Armies of Liberation

You would think that Yemen’s main opposition political party alliance would be capable of issuing a statement in English. It really limits their impact on the broader discussion when all their thinking and policies are only presented in Arabic. Even the Houthis are issuing English statements now, the Southerners are getting better at it (at least theres some websites now). The JMP doesn’t even have a website.

Each party has a paper and often a website. In the case of Islah’s al Sahwa, the webiste is accessable in Yemen, but the Socialists’ al Esheraki is often blocked from being viewed in Yemen. Still the alliance itself should a) have a website and b) issue statements in English, even as a summary of the main points of the longer Arabic statements.

Sahwa Net -Yemen’s main opposition parties, the Joint Meeting Parties, have again called for stopping Saada war between government forces and al-Houthi rebellion.

JMP affirmed that violence only escalates strains, sheds further blood and complicate problems.

JMP also demanded to allow local and international relief organizations to access the damaged areas and help the displaced, expressing its willingness to take part in any national efforts to solve the Saada crisis.

awwwwwwwww

NEFA: Al-Qaida also claimed to have uncovered “a network of spies and collaborators who are in league with that criminal [Nayef] and which the government of Yemen is oblivious to. There are exciting details that we will announce later, Allah-willing.”

But where’s Saleh’s network of spies? That was always the justification given for all the terrorist releases, they were going to report back to the Yemeni government.

In 2005, during the second mediated settlement, Saleh announced the order to release 843 Sa’ada detainees, and the news got picked up as if the detainees were actually released. But the families reported in the next days and weeks that they still had no notice of their family member. The release of the detainees has been an ongoing issue since then and a top issue in negotiations with the rebels. Yemeni govt document ordering the release and witness testimony from imprisoned children below the fold. (Read on …)

Its good (although costly) that they are actually shipping food, instead of just giving money. Also the statement asks the Yemeni government to minimize civilians casualties, but its hard to do when the Yemeni military is bombing cities. Also the US is asking for the safe corridor for humanitarian supplies. Doesn’t seem like a lot to ask, when estimates are 150,000 civilians are at extreme risk. The Yemeni government formed a committee to think about it. The following is from the Embassy website:

U.S. provides $2.5 million in food aid for displaced people in Sa’ada, August 30, 2009

In response to the urgent humanitarian needs of the civilian population in Sa’ada governorate as a result of the resumption of military conflict, the United States of America, through USAID and its Food for Peace program, is pleased to announce a contribution of over $2.5 million to the World Food Program.

This contribution includes 3,440 metric tons of wheat and 460 metric tons of beans – enough to feed 100,000 people for two and one-half months. The first shipment of wheat is expected to arrive in the near future.

While the United States recognizes the responsibility of the Government of Yemen to defend its national territory against armed rebellion, this responsibility must be exercised in a manner that minimizes risk to the non-combatant civilian population.

The United States calls on both parties to the conflict to ensure the security of international relief workers in the region, and the safe passage of emergency relief supplies to camps housing internally displaced persons.

الولايات المتحدة تقدم مساعدات غذائية بقيمة 2.5 مليون للنازحين في صعدة
(Read on …)

Really it does. For more (or perhaps all known open source- its really that good), see the History Commons Entity, USS Cole

Somewhat related and because I dont know where else to throw it:

From the trial findings of the Cole families vs. the Sudan

the Court FINDS as a fact, that the explosives used in the Cole attack were sent by Al Qaeda operatives in Sudan. This finding is corroborated by the testimony of one of Bin Laden’s lieutenants in Sudan, Jamal Al-Fadl, who testified in criminal proceedings against Bin Laden arising out of the 1998 embassy bombings. (Ex. 32, United States v. Bin Laden, Case No. 198CR1023, Trial Tr. Feb. 6, 2001). Mr. Al-Fadl stated in sworn testimony in a trial before the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York that he worked under Bin Laden in Sudan; that he stored four crates of weapons and explosives at a farm in Sudan owned by Bin Laden; and that he shipped the four crates in an Al Qaeda-owned boat from a facility owned by the Sudanese military in Port Sudan to Yemen, where they were to be used to “fight the Communists.”(Ex. 32 at 262, 336-40.)

