Ambassador and other personalities in Sanaa.

So if they were deported because they were part of Zarqawi’s network in Iraq, were they arrested when they returned to Yemen? Or only after the plot was uncovered?

Update: 19 in custody since May according to the Kajeel Times: “The would-be attackers were apprehended in May last year in the northern Sanaa suburb of Shumaila as they were about to execute their plan.” The YO also reports they’ve been in custody since May.

They haven’t been questioned yet?

(Reuters) - Yemen has detained 19 people on suspicion of planning attacks against Westerners on the orders of the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a state-run Web site said on Tuesday.

The September 26 site (www.26sep.net) quoted government sources as saying those held would be questioned before possibly standing trial for planning “sabotage and terrorist attacks” in the port of Aden.

“Several members of the group had returned from Iraq after Abu Musab al-Zarqawi told them to go back to Yemen and carry out terrorist attacks, including killing American citizens,” the site quoted a source as saying.

So let me make it clear, I am extremely happy they arrested these guys in May before anybody got hurt but what is the news here?

They plan to interrogate them and *possibly* put then on trial, is that it? Unless there’s two groups of 19 or the Interior Minister was talking about a seperate incident. Otherwise they are milking the same arrest to make it sound new. And I fell for it.

I feel a Billy Jack moment coming on. I really do. You know,when I just go berserk.

YT: In a Saturday morning sit-in at the Yemeni Women Journalists Forum, several members of parliament, journalists, officials and members of civic organizations showed their solidarity with Al-Jazeera reporter Ahmed Al-Shalafi, whose telephone conversation was wiretapped and distributed by email to some journalists.

Participants denounced wiretapping as a lawbreaking act and said investigating with wiretaps is unnecessary. MP Ali Hussein Ishal said monitoring journalists’ telephone conversations is as old as the security authorities themselves. He added that journalists are attacked because they disclose corruption and defend rights and freedoms.

Mohammed Naji Allaw, Coordinator of Hood Organization for Rights and Freedoms, revealed that Yemeni authorities allow telecommunication companies to operate on condition that they provide devices to monitor customers’ telephone conversations.

(Read on …)

YT, — Recent reproductive health field surveys in Amran, Shabwa and Marib, revealed deteriorating care of mothers during pregnancy and after childbirth. The survey also revealed declines in child care, family planning and reproductive health awareness.

Conducted August through October 2005 by the Central Organization for Statistics, the survey was part of the American USAID-funded Catalyst Yemen project. The survey found that 48 percent of women in the project area have access to family planning and reproductive health, while 57 percent do not have any health care access during pregnancy. This figure rises to 61 percent for the entire country.

The survey also found that 90 percent of women receive no post-delivery care, as 79 percent of deliveries occur in the home. It also revealed that 16 percent of women do not know necessary procedures in such cases and 44 percent of husbands ignore the importance of caring for the mother post-delivery.

Field surveys found that 40 percent of infants complete two years of breastfeeding, but only 36 percent begin breastfeeding within the first hour of delivery.

The rate of children completing vaccinations is 34 percent, while 60 percent have no access to health care at all. As for the 58 percent contracting fever and cough, 51 percent do not have health services. Diarrhea also proved to be a major fatal disease.

Family planning and reproductive health awareness is declining in these governorates. More than 53 percent of reproducing women know nothing about family planning and more than 80 percent use no means of birth control. Women who know about AIDS are 52 percent and 92 percent do not agree with female circumcision.

A project symposium held with the health service, heads of households and community leaders concluded that there is a lack of medical facilities, personnel and some other important departments. There was a consensus among symposium participants that home births mainly are attributed to absence of female medical professionals. The symposium also noted that absence of female teachers in girls’ schools is an important factor in girls dropping out of school.

What is there to say? The numbers are painful because each one is a person.

Now that’s a horse of a different color. This specialized court though is not impartial.

SANAA, Yemen, Jan. 23 (UPI) — Yemen will soon begin trying citizens held by the United States in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on charges of belonging to al-Qaida.

A source quoted in the pro-government daily September 26 said Monday the court specializing in terrorism cases will try six people on charges of operating for al-Qaida, including four who were repatriated from Guantanamo a year ago.

The source said among the defendants are Mohammed Hamdi al-Ahdal, also called Abu Asem al-Macci, and Ghaleb Zaidi, who were arrested in Sanaa in December 2003.

Al-Ahdal reportedly admitted during interrogation he received large amounts of money from overseas through intermediaries in Kuwait.

