Armies of Liberation

The government bombing entirely flattened several villages. Hundreds of women and children forced to flee have no where to go.

IHT: Yemeni officials say government forces have beaten back an advance by northern rebels who brought their fight south to within 12 miles of the capital San’a over the past few days.

Until recently, the rebellion that began in 2004 had been concentrated in Saada province, close to the Saudi border more than 100 miles from the capital.

But in the last three days, government forces pounded a mountainous area near San’a around the village of Bani Heshiash to battle advancing rebels, tribal and local officials said Saturday, speaking on condition of anonymity because of security concerns.

The government put checkpoints on main streets in San’a, searched cars and questioned passengers while deploying armored vehicles to Bani Heshiash, 20 kilometers (12 miles) away.

Houthis requests JMP mediate:

Al-Houthis ask opposition to mediate Sa’ada war

Sana’a, May 31, 2008 (YemenOnline) – Al-Houthis reportedly requested opposition Joint Meeting Party (JMP) to mediate Sa’ada war between the Yemeni authorities and al-Houthis.

Opposition sources said that Saleh Habra, al-Houthis senior negotiator, called one of JMP leaders and asked the opposition to launch a mediation between the government and al-Houthis to end a four-year old war in Sa’ada.

The sources added that the JMP authorized one of its senior leaders to contact al-Houthis as a prelude to begin mediating Sa’ada war between the two parties.

Seven al-Houthis followers were arrested in Sana’a. State News Agency reported that the arrestees were plain-clothed security officials.

Yemen Post

Ten days before announcing the new ministerial reshuffle, Minister of Expatriates Affairs Saleh Sumi’ee resigned from his post in protest against the constant demands by the head of investigation sector at the Anti-corruption committee to pay the due sums for the Yemeni community schools in the Horn of Africa.

Sumi’ee hinted that the head of the education center for community schools Abdul Bari Al-Dhamari embezzled YR 45 million over the years 1998 to 2002 at the leniency of Finance and Expatriates’ Affairs ministries. (Read on …)

Good report by the SNACC. It would be nice if there was any judicial enforcement to back up the investigations. YO

The first comprehensive investigation into corruption in Yemen has revealed 8709 corruption cases in the past 3 years. Astonishingly, 3932 of these occurred in 2007 alone. The offenders were the Ministries of Education, Health and Population, and Labour, Works and Roads. The most corrupt governorates were Ibb, Aden, al-Muhrah, and al-Muhwaid. (Read on …)

Update: “Near” the pipeline, missed again according to al-Motamar

Mareb Press

The oil pipelines in al-Buriqa zone, Aden, were hit by three missiles by unknown people.

Aden refinement is located in al-Buriqa Zone.

A security source told Mareb Press that there are no casualties. The source added tha the missiles targeted the oil pipelines.

The security authorities are still investigating the incident, the source added.

Some sources said that AlQaeda organization may be behind the attack.

(Read on …)

AQI urges large attacks on US interests. The missing mortars have become embarrassing.

Yemen Online

Sana’a, May 26, 2008 (YemenOnile) – Al-Qaeda organization called its followers in Yemen to initiate “tough and painful” strikes against foreign interests mainly those of the U.S.

“We hope from our brothers in Yemen to get us back to the old days of attacking USS Cole and French Limburg as such operations influence the people nowadays,” said a statement posted in a website run by al-Qaeda. (Read on …)

This is a good comprehensive article on the trial of Baoum and the southern civil unrest where it remains illegal to chant slagans, in the north or in the south.

SANA’A, May 30 (The National)- Amid a crowd of opposition party members, democracy activists and lawyers, three senior members of the Yemen Socialist Party went on trial at the state security court yesterday. (Read on …)

Yemen Post
Local sources told the Yemen Post that President Saleh has sought to force Al-Ezi bin Abadan to withdraw his candidacy as governor of Al-Jawf. The negotiations led Al-Jawf sheikhs and tribes supporting Abadan to lift their siege on the government complex in Al-Hazm, the capital city of Al-Jawf province.

Bin Abadan support amassed last week after a first-instance court rejected the results of elections and ordered conducting new elections, demanding the result to be approved and to announce their fellow as the winner. (Read on …)

Health Ministry, little help

Over 500 persons effected by dengue in Shabwa
[30 May 2008]
SHABWA, May 30 (Saba)
- A medical source said on Friday more than 500 persons have been affected by a dengue fever outbreak in Shabwa province, south-east of the Yemeni capital, Sana’a. (Read on …)

Land Dispute: Officials

(CNN) — A man opened fire at a Shiite mosque Friday in northern Yemen, killing six and wounding 12, state-run news agency SABA said. Three are in critical condition, the report said.