Well thats good. I’ll go back and update the prior post also. Odd that the Yemeni government was praising Kuwait’s decision, well not that odd.

News Yemen: A diplomat source in the Kuwaiti embassy in Yemen denied press reports that the Kuwaiti government had shut down the Yemeni Suhail TV.

The Kuwaiti diplomat said in an interview with Anneda independent newspaper that Kuwait has not issued a license to Suhail TV to broadcast from Kuwait and has not banned it.

Local press reported last week that the Kuwaiti authorities had banned Suhail to broadcast from Kuwait.

“We welcome this positive decision by the Kuwaiti authorities as Suhail TV’s programs incite sedition in the country,” media cited an unidentified Yemeni official as saying.

Minister of Information, who is also the spokesman of the government, praised the Kuwaiti decision and relations between the two countries.

Suhail TV, which is owned by Hamdan al-Ahmar, brother of well-known opponent Hamid al-Ahmar, denied any political involvement and affiliation with any political organizations.

A source in Suhail TV said it would resume broadcasting from a western country.

Update: Yemen Times

In a related event, thousands of Hashed tribesmen in Amran are preparing to participate in the war against the Houthis. Media sources said that 3,000 fighters – in addition to other fighters mobilized last week- were made ready to participate in fighting against the Houthis in Amran’s Harf Sufyan front. Fighters’ names were registered and each of them was given YR 20,000 and 100 machine gun bullets.

Tribal militia’s are a bad idea in general because they lack military training and discipline. From AFP

SANAA — Nine tribesmen who were fighting alongside the Yemeni army to crush a Shiite rebellion in the north of the country have been killed in a mortar attack, tribal sources said on Sunday.

Sixteen other fighters from the influential Shiite Hashed tribe were also wounded on Saturday when the Zaidi rebels fired mortar rounds on their positions in the mountainous region of Sawad, near Saudi Arabia, they said. (Read on …)

The Yemeni government has arrested journalists for covering the Sa’ada War. This case is a tactic of intimidation directed against the international aid organizations.

from al Nedaa here, I think this is it:

Detained an officer of the United Nations in Sana’a .. after hours of a report on the humanitarian situation
الخميس , 27 أغسطس 2009 م Thursday, August 27th, 2009 م

اعتقلت مجموعة أمنية عصر أمس وليد شرف الدين، الموظف في مكتب الأمم المتحدة بصنعاء. Security group arrested yesterday afternoon and Walid Sharaf al-Din, an employee of the United Nations Office in Sana’a. وقال مصدر قريب من أسرة شرف الدين إن ضباطاً يعتقد أنهم تابعون لجهاز الأمن القومي دهموا منزل وليد وقاموا بتفتيشه ثم اعتقاله ومصادرة كمبيوتره المحمول (اللابتوب)، وأوراقه. A source close to the family added that the officers believed to be affiliated to the National Security Service raided the house of Walid and then searched his arrest and the confiscation of his laptop (laptop), and leaves.
ولم يصدر أي تصريح عن مكتب الأمم المتحدة بشأن الاعتقال حتى مساء أمس. There was no statement from the Office of the United Nations detention until Sunday evening. وعزت مصادر خاصة الاعتقال إلى انزعاج السلطات اليمنية من تقرير نشرته الأمم المتحدة أمس. And private sources attributed the arrest to alarm the Yemeni authorities of the report published by the United Nations yesterday. أعده مكتبها في صنعاء، يتعرض إلى الأوضاع الانسانية في صعدة وعمران، ومسؤولية الأجهزة الحكومية والجيش عن معاناة النازحين في مناطق العمليات العسكرية. Prepared by the office in Sana’a, is exposed to the humanitarian situation in Sa’ada, Amran, and the responsibility of government agencies and the military for the suffering of displaced persons in the areas of military operations.