Al-Ahdal, believed to be the No. 2 al-Qaida man in Yemen after Sinan al-Harithy who was killed in a U.S. drone attack in eastern Yemen in 2002, said he distributed the money to the families of al-Qaida prisoners and detainees in Guantanamo.

The four other defendants who were handed over to Yemen by the U.S. authorities a year ago rejected accusations of being involved directly in terrorist activities, but acknowledged they have forged travel documents and identity cards for al-Qaida operatives.

The Yemeni government describes al-Ahdal as one of the most active and dangerous members of al-Qaida in Yemen. They said he was involved in fighting with al-Qaida in Chechnya and Afghanistan, where he was wounded and had his leg amputated.

After becoming disabled, al-Ahdal shifted from field action to the administration and financing of al-Qaida operations in Yemen.

Investigations by intelligence agencies revealed al-Ahdal was directly involved in bombings attacks in Yemen and terrorist plans which were aborted.

I’m just a little concerned because the last UPI story about the attack on the justice minister was complete propaganda.

This is an article I wrote that was published in the Yemen Times in January 2004 (before I had the blog) about the old proposed Press and Publications Law in Yemen.

(Im putting it here because I need it and its in some funky self justifying font and the blog should flatten it out, a much quicker solution than me trying to figure out how to undo it in Microsoft Office.)

Unfortunately, this article is still true and the new proposed press law is even worse.

The Free Press and Democracy

It is a telling statement about the rigors of political evolution that the Sana’a Regional Democracy Conference prohibited journalists and some NGOs from attendance, when the foundation and substance of democracy is honest public debate among a well informed electorate.

As noted by Stamford University, since 1974 more than 60 countries in Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa have made transitions from authoritarian regimes to some form of democracy. Many around the Arab world are calling for some reform or democratization in the Middle East.

More than 600 delegates from 40 countries and international organizations met this week in Yemen for the Sana’a Intergovernmental Regional Conference on Democracy to discuss ways of promoting democracy and strengthening the rule of law. Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh called democracy “the rescue ship” and the “choice of the modern age for all people.”

Arab League Secretary-General Amir Moussa pointed to many forces inhibiting the flourishing development of Arab States including economic and social problems and regional political crises.

Yemeni journalists were prohibited from attending the inaugural ceremony and were not permitted to take photographs. The National Organization for the Defense of Rights and Freedoms was excluded altogether. The organization reports itself to be “astonished.”

As Butros Butros-Gali noted nearly a decade ago, “Democratic institutions and processes channel competing interests into arenas of discourse and provide means of compromise that can be respected by all people.” The cornerstone of democracy is knowledgeable citizens. Freedom of the press is among the fundamental prerequisites for a functional democracy.

While many governments in the Middle East are striving for economic and political growth, the development agenda is largely silent about censorship, journalistic immunity and free speech. Many, if not most, states in the Middle East have laws on the books protecting journalists from the state and protecting the state from journalists. Numerous countries in the region have enacted laws explicitly prohibiting journalists from the publication of facts that report social issues or social discord, or that criticize leadership or government performance.

And these are the most important topics for journalists in a democracy. Censorship emasculates the citizenry and prohibits it from serving its role in a democracy: informed discussion, debate, and decision making. Beyond explicit censorship, an entrenched political culture that values stability and protection of current structures is a heavy burden on free speech and thus democratic evolution in the region.

Yemen is an example of a country heroically and steadfastly working toward a fuller democracy while struggling with countervailing influences. The proposed Yemeni Journalist Syndicate Draft Law would take Yemeni democracy several steps back and no steps forward. This proposed law would, according to a consortium of the Yemeni media, inhibit free speech and violate sections of Yemen’s constitution. The law proposes charging a 3% fee on all advertising revenue, not profit, and effectively bankrupting the independent press that is not financed by the government or political parties.

The bill also requires that journalists join the syndicate, effectively contravening the voluntary nature of trade unions. Lawyers, journalists and trade unionists have criticized the law which they say will convert the syndicate into a punitive apparatus. The legislation would have a chilling effect on independent reporting and free speech nationally. Only a shadow of the democratic potential of the Yemeni people would exist. The Committee to Protect Journalists has asked President Salah to withdraw the bill which it states “limits the ability of Yemen’s citizens to freely disseminate and receive information.” The Yemeni Journalists Syndicate itself has also requested the government withdraw and cancel the bill. As Yemeni journalists listen in the halls to catch a phrase about democracy, one must wonder where they will be quoted next: on the pages of AI or on the pages of the AP?

