Armies of Liberation

Yemen Post

Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Saleh Basurah called on dignitaries and social personalities not to exercise more pressure on state to establish new universities, hinting that any expansion in this respect does not serve the development.

Basurah hinted the existing universities have not yet set completely their infra-structure and buildings, adding that his ministry is working at the present time on the preparing higher education law draft which will be referred to the cabinet next month.

Likewise, the ministry is working on academic accreditation system and quality assurance which will be applied on both government and private universities, calling for the establishment of more community colleges instead of universities.

Meanwhile, Basurah threaten to disclose the practices of high-ranking officials and some members of parliament who exercise pressure on his ministry to distribute scholarships for those who do not deserve them and in a way that does not serve the country.

In a meeting involving the anti-corruption authority and Minister of Finance Noman Al-Suhaibi by the end of the last week, Basurah threatened to resign from his post in case he is sued for errors committed by others.

Sources pointed out that Basurah asked the anti-corruption authority to help him rid of the interferences of high-ranking officials in running his ministry’s affairs, or otherwise he would expose the secrets on any satellite channel.

For their part, the anti-corruption authority demanded Basurah to hand in the file of financial and cultural attaches abroad including the attaches of Jordan and Malaysia who failed to submit a financial disclosures.

By the end of the meeting, officials ordered withholding the allocations of all attaches who have not presented their financial disclosures. They also asked for take serious measures against those who delay the payment of students’ money together with starting payment right from the next year through the Ministry of Higher Education only.

Another hugely corrupt deal. Privatization is an important process for economic growth. It hasn’t gone very well at all. However, this report is very good actually in that the Parliament is investigating corruption and the media is reporting it. That’s the way it is supposed to work. Corruption is countered by transparency and accountability.

On this specific issue, the Ministry of Agriculture is an obstacle to the implementation of the water strategy, with about 90% of water used for agriculture and the vast bulk of that used in qat production. The ministries are not coordinating; some are profit centers for associated individuals while others are pushing to sustain Yemen’s viability into the future. Another example is the Health Ministry whose employees own many of the shops that sell the smuggled pharmaceuticals.

Yemen Post

A report by Agriculture, Irrigation and Fish Wealth Committee at Parliament revealed gross violations by the Supreme Committee for Privatization while selling the General Corporation for increasing genetically improved seeds as the real value was estimated at YR 1.8 billion while it was sold for YR 78.5 million with a difference of YR 1.3 billion.

The report demanded the Public Money Prosecution to act against some Ministry of Agriculture affiliates and Hadramout Deputy Governor for Wadi and Desert Affairs under corruption charges.

The corporation which was established in 1998 as a public company at a capital of YR 75 million and stretches over 6303 m2 was sold to Yemeni businessman Mohammed Al-Hadad.

In 2005, Hathramout members of parliament submitted a complaint to parliament demanding restoration of the corporation and abrogation of the selling operation; however, no action has been taken since then.

Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation is one of the ministries famous for rampant corruption especially in the Provinces Development Authority as is the case with Eastern Provinces Development Authority whose officials were accused of plundering YR 400 million together with $ 20 million under Desertification Fighting Program.

The officials of the authority now own villas and real estates in Sana’a whose total value reaches millions of dollars.

More from the Yemen Observer

The committee for agriculture, irrigation and fisheries in the Parliament has discovered a corrupt deal worth YR1,800,000,000 involving the General Company for Seed Production in Sayoun.

(Read on …)

To follow is a good article on the arms trade in Yemen from Asharq Alawasat. Abu Al-Feda seems to be the go to guy whenever any journalist wants al-Qaeda’s take on things.

A former leader of the Al Qaeda network in Yemen, Rashad Mohamed Saeid, otherwise known as Abu al Fedaa, who lived in Afghanistan for a number of years, told Asharq Al Awsat, “America and its allies aim to disarm the Yemeni people not because of terrorists but to get rid of their means of protection and defending themselves, thus making them submissive.”

Abu Al Fedaa indicated that Al Qaeda is not interested in acquiring or possessing weapons such as AK-47s and the like as such weapons can be found “where the battles are going on right now. The Mujahideen in Iraq, Ansar al Islam or Tawheed did not even have AK-47s, however the battles erupted and they developed their own weapons and utilized their skills to develop missiles and other things. Furthermore, Jihad movements are not concerned about weapons such as the AK-47, as they now rely on weapons that are lighter in weight and more effective and harmful to the targeted opponent; it is not difficult to produce explosive material.”

Abu Al Fedaa stressed the difficulty of the government to achieve its targets in its campaign to limit the number of arms in the country. He says, “That which is prohibited is desired. Closing down arms markets in Yemen will not solve the problem but will rather advance the trade; there is an international mafia, who is it that exports arms to Somalia? The Yemeni coastline stretches far and so too do the borders and the country has many foes. Closing down the markets will never solve the problem but will increase the prosperity of the trade because it will become a valuable profitable commodity.”

Yes, who is it that exports arms to Somalia? Full article to follow:

Sanaa, Asharq Al-Awsat- Yemeni authorities are currently seeking to restrict the spread of arms in the country, in fear of weapons falling into the hands of terrorist networks such as Al Qaeda for example. Last year, Yemeni authorities discovered that weapons belonging to the Yemeni Ministry of Defense had reached members of Al Qaeda who attacked the American consulate in Jeddah in 2005. However there are many obstacles in the way of controlling the arms trade in Yemen, for example buying and selling weapons is deep-rooted within Yemeni tradition and linked to the concepts of revenge and settling tribal conflicts. There are approximately 18 legitimate markets for the arms trade all over Yemen, the most prominent of which are Jahana and Ataleh, north of Sadah near the Saudi/Yemeni borders.

Jahana, which lies 25 kilometers east of the Yemeni capital Sanaa is a small town and is famous firstly for its ancient history, and secondly for the arms trade. Here, one can ask any passerby, regardless of age, about the arms market and would easily be pointed in the correct direction. There are shops lined up on both sides of a wide unpaved street, and immediately upon arrival, young sellers and brokers will approach you to ask whether you are buying or selling.

Asharq Al Awsat visited the Jahana market where a wide range of weapons are on display including light arms of different brands, various hand guns, machine guns, AK-47s, modified weapons, old rifles (Abu Sahan/Thompson sub-machine gun), and Al Jarmal (a popular weapon in Yemen). There are even RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenades) available and various kinds of ammunition.

(Read on …)

This is an atrocious theft.

YT: SANA’A, Dec. 16 — Three parliamentary blocs last week accused the Yemeni government of lacking transparency regarding estimated oil returns and further playing around with more than 25 millions barrels of exported oil.

Following passage of the budget project, the opposition blocs – the Yemeni Reform Party, the Yemeni Socialist Party and the Nasserite Unionist Party – released a mass media statement last Wednesday highlighting their views on the 2007 budget.

The release declared, “The 2007 budget project was approved while a majority of Yemenis live below the poverty line and are illiterate. They also lack basic services such as electricity, water and health care. Further, unemployment rates are more 45 percent and increasing daily to the point where we’re on the verge of a catastrophe at social, economic and political levels.”

The statement went on, “There’s agreement about economic and social priorities inside and outside Yemen. The recent London donors conference revealed the government’s failure to treat the deteriorating situation in Yemen.

