Armies of Liberation

According to research, the American company which is partnering with Yemen to produce *five nuclear reactors* has no experience building nuclear reactors, very low operating capital, and is headed by a Yemeni-American who attended the same school at the same time as the Minister of Electricity who inked the deal. Its a USD 15 billion dollar deal. More to come.

Yemen’s nuclear partner: Powered Corp

Mr. Alghani is the Founder and Chairman of Adin Investment Company in Yemen . Mr. Alghani served as Vice Chairman and CFO of Adair International Oil & Gas Inc. from 1990 to 2002.

In 2002, Mr. Alghani was voted out of his position as Vice Chairman as a result of a hostile proxy contest led by a group of stockholders and former members of management, who called themselves the Score Group. Subsequent to the election, Mr. Alghani was terminated by Adair from his position as CFO by the newly-elected board.

During the course of the hostile proxy contest, the Score Group made numerous allegations that Mr. Alghani and other members of management had committed fraud, had mismanaged Adair and had misrepresented management’s ability to raise funds for Adair’s business plan. They also made numerous personal attacks against Mr. Alghani, including that he had misstated his academic credentials and that various governmental agencies were investigating Mr. Alghani for criminal activities. Subsequent to the proxy contest, Adair, renamed EnDevCo, filed charges against Mr. Alghani, the other members of management and various parties seeking to recover damages that Mr. Alghani and the other defendants had allegedly caused EnDevCo. Mr. Alghani and the other defendants denied the charges, and Mr. Alghani and certain members of management countersued for defamation, slander and libel.

The only allegation the Score Group made that Mr. Alghani agrees with was that he misstated his academic credentials. He did attend USC for approximately four years and would have needed to complete about eight to ten credits in order to graduate.

Just ten credits short, thats just like graduating.

Hat tip: The Empty Quarter.

Ok more on Alghani:

CFO magazine, 2002:

But it’s unlikely any will top the sob story that Chris A. Dittmar, CFO of Adair International Oil and Gas Inc., told in his deadline-extension request last quarter. According to the company’s explanation in its Form 12b-25, the newly appointed Dittmar arrived at work the day after Adair shareholders ousted the former CEO and CFO to find that the company’s financial records had all but vanished. “Key computers containing the financial records of the corporation had been stolen and all data on any other computer left behind had been deleted,” with backup tapes gone as well, the filing explains. Further, as a result of the theft, the entire staff had been dismissed.

What the filing didn’t say was that a corporate surveillance camera allegedly caught two direct reports of former CEO John Adair and former CFO Jalal Alghani carting off the computers. “These were evidently not the smartest crooks in the world,” says Dittmar. He claims the two took the information to cover up an alleged securities-fraud scheme.

After reconstructing its financials with information from one former accountant, along with documents gathered from its vendors, customers, and banks, Adair submitted its 10-Q within the extended deadline. It intends to press securities-fraud charges against the two former officers, while the shareholder group that overthrew them has submitted reports to the SEC, the Justice Department, and the IRS, among other federal agencies.

The company seems to have a lot of lawyers and the one guy with nuclear expertise seems to have been hired in 2007.

Actually Dominic Moran nailed it last week:

In a statement carried by Middle East Online, the minister said: “The overall cost of the project is estimated at $15 billion,” stressing that the new energy source would be “economically competitive, that is, cheaper than the electricity we produce today.”

Critics of nuclear generation debunk such claims, arguing that the costs of nuclear generation are invariably understated and underwritten by the state.

Bahran acknowledged that the government would not be paying for the reactors, saying “Powered Corporation will oversee efforts to secure the financing of the project.”

Perusal of Powered Corporation’s website gives no indications as to the company’s ability to raise the required US$15 billion, or of significant experience in Modular Helium Reactor (MHR) generation, which the company says it is moving into.

The company’s site also provides no details as to the potential or existing partnerships required to fund and conduct the massive undertaking of establishing reactors in Yemen.

It is clear that given the risks of tardy or non-existent government payments, the company will not be able to generate sufficient revenue for the fabrication of the reactors from the private sector and will likely be relying on the US government to bear the bulk of start-up funding and provide ongoing payment guarantees.

Yemen Times

Social Capital is a very new concept to Yemen, it stands alone as an isolated understanding of Yemen limited to several micro-developmental organizations, known also as charities. Although splendid in numbers, according to statistics by the Ministry of Social Affairs, little impact do the people of Yemen see as a result of over 3,000 registered charities, with an exception of a handful charities which have a contribution towards poverty reduction in the Country.

Although poverty in Yemen has been reduced from 41.8 percent in 1998 to 35.5 percent in 2005, according to the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation. Ironically, the key issue is that 41.8 percent of the population in 1998 was 7.5 million people, while 35.5 percent of the population in 2005 was 7.7 million people, considering the annual population growth rate of 3.4 percent.

The Holy month of Ramadhan is an excellent occasion to study the role of charities in building social capital and reducing poverty, Most recently Al-Islah Charitable Society for Social Welfare has proclaimed that its activities directly affect half a million people. Since its establishment in 1990 in Hodieda governorate, which is the most impoverished governorate in the country, Al-Islah charity has grown to become the country’s largest charitable organization, with operations ranging from Orphan care and vocational training to reproductive health and humanitarian assistance.

(Read on …)

Yemen Observer:

Samir Rashad al-Yousefi, Editor-in-Chief of the al-Jomhoria newspaper has called for the prosecution of the opposition Islah Party for abandoning Islamic values, which call for unity, brotherhood, and non-discrimination.

Al-Yousefi’s comments come after Islah declared it would start legal proceedings against him and his newspaper after he wrote an opinion article under the title of the Separaist Pretext of Islah in which he said that the main aim of the Islah is to gain power, even if allied with the devil, at the expense of any religious principles or values, whether religious or secular.

“What I wrote in the article is just my viewpoint and Islah should accept that in the context of freedom of opinion and not resort to the courts,” al-Yousefi said.

(Read on …)

This is rather comprehensive and the only detail missing is that Fawz al-Reibi was the subject of an FBI national alert in February 2002.

