Armies of Liberation

Since August, 17 protesters in the South were killed and none of the security forces have been held accountable, only the protest organizers in some bizarre legal theory. But the repetitive killings are either premeditiated or the security forces are our of control entirely. Apparently people are still being fired for political reasons and the land theft continues unabated.

Alsahwa.net

March 3, 2008 – Aden province witnessed Monday two political marches in which participators demanded to prosecute the involved of murdering two demonstrators in January as well as protesting price hike of commodities .

In a statement, the Joint Meeting Parties said that they arranged the protest in order to demand their political and civil rights.

The statement also accused the authorities of provoking troubles in the South and refusing to bring the killers of protestors to justice and continue in land plundering and southerners firing policies.

The statement further condemned all crimes practiced against southerners as well as targeting peaceful struggles.

Alsahwa.net

February 21, 2008 –Yemeni Socialist Party in Aden governorate has accused the Yemeni authorities of transforming Aden city to a pursuit and persecution square.

It further said that Yemen’s authorities intimidated YSP leaders with killing crimes and violence.

It further condemned ongoing pursuits of its top leader, Ali Monasar ,other activists and politicians, warning of any risk committed by the authorities to raid the YSP headquarters in Aden or arrest Ali Monasar.

It also claimed all international human rights organizations to press on Yemeni authorities and bring all perpetrators who committed crimes against protestors in Aden to justice and hold them accountable .

Land Grab Estimate

Reuters:

“That didn’t happen,” said Abdul-Ghani al-Iryani, co-author of a paper on southern discontent published this month by the Washington-based Middle East Institute.

“Instead northern commanders, prominent sheikhs and businessmen went down and, one way or another, secured over half the land in Aden and maybe 20 to 30 percent of the agricultural land in (the province of) Abyan,” the Sanaa-based analyst added.

So if Saleh’s son, Ahmed, head of the Republican Guard, was in control of this land, who is Qatari paying paid for the land, the government or Ahmed? Also how did the Republican Guard get 440,000 square meters of land? It was just there? No one owned it? Yemen Post

The General Authority for Investment signed an agreement with Qatari Al-Diyar Company for Real-estate Investment to implement Tilal Al-Rayan project at Faj Attan area in Sana’a.

Built over a total area of 440,000 m2, the project’s total costs are about $500 million and will overlooks most areas of Sana’a.

In the past, the land that will be used for the project was among the locations where building is not allowed and it belongs to the Republican Guard Forces. The project will be implemented as of next April. According to a release by the company, the project will include a five-star hotel, real-estate areas, commercial offices, luxurious villas and residential apartments.

Al-Sahwa

Former representative: there are 15 powerful officials manipulating lands in Aden and Lahj

January 29, 2008 – Hundreds of people protested Tuesday against the policy of looting lands in Aedn and Lahj provinces.

Farmers in Aden and Lahj accuse official authorites of neglecting their demands through their insistence to raise tensions which in turn results looting of lands in the southern provinces.

The former Member of Parliament Saleh Harbi accused 15 top military leaders and heads of the local authorities in Aden and Lahj of manipulating lands, pointing out that the president Ali Abduallah Saleh knows those officials well.

Yes we can all name the theives including Saleh. If protests dont work, elections are rigged, the press is muzzled, whats next?

SANA’A, NewsYemen

Five Yemeni engineers, kidnapped by tribesmen from Bani Dhebian tribe a month ago, are going on food strike.

Bashar al-Moayyad, brother of Ismael al-Moayyad, one of the kidnapped, told NY that his brother informed them that he and other captives started a food strike last Monday and that they would continue the strike until the authorities free them. Bashar said the authorities did not take any measure to release the captives.

Security source in Sana’a told NY: “the security apparatuses have arrested some men belonging to Bani Dhabian”, explaining that engineers have been kidnapped due to a dispute over a piece of land in Sana’a. He asked NY not to report anything, justifying that as Bani Dhabian “has a history of kidnappings”.