“The budget should address the economic situation, including poverty and combating unemployment, improving education services, supplying clean water and electricity to all citizens and carrying out infrastructure projects, as well as increasing investment expenditures in such a way that revitalizes the nation’s economic situation and improves the investment environment.

It continued, “What is distinct about the 2007 budget is its great ambiguity regarding announced figures and policies. The government is attempting to mislead Parliament in the following ways:

1. The government’s financial statement policy is contradicted by figures shown in the budget. Despite advocating clarity and transparency, the figures contradict the financial statement. The estimated oil exports were fixed at 41 million barrels at $55 per barrel with total returns of YR 443 billion; however, actual figures for January-October 2006 reveal that the Yemeni government exported 55 million barrels. Thus, 2006 oil exports would be 66 million barrels, which means YR 270 billion wasn’t included in the budget.

2. The financial statement mentioned government’s tendency to develop non-oil revenues; however, this wasn’t reflected in the figures, as 70 percent of revenues were from oil. Additionally, the predicted increase in returns was nothing other than fixing the 2007 oil price at $55 per barrel instead of $40 in 2006 and exchanging the U.S. dollar at YR 196 instead of YR 185 in 2006, so the increase wasn’t due to actual economic activity.

3. Although the budget project was presented to Parliament after the London donors conference, wherein Yemen received $4.7 billion in easy loans and grants, the 2007 budget doesn’t reflect this number. Instead, loan returns decreased from YR 62 billion in 2006 to YR 58 billion in 2007.

4. The immense vagueness of the budget figures reflect the Yemeni government’s hidden intention to play around with the figures under names like “Unclassified Expenditures,” etc., which contradicts transparency and basic accounting principles. Figures under this classification were YR 269 billion, or approximately 16.5 percent of the total budget.

Further, bulk amounts were cut from centralized allocations, which were YR 736 billion or approximately 45.3 percent, clearly indicating that the government lacks vision. Further, there’s no avail to having a budget with numerous shortcomings.

5. The budget deficit is increasing annually, thus opposing government allegations that it is attempting to reduce the deficit, which was 5.18 percent of Gross Domestic Product in 2006 and 4.29 percent in 2005.

6. The government budget tends toward current expenditures at the cost of investment expenses, which amount to YR 301 billion of total GDP or an 18.5 percentage. This means more poverty, unemployment and economic recession.

7. Although they are sectors upon which development relies, there has been a noticeable setback in allocations for education and health. Education allocations decreased from 21.8 percent in 2005 to 15.6 percent in 2006 and 11.7 percent for 2007. The same is true for the health sector, whose allocations decreased from 5 percent in 2005 to 3.9 percent in 2006 and 3.3 percent for 2007.

Such decreases come at a time when the nation is witnessing increased illiteracy among citizens, deteriorating educational outputs and teachers not being paid enough. The health sector has deteriorated further regarding facilities and personnel, as well as medicine.

Such deterioration invites the Yemeni government to increase allocations for these two important sectors, but instead, the opposite occurred. Further, the rights of these sectors’ employees weren’t met according to Parliament’s salary strategy.

8. Opposition repeatedly warned about the risks of foreign and national loans upon Yemen’s economy, particularly when there’s no capable management to administer such loans. Thus, the negative effect of such a policy has surfaced, with huge amounts deducted from budget allocations to settle these loans, which are increasing annually.

Further, approximately YR 22.5 billion is deducted annually to settle foreign loan installments. Servicing such debt amounts to YR 118.7 billion, representing approximately 7.3 percent of budget expenditures.

9. Despite the budget’s immense shortcomings, another budget actually is implemented, according to Central Organization for Control and Auditing reports and final statements, because many projects were implemented outside the budget.

Member of Parliament Ali Ashal, a member of Parliament’s oil and development committee, accused the government of playing with 25 million barrels of oil exported (equaling $1.5 billion) and not including them in the 2007 budget.

He added, “The government’s 2007 budget presented to Parliament wasn’t transparent about estimated oil revenues. Setting oil prices between $50 and $55 is floating and is unworkable for deciding the oil portion of the budget, which is 75 percent.”

Ashal told Al-Nida newspaper that the report of the committee responsible for discussing the 2007 budget was one of the worst ever submitted to Parliament. “Unlike past reports that attempted to provide an objective and scientific criticism for budget projects, the most recent report contains a lot of flattery for the government and the 2007 budget, although it’s full of shortcomings,” he noted.

The opposition statement criticized increased 2006 expenditures on commodities, services and belongings, which reached YR 260,210,181. It also referred to hosting allocations amounting to YR 5,915,890, thus indicating that the Yemeni government wasn’t committed to rationalizing expenditures.

The statement also declared that the 2007 budget amount assigned for dams is YR 728,942 million, decreasing YR 210,618 million from last year’s estimates. Such a small amount doesn’t begin to cover the pressing needs for more dams and water barriers.

MEO:

Major donor countries, concerned that the reform process in Yemen has stalled, have stepped up pressure on the Sanaa regime by linking aid to tangible change.

“The donors have made it clear that there has to be change,” whether pertaining to public freedoms or the fight against corruption, a Sanaa-based diplomat said, requesting anonymity. President Ali Abdullah Saleh “has been pressured a lot by the international community on reform and good governance,” he said.

It seems a long time since Saleh was invited by US President George W. Bush to take part in a G8 summit in Sea Island, Georgia, in June 2004 in order to endorse Washington’s “Broader Middle East” initiative for democratization of the Arab-Islamic world. Two years later, Washington no longer sees Sanaa as one of its best pupils.

Ambassador Thomas Krajeski publicly aired US concern that Yemen had halted progress toward democracy in an interview with the private newspaper Al-Ayyam last October. Yemeni authorities deny dragging their feet on reform, but Krajeski said that his remarks were prompted by “an increasing harassment of journalists and closing of some independent newspapers, causing all of us concern about Yemen’s democratic commitment and the pace of democratic reforms”. “We remain concerned” by the situation in terms of liberties, chiefly press freedom, he said. Attacks against journalists have increased in recent months, and authorities have failed to arrest any suspects in the assaults.

A draft press law, which one diplomat described as “a law that protects the government against journalists,” is also under consideration just a few months before presidential elections scheduled for September. Another diplomat noted, however, that Yemen and Kuwait are the only two countries in the Arabian peninsula “where there is an opposition press that can go very far in its criticism” of government policies.

Information Minister Hassan Ahmad al-Lawzi insisted in remarks to AFP that the government “condemns” attacks against journalists and that press freedom will be “protected.” Another black spot in Yemen’s record is corruption, which both foreign diplomats and Yemenis see as spreading rather than decreasing.

Washington was not long in making its displeasure known. During a visit to the United States in November, Saleh was informed of its decision to deprive Yemen of financial assistance which would have made it eligible for the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA), an aid programme for impoverished nations launched by the Bush administration in 2002.

The development assistance programme was proposed for countries “ruling justly, investing in their people and encouraging economic freedom.” Some countries that did not meet the criteria required to qualify for MCA assistance were selected to receive “Threshold Programme Assistance.”