Jamestown:

In mid-September, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh issued a stern warning to the Wa’ilah tribe in northern Yemen: turn over the six al-Qaeda suspects you are sheltering or face serious repercussions (al-Wasat, September 12). The six men that Saleh believes have found refuge with the tribe near the Saudi border are the remnants of a group of 23 prisoners that escaped from a Yemeni political security prison on February 3, 2006. The prisoners escaped by tunneling out of their cell and into a neighboring mosque, which has since been detailed in a lengthy narrative written by one of the escapees and published by the Yemeni paper al-Ghad. The escapees included a number of prominent al-Qaeda militants, among whom were individuals convicted of carrying out attacks on the USS Cole in 2000 and on the French oil tanker Limburg in 2002.

Six of these suspects have since been killed in clashes with Yemeni or U.S. forces, 11 have either turned themselves back in to authorities or have been recaptured and six of the suspects remain at large. Many of these individuals have continued to fight for al-Qaeda since their escape, and one of them, Nasir al-Wuhayshi, has since been named the new head of Al-Qaeda in Yemen.

Despite differences of age and background, the 23 men who were being held in the cell were linked together through shared experiences. Nearly half of the escapees, 11, were born in Saudi Arabia to Yemeni parents. Several of the men were arrested in late 2002 after a series of bombings in Sanaa and Marib. Seven of these men were part of a 15-man cell that was later charged with planning to attack five foreign embassies as well as to assassinate the then U.S. Ambassador Edmund Hull. Three of the men were convicted of being part of an 11-man cell that was charged with plotting to carry out attacks in Yemen and abroad. Among the escapees, there are also two sets of brothers, Hizam and Arif Mujali and Mansur and Zakariya al-Bayhani, who are themselves brothers of Ghalib and Tawfiq al-Bayhani, who are currently in U.S. custody in Guantanamo Bay. Two other escapees, Qasim al-Raymi and Fawaz al-Rabay’I, also have brothers in Guantanamo.

This two-part series presents a biographical sketch of each escapee, along with his current status.

(Read on …)

Oh no! Every time he amends the constitution, the clock goes back to zero? Two more terms for Saleh? It that what the reform is about? Nah, that’s just preposterous. Could he say it with a straight face?

http://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/view_snews.asp?sub_no=401_2007_09_30_58730
al-Sahwa: September 30, 2007 - A senior leader of the Joint Meeting Parties, Mohammad Qahtan, said that the president’s new declared initiative had come to only solve the president’s problems due to the wave of soaring prices, and not to solve the people’s problems.

“The ruling power aims to grant the president new two terms” added Qahtan in a political symposium in Dhamar province.” Qahtan said.

He labeled the authorities as narrow-minded ,affirming that they only think of tribe and family at the expense of the nation.

The Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh had announced a new imitative for constitutional reform .

According to Saleh’s imitative, the new amendments would cut the presidential term from seven to five years, and reduce the parliamentary term to four from six years.

He further said that the expected changes will shift the current parliamentary system into a presidential system in which he would hold the posts of head of state and head of cabinet.

Al-Sahwa:

September 27, 2007 -According to the annual survey prepared by the Berlin-based organization Transparency International, Yemen is ranked 132nd with a score of 2.5 .

The report said that Yemen fell 21 points compared with the last year’s repot when it was ranked 111th .

The report also revealed deterioration of many Arab states in anti-corruption indexes.

The scores range from ten (squeaky clean) to zero (highly corrupt). A score of 5.0 is the number Transparency International considers the borderline figure distinguishing countries that do and do not have a serious corruption problem.

More at the Yemen Times

Yemen Observer:

The September 6th 2007 by-elections in Aden and Ibb were conducted in a generally peaceful and orderly manner with only a few violations, said the national Democratic Institute for International Affairs in a press release after the elections.

The statement congratulated the SCER for successfully administering the elections and noted that although there were some minor violations, they were not enough to jeopardize the overall validity of the election results.

(Read on …)

Yemen Observer

The cabinet has approved a budget extension of YR267.8 billion for the remainder of 2007, and referred it to Parliament for final approval. Ali al-Amrani, a member of the finance committee in Parliament, said the government was able to extend the budget without negative effects on the Yemeni economy, and without increasing the budget deficit.

“We had budgeted for oil to sell at around $50 per barrel but the current global price is more than $75 per barrel,” al-Amrani said.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet approved a package of development programs for the al-Dhale’ governorate after a report revealed the urgent need for assistance in the areas of agriculture, water, health, education, culture, electricity, roads, youth and sport, as well as justice and local administration. The assistance package is expected to take up a significant portion of the supplementary budget.

Dr. Mohammed al-Maitami, a professor of economics at Sana’a University said that the government was acting haphazardly in handing out money to development projects without any kind of strategy and said the government promised last year not to offer any supplementary budget.

“Mini-budgets are only normally used in exceptional cases or times of economic crisis,” said al-Maitami, economist at Sana’a University. “I would like to ask how the government proposes to spend this sum of money during the final two months of 2007.”

Lines restored after nine months of no communication, the last three of which have been under a cease fire. How is that not a punative action on the whole region?

almotamar.net - The official spokesman for the committee on implementing Saada agreement Yasser al-Awadhi said Sunday that all types of telephone lines, fixed, mobile, in all districts of Saada governorate have been operated again.

In a statement to almotamar.net al-Awadhi said the re-operation started from Saturday and that move comes within the framework of the state endeavour to restore situations in the governorate to their normal function in a way in harmony with creating atmospheres convenient for completing implementation the remaining articles of the agreement on ending the sedition.

Al-Awadhi also affirmed that the committee is continuing its work, pointing out it would go back to Saada to oversee the remaining points of the agreement after the holidays of Al-Fitr Eid.

Another story that fits in the communications catagory. Undoing the unexplained internet price hike from errrr August 2005 was it?

almotamar.net

- President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Saturday gave his directives for cutting the cost of subscription to internet services by 30% and 10% in cost of calls via Yemen mobile network.

In his inspection visit Saturday to the State Establishment for Cable and Wireless Communications President Saleh Emphasised the importance of the role played by communications and information technology sector in the economic development and increase of productivity and the necessity of providing the citizens with communications services for reduced price.

The president asked Yemen mobile company to search for alternatives to support services apparatuses and to make them available for the citizens with suitable price.

President Saleh got acquainted with the ministry’s leadership efforts for organising the communications sector and he instructed on speeding up completion of the executive measures on restructuring the ministry and development of the law of communications in Yemen in a way keeping pace with variables taking place in this impotent sector.