Thats not a bad article considering I was clueless then to the duplicity of the regime. I wonder if I can recycle it? The Yemen Times does have a new editor now. (I’m joking.)

(When the Middle East Times published the article in Egypt, they inserted “fellow Egyptian” in front of Butros Butros Gali.)

So as it turned out, 2004 was a terrible year for the journos, culminating in the arrest of al-Khaiwani. And in 2005, the pace picked up- journalists have been kidnapped, beaten, stabbed, threatened, and shot, at a rate of about one a week. Papers have been closed, held from publishing, and cloned. Its very bad. And we can say its clear, once they start kidnapping journalists and issuing cloned papers, the regime is really *not* interested in “honest public debate among a well informed electorate.”

Alertnet:
Beat up, unable to protest or send their kids to school, the Somali refugees:

SANA, 22 January (IRIN) - Eight Somali refugees, arrested in December after a peaceful protest in front of the offices of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in the capital, Sana, remain in detention after refusing to pledge not to conduct further demonstrations.

Thirty other detained refugees were released from prison on 18 and 19 January, “after they were forced to sign pledges not to stage anymore sit-ins,” said Khaled al-Ansi, executive director of the Yemeni National Organisation for Defending Rights and Liberties (HOOD).

“But eight refused to sign and get out until they were allowed to practice their right to hold peaceful demonstrations,” he said.

Police reportedly told the refugees they could only leave if they made the pledge.

The protest, organised by hundreds of Somali refugees, began in mid-November and went on until being forcibly broken up by security forces on 17 December, when one refugee was killed and eight injured.

Demonstrators had demanded more assistance for their kinsman and greater healthcare and protection, as well as resettlement in the United States or Canada. Some protestors also demanded the renewal of their national identity cards, which allow them to work and send their children to public schools.

UNHCR spokeswoman Astrid Van Genderen Stort said at the time that some of the protestors’ demands, such as greater assistance for particularly vulnerable groups of refugees, could be met by the refugee agency. The demand for resettlement of all the refugees in western host countries, however, was impossible to meet, she added.

“We’ve explained that we can meet certain demands and certain ones we cannot,” she said. “It’s not in our power and not in our mandate.”

Meanwhile, some of those since released have complained of abuses suffered while in detention.

“Those who were released complained to us that they had been beaten and forced to sign the pledges,” said lawyer and HOOD secretary Ahmed Arman.

According to HOOD officials, the protestors were merely exercising their legal right to stage peaceful demonstrations.

Government sources were unavailable for comment.

My first question with this announcement (because nothing is ever as it seems in Yemen) is: are they talking about the Houthis or al-Qaeda? Many announcements fromYemen about “terrorists” are referring to the Houthis, but they are interpreted by the Western media as meaning al-Qaeda. (The Houthis are a small rebel group thats engaged in armed fighting with the government.)

News Yemen: The Yemeni authorities have started today confiscating audio tapes, CDs and books that it claims ‘have promoted hatred’ in the country.
Those efforts are being seen as part of the framework of the plan decided upon by the ruling General People’s Congress in its last assembly meeting in Aden.
According to the party’s plan, the government will be monitoring and confiscating such material until 2012 to ensure that they do not promote sympathy to terrorists.
Furthermore, the government also decided to try defendants that have not stood trial yet. Trials are expected to last until 2007. Those detainees were arrested in suspicion of links to radical and terrorist groups and for involvement in sponsoring or coordinating terrorist activities.
An expansion of anti-terror units will also be addressed until 2008, according to the plan, and more coastal guards will be deployed to prevent infiltration of foreign elements into the country.

It would be nice to see the government take the lead in fighting the promotion of hatred by stopping its name calling and villifying of its own citizens by groups and individually.

This is the same GPC packed Commission that the Islah party recently brought a lawsuit against for kicking off opposition party representatives. The court refused to hear the case. And the commission is now claiming a lack of responsibility for underage voting and blaming the parties. YT/NY:

The Yemeni Supreme Commission for Elections and Referenda admitted yesterday that underage voters, including boys as young as seven years old, had been registered and voted in the 2003 parliamentary elections.

The commission however refused to shoulder responsibility for this action and said all parties are partners in the process and should share the blame.

The head of the foreign sectors’ departments of SCER Alawi Al-Mash-hoor said political parties were the ones that encouraged the registration of underage voters. “There were many reports filed to us about violations committed by political parties. It is their process and hence it is not our right to omit any part of the law to prevent them from running the show.” he said….Civil society organizations are still unsure whether proper mechanisms are being established to prevent future fraud and underage voting in next elections, particularly in remote areas that are very difficult to monitor by local or international observers.

