Armies of Liberation

The three German hostages released ’ Yemeni mediators affirm
YemenOnline-December 19,2008- Tribesmen have released their three German hostages after the Yemeni government agreed to meet some of their conditions, including paying a ransom and releasing some tribesmen from prison, mediators said Friday. The Germans were due to arrive by late afternoon in the capital city of San’a, said Ahmed Ubad Sherif, one of the leading mediators from the Khawlan tribe.Sherif said the Germans were being cared for by Sheik Abdel Qawi Ubad, the deputy governor of the Al-Dhala province in southern Yemen. The deputy governor is also a senior tribal member.A second tribal official, who was also mediating, said the kidnappers released the hostages after the government agreed to their conditions to release some tribesmen in Yemeni prisons.The mediator, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said a ransom of 20 million Riyals ($100,000) was paid by the Yemeni government.

The Russians are Yemen’s main arms supplier and the Saudis are the main financial donor. Related: Yemen may be financially unviable in a year.

Reuters: Jan 18 (Reuters) – The United States is the main foreign backer of Yemen’s counter-terrorism efforts against al Qaeda, according to published figures, but its support is believed to rank behind a large undisclosed contribution from Saudi Arabia. (Read on …)

خبر صحفي

دشنت منظمة (SEYAJ) لحماية الطفولة عمل وحدة رصد الانتهاكات الماسة بالطفولة أمس الاثنين 15 ديسمبر 2008.

وقالت مديرة الوحدة نورا العمودي أن الوحدة ستقوم بتلقي البلاغات من المواطنين مباشرة حول أي انتهاكات تمس الطفولة على عناوين التواصل الخاصة بها كما ستتلقى المعلومات التي يقدمها إليها متطوعو المنظمة في المحافظات. (Read on …)

Well thats good, Yemeni street kids have a very rough life.

With US Department of Labor Funds, CHF International and CSSW launch new Program: ACCESS-Plus

Sana’a, Yemen – On September 30, 2008, the United States Department of Labor, Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor and Human Trafficking awarded CHF International and the local implementing partner, Charitable Society for Social Welfare (CSSW), a three-year program for 3.5 million dollars called Alternatives to Combat Child Labor through Education and Sustainable Services-Plus, (ACCESS-Plus) to combat hazardous child labor in Yemen.

The goal of CHF International’s ACCESS-Plus program is to withdraw 4,100 children from the worst forms of child labor (WFCL), to prevent 3,000 children from entering the WFCL, and to provide them education and life developing services, in the governorates of Al Hudaydah, Taiz, Hajja, and Aden. ACCESS-Plus will create the critical mass awareness, support, and action necessary for Yemen to eliminate the acceptability of the worst forms of child labor in the country. In addition, ACCESS-Plus will work directly with children to withdraw them from child labor or prevent them from entering child labor, and enroll them into educational services. ACCESS-Plus activities will target children working in the fishing industry, agriculture, urban jobs and those who are trafficked to Saudi Arabia to work there or to smuggle goods across the border.

On a national level, CHF and CSSW will cooperate with the Ministry of Labor, the Higher Council for Motherhood and Childhood, ILO, and other local and international partners to draw awareness to the widespread issue of child labor in Yemen. CHF will conduct additional research to better understand the dangers to which these children are exposed and to identify alternatives that exist for children engaged in child labor. (Read on …)

No its not me. The GPC brought a suit in the Press and Publications court against Munier Almawari who wrote a very funny and very true article “From Barak Obama to the Arab Leaders: Do Not Expect Me to Support Your Family Enterprises”. Also the editor of the paper, Samir Jubran, was summoned, but since he’s in Yemen, its a bit more serious. Its an intimidation tactic to prevent papers from pubishing Munier’s articles methinks.

al-Hadath

Summoned on behalf of Press and Publications on Monday colleague Samir Jubran, editor of the source and American journalist out of a Yemeni Munir Maori and Washington resident who writes the newspaper fixed angle to listen to their words on the complaint filed against the newspaper of the legal department of the People’s Congress.