Yemen Observer

Dr. Mohammed Mohsen al-Dhaheri, chairman of the Political Sciences Department at Sana’a University, spoke with the Yemen Observer about the contemporary role of tribes in the governance of Yemen and the conflict between the traditional and modern authorities. He is the author of two books about the socio-political relationship between the tribes and the state in Yemen.

Yemen Observer: What do you think of the newly established National Solidarity Council, and what do you think prompted its establishment?
Dr. Mohammed al-Dhaheri: First, I would like to say that this is what we can call political meddling. Tribes in Yemen have certain mechanisms to demand their rights. For example, some tribes will block highways or kidnap foreigners to add urgency to their demands. I can not put this council in the frame of a tribal bloc. It is can not what I would call a tribal council nor is it a partisan council. You can see that politicians meet with the sheikhs and with the academics. The council represents a period in tribal meetings that Yemen has not witnessed before. You can not call it an opposition entity as it has many members from the GPC, and academics etc. As you see there is a sort of dichotomy that starts to prevail in Yemen. This council has encountered other gatherings from tribes led by Sheikh al-Shaif.
We as researchers can not judge this NSC until we see what it will do. We focus on behavior and we don’t really trust speeches in which everybody claims that they are moving towards positive change and that they are against corruption. The proof is in the behavior. This council also shows that when official authorities of the state fail to respond to the needs of citizens, they retreat to entities that existed before the state, namely tribes. Those who joined the NSC want to clear themselves from any responsibilities of what is happening in Yemen and they want to demonstrate that they are not to blame. That’s why they join and they also want to be ready to gain power 2013.

YO: Why do you think some academics, people from the GPC and oppositions have joined the NSC?
MD: Again, the establishment of this council is an indication of the failure of civil society. Organizations and parties that play a role in the council want to invest see membership as an investment in achieving particular interests. There is no partisan discipline from those members who left certain parties to join this entity. Some might be honest, but some also may exploit the council for their own interests.

YO: How will you define the ‘tribe’ in Yemen in this era of change in the country?
MD: Defining the tribe in Yemen has is tricky. Researchers in the West and in anthropological writings say that the tribe is a traditional structure that existed before the state. The peculiarity of the definition of the tribe in Yemen is that it is also part of the state and is in dialogue with the political and social sides of it. In one analysis I did in my PhD, I say that the state in Yemen embraces two political systems: an arbitrational system that is the official system in Yemen; and the political-tribal system. So, the tribe in Yemen is a group of people who inhabit a certain place and have shared conventions, customs, traditions and interests forming a political, economical and military system. This group also feels that they have a kinship connection whether this is real or not. I want to affirm here that the tribe in Yemen is political in nature and has a number of traits that make it close to politics. It is a closed structure but it resembles political parties and pressure groups in that they have some influence over political decision-makers. This is what makes the definition of the tribe in Yemen distinctive.

YO: What about the variety of tribes in Yemen and how do you classify them?
MD: There are a great variety of tribes in Yemen—it is not a solid mass. There are fighting tribes and there are peaceful tribes, there are tribes in fertile land and tribes in barren land, there are tribes with strong fanaticism and there are tribes who are less fanaticism. There are tribes that are loyal to the ruling system and those in opposition to it. So, nobody can conduct a case study on one tribe and generalize their findings, like the anthropologists do. There are places where tribes still cling to their tribal norms and on the other hand there are places where tribes have lost these norms. The core of these tribes is that each has its own leader—who we call Sheikh. These sheikhs now unfortunately pursue personal interests and pay less attention to their groups. We here in the Yemeni environment that show the worst in tribes and the worst in political parties.

YO: How would you describe the relations between tribes, the state and the society at large in Yemen?
MD: There is a direct relationship between the state and the tribe. When there is a weakness in the state, the tribe gets stronger and vice versa. What happens everywhere else in the world is that when there are modern institutions and organizations, the tribes fade. In Yemen there is coexistence between the tribes and modern organizations or civil society—coexistence between the tribe and politics.

YO: How would you describe Yemenis attitudes towards events in and outside of Yemen?
MD: Yemenis are greatly influenced by events that occur outside of Yemen. Cases in point are the reaction of Yemenis to the execution of Saddam Hussein; they were hanging up pictures of him in shops, cars and everywhere. The same thing was seen with Nasr Allah during last year’s war between Hezbollah and Israel. Nasr Allah pictures were also seen ubiquitously in Yemen. Unfortunately, Yemen is influenced by the outside world but does not interact with it. We also see this when some tribal individuals attempt to pressure the authorities by kidnapping foreigners. This is for several reasons the most important of which is a kind of absence of trust between society and authorities. Now in Yemen there is a kind of weakness in the state and also a weakness in the tribes. What happens is that there is a weakening of traditional structures—that is tribes, but also a weakness in its substitute—the modern institutions like parties and otherwise. I am not with the tribes as a political participant but with it as a social entity.

YO: What changes have occurred in some of the tribal concepts of this era? MD: The traditions and norms of the tribe are no longer as they were in the past; they are changing completely. For example, it was prohibited to take revenge in cities (places that tribes call majjar), and also in souqs. Now we see tribesmen taking their revenge in cities, markets wherever they find their opponents. Secondly, leaders of tribes are supposed to look out for the welfare of their people and to act in their interests. Sheikhs now look after their own interests alone. Sheikhdom has turned into a game of personal wants and self gains. There used to a great sense of belonging to a certain tribe and a belief that one’s interests could only be fulfilled through one’s tribe. There is also a relaxation in the use of all sorts of arms including jambias. There are severe punishments for brandishing arms or jambias in front of any one. The traditional entity tribe in Yemen is in its worst times. Honesty and dignity as the main qualities of tribalism are fading.

YO: Do you believe that there is a certain force that benefits from the weakness of tribes in Yemen?
MD: I would like to say that we are not living in an isolated place. We live in a world of globalization and under the influence of the internet, technology, and satellites. All this has weakened the traditional entity of the tribe. This weakness has not only affected tribal norms, but also the norms and values of modern civil society. There is no obvious strategy by the political regime to weaken the tribes and provide the modern organized society as its substitute.