The MCA programme links aid to the performance of a country, gauged on the basis of 16 indicators, including one related to civil liberties and another to “control of corruption.” Yemen was picked as a “threshold” country in 2004 before being suspended last November. “Because of increasing concern over government corruption and a perceived decline in commitment to individual freedoms, they (Yemen) were suspended pending improvement,” one diplomat said.

The immediate loss for Yemen ranged between 20 and 30 million dollars. But in the longer term, it forfeited potential aid of hundreds of millions of dollars by losing its eligibility for MCA assistance. The following month, the World Bank announced a one-third reduction of its aid to Yemen - from 420 to 280 million dollars - for the same reasons.

In early February, Germany, the United States, Britain and the Netherlands - Yemen’s top donors — told the Sanaa government they wanted to see “change” and a quick implementation of concrete steps toward reform. All of which did not sit well with the Yemeni president. During a visit to Beijing last month, Saleh pointedly remarked that China does not meddle in the internal affairs of the countries it helps, and on his return to Sanaa, he rejected “dictates and conditional support.”

Deputy general, Dr. Abdullah Al-Ulfi, stated that reforms must be made to the law concerning corruption crimes to such a degree that large and small officials receive equal punishment.
Al-Whida reported that Al-Ulfi indicated the current law does not treat high ranking officials. Often, it is the smaller officials who commit the infractions, both monetary and administrative, under the pretext that their direct heads compelled them to do it. It is necessary to take another look at some of these laws so that all are equal before the law.
He went on further to state that there is cooperation between Yemen and Germany to develop the capabilities of the Yemeni financial and administrative cadres.
He stressed the necessity of full cooperation of the judiciary and oversight bodies to raise their readiness to deal with issues tied to money and corruption. In an official report it was made clear that the repeated nature of such violations is due to the absence of any punishments that are effective.
A report published by the monetary committee analyzed and studied the infractions mentioned in the reports by oversight and accounting. It confirmed there was a lack of cooperation among different administrative units with the oversight body. This was most often in delaying or not responding to their requests. This is what has hampered the body from being effective the most.
Thos who participated in the workshop for fighting corruption stressed the importance of finding a legal construct to fight corruption and to protect public monies and to strengthen ways to prevent such infractions. Over 180 people participated in the workshop from the judiciary and oversight bodies. They began their work on Wednesday.
They recommended the necessity of strengthening and activating internal oversight in all units and institutions of the state and to create a review administration in the management body of the state.

NY

In the US, when one company wants to take ownership of another company, they go and buy a lot of shares until they have a majority ownership stake; in Yemen when someone wants to takeover a company, they send armed men to the location while persuading the local officials not to intervene. This also the proceedure to gain possession of land and houses.

IBB, April 9 — The National Company for Mineral Water in Al-Siani, Ibb was attacked by armed individuals in a military car. Dressed in civilian clothes, five men threatened employees with death and blowing up the factory unless they left and wrote a document confirming the factory’s seizure.

According to Yahya Al-Siani, general manager of the factory’s external relations, the armed men first threatened to kill the guards unless they opened the gates, insulting them and calling them swine. They then stormed the factory and attacked employee Yousef Abdulqadir, the factory’s chief accountant.

The attackers alleged that they were doing this because the factory was theirs, as their sheikh, Ali Hizam Al-Buslani, had bought it from businessman Tawfeek Abdurahim Mutahar. They said they were sent to close the factory for an indefinite time.

Factory administration reported the incident to Al-Siani security headquarters, which sent an armed military vehicle with some soldiers. According to factory workers, the soldiers took the five attackers and some of factory employees for questioning.

Al-Siani said all factory employees were interrogated; however, security questioned only three of the attackers, who seemed to have outside intervention. They left Al-Siani area within a few hours of questioning, affirming that they will return with their whole tribe to seize the factory.

Al-Siani confirmed that the region’s security commander, Col. Ali Abu Ghanim, seems to be plotting with the men, as they are from his area of ‘Arhab.’ According to Al-Siani, Ghanim released them on a written pledge to return Saturday, but they did not. Al-Siani added that a petition was submitted to the governor and the governorate security administration, which directed Ghanim to take necessary measures. However, according to Al-Siani, he did nothing.

The mineral water company was established two years ago under the name “Biladi” in a partnership between Salahadeen Group of companies with 75 percent of shares, Mutahar with four percent and the remaining 21 percent for local area residents. According to the factory’s public relations, it is not confirmed yet whether Mutahar sold his shares.

Yemen Times

hmmmm, from the YO:

The Executive Manager of the Tourism Promotion Board (TPB) has been referred by Ministry of Tourism to the Prosecutor of Public Money charged with fraud.

The executive manager was charged with transferring YR15 million to a false account for the purpose of taking part in an exhibition in the British city of Manchester, but that the organization never took part.

The minister, Nabil Al-Faqih said that it was a ‘precautionary procedure’, and that they would wait for prosecution team to complete their investigation.

A letter was sent to the finance ministry requesting changing the executive and financial managers of the TPB, but the ministry turned the request down, insisting they stay in their position.

However, Al-Faqih added that he would be forced to suspend then if they Ministry of Finance did not respond to his demand.

In a meeting on Sunday in the TPB, Al-Faqih confirmed that the organization would b restructured based on legal measures.

A vice-chairman of the board was elected from the private sector for the first time. The board of the fund was also elected in a secret vote.

He said it was agreed to establish a tourism investment company to encourage investment in important tourist sites that are currently rarely visited.

Earlier, the Ministries of Media, Culture and Tourism had promised before Parliament to refer all those suspected of corruption to the prosecution of public money.

This came in discussions of the report presented by the Media, Culture and Tourism committee in their study of the reports of Central Organization of Control and Audit (COCA).

The COCA reports showed that total violations in the Ministry of Media and other institutions under its umbrella reached YR 2.64 billion until 2003, while in the Ministry of Culture and Tourism it reached YR 733 million.

The two ministers of Media and Tourism Hassan Al-Lowzi and Nabil Al-Faqih, demanded specific names of those accused of corruption so that they could be questioned.

They repeated their desire to stand beside Parliament in the fight against corruption.

The Deputy Minister of Culture stressed the necessity to tackle violations starting from as far back as 1990.

Parliament demanded additional recommendations to the Media Committee to inform Parliament of the names and positions of those involved in corruption, estimated to be as high as YR3billion.

This recommendation was proposed by MP Sakhr Al-Wajeeh from the ruling PGC party. This procedure must be done within a week to refer them all to prosecution of public money for investigation, and then for trial at a specialized court.

MP Sakhr Al-Wajeeh and MP Abdul-Karim Shaiban asked why the report had been delayed for more than a year before it reached the agenda of Parliament.

Abdul-Razaq Al-Hajari said that the most widely read newspapers in Yemen and liked by many people were the most corrupted, according to the COCA report.

between the market price of oil and that accounted for in the budget. The accounting is at $40.00/barrel and the market prices is $60.00/barrel. (not to mention the amountof public money lost by smuggling) From News Yemen.