This story fed to the UPI is propaganda. Via the YO

SANA’A – Yehya Mousa, the advisor to the Yemeni justice minister, has escaped an assassination attempt, an incident apparently linked to the conflict with rebels in northern Yemen, the UPI news agency reports. Mousa was beaten up by two masked gunmen before being shot Tuesday in the town of Zumar, south of the capital Sana’a….

Ahmed refused to make any accusations, but political observers said the attempt, the third on Mousa, was aimed at provoking sectarian divisions. Mousa, a Sunni, was apparently attacked by followers of rebel leader Badreddine al-Houthy, from the Zaydi sect, which is an offshoot of Shiism.

Al-Houthy’s rebellion in north Yemen, which was first led by his slain son Hussein, has claimed the lives of hundreds of people since it broke out in June 2004.

Blame it on the Houthis, how unsurprising. This is the actual story from the YT:

Yahya Musa Al-Motawkel, adviser to the Justice Minister, faced an assassination attempt Monday at 11:30 a.m. by an armed group of three men. They hit him on the head and then shot him in the leg while he was walking on Rada’a Street beside his home. The group immediately escaped after accomplishing their target.

According to medical reports, Al-Motawkel is in critical condition in the intensive care unit at Queen Arwa Hospital in Dhamar Governorate. Ahmed Yahya Al-Motawkel, the victim’s son, said his father does not have any enemies or revenge with anyone so they cannot accuse anyone now.

Local authorities, sheikhs and members of Parliament assembled in a special meeting and condemned the assassination attempt. They demanded the state and security try criminals as far as possible. They termed the incident a terrorist activity against innocent people.

Ahmed Al-Makaleh of the Socialist party told News Yemen the reasons behind the assassination attempt are attributed Al-Motawkel’s belonging to a religious creed called Al-Zaidi. Al-Makaleh pointed out the ruling party’s newspapers (the GPC) initiated a press campaign against Al-Motawkel weeks ago. Newspapers described him as the Imami head in Yemen and a supporter of Al-Houthi’s followers.

The republican revolution overthrew the Imaminate in North Yemen in 1962. Saleh is the one provoking sectarian differences by calling the Hashimis guests because they’ve only been there since the 9th century (yes that’s a 9). And the ongoing campaign includes terming opposition people as royalists (supporters of reinstating the Imaminate) or Houthis. Unless of course you are a Socialist or from the South, then you get called a seperatist against the continuing unity of North and South Yemen. Similiarly anyone who talks about the massive corruption is called treasonous or an agent of foreign powers. The reformers concerned with the rapidly declining standard of living are accused of disloyalty, immorality or a variety of stock insults.

In related news, tribesmen are fighting with the military against the Houthis ,and in al Jawf, residents were evacuated after being accused of being Houthi supporters. YT:

Media sources stated that armed confrontations between Al-Houthi supporters and Sheikh Al-Aujari’s men, backed by the government, lasted one week. Last Friday’s confrontations were the fiercest since fighting broke out once again between Al-Houthi followers and government troops and tribesmen standing with them. …

In Al-Jawf Governorate tension still prevails following official evacuation of Jabal Ham residents in Al-Zahir and Al-Mitoon districts. The evacuees are accused of being Al-Houthi followers. Observers fear the evacuation could be the beginning of attacks similar to those in Sa’ada.

Where did they take them?

Why were they sending a carload of cash to Saada anyway? To pay off the tribes they got involved in fighting the Houthis? Why are they recruiting the tribes when the military is so big? How do they account for a car load of cash in the budget- military expenses? YT

A large amount of cash was taken yesterday from a government dispatch vehicle heading for Sa’ada, from the Central Bank of Yemen headquarters in Sana’a, official sources said.

The car that was taking the money was “hijacked” on its way to the Sa’ada Governorate to support the war effort against the Houthis, who have lately been more active and aggressive in their fight with the government security and military forces in Sa’ada after the Government reneged on its pledge to release the Houthis arrested during the counter-government movement that the late Hussein Badr Al-Din Al-Houthi led in September 2004, before he was killed.

The amount of funds in the car that was hijacked was not specified, but the vehicle is said to be a Toyota Land Cruiser Station Wagon with the seats down. It is said that the car has been taken as well.

News Yemen:

The Yemeni government had agreed yesterday to compensate the tribesmen who kidnapped five German tourists about two weeks ago for cases of murder by security officers.