YO: What are the main obstacles for the presence and practice of real democracy and do you think the role played by tribes in this era hinders democracy?
MD: As I said earlier, we are living in a political environment that brings out the worst in tribalism and the worst and partisanship. Yemen is moving very slowly towards democracy. Some of the characteristics of a real democracy are the peaceful handing over of power, a strong opposition, the absolute independence of the justice system, effective law enforcement, and political pluralism with no legal ties. Yemen has a sort of democracy in the form of elections, but this democracy is painted with the traditions of Yemen. If you look at political participation in Yemen, you will find it very weak in the sense that there is very little awareness of politics and political rights. What happens in Yemen is political mobilization. Voters follow their tribal leaders and don’t pay much attention to the electoral agenda or program of candidates.

YO: How much do you think the culture of fear affects the political arena in Yemen, in particular the fear of change?
MD: This is one of the most important issues characterizing the culture of Yemen. We live in an avenging culture. When a foreigner visits Yemen and walks in the streets they will see many people and soldiers inside the main cities carrying firearms. To the foreigner these weapons are indicators of violence. However, for Yemenis these are a sort of reaction. Once I stopped a sheikh with his escorts and told him we people with pants are afraid of you and he said” look son I am afraid as someone may seek revenge against me, he may kill me any time or anywhere.” To go back to the question though, we have universities, civil society organizations and elections all of which are indicators of democracy, but if you look at the educational institutions, you find that they are still teaching in traditional ways. Students are not given a chance to think for themselves. Free elections need complete awareness from voters which is not seen in Yemen. To show or prove that a country has real democracy, there has to be strong institutions that help in policy making which is not the case in Yemen.

YO: How do you see the relationship between the state and society in Yemen?
MD: There is a mutual relationship. The best thing is to have a strong state and a strong society. The presence of a strong state implicitly means the presence of a strong society with modern institutions. In Yemen the state is not strong - strength and power lie in the hands of certain individuals and the interests of citizens are not taken care of greatly. Foreigners are getting much of the country’s riches as we have what I call an inferiority complex. In Yemen people are bullying towards each other and feel inferior in front of foreigners.

YO: What do you make of the demonstrations etc that have been taking place in Yemen over the last two months?
MD: There is a sort of political insecurity now due to the absence of basic needs. The rulers have to provide the ruled ones with their basic needs or it will cause insecurity. Any problems in Yemen have to be solved before they get too bad. The authorities do not have to wait until things are worse; they have to tackle issues in their early stages. The legitimacy of any political system comes from the satisfaction of its ruled ones. I am sure that there will be no revolutions or coups in Yemen just yet, but if what is happening continues, political insecurity will continue. As I said Yemenis confuse fate and the bad performance of the state. When prices increase some will not say it is because of a decline in economy but a test from God.

YO: How can we achieve political security in Yemen?
MD: For political security, there must be modern institutions that participate effectively in policy and decisions making and we need to get rid of political possession. The political system needs to enhance its legitimacy of power by making sure that ruled ones are satisfied. The system has to work towards providing the basic needs of citizens, improving living standards, and fighting corruption and unemployment. The society also needs to get rid of dichotomies.

YO: How do educational institutions such as schools and universities enhance the social structure in Yemen and improve the society at large? MD: Yemen needs real and effective political breeding that can help development and enhance political security. I want to say here that the Yemeni environment is expelling any talents; universities are the pillars of a developed, democratic and modern society. The educational system needs a drastic change. I find my students take things very easy; they take things for granted without questioning the way things are. Universities have also been negatively politicized. The educational shortfalls begin well before higher education; they begin from the primary education. Universities have become graveyards for talents. Professors of universities are also affected by students. When their students are mentally lazy, teachers will not prepare and this also deprives the very few students who are intelligent and want to learn.

YO: Do you think that the state modern organizations can co-exist with the strong presence of tribes?
MD: First, I want to say that the tribes are not hindering the presence of modern organizations. Some people and researchers seek to break down the traditional entity of the tribes without thinking about the substitute. I support modern establishments like political parties and civil society organizations. People that do not know Yemen have to understand that tribes are traditional structures that carry political characteristics. Tribes help the political system and also benefit from it. There is also a great deal of social and cultural variety in Yemen. When a foreigner sees people carrying arms this is not an indicator of violence, but a mixture of traditions and customs. They will also see the honesty and hospitality of the tribes and feel welcome. The danger is that Yemenis are talking more to the outside world than amongst themselves. You also see Yemenis seeking help from outside and not from the inside.
Dr. Mohammed al-Dhaheri

What a hardship on an already starving people.

Yemen Times: SANA’A, Sept. 26 — A recent report by the Arab Unity Economic Council has stated that inflation in Yemen was ranked the highest among all Arab countries, averaging 15.5 percent during 2006. The Report stated that Yemen is among ten Arab countries which has experienced rapid inflation. However, Yemen’s inflation of 15.5 percent is almost double that of UAE’s inflation of 7.7 percent, which was described as having the second-highest inflation after Yemen.

(Read on …)

The good news is the 12 protesters charged with treason have been released.

Yemen Times: SANA’A, Sept. 26 — The pensioners association in Aden decided on an open protest, which started Wednesday at Freedom Square. They demand the release of all the protestors arrested during the previous demonstrations and to bring those security officials who arrested and harassed the protestors to justices. They also demanded the state to provide medical treatment of the protestors injured by the security.

On the same note, an opposition lead demonstration took place in Mukalla, Hadramout governorate on Tuesday evening. Thousands of protestors beckoned the call of six opposition political parties demanding the release of the remaining Yemenis imprisoned during previous protests a few weeks ago. Eighteen protestors were released Monday after about a month of imprisonment because of their participation in protests early September. Ba Ume, one of the fundamentalist socialist leaders and an influential figure in Hadramout and three of his sons were among the released, due to pressure from the opposition, protestors and through meditation from Hadramout governor. The protestors were charged with high treason a penalty to which could be the death sentence. However, the protestors were acquitted and now demands for releasing more of the detainees on similar grounds are being voiced around the republic.

The protest was attended by a number of lawyers to educated the public on the legal procedures that should have taken place during the arrest, interrogation and imprisonment of Yemenis, all of which according to the lawyers were violated by the state security.

In Dhale governorate, another congregation took place whereby the death of the two young protestors was condemned and support to their families was displayed. The two dead men were victims of the security police bullets who tried to disperse a demonstration over ten days ago in Al-Dhale. The authority cut electricity in the square where the congregation took place in order to dissuade the participants from demonstrating, however they remained until the early hours of Tuesday morning.