MP Ali Ashal criticized the discrepancies in the official report the government submitted concerning oil revenues. He stated such discrepancies are a tool to confuse the public.
A member of the committee for development and oil stated that the statistics provided by the Central Yemen Bank for the month of January show a total production of 5.11 million barrels thus bringing the year-end total to 60 million barrels. The government predicts that this year’s total will be 39.6 million barrels, a decrease of 21 million from the year previous. It has calculated price per barrel at $40 despite the world market price of $60.
The report indicated that the budget for the year 2006 from oil exports is expected to exceed 3.6B dollars, i.e. the difference in price will exceed 2B dollars. The government does not interact with these resources a fact which was taken into account. It was accused of building a budget based on a deficit and “that is not true in most cases.” Ashal clarifies that since 2001 parliament has demanded that this price difference be made available to the future generations and to build more infrastructure. However, this money has been going into the pockets of the corrupt. Mr. Ashal also stated that the oversight committee is unable to produce the real number of government revenue from oil.
Mr. Ashal based his claims on the monopoly of the centers of power over information and their blinding of the truth.
A member on the committee for development and oil confirmed that there was a lack of transparency based on the discrepancies in the central bank’s report. Sakhar Al-Wajih talked about the differences in oil price and stated “the institutions in our country don’t know anything because we are not a state of institutions. Our institutions are only decoration for the world.” He also criticized the government for using the 2B dollars to strengthen security at a time when “the man in the street fears the man in the uniform.”
Ahmed Al-Sharabi, a leader in the GPC, asked those present to not condemn the situation “because it is a difficult situation and people’s feelings are provoked. He stated the “the amount of oil in our country is small and our corruption is big. In other countries the sheer amount of oil covers the size of corruption.”

Related: Yemen seeks 300 million loan from China as some MPs call for some controls on international loans and their dispursement: “The joint council also recommended that the government be bound to not use the revenue from the loans for purposes other than those previously agreed upon….Mohammed Al-Saqaaf called for a clause in the loan law barring the government from buying cars and furniture with loan monies.”

A big article from News Yemen. Its a very good and complex analysis. The escapees include well trained major AQ operatives including nine previously turned over by SA to Yemen and who have high level contacts inside and outside the region. While ongoing cooperation is important according to the Saudis, the fact that they were housed together for a year is a troubling indication. 400 guns sold by the US to Yemen that were found in SA in the hands of AQ is news, to me at least, and implicates elements of the military in supplying AQ, which is not news, to me at least.

This is interesting, “The arrest of al-Ahdal helped speed up the Saudi American alignment in exercising pressure on Yemen.”

This is freaky; “They disclosed unreality of what was said before on the arrest of Hadi Belqim, mentioning it was proved that Belqim was still free as denying correctness of what was published in Sana’a about the arrest of Abdulrahim al-Nashiri. Saying he was seen free in company with one of Yemeni security men before he was later arrested in the Emirates.” Lying to the US again?

The book mentioned is Sleeping with the Devil, by Robert Baer, who just keeps popping up and is the guy I mentioned in the last article who said that a Saudi military official told him the Yemeni regime is covering up some aspects of the Cole bombing.

Despite the seriousness in trial of tens of those accused of carrying terrorist acts or planning for them, Yemen appears to be amidst a regional and international tempestuous moment towards files it is achieving successes in them. It is Yemen’s cooperation with the international community in fighting terror dating back to the Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh to the White House following the September 11 attacks.

It is strange that the official Yemeni performance seems languid regarding indicators of the tempest as it tries to make use of it domestically and a little farther from the United States of America. This stance is maybe meant for the agenda of the presidential elections and probably to bypass effects of Saada battles, or to put pressure on America that has stepped up its demands concerning requirements of democratic change and its refusal of the Yemeni presence at the millennium fund without achievement of outstanding technical accomplishments.

Despite the Yemeni tepid handling of the 23 who ran away from the Political Security prison on the 3rd of last February, the incident seems to have considerable impact on Yemen in its regional and international relations, even if the authority does not realize that.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has begun “sharp” security and diplomatic activity, as described that to NewsYemen by a high ranking source, to express about its fears from the effect of the escapees outside Yemen. Al-Hayat newspaper in its Saudi edition had quoted Saudi sources as saying that the runaways “from operatives on whom al-Qaeda organization was depending to implement its plans in the region.” The sources that the newspaper described as “reliable”, described the runaways as “possessing highly professional capabilities for carrying out terrorist attacks at both levels of planning and implementation.” The escaped group, “ nine elements the Saudi authorities had repatriated to Yemen according to the security cooperation between the two countries”, included “ dangerous terrorist elements that engineered and took part in planning for big terrorist operations and in their carrying out”, confirming that “ they have large-scale relations and contacts with the rest of the al-Qaeda organization cells and other terrorist organizations inside and outside the region, expecting to “ begin building other terrorist cells inside and outside the region in addition to activating and rehabilitation of other cells to implement new acts .”

The Saudi statements published on al-Hayat newspaper front page, exceeded the talk on the danger of the escapees to queries on the escape operation and said the escaped al-Qaeda operatives “ stayed more than one year in one prison, talking, thinking and planning together until they Managed to dig the tunnel and then escape. ” They wondered “How can a cell experienced in field action be put in one place, a matter that does not serve the course of security investigation and interrogation?” the sources also described the prisoners escape operation as “dangerous” and rather “ dangerous precedence” because of the big number of escapees. But they emphasized the importance of “keeping the security coordination and cooperation between the Yemeni and other security apparatuses” They also stressed the “importance of joining forces and increase in security coordination and cooperation among the region’s countries to arrest the group before they begin to implement sudden terrorist attacks in any available form,” pointing that “the group will seize any available opportunity.”

The Saudi statements on the escapees come at a time when Saudi citizens are standing trial in Sana’a on charges of planning to hit foreign interests in Yemen, after their return from Iraq. In addition there is the more important issue, which is the beginning of Abu A’sim al-Ahdal, whose arrest on 25 November 2003, was accompanied by an indirect tempest in the relations between Yemen and Saudi Arabia, especially that the Americans consider him as “a witness more than an accused in the terrorist operations carried out in Yemen, particularly the Cole and Limburg attacks. The arrest of al-Ahdal helped speed up the Saudi American alignment in exercising pressure on Yemen.

Saudi sources had published news about quantities of weapons, among them shoulder guns that were seized in Saudi Arabia, of American origin sold to the Yemeni defense ministry, in addition to 400 guns carried on shoulder and having serial numbers as part of a deal the United States sold to Yemen defense ministry. Those weapons were seized during one of Saudi raids of gunmen hideout in the kingdom. The sources had wondered on how those weapons were taken from the ministry’s arsenals to be used by al-Qaeda for hitting American interests in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Saudi media had then talked about concerns of American authorities regarding incorrectness of statements published on operations targeting al-Qaeda elements. They disclosed unreality of what was said before on the arrest of Hadi Belqim, mentioning it was proved that Belqim was still free as denying correctness of what was published in Sana’a about the arrest of Abdulrahim al-Nashiri. Saying he was seen free in company with one of Yemeni security men before he was later arrested in the Emirates. Those were statements made by the Saudi interior minister prince Naif Bin Abdulaziz after the arrest of al-Nashiri last year. The political adviser to the president of the republic Dr Abdulkarim al-Iryani had then replied on those statements. At that time Sana’a considered raising the talk on Yemen’s arming of terrorists came to be ahead of information that may be obtained from the detainee Mohammed Hamdi al-Ahdal. Yemen had then said the preliminary information of investigation confirmed involvement of regional personalities in the attack on Limburg and facilitation in the attack on Cole, as part of the local conflict of the country to which those personalities were affiliate. A few days after the capture of al-Ahdal, the Yemeni interior ministry tried to contain the crisis and allowed a Saudi security team to be acquainted with procedures of investigation with al-Ahdal and Yemeni security sources rejected to divulge information by the American intelligence on the author of a book titled “Sleeping with the Satan”, copies of which were given to Yemeni presidency. The book had mentioned about a regional role in the operations of Cole and Limburg. The Yemeni interior ministry had talked in a statement during that crisis about “partied aimed at media excitement with the aim of misleading the world public opinion on the truth of Yemeni serious and decisive stands in fighting terror,” pointing to attempts of “extortion” against Yemen, mentioning “Yemen that suffered damage of terrorist acts, more than any other country, could not submit to any extortion of whatever kind or of whatever source.”