Sheikh of Bani Dhabian Abu Rabu al-Tam said “the tribe requests the government to solve the dispute between the tribe and Al al-Kumaim, two of the engineers belong to, over the land. He told NY that Al al-Kumaim have illegally took away the land of Bani Dhabian and sold it to commander Ali Mohsin al-Ahmar.
“Engineers are safe and being treated as guests,” said sheikh al-Tam.

Engineers Ismael al-Moayyad, Anis a;-Moayyad, Wadah al-Khubari, Ibrahim al-Mahdi, Rafiq Radman were kidnapped on January 9, 2008, in addition to two young men from Al- al-Kumaim who were kidnapped nine months ago.

A Yemeni Parliamentary committee issued a report in 2006 naming 26 persons who illegally profited from land confiscated in Aden following Yemen’s 1994 civil war. The list includes Members of Parliament and the Shoura Council, military and security force commanders, current and former judges and ministers. The Parliamentary committee recommended that the land owners receive compensation for their losses, however none has been paid.

The following is a translation of the document that includes a description of the individual’s position in brackets for the readers’ benefit:

LIST OF THE NAMES AND AREAS OF INDIVIDUALS WHO RECIEVED CONTRACTS FROM THE GOVERNORATE LEADERSHIP AND PREVIOUS MANAGER OF INTERIOR TRADING CORPORATION (HUSSEIN NASER OMAYER), ACCORDING TO THE (PARLIAMENTARY) FIELD SURVEY.

NAME (CURRENT POSITION) AREA DISPOSITION

1 NASER MANSOOR HADI
(The brother of Yemeni Vice President, Abdo Rabo Mansour Hadi, and Agent of Political Security Forces of Aden,Lahj and Abyan governorates)
received 4.6 ACRES,
sold to ALI SOLAIMAN DAHSH 2 ACRES, and ALAWADHI 3 ACRES

2 HUSIEN NASER OMAYER
(Previous general manager of Interior Trading Company in south)
received 20 ACRES
SOLD TO Gamal Qasem 7 acres, Salem Balfaqeh 2 acres, Abdul baset 1 acre

3 MUHAMMED SALEH AL-MOHAMMADI
received 3.0 ACRES
SOLD TO SADEQ ABDO MOHAMMED 3.0 ACRES

4 MOHAMMED SALEH TUREIQ
(General Manager of Sa’ada Security Forces, former GM of Aden Security.)
received 5.3 ACRES
SOLD TO GAMAL QASEM 5.0 ACRES

5 BELAL ALI MOHSEN
received 4.8 ACRES

6 MOAAD TAHA GHANEM
(Son of the former governor of Aden) Taha Ghanem
received 3.7 ACRES SOLD TO ALI AL-YAMANI

7 ABDULLA AHMED GHANEM
(Member of al-Shoura Council, formerly Minister of Legal Affairs)
received 8.3 ACRES
SOLD TO ALI AL-YAMANI

8 TAHA HUSEIN NASER OMAYER
(Son of Hussain Naser Omayer )
received 2.1 ACRES
SOLD TO ALI AL-YAMANI

9 WALEED AL-FADHLI
received 3.0 ACRES
SOLD TO ALI AL-HAG AHMED AND HIS PARTNER

10 ALI SHEIKH OMER
received 2.8 ACRES
SOLD TO AL-QERN TRADING CORPORATION

11 MOHAMED ALI SALEM AL-SHADDADI
(Member of Parliament)
received 3.3 ACRES

12 HUSEIN MOHAMMED ARAB
(Member of al-Shoura Council, previously the Minister of Interior Affairs)
received 2.7 ACRES
SOLD TO ALI SALEH AL-AWADHI

13 FAISAL RAGAB
(High ranking military commander)
1.0 ACRE SOAM + WALL

14 ABDUL-QAREEM SHAEF
(General Secretary of conference party in Aden governorate)
offered 1.0 ACRE SOAM + WALL
REFUSED

15 FAHEEM ABDULLA MOHSEN
(Chief Justice of Sana’a Commercial Court, previously Chief Justice of Aden Commercial Court)
1.0 ACRE SOAM + WALL SOLD TO NOR AL-DIN FAKHRI