For the first time in Mareb a similar protest took place, only this was accompanied with a petition signing campaign aiming at one hundred thousand signatures from around the governorate. The petition and protest both lead by the Joint Meeting Parties, a coalition of opposition political parties, demanded 20 percent of the oil production coming from Mareb governorate to be reinvested in the city’s development. They also demanded clean water, sanitary system, power supply and other basic services to be available to the local citizens. The protestors also called for compensation for the local farmers whose crops had been damaged because of the extractive industries.

The demands also included employment opportunities to at least half of the unemployed youth in the governorate and increasing the number of social welfare beneficiaries keeping in mind that the governorate produces 400 thousand barrels of oil daily and is the source of over 65 percent of the state’s budget coming from oil industry.

500 ordered released, 67 actually released - either the executive branch is being duplicitous or it has no control over its security forces

The 2006 mediaiton agreement was never implemented by the state. The announcment of the 630 Houthi detainees released in 2006 was a) bogus and b) an incomplete tally

Regime mediators still in jail

Zaidi prisoners denied freedom of religion, punished for keeping to the Zaidi timeframe for breaking their fast

The conflict will likely re-erupt, like the last two times, for the same reasons as the last two times, and neither Iran nor Libya will be to blame.

Yemen Times:
SA’ADA, Sept 26 — Despite the meditation by the government of Qatari and demands from international human rights organisations, over 3000 members of Al-Houthi are still in prison. Some of the detainees have been in detention for more than 18 months.

The detainees, who are kept in political security prisons around the republic, are accused of anti-state acts and support of Al-Houthi insurgents in the northern governorate of Sa’ada.

However, sources in Sa’ada claimed last week that president Saleh had met with a number of political and religious figures involved in the Sa’ada conflict and promised to release 500 detainees during the holy month of Ramadan, before mid- November. Government officials refused to comment on this issue.

The Geneva- based Al-Karama Organization for Human Rights called on the United Nations to put pressure on Yemeni government to release 37 detainees in Hajja who had been charged with “Houthism”. Among the detainees two are 15 years old and another two less than 18 years of age. Security authorities in Hajja accused the 37 detainees in January of supporting Al-Houthi insurgents but had not been able to prove the charges yet.

The organization stated two particular cases (detainees number 36 and 37) who had been in prison over one and half a year.

“All of the detainees belong to the Zaidi sect and are from or reside in Hajja governorate. They have been arrested illegally because of the conflict in Sa’ada,” the organization said.

Relatives of the detainees said the arrests are based on flawed accusations or personal grudges. Relatives of Abdulrahman Saba one of the 37 detainees, had personal issues with a local sheikh who tipped the security on Saba and accused the later of rebelling against the state.

The organization feared for the life of those detainees especially that some of them have started a hunger strike, while many others are being abused during their detention. Some of the detainees managed to convey to their relatives outside prison about the inhumane conditions they are living in and the lack of medical conditions.

On Sept. 20, despite the president’s instruction to release 500 detainees, only 67 detainees who had been arrested on charges of supporting Al-Huothi were released.

And although the military action has officially been stopped in Sa’ada, for negotiation purposes, many locals reported that the attacks are still going on. Houthi rebels had ordered to surrender their weapons, and give up control of the towns they are basing their fight from.

However, clashes have reached the homes and livelihood of the locals. On Friday night, government militia attacked a village at Haidan district and killed two and seriously injured another villager.

Mediators still in detention

Abdulkarim Al-Houthi and his brother were part of the mediation committee to help settle the Sa’ada conflict in January 2007. However, their families reported their sudden disappearance after they had been arrested by the Ministry of Interior early 2007.

“Abdulkarim Al-Houthi had tried to assist the government in reaching a compromise with the Houthi rebles, and now he is the one missing. “Four months ago we heard he is in the political security prison but now we have no idea where he is,” complained a member of his family.

His family is concerned about his health especially that he has Asthma and had just undergone a stone removal operation from his kidney before he was arrested.

Three more members of the family had also been arrested and are missing despite rumours that they are detained at the political security detention.

Forty-seven detainees in Nasiriyah prison of Hajja governorate had been humiliated and chains were put on their legs inside the cells because of their refusal to break the fast in the same time with the prison security.

The fast breaking time difference, which is around 5 minutes, is based on a religious belief in the Shi’a sect. The religious difference caused dismay among the security and hence they lashed out on the detainees.

A guess a leopard doesn’t change its spots. Saleh speaks to the domestic audience.

Land theft is a lie:

describing those promoting the wicked and misleading call from those arousing tumult in the street, claiming there is seizure of others’ lands in the southern governorates by their brothers from northern governorates as null and void allegation and impudent as well as mere lies.

Protests are whims and fabricated:

political forces that escape from their internal problems to fabrication of a crisis, export it to the street and instigate it in an irresponsible manner through taking advantage of the wave of sit-ins and demonstrations by retired elements of army and security officers. They have ridden the wave in a manner impeding implementation of projects and hindering investment in addition to portraying not a good image of our great people. The president considered that as mere whims in the souls of some political forces that understood democracy wrongly

Opposition yearns for totalitarianism:

The president considered the opposition that previously stood against the local authority as yearning to authority with totalitarian system as it is their case or situation inside their parties,

USAID, 45% of Yemeni kids under age five are underweight.

Yemen is tied for the highest rate of underweight children globally with Afghanistan. In contrast, 3% of kids under five in the Palestinian Territories are underweight. Many people assume the highest child hunger rate rate is in sub-Saharan Africa, but no, Yemeni kids are the skinniest in the world. There’s 46% underweight and 53% stunted kids, per UNICEF-Yemen.
UNICEF shows kids in the Palestinian Territories are 5% underweight and 10% stunted. So things are five time worse in Yemen according to the statistics and there’s millions more Yemeni kids. The point I’m trying to make is Yemeni kids need to be seen in the correct context of global hunger and deserve proportionate international attention as well. The US administration is requesting 4.3 million from Congress in Child Survival Account funds in 2008, in addition to the USAID, food aid and other aid. But aid isn’t really the answer in the long term.