According to Yemeni sources there were previous American intelligence repots delivered to Yemen that mentioned about such information on a role by Saudi prices in supporting al-Qaeda operations in Yemen and the possibility that al-Ahdal, who was among the FBI lists, might have confirmation or denial of the information. Yemen had earlier announced it had sent to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia “what concerned it of al-Ahdal confessions, “who had “talked about names of personalities in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and the Arab United Emirates” who helped him in funding al-Qaeda terrorist acts in Yemen. It is known that al-Ahdal, who Yemen authorities had accused of receiving more than eighty million riyals to spend on tribesmen in the governorates of Al-Jawf and Marib to facilitate hiding the wanted elements, was born in Al-Madina, Saudi Arabia in 1971. He studied in that city as he graduated from secondary school and then worked in trading with honey and established the Caucasus Charitable Society. He is a handicapped, putting on an artificial leg and his left arm paralyzed because of injuries caused in many battles in Bosnea-Hersegovina and Chechnya where his left leg was amputated because of his wound. Yemeni authorities say all his travels to take part in fighting were before going to Yemen as he was forced to go to Yemen after his imprisonment in Saudi Arabia in 1999, spending one year and two months after being deported to Yemen. His first appearance of his name in Yemen was a storming operation by Yemeni Special Forces of Al-Aljalal strongholds in Marib governorate, 140 km to the east of Sana’a on 18 December 2001. Fifteen persons were killed and 20 were wounded in the clashes with Abeeda tribesmen of Marib governorate before the combing up of Balharith area in Shabwa governorate for the same reason. Security authorities said “Abu A’sim” is the connecting link in receiving amounts of money from abroad to finance sabotage activities in Yemen and distribute them among elements of al-Qaeda and that “ the last sum of money he received was $ 500 thousand from Kuwaiti and Saudi sides suspected to be affiliate of al-Qaeda. The purpose is to carry out terrorist acts against American interests and a number of economic and oil installations.

In the second of his trial sessions last February, the prosecution announced that al-Ahdal “Abu A’sim” had confessed before the general prosecution of raising one million and 61 thousand Saudi Riyals from Saudi businessmen in four years to support al-Qaeda organization in Yemen, but the prosecution refused to disclose their identities. Representative of the prosecution Khalid al-Maweri, in the Monday session chaired by judge Najib al-Qaderi, said the accused delivered 20 thousand riyals to the first man in the organization in Yemen, Abu Ali al-Harithi, who was killed in November 2002 in Marib and 50 thousand riyals sent to al-Harithi via a person Abdulaziz, nicknamed “Abu Maath”, a Palestinian carrying Saudi nationality.

When the judge asked al-Ahdal about correctness of his confessions before the general prosecution, he affirmed he had collected 61 million Saudi riyals I four years to support families of the Yemenis killed and imprisoned in Afghanistan, Chechnya, Bosnia-Herzegovina and also families of Yemenis detained in Guantanamo.

On the American side, according to what was announced by military sources that published for the first time text of a letter from the American president to president Saleh, Bush had expressed his disappointment for Yemen’s stance regarding its commitments. However, the letter did not mention about al-Qaeda, the escapees and the detained, but only talked about al-Zindani and Khalid Mishaal. According to the message text Bush told Saleh among data is our joint commitment to strengthening the bilateral cooperation between our to counties, but I have felt a big disappointment when I learned that you have guaranteed Sheikh al-Zindani, the person the United Nation determined as his having ties with al-Qaeda organization, that was in the Yemen official delegation at the Organization of Islamic Conference in Mecca, Saudi Arabia that was dedicated to denounce terror and fighting extremism and enhancement of tolerance. Bush has also expressed his growing concern when he learned that president Saleh received warmly Khalid Mishaal, the leader of Hamas at the beginning of this month.

According to Bush’s letter, he mentioned that Saleh’s close ties with the individuals he mentioned cause skepticism in Saleh’s commitment to the war on terror. He confirmed that the method by which he could prove his being committed partner was by carrying out without more delay Yemen’s international obligations by freezing Sheikh al-Zindani properties and preventing him from future travel. In addition, Bush urged president Saleh to sever the relation with Hamas and its leaders. Bush said Saleh’s cooperation in the war on terror was important and expressed his hope that it was possible to depend on his leadership in scoring victory over terror.

An editorial from the CSM:

World Bank’s war on corruption

The Monitor’s View

How can anyone question a global campaign against corruption? Graft scoffs at rule of law, dilutes a nation’s wealth and market forces, degrades the environment, and frustrates citizens. And yet, such a new campaign at the World Bank, championed by president Paul Wolfowitz, deserves close scrutiny.

After nine months at the helm of an institution which lends $20 billion annually to relieve poverty in poorer nations, a controversial architect of the Iraq war has found a new cause.

“Corruption is the biggest threat to democracy since communism,” Mr. Wolfowitz says. His big priority is to reduce graft in the countries where the bank does business and ensure that the bank itself is clean.

For instance, he’s staffing up the bank’s “integrity” unit, in part to clear a backlog of several hundred cases of alleged misconduct and corruption relating to bank projects and operations. That effort has encouraged more willingness to report suspect cases.

He’s also using loans as leverage to prompt change. A sampling so far: The bank has held up $800 million in loans to Indian health programs, canceled road contracts in Bangladesh, and frozen loans to Kenya - all because of graft concerns.

Here’s to the passion and cause of the Wolfowitz campaign, and to the signal his measures send. But, as with the White House’s vision for transforming Iraq, the challenge with the World Bank’s cleanup crusade lies with its execution - and, perhaps, unrealistic expectations for change.

In ramping up the antigraft effort, Wolfowitz acknowledges “turbulence” among staff. The loan-witholding decisions have been criticized as arbitrary, and made without input from senior managers (some of whom have left). A bank official says the campaign is still a “work in progress.”

At the same time, there’s a matter of balance. Just how high will Wolfowitz set the bar? Corruption is widespread. The bank shouldn’t put itself on a trajectory not to lend at all (which could turn weak states into failed states), or to lose sight of its main purpose: to alleviate poverty.

Using loans to fight corruption should be just one tool in a wider effort by international bodies to tackle this deep, long-term problem. Poor countries need a variety of incentives to overcome such problems as low salaries for civil servants, who use bribes to supplement their income.