The shooter, now in police custody, was identified as Abdullah Saleh Al Qahhali, 24, according to SABA.

It was the second attack this month against Shiites in Yemen. (Read on …)

This is a nice article about me, Yemen and al-Khaiwani from Menassat in Lebannon. Its based on a different interview: “While they block my blog, the Jihadi Al-Qaeda web sites are working just fine in Yemen. They release the USS Cole bombers and throw journalists and even comedians in jail. It leaves me speechless. This is supposed to be a U.S. ally. I feel I have an obligation to let people know,” she said.

It takes a lot to leave me speechless.

Article in full is here and has a very cool graphic I thought.

(Read on …)

“One defendant, journalist Abdel Karim al Khaiywani, was charged in connection with his media reporting of the violence in Sa’da, and was therefore a prisoner of conscience.”

The report is so depressing. Its all true:

REPUBLIC OF YEMEN
(Read on …)

I’m on Canada Radio One, the Canadian Broadcast System shortly, a little after 7 tonight in each time zone. The show is called “As It Happens”. I’m going to be talking about Yemen, al-Khaiwani and the whole situation. I think this is the one where I talk about the Sa’ada war, the same “crime” that al-Khaiwani is facing the death penalty for.

Please sign a letter on behalf of al-Khaiwani here.

Update: Hi CBC listeners!! Thanks for stopping by! Thats so neat.

Every major journalists orgnization is supporting al-Khaiwani, one US Congressman (Trent Franks) sent a letter to the Yemeni government, and theres a church in Brooklyn praying for him. The Irish organization Front Line Defenders joined us today. Al-Khaiwani has been nominated for the 2008 Amnesty International UK’s special award for “human rights journalist under threat”.

The Civil Rights in the Middle East activists, Hands Across the Middle East Support Alliance is helping me coordinate all the efforts. These are the people who ran the campaign for Faoud the Saudi blogger who was jailed and is now freed.

Update: Listen to the CBC radio show at this link here. Click on May 28, Part two. I thought it was great. Loved the intro…
(Read on …)

اليمن: اتهامات و قيود على حرية التنقل يواجهها الصحفي و المدافع عن حقوق الإنسان عبد الكريم الخيواني

Front Line

مؤسسة الخط الأمامي قلقة للغاية بعد تلقيها تقارير عن اتهامات يواجهها الصحفي و المدافع عن حقوق الإنسان عبد الكريم الخيواني، و عن تأجيل جلسة صدور الحكم بحقه. و شغل عبد الكريم الخيواني في السابق منصب محرر صحيفة الشورى الإلكترونية، و هي صحيفةٌ مؤيدة للديمقراطية. و الخيواني مناصرٌ للديمقراطية، و قد نادى بحق حرية التعبير في اليمن. و تم ترشيحه لجائزة منظمة العفو الدولية الخاصة بصحافة حقوق الإنسان المعرضة للأخطار لعام 2008.
معلومات إضافية
أُرسل في السادس و العشرين من أيار 2008
في الحادي و العشرين من أيار 2008، كان من المقرر أن يمثل عبد الكريم الخيواني أمام المحكمة بتهمة إهانة الرئيس و “تثبيط معنويات الجيش”، بالإضافة إلى صلات بإحدى الخلايا الإرهابية التابعة للحوثي. و قد تأجَّلت محاكمته الآن. و تستند الاتهامات الموجَّهة إلى الخيواني إلى مقالات كتبها حول حرب صَعدة في اليمن. و يواجه خطر الحكم عليه بالسجن لمدة طويلة أو حتى الإعدام. و كان قد مُنع من مغادرة اليمن، الأمر الذي يعني أنه لن يكون قادراً على حضور الحفل الذي تقيمه منظمة العفو الدولية بمناسبة منح جائزتها الخاصة بصحافة حقوق الإنسان المعرضة للأخطار في الثامن من تموز 2008.
تم إغلاق الصحيفة التي يعمل عبد الكريم الخيواني لديها، و حُجب كذلك موقعه الإلكتروني. و تعرَّضت عائلته إلى الاعتداء الجسدي و التهديدات. في عام 2004، صدر بحقه حكمٌ بالسجن لدعمه حسين بدر الدين الحوثي، و هو رجل دين زيديُّ المذهب. في العشرين من حزيران 2007، اعتُقل في منـزله بسبب مزاعم حول صلات له بإحدى الخلايا الإرهابية التابعة للحوثي، و هي اتهامات ملفَّقة وفقاً لتقارير. و قد سبق لعبد الكريم الخيواني أن كتب عن انتهاكات حقوق الإنسان التي تُرتكب بحق الزيديين و هؤلاء الذين يُشتبه في صلاتهم بالحوثي. في السابع و العشرين من آب 2007، بعد إطلاق سراحه، اختُطف عبد الكريم الخيواني و تعرَّض إلى التعذيب على أيدي عصابة من الرجال المسلَّحين.
تعتقد مؤسسة الخط الأمامي أن استهداف عبد الكريم الخيواني إنما هو نتيجةٌ لنشاطاته المشروعة في الدفاع عن حقوق الإنسان، و لا سيما عمله من أجل تعزيز الديمقراطية و دفاعه عن حرية التعبير في اليمن. و ترى مؤسسة الخط الأمامي في الاتهامات التي يواجهها عبد الكريم الخيواني و القيود المفروضة على حريته في التنقل جزءاً من نـزوعٍ مستمر نحو مضايقة المدافعين عن حقوق الإنسان في اليمن. و تعرب مؤسسة الخط الأمامي عن قلقها حيال سلامة عبد الكريم الخيواني الجسدية و العقلية، و كذلك سلامة أفراد عائلته