Yemen Observer

Iaqis staying in Yemen complain that they can no longer find jobs and their children cannot go to school or university, as they are unable to obtain passports under new conditions set by the Foreign Ministry of Iraq.

Two weeks ago, the Iraqi embassy in Sana’a announced that three kinds of Iraqi passports (called H, M, and N) have become null and void, and that Iraqis in Yemen who carry these passports must apply for new ones.

(Read on …)

JP:

The US State Department issued a travel warning Monday for Yemen because of worries over terrorism.

A statement said US citizens should consider carefully the risks of traveling to the country.

“The security threat level remains high due to terrorist activities in Yemen, and US citizens in Yemen should exercise caution and take prudent measures to maintain their security,” the statement said.

A) a crackdown on Houthism and the broader Zaidi community not neo-Salafi JIhaddism

B) it may be politically motivated but it is percieved as discrimination

Asia News:

Sana (AsiaNews) – Unauthorised schools and religious centres closed, sermons of radical imam’s carefully monitored the celebration of certain feasts banned and mosque opening hours reduced. This is all taking place in Yemen, as part of a government clamp down to counter the activities of Islamic extremists.

In drawing a picture of the Yemeni government’s actions the Yemen Times reveals that the main targets are small Shiite groups, affiliated to al-Haq, who have been closed down because they were unauthorised.

Public tension re-emerged in January 2007, most notably in the media, as a result of government action against the al-Houthi group’s armed insurrection, liked to Twelver Shi’ism, an historic messianic variant of Shia Islam which follows the teachings of Hussein Badr Eddine al-Houthi, killed during a ten-week rebellion that he led in June 2004 against the Government in Saada.

(Read on …)

This is a good idea, also micro-loans and anything that can jump start private enterprise:

SANA’A, NewsYemen

After three years of launching the first-ever project in Yemen “Cow for Each Family” to find some practical solution for poverty and helping poor families get income and live a more decent life, the Al-Tawasol Association for Human Development in Hodeidah has announced the project has attained good results over the three years.

The Association said in a press release that it had distributed, in cooperation with the al-Rahma Charity Organization of Kuwait, 344 cows for 344 families in different districts of Hodeidah including al-Zahra, al-Dhoha, al-Kanawes, al-Zidia, al-Sokhna, Beit al-Fakeeh, al-Doraihimi and al-Marawiah after conducting field surveys and studying the conditions of such families.

(Read on …)

al-Motamar

almotamar.net - Secretary General of the General People’s Congress (GPC), the advisor to the president Abdulqader Bajammal on Thursday said the great implications of the presidential and local elections held in Yemen last year are in the categorical emphasis on the great correlation of unity and democracy as a basis for progress, prosperity and social peace.

On the first anniversary of the presidential and local elections Bajammal pledged renewal of loyalty to President Ali Abdullah Saleh and expressed great appreciation for the Yemeni people who a year ago have registered one of their greatest stands in the democratic march.

In a Ramadan evening in Hadramout governorate held on Thursday Bajammal pointed out the big importance of the governorate of Hadramout in the processes of liberation, unity and development.

Bajammal said,” The political leadership and the government understood some problems related to the retired rights and realized the danger of irresponsible behaviour of violation against lands and properties of the state as well as the citizens’ rights. Radical resolve of all those actions is currently going on so that everything returns to normal and the strict application of laws and legislations”

(Read on …)

Yemen Times:

Wide areas of agricultural lands in Yemen are exposed to deterioration, said official report published last week.

According to the report, which was issued by the Centre of Natural Resources at the Ministry of Agriculture, 85 percent of the agricultural lands are subject to deterioration due to natural causes such as water shortage and desertification.

The report said that the percentage of deteriorating lands increases by 5 percent because of human expansion and 3 percent because of desertification annually.

These numbers are very significant especially that only 13.6 percent of Yemeni land (about 6.2 million hectares) is fertile. Moreover, only 1.2 to 1.6 hectares is actually used in agriculture.

(Read on …)

Yemen Observer

World Bank Country Manager, Sana’a, Yemen
Qat (Catha edulis) plays a major economic role in the Yemeni economy. It accounts for around 6 percent of GDP, 10 percent of consumption, one-third of agricultural GDP, and provides employment for one in every seven working Yemeni. As the predominant cash crop, the income it generates plays a vital role in rural economies. But it also depletes scarce water resources and has crowded out production of essential food crops and agriculture exports.

Until the 1960s, qat chewing was an occasional pastime, mainly for the rich. Now, it is chewed several days a week by a large segment of Yemen’s population. Widespread qat consumption has grave consequences: its use is linked to widespread child malnutrition and household food insecurity since spending on it pre-empts expenditures on basic foods and essential medicines. The adverse health effects of qat are many and include high blood-pressure, under-weight children (when pregnant women chew qat), cancer (from consuming pesticide residues), and dental diseases. Consumers spend, on average, nearly 10 percent of their income on it, and the physical act of using the drug requires several hours in a day. The culture of spending extended afternoon hours chewing qat is inimical to the development of a productive work force, with as much as one-quarter of usable working hours allocated to qat chewing.

(Read on …)

A comprehensive article from ISN

Yemen nuke deal may not hold
As Yemen signs a reactor deal with a US company, doubts remain whether autonomous nuclear generation is feasible in this impoverished country racked with security problems.

by Dominic Moran in Tel Aviv for ISN Security Watch (26/09/07)

Yemen signed a five-reactor deal with a US nuclear company this week, but significant doubts remain concerning the future prospects for the nascent Yemeni atomic program.

The pact with Houston-based Powered Corporation envisages the establishment of a 1,000MW reactor by 2012, with four others to follow within a decade, bolstering Yemen’s total generation capacity by 5,000MW, according to Energy and Electricity Minister Mustafa Bahran.

A US$3 million feasibility study jointly funded by Powered Corporation and the government would be quickly followed by the initiation of work on the first reactor in early 2009, Bahran told Agence France Press. He added that all atomic activities would be conducted with full oversight from the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The agreement appears to fit into a previously announced atomic generation strategy involving the establishment of privately owned, for-profit reactors on Yemeni soil, with the state buying electricity from the generating company for an indeterminate period before purchasing the facilities.

(Read on …)

This is very good stuff.

President Saleh has forwarded a series of constitutional amendments to Parliament which include the following: local police ( very important), local control of revenues and expenditures, direct elections for the heads of the local councils (note: there has to be a clear delegation of authority between the governors and the local council heads), 15% female quota fixed by law for parliamentary seats.