In his new book, America at the Crossroads, Francis Fukuyama concludes that domestic pressure is the most effective force for longterm, institutional reform. (That argues for the bank’s decision to freeze most loans to Kenya, in concert with Kenyans protesting graft.) For external pressure to work, he says, the incentive must be huge (such as the lure of membership into the European Union) and must reward already proven reform.

Wolfowitz should be commended for a more vigorous approach to graft. But if he wants to make headway, he’ll have to build up bank morale. And while it’s right to aim for aboveboard bank projects, clear and consistent criteria are needed for freezing loans or canceling projects.

Most important, he must watch to see that he’s striking the right balance between fighting corruption and fighting poverty. Going head-to-head with bribes and favoritism is not just a moral battle, but a logistical one.

Quite an interesting seven page article in the US News and World Report, lots of interesting quotes, covers the big topics: poverty, corruption, lack of oppostion leadership, journalists, the tribal areas, education, traditionalism, potential state failure, democratic reforms, counter terrorism efforts and the impending election. To follow is an assortment of random quotes from the article:

This time, the assault is an exercise, but Yemen’s elite Counterterrorism Unit has successfully carried out several high-risk operations against suspected terrorists and kidnappers. Portraits of six fallen soldiers, the unit’s “martyrs,” hang on the walls of their barracks. “They are without a doubt the bravest guys I have ever worked with,” says Ed, a U.S. Army trainer on his second tour in Yemen.

These days, though, Yemen is facing its own crisis, the result of deepening poverty and a government in denial about the depth of reforms needed to survive. In the past year, the United States and the World Bank have slashed their modest aid programs to Yemen, increasingly fed up with a bureaucracy that is one of the most corrupt in the world. “Yemen is teetering on the edge of failed statehood,” warns one U.S. official. “It will either become a Somalia or get serious about transforming.” For a nation awash in guns and crisscrossed by well-worn smuggling routes, the threat is grave.

(The 17) The group was captured after U.S. intelligence passed a tip to Yemeni security forces.

“This is a country that is really in the balance,” says Thomas Krajeski, the U.S. ambassador to Yemen. “There is a risk here for failure, and there is a chance of success. It is our job to give them all the help we can, but they have to make some hard decisions now.”

Increasingly, however, Yemenis fear that the strongman who has ruled for 28 years will be unable or unwilling to make the tough reforms needed. “The Americans are happy because they found someone who will fight terrorism,” says Mutawakil. “But my fear is that we’re establishing the foundation for terrorism in the country, just as they did in Iraq.” He is particularly concerned about what he calls Saleh’s “divide and conquer” style.

Amid all this, Yemen has somehow managed to remain one of the most democratic nations in the (admittedly autocratic) Middle East–and one of the very few with a relatively free press. The government tolerates a raft of opposition parties and independent newspapers. Yemenis, for the most part, feel free to criticize the government, and even Saleh, in public.

The democratic reforms all stop short of threatening Saleh’s rule

The final straw came when her staff recorded “appalling cheating” by government officials during a by-election for a parliament seat. “This past year, the scales dropped from our eyes,” she says. “We’re tired of promises. We’re tired of good intentions. < > It comes to a point when it’s not enough to say that you held the country together as it fell down the tubes.”

“In the past, we have been lenient when it comes to accountability,” says Qirbi, the foreign minister. “Now we are making the people who are responsible accountable for any poor performance. We have overcome a major obstacle, which is admitting that there are deficits.”

“We have maybe the worst educational quality in the world,” says Arhabi, the minister of planning. “I have myself seen students in sixth grade, who if you ask them to pronounce the alphabet, they aren’t able to finish it. Forget about reading and writing.”

Even worse, some corruption is officially sanctioned. As many as 60,000 people are receiving at least two government salaries, often doled out officially to buy their loyalty. “Many of the double dippers are tribal sheiks or military people,” says Yahya al-Mutawakel, the vice minister of planning.

Perhaps the brightest is the Social Fund for Development, an independent government agency that helps build schools, clinics, roads, and water wells funded mostly by foreign nations. With only 150 full-time employees, the fund managed some 1,000 projects last year with an $80 million budget. The fund–and Arhabi, its director–win nearly universal praise from foreign donors for their integrity and exhaustive accounting system. The secret: highly paid employees and the ability to fire staff at will.

Underlying any discussion of reform, however, is one uncomfortable factor–nobody can picture Yemen without Saleh in charge. Even his most implacable critics fret that there is no viable alternative today

“I expect more dangerous risks in Yemen–extremism and fanaticism,” he says. “But it’s not related to religion. It comes out of the failure to satisfy life’s needs.”

For many, the upcoming local and presidential elections will be a test. And the stakes are high. “What we are afraid of is that the Yemeni people will lose hope in elections as a means of change,” Sabri says, “because this is what the traditional forces want.”

Itrs really a good article.

This one in the Yemen Times on the election commission is perfect for me. It explains the laws and the issues clearly and precisely.

The issue of selecting SCER members remains mysterious since local public opinion does not know how to select candidates for the commission race. Since 1993 elections, only the three main parties have occupied SCER posts: the ruling party, Islah and the Yemeni Socialist Party, which was ruled out in 1997 and 1999 elections. The issue still is misleading since it says the SCER is independent and neutral, while it is in fact administratively and politically controlled by the ruling party.

This one in News Yemen explains very clearly what happened in that election for the presidium of the Paliarment:

1- President Saleh continues to impose the leadership agenda on GPC members regardless how the majority in the party have voted. The sudden change did not happen because Basaleh or Mahmood campaigned over night, it happened because the presidency wanted it to change.
2- If real democratic procedures become the norm within the GPC, its members are capable of bringing good people to the frontline. GPC has some responsible and clean people.
3- 44 MPs of the ruling party who had voted for Sakher in the party exercise changed their position and voted for the other two. It makes me wonder, why have they changed and can we trust them again?
4- What happened was a disgrace and a blow to the government claims about reforms and change. Government is not serious about reform and the need to change; in spite of its media covering pages and pages of papers with big headlines “Change is the title of the Era” in Al-Thawra – Feb 12th, 2006. “Change” 26 September same day and so on… if the government really believes in the value change brings, it would not have let a golden opportunity (the parliamentary presidium) slip out of its hand.
5- To reform, you need to identify qualified, moderate and reform minded individuals within the system and outside it and promote them to do the restoration job. What happens in Yemen is the contradictory to this simple equation. The leadership finds qualified and reform minded people, but instead of promoting them it crushes them and ensures they are in no place to impact their “evil, culturally insensitive western reforms” on the process….

PS. Islah and YSP are not better off. The two main oppositions did not even run anyone and they remained a by watcher (as usual) and later will continue to balm the party with the majority for all our misfortune. They would have looked better and will have a good argument to justify the future challenges if they had run for the deputies’ seats and lost. It is not by watching you would convince people you are doing something.

This is another one from the Yemen Times on the same subject: However, dealing with them as employees makes them only a herd without enthusiasm for the ruler, his party and regime. What kind of democracy or peaceful transfer of power are we talking about if the President never accepts any decision from his party bloc? Good point.