So lets print the offending article again, shall we, and try to determine what MARSHAL Saleh finds so annoying:

Dear Marshal Ali Abdullah Saleh, President of the Republic of Yemen:

I hesitated to address you with that title because I did not know that there still existed in this world someone holding the rank of “Marshall” — or Mushir as you say it in Arabic. I thought that “Field Marshal Idi Amin” was the last Marchalat in the developing world. Vice President Elect Joe Biden, who is expert in foreign affairs, however, assured me that there are still several field marshals in the countries of the Middle East, some of whom have never participated in any war to defend their people and country, but who, instead, got their titles fighting internal wars against their own people within their own territory! This delivered quite a surprise to me; one learns a lot from Joe Biden.

At any rate, Dear Marshal Saleh:

We are following carefully what is happening in your country, and we know very well that you have recently waged five wars against a part of your country, which now enjoys semi-autonomy in the north-western part of Yemen. We also know very well that the provinces in the entire southern part of your country have expelled the representatives of the election committee you placed there, rejecting in advance a sham election that does not reflect the true democracy.

We also know that al-Qaeda is alive and well in Yemen, and that the attack on our Embassy was only the latest terrorist act.. It killed 12 of your innocent people, including a number of the brave Embassy guards. We also know that you are trying to hold a parliamentary election without the opposition parties, who claim with some credibility that the upcoming election is simply a tool meant to reproduce the same faces – and the same anti-democratic forces – that have occupied your parliament for the last 30 years.

We also know that chaos and instability are prevailing in many parts of your country because of the lack of a real local government system which would allow citizens to elect their representatives and manage their own affairs. We are afraid that the discontent in Yemen now will not only prevent the holding of elections, it might even force the international community to make some tough choices leading to the acceptance of a new state or states in the region.

Such new states might show more willingness to combat pirates on land and at sea; such new states might demonstrate real support for efforts to combat terrorism and corruption. The governments of such new states might actually arrest known terrorists and hand them over to the offices of international justice, thus ensuring the safety and prosperity of the citizens, and maintaining their property on their land. Such new states might be devoted to protecting their people against the possibility of falling under the control of destructive ideologies.

These possibilities exist for the future of Yemen, make no mistake about it.

Mr. Marshall:

Finally, I apologize that I cannot accept your offer, which we have received through two U.S. university scholars, to solve the Guantanamo dilemma by adopting a Yemeni System that could invoke only gales of mockery and genuine horror on the part of any civilized people: I speak of the system of releasing detainees while arresting and keeping their innocent relatives as hostages in your prisons, to be funded by the United States taxpayers! Any high school civics student in American would call that idea “retarded.”

We are the nation that protected the relatives of Osama bin Laden, the day after the attacks of September 11th 2001; we sent them back to their own country safely, realizing they were not to be held culpable for the act of their relative. How dare you, Marshall, ask us to help you legitimize a manifestly unjust system of keeping innocent people hostages in your abusive facilities? Are you not aware that this disreputable system was one of the main reasons that the Yemeni people revolted in 1962, and John F Kennedy recognized the new regime set up at that time for that very reason?

Its a good but small step in the right direction, if implemented. Yemen Online

Yemen’s Government approves reducing public expenditures
The government approved in its cabinet meeting held on Tuesday organizing and reducing expenditures has no thing to do with development for avoiding financials burdens.

Discussing a memo raised by Ministry of Finance over reducing and organizing expenditures for fiscal year 2009, the cabinet approved also reducing number of diplomats working in Yemeni embassies as lower as possible, stopping buying transport means and buying only furniture and equipments for new buildings and institutions.

The cabinet directed the ministry to take necessary measures in the light of what have been approved today and stressed on custom and tax authorities to follow up collecting and submitting all resources according to pending laws and enhancing role of interior control for this purpose.

It affirmed on concerned economic bodies to take necessary measures for developing their economic role and contribution in finding new alternative resources.

Saleh decided not to hold local elections, by fiat. The local councils are the ones that elect the governors now, although those indirect gubenatorial elections were pre-rigged and, where an unexpected result occured, over-turned.

SANA’A, NewsYemen

The European Union said it strongly supports the democratic process in Yemen and expresses its concern at certain recent developments, including the postponement of local elections for four years.

In a statement issued on Monday, the Council of European Union said the postponement may be interpreted as signs of deterioration in the political dialogue between the various stakeholders in Yemen.