Not good, the president appoints half of the SCER, but that’s better than all. Shorter terms for the President and Parliament, good. It would be nice if the governors were also directly elected from the local populations, whose needs they understand.

If implemented (a big if), this proposal could go a long way in a) reducing tensions in various governorates b) spurring local economies c) increasing popular participation and public accountability.

However the regime needs to lay off the journalists and let them do their job which is critical. This plan cannot succeed without a free press. Corruption cannot be controlled without a free press. Democracy cannot exist without a free press. Its just that simple. (Read on …)

How excellent is this?

American and Canadian of Yemeni origin in North America are submitting a letter to members of Congress in both countries about human rights violations and repression of peaceful demonstrations in Yemen

We are Americans and Canadians of Yemeni origin submitting this letter to our representatives in the Congress of the U.S.A. and the Canadian, to the government and the representatives of the major parties in the two countries, to the human rights protectors, to who it may concern about the freedom of expression and the press which violated in Yemen since the control of Ali Abdullah Saleh, the illegal President of Yemen, on the reins of the government by the gunpoint on July 17, 1978, to this day.

We believe it is our national, ethical and human duty to submit this letter to deliver the oppressed cries of the Yemeni people. Who are searching for salvation, emancipation, and liberation from the iron grip of the corrupt, terrorist, and dictatorial regime in Yemen . We put you in front of historical and human responsibilities to help the people of Yemen who need the help of the free world to make the changes possible. They do not have hope to see changes accept from outside sources because of the nature and brutal mentality of the Yemeni regime.

We have followed, with regret and concern, the bloody tragic events that are occurring in Yemen on daily basis. When the people of Yemen are almost out of a war even the dictatorial regime enters them into a new war, because the mentality of the regime, which relies on the wars and the instability to survival for the longest possible time in government, so the regime could loot more of the public money, as happening in this time. These wars are destroying the Yemeni economic, infrastructure, and building the military force that are no longer national troops, but it belongs to the ruling family of Yemen .

The interest of building a military force comes on the expense of education, health and social services of the Yemeni people. The result is obvious that a royal family controls the government by military force, looting and robbing the public money, violating the human rights, war crimes, crimes against the humanity. Uneducated people whom lack of health and social services are suffering from poverty that lead to product a hotbed of the frightening terrorism, which is what actually happened in Yemen in this time. This hotbed will remain a time-bomb. However, our governments have to dry up the source of the international terrorism that exists in the Yemen regime and his traditional allies before explosion.

Those traditional allies are the terrorist organizations such as Al Qaeda, the Islamic Army of Aden-Abyan, and the Wahhabi movement in Yemen which led by AbdullMajid Al-Zandani (spiritual father of Osama bin Laden). The UN Security Council ordered a decision to arrest AbdullMajid Al-Zandani, and to freeze his property for his financing and relationship with the international terrorism organizations. However, the Yemeni regime opposed this decision, and Ali Abdullah Saleh called to take off the name of the terrorist AbdullMajid Al-Zandani from the blacklist. As we know, AbdullMajid Al-Zandani issued a (Fatwa), a religious statement, against the regime opponents. Same fatwa took the lives of hundreds of human beings in Yemen , Iraq , Afghanistan , Chechnya and elsewhere.

If you ask AbdullMajid Al-Zandani about his view on the tragedy events of September 11, 2007, he will not hesitate to describe what happened as a holy struggle and a great victory against the enemies of God (Allah) in the U.S.A. that is are providing support and assistance to the Yemeni people from the taxpayer’s money.

We are the Americans and the Canadians of Yemeni origin caring about the security and safety of this country that gave us freedom, hope, dream, life of dignity, and human rights. However, because we are Yemeni origins we are aware that the Yemen regime has produced a scary hotbed of the international terrorism and export it internationally. In fact, more than one incident happened in Yemen that proves our knowledge towards the involvement of the Yemeni Regime that supports terrorism and trains the terrorists in the regime camps in order to send them to Somalia , Iraq , Lebanon and elsewhere. One is the terrorist attack on the warship USS COLE, and the killing of the Spanish tourist in the city of Marub . Also, the terrorist incident of killing the three Americans doctors who served in Yemen for more than thirty years, providing medication and treatment for free.

We look at the Congress valuable report that assessment the Yemeni regime and will proximately declare Yemen as a failure State . We believe that the proportions of the poor people who are living under the poverty line are 80% and it is not 40% as stated in the report. Also, we greatly appreciate the President of USA, George W. Bush, for his greetings to the Yemeni people for the democracy, but the question that raises our curiosity is there a real democratic regime in Yemen ? Or is Ali Abdullah Saleh claiming democracy to the world. But when he returns to Yemen , he orders his army to suppression and killing all the raising voices that demand legal rights. On top of that the Yemenis people go on strikes day after day to adopt the peaceful struggle, through sit-ins and demonstrations facing the military forces of Ali Abdullah Saleh and his family.

Today, we are witnessing how the regime is beating, arresting, and killing the Yemeni people with iron fist, here are some examples:

1. The Brigadier General Nasser Al-Noobh, the Board Chairman of the Associations Of Retired Military and Security Civilian and Forcibly Demobilized, and his friends were sent to prison. They will be charged for treason in front of the military court which may lead them to death penalty. Because they were demanding to regain their political and historical rights and to return to their jobs from which they were expelled by the Yemeni regime as a result of the war in 1994. They also were adopting

2. The journalist Abud Al-kareem Al-Kiwani was put in jail, because he said that Ali Abdullah Saleh will bequeath the power in Yemen . Al-Kiwani showed that the president and his family are the commanders of the army, security, air force, and marine. They also own the companies, banks, and trade in Yemen .

3. Dr. Ali al-Fakeeh, professor at the University of Sana’a , had been beaten with a brick that deformed his face, because he criticized the Yemeni regime.

4. The failure attempt to assassinate Fahd Al-Karni, because he criticized the regime by the satirical songs. He and his friend Aladrahi gained popularity fame, because they expressed the feelings of the people towards the terrorist and dictatorship regime.