Upon orders by President Saleh, who met representatives of Al Abdullah tribe and Al Al-Raid tribes, the government will be providing for the family of each victim killed in confrontation with security YR 2 million in compensation money, four job positions, and social security benefits for 12 members.

This was part of a deal reached between the kidnappers and the government to release the tourists. Based on this deal, the hostility between the tribes and the government would end, opening up a new chapter of peace between the two sides.

The implementation of this deal will start and be completely done with in less than 18 months, according to the agreement.

The crisis between the government and tribesmen from Al Abdullah started when a shooting by a security officer erupted in mid-May 2004, resulting in the killing of three tribesmen and an officer. Ever since then, confrontations between the two sides escalated and caused more deaths to tribesmen and damage to property.

The situation was spiraling out of control when the tribesmen from Al Abdullah resorted to kidnapping foreign tourists. Only then was the government willing to take action and resolve the problem for good.

Until the kidnappings, the govt ignored the claims by the tribesmen regarding deaths at the hands of security forces.

Wow. I have to read this a few times. From News Yemen:

Introduction:
Yemen is standing at the crossroads. Which road it will take will decide its fate decisively: whether it will choose the way of total national and political reform to improve the situation and respond to the opportunity for prosperity and winning a better future, or continues on the current way leading it to become a fragile state. This very way will lead inevitably to failure and destruction.

There are no more nightmares haunting the minds of Yemenis about the catastrophe that is waiting for them. Continuous deterioration of the state’s general conditions clearly points to disaster. Warnings included in official and international reports one after another warn of the consequences if current conditions are not tackled before it becomes too late.

To stop this deterioration and prevent a catastrophe, many parties, specialists, intellectuals, and national political and social media activists that are concerned about Yemen and its future and interested in Yemeni affairs met to search for a way out of this crisis. This search produced a number of views, initiatives, and calls describing sources of imbalances and shortcomings in the current political, economic, and social affairs in Yemen. All of them concurrently called require quick for accelerated implementation of reforms that are inclusive, complementary, coherent and realistic.
Inspired by its responsibility to represent these views, initiatives and calls, the Joint Meeting Parties (JMPs) determined to offer an initiative for comprehensive national and political reform. This is an attempt to put forward in one project based on common denominators that can lead to a unified national efforts mobilizing all resources for a historic battle to rescue the nation from decline and to build a new and healthy Yemen, a Yemen with protected sovereign integrity to maintain its Arabic and Islamic identity and reinforce its religious and cultural particularities to keep apace with the contemporary humane civilization.

Comprehensive reform is the only unavoidable option. It is imperative and essential in face of the aggravating dilemma that has caste its shadow over all affairs in Yemen.

At the political level, there appeared crises in the following areas:
• absence of the rule of law and state institutions;
• lack of equality before law;
• concentration of power in the president’s hands without the slightest degree of balance between authorities, responsibilities and jurisdictions that results in a lack of accountability;
[This is happening for the following reasons]:
• A total control of the judiciary and the legislative branches,
• a weak, inefficient and paralyzed public administration;
• transforming the whole political process into a façade that enhances the despotic power of a personified system that is stifling the democratic transition process.
• utilizing the façade of democracy to further divisions among oppositions and strengthen one-man rule.
• absence of free and fair election and the electoral process.
• cloning oppositions and duplicating political parties.
• inciting constantly the military and security forces against the oppositions.
• exploiting the state resources, public funds and civil service for the ruling party advantages.
• coercing and intimidating public employees to join the ruling party (through the use of promotions and continuation of services).
• repeated intimidations and abuses against journalists.
Many opposition papers have been subject to suspension and prevented from publishing any articles or commentary that criticize the policies and wrong initiatives or reveal corrupt practices. Peoples suffering continues from humiliation, abduction, arbitrary arrest and blackmail. The cases of extra-judicial arbitrary arrest have increased. People’s right to organize themselves in political or professional associations has been violated. Many syndicates, unions and associations and civil society organizations have been suspended. Regular elections for some have been blocked. Other organizations have been formed with attempts to control them by the GPC in order to hinder their role and prevent them from fulfilling their role to serve their members and protect their rights.
At the economic and social level, the symptoms of the crisis appear in the following:
• inefficient development process;
• foreign and national investment capital flee away because officials abuse their powers and compete with investors and impose unfair partnership on them;
• rampant poverty that is increasing to include a greater segment of the population.
• high unemployment rate;
• decrease of individual income level to the extent that Yemen was ranked as the lowest among the poorest LDCs.
• the continuous deterioration of health, education, and electricity services as well as other social services;
• backwardness of the level and efficiency of the infrastructure. Which have been detailed in official and international reports?
All these declining conditions have occurred while corruption and mafia control of illegal interests have flourished spreading the gap between the rich and the poor and shrinking of the middle class. Moreover, the economic reforms and policies implemented by the government since 1995 have failed to stop the deteriorating economic and living standards because of financial and administrative corruption as well as the greediness of the new class of illegal wealth earned through exploiting power as an instrument for gaining ready wealth.
The features of this crisis tend to be spreading throughout every strata of society, in vertical and horizontal directions. Accordingly, life for the ordinary citizen, life in general, is approaching the degree of impossibility [life is becoming intolerable]. To address these crises and their effects, it is necessary to execute [implement, or promote] a national comprehensive reform project. (Read on …)