The European Union calls on all sides to seek a consensus on the basis of the agreements reached between the various political parties along the lines of the recommendations put forward by the 2006 electoral observation mission, said the statement.

The European Union’s statement urges all political sides in Yemen to “take the path of peaceful coexistence in a spirit of constructiveness, with the aim of arriving at a compromise and a transparent and democratic consensus in order that democracy in Yemen can be strengthened.”

The EU confirms its willingness to consider sending a new electoral observation mission to Yemen for the parliamentary elections in the spring of 2009.

Kudos to IFES for speaking plainly. Yemen Post

The ruling party allocated almost YR 60 billion to buy votes in the 2003 parliamentary elections in an attempt to increase its election opportunities in Parliament, an international expert specialized in the election affairs said.

Chief expert of political finance at the International Foundation for Election Systems IFES Dr. Marshen Walky, however, expressed regret over using such sum in what he described as political and electoral corruption while the sum was rather to used to implement infrastructure projects such as schools, hospitals and roads.

He said that a report by the IDEA Organization on democracy building in Yemen revealed that the ruling party in Yemen had allocated between YR 40-60 billion during the 2003 elections to buy votes.

At a press conference in Sana’a on Wednesday Walky said though the Yemeni election law bans buying electoral votes and using the public funds in elections, there is no observation or control of the spending of public funds on electoral campaigns.

He likened Yemeni legislations to Swiss cheese full of holes.

He urged that candidates must exercise transparency to disclose resources to fund their electoral campaigns.

Walky said political corruption linked to financing electoral campaigns is a threat to the whole development and the development of democracy in particular in any country as some businessmen endorse candidates in return these businessmen can ensure they can get back what they paid for electoral campaigns through obtaining contracts and investment tenders through winning candidates they endorse.

Walky brought up the misuse of the public funds during elections saying that international monitors judged the electoral process in 2006 was not totally fair due to exclusive use of public funds.

He said the EU mission, which observed the 2006 local and presidential elections in Yemen, found out that many officials used the country’s resources such as buildings, cars and ceremonies to succeed their electoral campaigns.

Walky said changing the electoral system will not solve the problem of political corruption; however, he said the Party-List system is the best solution to restrict buying votes, even if it will not tackle the problem completely.

He urged media to play a vital role in establishing awareness to curb illegal spending of candidates so that only efficient and right winners come to power.

(Read on …)

The hostage system is unjust, destabilizing and should not be encouraged.

AKI:

Sanaa, 16 Dec. (AKI) – Yemeni police have arrested at least 100 tribesmen believed to be linked to the abduction of three Germans in a remote area 130 km south of the capital, Sanaa, according to unnamed tribal sources.

All those arrested reportedly belong to the powerful Banu Dhabian tribe of the kidnappers and the move is intended to pressure them to release the German hostages who were abducted on Sunday.

Earlier on Tuesday security forces surrounded the mountain hideout east of Sanaa where the kidnappers are believed to be holding a female employee of the German Technical Cooperation agency GTZ and her parents.

The captives are in good health, according to the German embassy in Sanaa. It said the Yemeni government has assured it no force will be used to free the hostages.

The kidnappers have demanded the release of two close male relatives who have been jailed for abducting five Yemeni engineers and holding them captive for six months last year, Yemeni Interior Ministry officials said.

The kidnappers have also asked for 200,000 dollars, according to the ministry.

Disgruntled tribesmen in impoverished Yemen kidnap foreigners as a means of bargaining with the government, either to secure the release of jailed tribe members, or for jobs or improved living conditions. Most hostages are released unharmed.

Update: now the kidnappers want Moyaad, money and the release of the family members.

Yemen Post

On the other hand, authorities have arrested two persons from Al Dhale province who were handed over by Saudi authorities in connection with reports they published on a website backing the southern anti-government movements. However, the fate of a third partner remains unclear, as there were reports he is still held by Saudi authorities.

Sources close to the families of the arrested said the Political Security in Sana’a seized Sami Ali Nassir and Ali Sahyef al-Hariri four months ago, but there were not specific convictions against them under which they may go on trial.

The two along with a third partner were said to have created a website known as ‘ the southern movement’. The sources expected Saudi authorities had held the Yemeni nationals under a request from the Yemeni government.