5. The killing of the child Al-Qahoum and his colleagues in Hadramawt, because of their request to freedom and a better tomorrow, and the scene repeated itself in the Yemen Provinces such as: Taiz, Aldalla, Shabwa, Abyan, Aden , Al-bayda, Yafaa, Sa’dah and others.

So, where are the democracy and the human right; that Ali Abdullah Saleh is claiming, and receiving the international assistance for these commitments.

We ask our government to put an end to this regime and provide peace and safety for all, can you please take the following requests into considerations.

First: Drying the source of terrorism in Yemen , in assistant the Yemeni people to salvation, liberation, and emancipation of the dictatorial and terrorist regime, in the context of the international war on terrorism.

Second: Stop supporting the Yemen regime; financially or morally, but continue supporting the Yemeni people away from the hands of the Yemeni regime. However, it can not be a democratic regime that relies on military force and oppression to control over Yemen , nor can it fight the corruption and the terrorism, because it is corrupt and terrorism regime.

Third: Declare that the existing regime in Yemen is not a partner in the fight against the terrorism. Since we believe in the freedom of speech and press we can not put our hands and cooperate with the dictatorial and terrorist regimes.

Fourth: Pressure the dictatorship regime to extradite AbdullMajid Al-Zandani, and to freeze his property because of his relations to the terrorism organization.

Fifth: Pressure the regime to release the political prisoners, such as the Brigadier General, Nasser Al-Noobh, and his colleagues, and the journalists, Abud Al-kareem Al-Kiwani.

Sixth: Pressure the regime not to closure the opponent newspapers and websites, and not to prevent the legitimate peaceful demonstrations. That reflects the Yemeni citizens’ demands to their national and historical rights that were taken away by the ruling family in Yemen .

Thank you for your help to the international community and the new orientation towards a world free from dictatorship and terrorism.

Americans and Canadians of Yemeni origin:
1- Ahmed Hussein Ghalib
2- Ahmed Ali Saleh
3- Ameen Ali Al Houri
4- Ahmed Mohamed Aldkine
5- Idris Al-Darwish
6- Al-Din Ahmed Hussein
7- Borkan Al-Askari
8- Bakil Ahmed Ghalib
9- Hajaj Ali Al Houri
10- Hasinon Ahmed Ghaleb
11- Joshua Ahmed Ghalib
12- Daniel Al-Darwish
13-Wagdi Suleiman
14-Fawzi Omar
15-Abdullah Haider
16 – Saleh Mohamed Alriashi
17-Sanad Abdullah Haider
18-Muhammad Ali Al Houri
19-Abdullah Ba-abbad
20-Ali Abdulkhader
21-Abdul-Ghani Al-abbadi
22-Omar Saleh
23-Saleh Abdullah
24-Muhammad Aldkine
25-Ali Hussein Al Houri
26-Musaad Ali
27-Ghassan Ahmed Ghalib
28-Ali Musid Ali
29- Alliah Al-Darwish
30-Washington Ali
31 - Mohamed Ahmed Hussein
32-Ali Haider
33-Maher Ahmed Hussein
34-Mazen Ahmed Ghalib
35-Zeid Darwish
36-Abdullah Al-Rubaie
37-Hakim Almfulihy
38-Abd-Alallah Musaad Ali
39-Sharifah Ahmed Ghaleb
40-Safia Al-Darwish
41-Saleh Almfulihy
42-Muhsin Muthanna
43-Shallah Ahmed Hussien
44-Muhammad Ali Haider
45-Hammam Saleh Almfulihy
46-Nasr Ahmed Ghalib
47-Fahd Musid Ali
48-Zaid Ahmed
49-Faheem Saleh Almfulihy
50-Kathleen Ali
51-Chris Al-Darwish
52-Majed Ahmed Ghalib
53-Abdulfattah Musaad
54-Muhammad Al-Darwish
55-Yousra Ahmed Ghaleb
56-Moussa Ali
57-William Algabri
58-Ali Al-Derwish
59-Nagi Amer
60-Yousef Amer

SANA’A, News Yemen:

Yemeni women have stated they are angry with political parties after the later said they do not prefer the quota system that women are fighting to get it realized since four years to be able to occupy high posts.

A group of women, members of the so-called “The Country Alliance”, formed by lead Yemeni women, have stated that women were planning to organize protests against those parties’ anti-quota statements, but said the advent of the holy month of Ramadan has prevented them.

We will organize such protests to pressure parties to give women members chance to be found in decision-making positions, said Intesar Senan.

We were embarrassed to hear about the position of the Yemeni Socialist Party against quota despite it has assured before the latest presidential and local elections that it supports quota system, Senan added.

Last Saturday, the leader in the Yemeni Socialist Party Mohammad al-Makaleh announced at a meeting of Arab Sisters Forum that YSP does not agree with the quota system and that the party “will be against the system in case it is applied”, asking women to support an initiative by parties to apply the party-list proportional representation system as an alternative.

Women’s frustration came early before the Parliamentary elections scheduled in 2009 as they found themselves between two challenges. They are unable to achieve their goal, the quota system, without the help of parties and they are prevented by the constitution to form their own party. In addition, the Yemeni community still refuses the political power of women.

Thus, Yemeni women have to continue attempts to convince parties they affiliate with to agree to give women an appropriate quota before the coming elections.

Women see that “parties’ abrupt objection against quota means that parties do not admit women as partners in making decision”.

(Read on …)

“No wonder that the biggest threats to the national unity are the acts of looting, land plundering, waste of public money and state’s property, political nepotism, destroying the national economy and discriminating among citizens. All these acts are exercised by the government officials.”

From the Yemen Times, a spot-on oped by Dr. Abdullah Al-Faqih

It is impossible for the National Unity Protection Law, which the government declared to present to Parliament for approval, to be discussed very soon. The law is a heavyweight joke coming from the black comedy.

If the government brought a group of horses, took them into a stable and named this stable “Parliament”, and then presented to it the draft National Unity Protection Law, it would be impossible for the horses to put their hoofs on this Law. So, how the situation will look like when the draft law is presented to a parliament made up of 301 members, among them sheikhs, scholars, patriots and strugglers. It is impossible for any Yemen citizen, irrespective of his circumstances, to accept the political paganism, nor will he accept the political slavery, which the Yemenis got rid of in 1962.

As there are many people who say that the law aims to prosecute some of the prominent symbols in the regime, a speech like this makes us reject the draft law twice and not on