Front Line – The International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
81 Main Street
Blackrock
Co. Dublin
Ireland

Charges and travel ban against human rights defender and journalist Abdul-Karim al-Khaiwani

Front Line is deeply concerned following reports that human rights defender and journalist Abdul-Karim al-Khaiwani is facing charges of having terrorism ties and that his trial due to take place on 21 May has been postponed. Abdul-Karim al-Khaiwani is former Editor-in-Chief of the pro-democracy online newspaper Al-Shoura, and a campaigner for the right to freedom of expression in Yemen. He has been nominated for the 2008 Amnesty International UK’s special award for human rights journalist under threat but might not be able to attend the Award Ceremony on 8 July 2008 due to a travel ban imposed upon him by the Yemeni authorities. (Read on …)

Sign a letter here showing your support.

Updated: Bauom is being charged under the legal theory that because he organized the rallies, he is responsible for whatever happened after that, including when security forces shot protesters dead.

SANA’A, NewsYemen

State Specialized Penal Court I Sana’a started On Wednesday a trial of three leaders of the Yemeni Socialist Party over organizing demonstrations in south last April.

The Prosecution accused Hassan Ba-Oam, Yahya Ghalib al-Shoaibi and Ali Haitham al-Ghareeb of harming public security, encouraging people to organize rallies in public places and roads and arousing sedition amongst people of one country resulting in killings and injuries among people and security forces, in addition to damaging public and private properties. (Read on …)

All communications cut. People starving. No medical supplies or facilities available to the people. The Yemeni military deploying mortars, Katsukyas and helicopter gunships in attacking cities and villiages, sometimes without any warning to the Yemeni citizens living there. Its such a disaster. Ali Mohsen is out of control.

YT: SA’ADA, May 25 — A fifth war between the Yemeni army and Houthis has broken out fiercely in numerous Sa’ada districts, Amran governorate’s Harf Sifyan district and Sana’a governorate’s Bani Hushaish district, leaving hundreds on both sides killed or injured, tribal sources said Sunday, adding that the war is the fiercest ever since fighting between the two sides first erupted in June 2004. (Read on …)

The jihadization of Yemen. If I call it the Talibanization of Yemen, will more people recognize the trend? (Interesting, but not unsurprising, the Minister of Tourism is in there…) Danged good Yemen Times oped:

Gracious are the Yemeni people. They will soon have guards to promote virtue and curb vice. A group of clerics led by Sheikh Abdulmajid Al-Zindani, rector of the Islamic Al-Iman University, recently spoke to President Ali Abdullah Saleh about setting up a national committee for promotion of virtue and prevention of vice. This information was announced recently by Hamud Hashim Al-Tharhi, a leading figure in the Islah party.

Al-Zindani and his fellows alleged that vice and debauchery has dominated the country. According to Al-Tharhi, the committee will involve the Ministers of Culture, Tourism and Information among others.

It has the same orientation as the anti-vice organization operating in Saudi Arabia for decades. While the Saudis are now trying to curb the activities of this organization as a part of their fight against terrorism and religious fanaticism, Yemen is just starting to allow it.