NY:

Hundreds of street vendors have pledged to organize a rally in the coming days in the city of Taiz to demonstrate against the ‘cold-blooded’ murder of two of their fellow workers by governmental officers.

They said that the death of two of their members and injury of several others last week was a ‘dangerous sign of brutality’ and vowed to file a lawsuit against the perpetrators.

In a press release handed to the press by the families of the two victims, Ridwah Farhan and Sadiq Al-Sayyid, street vendors called upon the authorities, political parties, prominent personalities, and the public to join them in their protest against such action.

The two street vendors were killed after a dispute erupted between them and tax collecting officers belonging to the office of public works. A violent confrontation between the two sides turned bloody when the officers opened fire against the vendors, killing two of them instantly and injuring others. The officers then fled the scene and are yet to be found, according to some vendors. They were allegedly collecting illegal taxes from street sellers, who had seized the opportunity of Eid Al-Adha to maximize their profits from open traditional flee markets.

However, corruption may have also had a hand in this, according to some eyewitnesses, as the officers ‘attempted to take more from the vendors than what is well established in the law’. The Yemeni authorities have not yet responded to those claims. A street vendor had been killed in the recent past in Sanaa when police forces chased and shot him in a Sanaa street on the grounds of ‘tax evasion’. Human rights organizations had protested such action, and called upon the government forces to refrain from shooting live ammunition to avoid unnecessary casualties.

This article makes me tired, its very long. But it has a lot of interesting quotes. Arab Liberals Argue About America, an article by Barry Rubin in Middle East Quarterly, Winter Issue.

Fouad Ajami, the Lebanese-American analyst, notes the contradiction of “an Arab world that besieges American embassies for visas and at the same time celebrates America’s calamities.”[1] But this seeming paradox actually makes sense. The more attractive the United States is to Arabs, the more pro-U.S. feelings threaten Arab nationalists and Islamists. As a result, both Arab nationalists and Islamists have an even greater incentive to distort Washington’s policies and the nature of U.S. society in their propaganda. For these opponents of liberalism, the United States becomes the great Satan whose devilishness justifies their behavior and explains their failures. The anti-American card is too useful and popular to be abandoned.

Arab liberals—those who seek democratic reform as well as both civil and human rights—have to handle and perhaps battle against such anti-Americanism. The complexity of their struggle has grown since President George W. Bush declared democratization to be the pillar of his foreign policy in the Middle East.[2] To those suspicious of the United States and its motives, Washington’s involvement in democracy promotion has become just one more proof of America’s evil, subversive nature. Arab liberals have had to craft strategies to navigate the minefield of Arab political opinion and rhetoric. Their approach to the United States illustrates not only the many obstacles to liberalism but also the intellectually diverse nature of its proponents.

(Read on …)

Gee, I hope he bumps into Cheney: YT/NY

President Saleh flew to Kuwait yesterday to visit the country for the first time in more than 16 years. He will be paying condolences to the State of Kuwait for the death of its Emir, Sheikh Jabir Al-Ahmad Al-Subah, who died yesterday morning.

The official Saba news agency said Saleh was accompanied by a high-ranking official delegation that included Sheikh Abdullah bin Hussein Al-Ahmar along with other ministers and prominent figures.

The relations between Yemen and Kuwait had gone through turmoil since Yemen joined the alliance that opposed freeing Kuwait from Iraqi invasion by military force. The strain remained throughout the 1990s. But a breakthrough was made when Sheikh Abdullah bin Hussein Al-Ahmar visited Kuwait about five years ago. Since then, tensions have slowly diminished and diplomatic relations fully resumed.

Its good that Cheney diverted to Kuwait to pay our respects.