Families of the arrested called on human rights organizations to intervene to release their relatives either in Yemen or in Saudi Arabia.

I thought I’d ask the rebels what is their position on the ucoming parliamentary elections. They will not participate until the Qatari agreement is implemented. They are urging people not to participate as voters and most likely, candidates. Yahya al-Houthi is currently the MP for Sa’ada. His brother Hussain was an MP in the GPC prior to his death in battle with the military or ambush during negotiations, depending on who you talk to.

This is the fourth negotiatied agreement that the government has not implemented on its end.

As it stands now, the reconstruction aid is going to projects in undamaged areas and regime-loyal villages, which was announced by the government. More concerning it the nearly 100,000 civilians who remain out of touch with international aid organizations. Part of the rebels requirements for political participation is the release of the prisoners. There was a report by Amnesty that these are arbitrary arrests, there’s weekly demonstrations, and the local NGO have issued several statements.

This means all of Saleh’s formal and informal opposition are rejecting the Parliamentary elections, as it stands now.

I dont have much text here so I thought I’d throw in a photo of Sa’ada taken earlier this week:

After several years of outlawing al-Ghadir day, a Shia celebration, in 2008 the ban was lifted.

Feb 2009

14 October

Show / October 14:

تشهد مدينة “ جعار” “ منذ أواخر العام الماضي 2008 انفلاتاً أمنياً خطيراً ينذر بسقوطها تحت سيطرة جماعات مسلحة تلبس عباءة الدين وترفع سيوف “ الجهاد” ضد الدولة والمجتمع استناداً إلى أفكار متطرفة قام بتسويقها في اليمن بعض شيوخ الإسلام السياسي الذين يحرضون على وجوب دفع الصائل وقتال رجال الأمن” بوصفهم حراسا للطائفة الممتنعة عن تطبيق الشريعة الإسلامية. In the town of “Ja’ar” “since late last year 2008 portends a serious irresponsible security fall under the control of armed groups wear the mantle of religion and flying swords,” Jihad “against the state and society based on the ideas of extremist in Yemen, the marketing of political Islam’s spiritual leaders who incite and must be paid Alsail fight security men, “as guardians of abstaining from the application of a range of Islamic law. (Read on …)

This article is written by the same person who wrote “Winds and Waves of Change in South West Arabia”

> The Struggle for Aden by Ian Garner

> The leadership impasse in the southern governorates of Yemen (called by
> the insurgents South Arabia) could be best understood by referring to
> early research by Doreen Ingrams (A Survey of Social and Economic
> Conditions in the Aden Protectorate,Eritrea,,1949, and A Time in
> Arabia,UK,1970). Mrs Ingrams was the wife of Sir Harold Ingrams, the
> British Resident in Hadramaut (the Eastern Aden Protectorate).
> The most pertinent part of her writings is her description of the
> Aulaqis in the Western Aden Protectorate.

> In 1967 George Brown, the Foreign Secretary in Downing Street did a
> U-turn and declared for the NLF against UN and Arab League
> resolutions. Enoch Powell, MP, denounced that as a betrayal of the
> Govt. of the Federation of South Arabia (inclusive of the Crown Colony
> of Aden). (Read on …)

Sincere dialog from both sides in the best interests of the Yemeni public would be refreshing.

Press Statement
Robert Wood, Deputy Spokesman
Washington, DC
December 15, 2008

Yemen: Parliamentary Elections

We welcome the upcoming Parliamentary elections in Yemen as an opportunity for the Yemeni people to renew their democratic institutions and processes. It is important for the integrity of the election process that preparations proceed in a fair and transparent manner, untainted by violence and accusations of misconduct.

We are concerned that the lack of consensus and cooperation between the principal political parties in Yemen puts the successful execution of the elections at risk. Moreover, it contributes to a perception that neither the ruling nor opposition parties are prepared to make the concessions necessary to ensure that the citizens of Yemen are able to express their political will in a free and transparent election.

