Hafez al-Bukari and Rahma Hujira
The Yemeni regime has a new label to target its reformers, opposition and civil leaders: “pro-Dutch.” (The regime employs a variety of stereotypes to label its opponents in an effort to turn public opinion against them: Zionist, Separatist, Houthi, Terrorist, Mason, American-leaning and Treasonous, to name a few.)
This is the story of Hafez al-Bokari and Rahma Hujira, two leaders of Yemeni civil society who have struggled for years for journalists rights. In May of 2005, one of the regime stooge attack papers, Al-Belad, published a horrible article about them, which the Yemen Times at the time described as insulting to Rehma’s honor. From all reports it was a very derogatory and crude article, but the Yemeni regime specializes in sleeze as well as brutality. Of course, the public prosecutor to date has not responded to their law suit against al-Belad filed in May.
In December, the following appeared on the internet site of al-Shawa newspaper: The manager of the office of the Saudi Okaz newspaper in Sana’a Hafez al-Bukari was dismissed from his job, reasons are vague. While al-Bukari refused to comment on the dismiss, some media reports though it based upon pressures on and calls to the Okaz headquarters in Saudi by Yemeni informants who do not agree with al-Bukari activities and defending stances for the sake of press freedom after he had been elected a secretary-general of the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate in 2004.
Now the paper of the Yemeni military, the 26 September, at the height of public emotion over the cartoons, published a front page article that Hafez and Rahma are agents of the Dutch government. (Hafez as the head of the syndicate was coordinating some journalists’ training program that set up by the Dutch and Yemeni governments. )
Yemen Times The board also condemned the accusation that was brought on the 26 September newspaper website. Here, Al-Bokari and his wife, journalist Rahma Hujaira, are said to have connections with Denmark. The syndicate considered this as a way to blackmail the two journalists, especially after the recent crises regarding the illustrations of the prophet Mohammad in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.
They attempted to bring a legal suit against the military’s newspaper for publishing false and inflammatory information. From their letter to the Public Prosecutor in Yemen:
This article was published on the first news page on February 1st 2006. It included direct and clear instigation and offense against me Hafez Al-Bukari , President of Yemen Polling Center and General Secretary of Yemen Journalists Syndicate, and against my wife Rahma Hujira, Chairwoman of the Yemen Female Media Forum. You will also notice that this article includes false information that was made up intentionally for the purpose of being used unfairly against us….
Therefore, we would like to bring a legal suit against those responsible for the website and to draw you attention to the risks that may endanger not only our lives but also our children, families, the institutions we work for and the employees working in them. The reason for this is that this instigation published by this official military institution which is supposed to protect us as citizens of this country.
Such fake information proves that this article is an attempt to use the anger spread in the Muslim world to attack us individually and to attack our institutions; Yemen Polling Center and Yemen Female Media Forum for that these institutions are concerned with democratic, social, and media reformation and development and they tackle general issues related to the society.
No response from the Prosecutor yet. This incident is a clear example of the Yemeni government is using the cartoon controversy to target reformers. And it shows the true anti-democratic, anti-reform face of the Yemeni government.
More importantly, I hope it shows what I’ve been saying for the last year(s): there are some real heroes in Yemen, fighting against enormous challenges, to bring about a more just society. Its not just al-Khaiwani, not just Rahma and Hafez, there’s many. The government targets them over and over in a variety of ways. They don’t give up. There’s some corrupt people, hungry people, and frightened people who bend to the will of the regime. The ones who put their country before themselves deserve our full support.
Update: A few days ago, the editor of an oppostion paper, Khalid Solman of al-Thoury, has been convicted of the crime insulting the president. Several of the writers for the paper were convicted as well and are banned from wrtiting for six months. This is the thirteenth time this paper has been hauled before the judges.