If anyone is interested in the Ethiopia/ Eritrea dispute, this article from the Arab News lays it out pretty well.

Then again, for another view, there’s this.

This guy turns out to have very clear vision on many issues, not just Yemen: Ahmed Al-Rabei:

No sooner had we finished from Abdul Halim Khaddam’s interview than we watched the Syrian people’s assembly convene on air, on al Arabiya. Members of parliament follow one another in a session of heavy insults directed at the Syrian vice president of forty years.

The representatives described Khaddam in a variety of sorts, some of which we will not mention, out of respect for our readers. During the session, Khaddam was variously described as “a thief, a pervert, an animal, a traitor and a servant to the enemies”.

According to members of the Syrian people’s assembly, Khaddam was one of the pillars of corruption in Syria. He and his son were guilty of smuggling nuclear waste in an infamous scandal. His son used to smuggle dollars and Khaddam had to plead with the late president Hafez Assad for his release. He was also said to own 500 cars.

Syrian MPs put forward a logical question. Why did Abdul Halim Khaddam remain silent about corruption during his years in power? In his interview, he said the country was corrupt so much so that one official embezzled three billion dollars while the people of Syria were eating from garbage piles. He also claimed that repressive security services controlled the country. Where was Abdul Halim Khaddam in the past forty years? Why did not intervene to halt this corruption?

The question posed above is indeed reasonable but it is accompanied by another, equally rational, question. If these representatives are aware of all these scandals about Abdul Halim Khaddam, to the extent that they accuse him of smuggling nuclear waste, where were the members of the Syrian people’s assembly when these practices were taking places throughout the last forty years? Why didn’t they intervene when they were allegedly elected by the people to legislate and supervise the conduct of the state? If Khaddam is guilty to this degree, then what about other officials, part of the old guard, and their sons who remain in power?

I estimate that most of what the Syrian MPs spoke about Khaddam is true and most of what Khaddam said about corruption and corrupt officials in also true. But the problem lies in the nature of totalitarian regimes and that fact that parliament is powerless and unable to tackle corruption. The problem is one of monopoly of the press and an absence of freedom. In an environment such as this, people witness corruption and remain silent. The very corrupt officials disregard smaller cases, as well as, bribery and the theft electricity and fuel of tanks and military trucks. The thief remains silent on the activities of other thieves given the absence of accountability and transparency.

The impartial observer ought to view Khaddam’s interview and the Syrian parliament’s session together. He will then discover enough material for a series of scandals. Damascus has to intervene in order to reform what can be saved!

The rest of his articles are very good too. And its true the press is the foremost mechanism of accountability.

Dang. Apparently Canada also decided to stop pouring money into Yemen because it never gets to the people. And its a logical decision but the foreign aid could do so much good if it actually got to the intended recepients, many of whom really could benefit from development programs like education, health, water ect.

Embassy Magazine:

CIDA selected the poorest nations with a proven ability to prevent waste and mismanagement of aid dollars and a close connection to Canada….

Dr. Abdulla Nasher, Ambassador of Yemen to Canada, regularly approaches the microphone during public question-and-answer sessions featuring International Cooperation Aileen Carroll, including several at the National Press Club on Sparks Street. He responded by email from Yemen to questions from Embassy last month on his reaction to CIDA’s decision to leave his country off the list of core countries. He emphasizes his high esteem for CIDA, and says he respects its new policy. But he holds out hope that the agency will change its mind. “The government and the people of Yemen are… looking forward with anticipation to continue exploring new and innovative ways and means to build and strengthen a mutually beneficial relationship with their Canadian brothers and sisters in the New Year,” he writes.

Update: The EU calls Yemen “the forgotten crisis,” and plans in 2006 to continue building water pipe networks.

This is an interesting and somewhat depressing assessment. Its rather long so the whole thing is here, to follow is just an excerpt that caught my eye:

According to one western diplomat based in Yemen, Western nations – including the US – believe he (Saleh) continues to be the best candidate for the presidency, due to his long experience and ability to appeal to Yemen’s multifarious ethnic and social groups.

Yes long experience (27 years) for sure. He appeals to the various groups by targeting some and rewarding others.

The election is in eight months and there is no opposition candidate inside Yemen. I understand full well the GPC packed parliament has to approve the opposition candidate, the Election Commission is a tool that hinders representation, the court rejected the Islah lawsuit to make the election commission more fair, the GPC controls the money, the media and the military, and the political system is devolving into a one party state, but still, no candidate?

Dang. I take my eye off Bangladesh for a few months….