We call on all political parties in Yemen to return immediately to dialogue to reach a consensus on the procedures for the upcoming parliamentary elections that are consistent with recommendations made by international elections observers in 2006. All Yemeni political parties share the responsibility to participate in the democratic process and to find a consensus to allow the elections to proceed in a manner that will reflect Yemen’s commitment to democracy. We look forward to a spirited campaign season, overseen by the responsible offices of the Supreme Council for Elections and Referenda in an orderly and transparent manner.

2008/1052

Released on December 15, 2008

A prudent move by the US in the wake of Mumbai, the Brits evaluate threat level as high.
AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department has banned U.S. diplomats and other government personnel from all Western hotels in Yemen because of the threat of terrorism.

Officials said they were not aware of any specific, credible threat to Americans in the Red Sea country but noted a continuing stream of information that has prompted the U.S. Embassy in San’a to issue two terror-related warnings this week alone.

“As a result of continuing threat information, the U.S. Embassy has placed all Western hotels in Yemen off limits to embassy personnel and visitors,” it said in a notice sent to Americans in the country on Friday. (Read on …)

Yemen Times

What are the statistics for female child laborers in Yemen?

Unfortunately, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor don’t have precise or updated statistics on child labor generally and on girl labor specifically. However, we can say that there are from 400,000 to 800,000 working children in Sana’a. The Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood had conducted a study last year in eight governorates which estimate that there are at least 30,000 spend most of their time in the streets, 60 percent of which work and sleep in the streets. I think that the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor intend to conduct a survey in 2009. One thing is for sure, and that is that the number of these girls increases every day.

Its my understanding there’s a humdinger coming out on just the Yemenis. This is from the Weekly Standard:

Al Matrafi was connected to the highest levels of the terror network. He allegedly met with Osama bin Laden twice, once in late 2000 and a second time in July 2001 at bin Laden’s house in Kandahar. Al Matrafi acted as an emissary between bin Laden and Saudi clerics who supported al Qaeda, including one who helped establish al Wafa. According to the U.S. Government’s files, al Matrafi also had “numerous conversations with Mullah Omar” and “negotiated a deal that allowed the Taliban to direct al Wafa’s activities.”

Al Matrafi’s ties to these senior terrorists gave al Wafa access to al Qaeda’s most sensitive projects, including Yazid Sufaat’s anthrax program.

One of al Matrafi’s employees, a Yemeni named Ayman Saeed Abdullah Batarfi, is currently held at Guantánamo. It is not clear what the U.S. Government plans to do with him, but Batarfi is allegedly a long-time mujahideen, having first traveled to Afghanistan to fight the Soviets in the late 1980s. After training in an al Qaeda camp and participating in the first jihad in Afghanistan, Batarfi graduated from medical school in Pakistan and, according to the New York Times, “pursued postdoctoral studies there.” Batarfi even became an orthopedic surgeon.

Batarfi used his expertise to become the medical advisor to al Wafa. It was in this capacity, the government alleges, that Batarfi “met a Malaysian microbiologist in Kandahar” while staying at an al Qaeda guesthouse in August 2001. “This microbiologist wanted to equip a lab and train the Afghans to test blood” and “was involved in developing anthrax for al Qaida.” Batarfi told another al Wafa member “to purchase four to five thousand United States Dollars worth of medical equipment for the Malaysian microbiologist.”

Although the microbiologist is not named in the government’s unclassified files, he is most certainly Yazid Sufaat.

Yet another current Guantánamo detainee is, like Batarfi, a Yemeni who was working for al Wafa at the time of his capture. The U.S. government alleges that Jamil Ahmed Said Nassir was identified by a senior al Wafa official as being “a Karachi University microbiology graduate student,” who purchased materials for Wafa from a chemical company. Thus, Nassir may have been involved in Sufaat’s anthrax program as well. It is possible that Nassir is, like Sufaat, a scientist who wanted to use his training to serve al Qaeda’s goals.

So, we have four alleged terrorists all of whom have been detained in the post-9/11 world and at least three of whom were allegedly involved in al Qaeda’s anthrax program in some fashion. Two of them, Yazid Sufaat and Abdullah Aiza al Matrafi, have been released from custody. It is up to the Malaysian government to make sure Sufaat does not return to terrorism. And it is up to the Saudis to make sure al Matrafi does not rejoin his al Qaeda and Taliban brethren. Indeed, more than one hundred Saudis are in al Matrafi’s shoes–that is, they were once detained at Guantánamo and are now living in Saudi Arabia. The Saudis have built a program to rehabilitate these former detainees, but only time will tell if this effort is effective.