This is the latest invention of Al-Zindani following his allegations of his successful invention of a cure for HIV/AIDS. This man who has been once a cleric in the presidential council representing the Islah party in the then-coalition government is mad for publicity and seeing himself on camera. Following his ousting from the position as head of the Islah party’s Shura Council, he has been frantically trying to keep himself on camera in his effort to remain a public figure. He has been leading protests against the Israeli attacks on Palestinians and protests against the Danish cartoons. (Read on …)

Well good for al-Eryany! Public takfirism (especially in the official media) does indeed feed terror and legitimates fanatical thinking.

Ergo, fatwas are not necessary to justify the Saada war if it is a justified action, as the state does have the right to a monopoly on the use of force. (It would be nice if the state stopped bombing civilians though and got some food in there.) And there is no need to call the Southerners unbelievers or godless. The state’s authority is derived from the people and their consent, in theory.

When the state fatwas the opposition, it adds a cultural legitimacy to the fanatical notion that one Muslim can declare another un-Muslim and deserving of death. Like al-Qaeda does. Its an important topic to be addressed. Pluralism and tolerance are characteristics of Yemeni society, however the state is undermining these characteristics whenever it brings religion into political discourse.

Politician’s taking advantage of religion feeds terror

Almotamar.net – The symposium on religious and political indulgence has on Monday recommended the work for disconnection between what is political and religions or the politician taking advantage of religion, holding the forces that employ the religious dimension the major part of responsibility for antagonism and arousing and feeding hostile tendencies in addition to pushing the intellectual phenomenon of extremism towards the practical phenomenon of terror.

The closing statement of the symposium organized by the Bridges of Cultures Forum, Chaired by Dr Abdulkarim al-Eryany and held over two days, also recommended the reconsideration of some concepts and policies and criteria, that proved their contribution to expansion of the sphere of extremism and driving its parties to terror.

While the participants affirmed that extremism and terror have no religion and no homeland and not to blame a certain homeland and religion for the act of some who are affiliate of them and are in fact faced with rejection by their societies, those participants also called fro revival of dialogue between religions provided that it should take a different title of dialogue among religious references.

Participants in the symposium called on all religious, political, cultural media institutions as well as political parties and civil society organisations, directly and indirectly concerned with the creation of public opinion and owner of the national, regional and international decision, for the necessity of making the values of tolerance and coexistence as the reference for first care in whatever it is planned for and they implement in service of the goals of social peace and human coexistence.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt: December 24, 1943

“And today we salute our unseen allies in occupied countries, the underground resistance groups and the Armies of Liberation. They will provide potent forces against our enemies……

There have always been cheerful idiots in this country who believed that there would be no more war for us if everybody in America would only return into their homes and lock their front doors behind them.”

Happy Memorial Day Everybody, Enjoy Freedom

Yemeni security forces beat up Hassan al-Dhalimi during his arrest today. His elderly father was pummeled by security forces as well. Hassan is the sixth founding member of al-Tagheer for Rights and Freedoms to be imprisoned. Al-Tagheer is a vibrant and prominent civil rights organization in Yemen. Al-Tagheer’s website Yemenat was blocked two weeks ago by Yemeni authorities. Yemenat is blocked by the governmental IP in Yemen but remains available outside Yemen.

The six arrested aned imprisoned members of al-Tagheer include northerners and southerners. The organization is comprised of democracy advocates from a variety of parties and organizations. Al-Tagheer is the rights organization headed by MP Ahmed Saif Hashid who was named Yemen Times “Man of the Year 2007″ for his civil rights advocacy. Hashid gave me a ground breaking interview about conditions in Yemeni prisons and subsequently faced loss of his parliamentary immunity. Another noted member of al-Tagheer is Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani, respected journalist on trial in penal court for attempting to overthrow the Yemeni government with an unpublished article. Al-Khaiwani is eligible for the death penalty.

Among the reasons behind internet blocking is that Yemnat and almostashar, another news website run by the same publisher, Ahmed Saif Hashed, issued an item attached with a video (click here) documenting 18 Yemeni youth migrants burnt by Saudi police in a southern Saudia Arabian town, Khamees Mushait, last month. The crime was hushed up by Yemeni and Saudi authorities, but exposed by the Yemenat video interview which was picked up by Human Rights Watch on 14.05.2008, with the title of “Saudi Arabia: Investigate Police for Burning Yemenis”.

Update: Monday, released.

-jane