IFEX In Bangladesh, widely considered one of the most dangerous countries in the world for the press, 2005 was a year in which Islamic militants increasingly targeted journalists, say Media Watch, Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

According to RSF, more than 50 journalists and 10 publications have been threatened by the banned Islamist organisation Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) since September 2005 for publishing allegedly anti-Islamic articles. The threats began in the northern Rajshahi region where JMB founder Bangla Bai has launched an armed struggle to impose Islamic law.

At least 12 journalists were threatened in September for writing about the activities of Islamist groups like JMB. In October, JMB militants threatened journalists at seven news media outlets. Most journalists in Rajshahi now censor themselves for fear of becoming targeted again, says RSF.

(Read on …)

Just because it annoys me so:

ALERTS ISSUED BY THE IFEX CLEARING HOUSE DURING THE PAST THREE WEEKS

19 DECEMBER 2005
Indonesia - Radio station closure a threat to democracy, access to information (IFJ) - alert
http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/71172/
Mexico - Senate postpones debate on much-criticised radio and television law amendments (AMARC) - alert update
http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/71173/
Afghanistan - Journalist dead after beating, death threats; another journalist caught in bomb blast (IFJ) - alert
http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/71175/
Poland - IPI concerned about legal actions aimed at intimidating “Polityka”’s staff (IPI) - alert update
http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/71176/
Greece - Two journalists assaulted (IPI) - alert
http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/71177/
Albania - Journalist assaulted (IPI) - alert
http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/71178/
Colombia - Journalist threatened again for reporting on the annulment of elections (FLIP) - alert update
http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/71179/
The Gambia - Outcry for justice persists one year after journalist Deyda Hydara’s murder (RSF) - alert update
http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/71181/
The Gambia - Journalists barred from site of editor’s murder on 1st anniversary (CPJ) - alert update
http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/71183/ (Read on …)

Happy Wishes

Saleh appoints an ambassador himself. Bypassing the formal proceedure , this is reminescent of the GPC party Congress when elections were held for the leadership positions, except for those appointed directly by Saleh, some as rewards for defecting from other parties.

(NewsYemen) President Ali Abdullah Saleh personally and unilaterally decided to appoint Ahmed Hameed Ali Omar as Yemen’s ambassador to Somalia, sources close to the Presidency said today.

The move was made to emphasize “Yemen’s concern about the security in Somalia and to show support for the traditional government so it could start rebuilding governmental institutions”, the sources added.

This was an unusual appointment that ignored the routine procedures, which should be initiative by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who in this case, was bypassed completely. This indicated Saleh’s interest in securing peace in the war-torn country, which had participated in a recent conference held in Aden tackling security and cooperation related issues among the countries of the Horn of Africa and Yemen.

On the other hand, the mediation between the factions is a good thing.

Dictators and Terrorists: a congruent agenda. Argentina Indy Media:

The same week, at a support rally for Saddam Hussein held near Nablus, ranting participants pledged to “kill every American.” On the 9th of August, Sanaa Republic of Yemen Television broadcast a sermon live from the Grand Mosque in Sanaa. Shaykh Akram Abd-al-Razzaq al-Ruqayhi prayed to Allah, “O God, destroy the Jews€|; O God, destroy the Christians€|.freeze the blood in their veins.” On the same day, in Saudi Arabia, Saudi TV carried a different sermon - this time from Shaykh Usamah Abdallah Khayyat. Khayyat prayed, “O God, help the mujahidin in Palestine, Kashmir and Chechyna. O God, destroy the tyrant Jews.” In Quatar, the official TV station carries yet another sermon, delivered live from the Umar Bin-al-Kattab Mosque in Doha. Shaykh Anwar al-Badawi prayed to his God, “Islam does not know terrorism€|.it encourages martyrdom against aggressors€|O God, destroy the Jews; O God, pour out your anger on them. O God, destroy the usurper Jews and the vile Christians.”

My church often prays for the people of the Middle East, but its more along the lines of an end to violence and human suffering. I think in the US publically calling for the death of other people is considered hate speech and its against the law. So Houthi outside the mosque chanting “Death to America” is not acceptable but the Shaykh inside the mosque gets a live feed on national TV. Otay. I guess only officially approved people are allowed to push that big button. Like when Saleh tells the people that the US was going to invade after the Cole. (Meanwhile the only thing that was actually discussed in Congress after the Cole was possibly cutting some aid packages to encourage greater cooperation with the investigation. But that idea was quickly rejected when General Zinni vouched for President Saleh’s wholehearted sincerity.)