The other two, Ayman Saeed Abdullah Batarfi and Jamil Ahmed Said Nassir, currently reside at Guantánamo. Both of them are Yemenis and the Bush administration has had a difficult time figuring out what to do with the approximately 97 Yemenis left at Guantánamo. It is not clear what the new Obama administration will do with them either.

To view this clip, visit MEMRI

“Women Are Subject to Menstruation, When Their Endurance and Mental Capacity for Concentration Are Diminished”

Abd Al-Majid Al-Zindani: “Allah said, with regard to women bearing witness: ‘If two men are not available, then a man and two women, such as you choose as witnesses, so that if one of them errs, the other can remind her.’ Some heretics – communists and other atheists – ridiculed [this verse], saying: How come a man’s testimony equals that of two women? They used this to mock [the Muslims].

“The Muslims used to respond that women are subject to menstruation, when their endurance and mental capacity for concentration are diminished. When a woman witnesses a killing or an accident, she becomes frightened, moves away, and sometimes even faints, and she cannot even watch the incident. [...]

“The American Time magazine, in its July 31, 1995 issue, published this picture from research about the brain functioning of men and women. This is the ma… This is the female brain, and this is an image of the male brain. What do we see? We find that in the case of women, this area… And there is another here…

“Two areas in a woman’s brain are activated when she talks. As we can see, there are many centers of speech in a woman’s brain. There is a center in each lobe, while in the case of a man, there is only one center, here. The opposite center does not operate during speech, because it is busy remembering.”

“When a Woman Talks, She Might Use the Part of the Brain Containing the Memory for Talking – And That’s It, The Data is Lost”

“Both men and women have centers for speech and for memory. In the case of men, the center for speech is here, while the center for memory is here. When a man talks, his center for speech is active, and when he remembers something, his center for memory is active. On the other hand, when a woman wants to talk, she puts both centers into action. This may give us an explanation why women are more talkative.

“What is the outcome of this? When a woman talks, she uses the part of the brain that contains the memory, because in the case of women, both centers function for speech and memory. So when a woman talks, she might use the part of the brain containing the memory for talking – and that’s it, the data is lost.

“Therefore, if we need the testimony of women in cases pertaining to human lives, property, honor, or the stability of justice, we must take into consideration this fact of life in the nature of women.”

U.S. suggests Yemen to shift counter-terrorism file to Central Security
Sahwa Net – The U.S. ambassador to Yemen Stephen Seche suggested in a meeting with Yemen’s Interior Minister Mutahar al-Masri on Saturday to shift Yemen’s counter-terrorism file to Yemen’s Central Security organization, said a well-informed source that pleaded anonymity.

The source also said that the proposal was discussed during the meeting in which Seche praised the Central Security Organization which belongs to the Interior Ministry.

For his part, Al-Misiry visited on Sunday the Central Security Organization exalting it and its acts against terror.

The U.S State Department had banned U.S. diplomats and other government from all Western hotels in Yemen because of threats of terrorism advising, in the meantime, U.S. citizens to take caution and prudent security measures.

Update: But what to do with them?The Navy is saddled with two-dozen pirates it captured in the Gulf of Aden on Saturday with no country willing to take them into custody till reports last came in….The consensus that emerged was that there was no enabling provision in the international law to deal with a situation where pirates are arrested in the international waters.

Update 2: Yemen requests its pirates back (before they start talking) to determine their identities and put them on trial if there is proof of wrong-doing. Lets see if that goes any better than the terror trials.

NEW DELHI, India (CNN) — : The Indian navy captured 23 piracy suspects who tried to take over a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Aden, between the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, Indian officials said.

In addition to the 12 Somali and 11 Yemeni suspects, the Indian navy seized two small boats and “a substantial cache of arms and equipment,” the military said in a statement.

Among the seized items were seven AK-47 automatic rifles, three other automatic weapons and 13 loaded magazines; a rocket-propelled grenade launcher along with rockets, cartridges and grenades; up to three outboard motors and a global positioning system receiver. (Read on …)