What this means, what is the deal, why anyone would escape just to surrender: I dont know. From the YObserver:

President Ali Abdullah Saleh confirmed that three Al-Qaeda inmates who were part of a group that managed to escape from a Yemeni jail earlier this month have given themselves up to the government…

“So far, three have given themselves up and we are in contact with the rest of them and they are for certain still inside the country,” president of Yemen told the paper.“They want to give themselves up and most of them have finished the majority of their sentence already.”

How odd, who accomplished what here? They finished most of their sentences, so…..

On the other hand, John Kerry will be happy to know that not everybody considers him a lilly- livered wimp…

On the other hand, the Yemeni authorities put last Wednesday on trial 17 men, including five Saudis, charged with planning attacks against US interests in the country on the orders of the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi. The prosecutor said the defendants had planned to carry out “criminal attacks” to avenge the US Central Intelligence Agency’s killing of a top Al-Qaeda operative in 2002. He said they had travelled to Iraq and then returned to Yemen in 2004 to “carry out their mission on the directives of Abu Musab Al Zarqawi”. The defendants admitted to going to Iraq but denied planning any attacks in Yemen. “Our problem with the United States is in Iraq, not Yemen,” said the leader of the group, Ali Al-Sayyad Al-Harithi.

He said he had received explosive-making training in Iraq but that he had left after he said that John Kerry, the Democratic candidate in the 2004 US presidential election, had threatened Yemen. “I wanted to defend my country,” he added.

Somehow related, the US complains about Zindani and the FBI searches the offices of the Yemeni national airlines. From DEBKA:

The FBI seizes suspicious documents in raid of Yemen airline Yamaniya offices in Dearborn, Detroit:
The raid was carried out after Yemeni president Ali Abdallah Salah refused a White House request to arrest the prominent radical Sheikh Abdul Majid Zindani, head of the powerful Islamist al-Islah (Reform) party and Iman University of Sanaa, for inciting to terrorism. DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources report that although the sheikh is on a UN list of terrorists, Salah included him in his official party to the Islamic Conference summit in Mecca last December. He is respected as a scholar in Saudi Arabia. The Yemeni president demanded US intelligence proofs of Zindani’s involvement in terrorism. Iman University is known as a breeding ground for radical Islamists. He has been recorded in a speech as accusing “Bush and the Jews” of conspiring to carry out the Sept. 11 attack in New York.

That great liberal icon Michael Moore also accuses Bush and the Jews of carrying out 9/11. Back on the planet earth, though, it was a little surprising when Zindani went to Mecca, but that was December, after Saleh’s visit in November.

Keeping with the good news theme, hope for an end to the Houthi rebellion. From the Yemen Observer:

Yeya Al-Shami, the new Governor of Saada, has said that the judiciary is preparing to release hundreds of the Houthi’s followers within the next few days, a media report said. The moves follow the successful talks made between the Mediation and Dialogue Committee with the Houthi followers, persuading them to stop attacks on official and government institutions in the northern Saada region. Al-Shami, the head of the committee, said that the committee was continuing its efforts to reach an end to the rebellion for the sake of national interest.

“The committee is on the way to root out the rebellion,” he said. Sheikhs, clerics, civil society organizations and local council officials all took part in the mediation talks. Steps would be taken to release those prisoners who are not found to be guilty, freed after mediation efforts by prominent social figures in response to orders by the President. A statement, signed by Abdul-Karim Al-Houthi confirmed his and his followers support for the law and state legitimacy.

There’s been a lot of deaths of soldiers, civilians and rebels.

hmmmm….

Among compelling reasons to judge the cabinet reshuffle as merely a peaceful transfer of corruption is that some ministers were named in Central Organization for Control and Audit (COCA) reports, yet were granted ministerial posts….

Most appointments are not based on principles of efficiency and experience, but rather on principles of political allegiance to the ruler and other influential individuals. A geographic factor is considered when distributing such posts in terms of geographic partnership.

Due to these reasons, I am pessimistic about any government changes or amendments, as long as protecting corrupt individuals is clear-cut government policy.

If there is a will to reform, stop deterioration and calm international community concerns – as expressed by U.S., British, German and Dutch ambassadors during last week’s meeting with President Saleh – then the solution is to make a political decision to uncover corrupt officials, leaving them without political cover before public opinion, free press and the judiciary, about which people cast doubt on its independence and neutrality.

Let us see the consequences if any single corrupt official stands trial or is punished. If this happens, ministers and executive leaders will be reformed. But as the policy of changing ministers’ faces is accompanied by other policies to protect corrupt officials, Yemen’s future will remain unknown.

from the Yemen Times

From the Yemen Times:

YCSR researcher Abdulbari Tahir mentioned in his paper that, “The tribe has become part of the state structure, particularly since November 5, 1967. The state, which on previous occasions has dealt with the tribe by bargaining and granting kidnappers government posts and privileges, enhanced and encouraged this phenomenon, allowing it to establish itself firmly.”

In his paper, Dr. Fuad Al-Salahi said, “Kidnapping is a reflection of the nature of the Yemeni government, which has adopted taking of hostages as one of its means of governance. It still does this in one way or another.”

Dr. Tahir Mujahid Al-Salahi mentioned various reasons for the kidnapping phenomenon. “Arresting kidnappers is a kind of patching up the issue rather than solving it,” he said, “The solution lies in drying up the springs and causes of the phenomenon represented by weakness in enforcing laws; the spread of carrying, using and trading with weapons; absence of justice in wealth distribution and deprivation of basic services projects in remote regions. Not deciding crime and revenge cases or property disputes has pushed some to pressure the state via kidnappings. In addition to this, causes include security’s instability and the dissemination of illiteracy in countryside areas.”

No, not rehabilitated, not escaped, released. Yemen Times:

• The Specialized Penal Court (SPC) last Tuesday ordered the release of Hadi Saleh Al-Waeli suspected of selling arms, ammunition and explosives to terrorists who bombed the USS Cole Destroyer at Aden Port in 2000.

According to media sources, the SPC ordered Al-Waeli’s release after three years in jail. The decision to release the arms trafficker comes shortly after the jailbreak of 23 Al-Qaeda prisoners from Sana’a Political Security Central Prison.

I guess they are finally getting off the fence and picking a side, but my, what a bad choice it is. So does this mean everybody is out now? All the people involved is blowing up a US ship and killing 17 sailors? Saleh is covering his tracks.

Related from this YT link: Released to be re-captured for the reward money? Finacial motivations vs. ideological ones? What a harebrained scheme if true.

• A report published in the latest issue of U.S. magazine Newsweek revealed that the U.S. embassy in Sana’a believes there are parties in Yemen’s government that facilitated escape operations of 23 suspected Al-Qaeda members. The report mentioned the allegations are attributed to Yemeni sources in contact with the U.S. embassy who believe some elements in Yemen’s government might have aided the prisoners’ escape, motivated by the hope of gaining financial reward from U.S. authorities allocated for capturing the most-wanted individuals, namely, Jamal Al-Badawi and Jaber Al-Banna. A $5 million reward is to be given to whoever provides information leading to any of the fugitives’ arrest.

Sympathizers, how about accomplices?

• Media reports mentioned in recent days that Saudi Arabia has imposed a state of emergency regarding its borders with Yemen, fearing infiltration of 23 Al-Qaeda escapees into its territory. Reports added that Saudi Arabia has strengthened its watch on the borders, about which it complains of weapons smuggling and infiltrators from Yemen. A Saudi official earlier said the cause behind the prisoner escapes was weakness in Yemeni security apparatuses and the existence of Yemeni sympathizers.

Logistical Support , From M&C: Opposition leader Abdullah Salam Hakimi said the repeat of the escape operation by the same people and with the same details ‘increases suspicion about the presence of logistic support at the highest level inside the Yemeni system based on unclear interests.’

From the People’s Daily,China: Six more troops killed. (This thing with the Houthis is just unending.) From the Yemen Times, also civilians: Three soldiers and two women killed in confrontation in Saada, Breaking through citizens houses in Amran in search for al-Houthi followers

an article by Rahma Hugira, News Yemen

Sana’a -Yemen

Recently, 23 prisoners of alQaeda most dangerous members in Yemen broke away from their prison after a very long process of planning, while Yemeni security were too busy chasing and snooping on opponent journalists .The fugitives were said to dig a more than 400 meters underground tunnel to the most secured prison in Yemen, the Political Security. Some of them were even luckier and had opportunities to running away for three a number of times.

Fortunately, for more than month Alqaeda members were digging the tunnel to smuggle their leaders, for the third attempt! Whereas the local security were keen on spreading a recorded private telephone conversation between Aljazera correspondent in Yemen ,Ahmed Alshalfi and his wife, as scandal to punish him for interviewing the kidnappers of tourist Italians last month!!.

Regardless of what was reported in Yemeni newspapers and speculations about whether the breakaway was a means to blackmail the US administration or a deal between Alqaeda and some powerful figures in Saleh’s regime, there is the other side of this story: the tragedy of unlucky civil society activists that has to be mentioned.

This week perhaps, the fugitives are planning to go through their agenda, whereas three editors of Yemeni newspapers were shown standing with criminals in blue convicts clothes in a cage. There are Mohammed Alasadi, the editor-in-chief of Yemen Observer and Akram Sabra, Managing Editor of al-Huraea and Kamal Alulofi, editor-in-chief of Alray Ala’am, who still wanted by the police. The three face gross accusations for republishing the Danish satirical cartoons, in spite of the fact that they had published the caricatures as away to denounce them, the authorities found it as a golden chance to and use it against them and thus further undermine the freedom of press.

Besides the three detained journalists, there are more than 13 ‘unruly’ journalists, who have been threatened to be charged with the same accusations because of their straightforward articles criticizing the corruption of Yemeni rulers. Furthermore, three newspapers including, Yemen Observer, one of only two papers that are published in English in Yemen have had their licenses canceled.

Despite the inhuman conditions the detainee journalists are living in, and the others whose reputation has been defamed, these journalists are afraid that they would be targeted by extreme anger and assaults from the angry and misled public, whose illiteracy and extremism was exploited by the regime to attack its enemies and blackmail its friends.

These contradictory attitudes of Saleh’s mismanagement are complicated equations for anyone who doesn’t follow Yemeni issues, but for Yemenis, they are perfectly understood and it is known to all here that the real enemies of Saleh’s are those who oppose him by means of civil methods, not by breaking laws or threatening the world security and peace.

Therefore, Saleh has spent more time and effort to fight his critics inside Yemen or outside than he has done about international wanted persons or corrupt figures. For this, he employed military operations or Yemeni people’s attitude to influence public opinion in Yemen. The media, mosques and army camps are the most popular platforms that are used to incite people with misleading ideas and views to serve the ruling regimes in the Muslim world.

If we could count how many times president Saleh roused these platforms against terror and against his opponents, especially journalists, we will see that the subject is there in 90% of his speeches. Furthermore, the media and mosques still incite uneducated Yemeni people against the West and against America.

Then it is typical that the regime would ask for security and financial cooperation to use for the purpose of blackmailing donors further, and terrorizing journalists .That is what Yemen’s friends found it out lately about Yemeni-American cooperation to fight terrorism. Now they that they can’t achieve any victories against terror with corrupted and cheating partner like the Yemeni regime. It is beyond the ability of Saleh to fight terror, which has created by bigotry and illiteracy because it has been used by him to maintain his rule period for more than 28 years.

It is clearly that the big challenge in fighting terror in Yemen, Bin Laden’s homeland, for the USA and the international society is how to manage to avoid supporting the double terror in; Aalqaeda terror and terror against journalists .

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*Chairwoman of Yemeni Women Media Forum

Amazing. Obviously they were noisy but that didnt matter because the authorities refused to take the report.

AP: Sheik Riyad al-Gheili heard the sound of digging 10 days before authorities discovered 23 convicted al-Qaida prisoners had popped through the floor of the women’s restroom at his mosque and escaped.

But police, when informed of the strange noises, discounted the Muslim cleric’s warning.

“When I informed the prison guards of the sounds I was hearing at night, they told me I’m imagining things,” al-Gheili told The Associated Press on Friday, giving the first independent account of an escape that has raised concern in Washington about Yemen’s commitment to fighting terrorism.

The prison break was discovered on Feb. 3, when, a few days after reporting the noise to authorities, al-Gheili again walked the few steps separating Al-Awqaf Mosque from the Political Security Department prison _ this time, to tell them of a hole discovered in the floor of the women’s restroom.

Until then, officials at the maximum-security facility had not been aware the men were missing, al-Gheili said.

The prison break has raised questions about official involvement and whether Yemen _ Osama bin Laden’s ancestral home _ is a serious ally in hunting down terrorists.

The Bush administration has expressed concern about the threat posed by the fugitives, as well as lax security at the prison and the wisdom of housing the prisoners together in one cell.

“There’s definite collusion from inside the jail,” said Muhammad Ali al-Saqqaf, a lawyer. “The story that the men used cutlery to dig their way out doesn’t make sense. Yemenis eat with their fingers. Plus, they needed much stronger instruments to make that tunnel.”

Yemenis, especially some who have been jailed in the prison, agree. They want the government to explain where the dirt extracted from the tunnel was disposed of, why no one reported the sound of digging and the smell of dust, and where the prisoners got the sharp digging tools.

(Read on …)

(update: I have been requested to explain who Hittar is. Hittar the dueling Koranic verses judge who dialogs with the AQ to rehabilitate them out of their evil ways so the Yemnei govt can release them. When I was on al-Jazeera, I mentioned that Bin Laden’s body guard had said to the BBC that the dialog program was a sham and just a way to expedite their releases and all they have to promise is not to attack inside Yemen. So when Hittar was in DC in Dec, he invited me to the Yemeni embassy to discuss issues of shared concern with me, but unfortunately, I couldn’t make arrangements for my kids, so I declined. Just to make a point, rehabilitation and integration is an important issue. And I was hoping to hear Hittar’s explanation of the program, but unfortunately he did not answer when I requested that he email me any information he thought I was lacking. )

Maybe he’ll email me finally and we can discuss it.

(Update: Oddly enough, after I posted this I heard from the embassy that Judge Hittar welcomes my questions. So Im happy for that. Its an important issue and I’d like to hear his view.)

Also 200 family members arrested. And sounds of digging were reported earlier:

NY In th