16 RASHEED HOWAIDI
(Justice serving on the Republic High court, previously Chief Justice of Aden Appeal court, )
received 1.2 ACRES SOAM + WALL
SOLD TO ALI GAMAL QASEM

17 SALEH AL-AMMARI
(former judge in Aden Appeals Court)
received 1.1 ACRES SOAM + WALL
SOLD TO MOHAMMED BA-HASHWAN

18 NOR AL-DEEN FAKHRI
(former General Manager of Yemeni Port Authority)
received 0.9 ACRE WALL + VILLA

19 MOHAMED AHMED ALKHAILA
received 0.86 ACRE WHITE LAND

20 MOHAMED ABDULLA AL-BATANI
(Member of al-Shoura Council, previously Minister of Interior)
received 0.86 ACRE WHITE LAND

21 AHMED ABOBAKER AL-SOMAHI
received 0.86 ACRE WHITE LAND

22 ALI AHMED AL-SEIAGHI
(Vice minister of trade)
received 0.86 ACRE WHITE LAND

23 FARID MOGAWAR
(previous General Manager of Fish Wealth)
received 0.86 ACRE WHITE LAND

24 MAHDI ABD AL-SALAM
(General Manager of Taiz Education, previously General Manager of Aden Education)
received 0.86 ACRE WHITE LAND

25 MOHAMMED GOMEA AL KHADHER
(previous General Manager of Aden International Airport, dismissed)
received 0.86 ACRE WHITE LAND

26 MANSOOR SALEH BASORRA
received 0.86 ACRE WHITE LAND

27 SHADWAN AL-MOHAMADI
received 2 ACRES WALL

TOTAL 80.4 ACRES

ADDITIONAL REMARKS ABOUT LIST OF 26:
1. ADDED NAME OF SHADWAN AL- MOHAMMADI IN AREA (2) ACRES TO LIST OF (26).
2. THE TOTAL AREAS ACCORDING TO FIELD SURVEYING (ON FIELD = 80.4 ACRES).
3. THE AREAS ACCORDING TO THE LIST OF INSTRUCTION = 102.0 ACRES.
4. THE DIFFERENT BETWEEN FIELD SURVEYING AND INSTRUCTION

Thats good news.

7000 pieces of weapons seized and prevented in 20 days
Friday, 14-September-2007
almotamar.net - A security source at the interior ministry of Yemen affirmed Friday that the ongoing campaign on weapons in the capital Sana’a and provincial capitals had led to curb the acts of land illegal seizure by 80% since the beginning of the interior ministry application of its decision of preventing entrance of weapons to Sana’a and provincial capitals on 23 of last August.

(Read on …)

Ahmed going to jail? Wow! Now that would certainly send a good signal to the protesters in the South that justice exists in Yemen and their rights are protected by the state no matter who the criminal is.

26 Septemper News

The cabinet gave orders on Tuesday to refer people who are responsible for occupying state and people lands to prosecution to take legal punitive actions against them.

The decision came after listening to a report presented by Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, head of the committee to tackle issues of lands in the governorates.

The cabinet ordered to hand over all lands to beneficiaries who could not get their granted lands in the previous period because of domination of influential people over these lands.

It asked the General Authority of Lands, Survey and Urban Planning to prepare a plan to tackle issues of the agricultural lands which have been granted to the agricultural societies and people to be approved by the cabinet soon.

cabinet also directed local councils in Lahj and Abyan governorates to terminate acts of occupying state lands within one month.

Land registration is an excellent concept, however they should establish numerous specialized non-corrupt courts to hash out all the competing claims of ownership that are going to arise. Unless all the land will be registered to “influential persons”. I think the following article is from al-Motamar

The Cabinet approved a draft land registry law last Tuesday, referring it to the Ministry of Legal Affairs and the General Authority for Lands and Construction Planning for finalization, before being submitted to Parliament for approval.

The bill will regulate property rights and provide for the registration of land ownership. The aim of the bill is to shore up existing title deeds, provide legal clarity in the event of property disputes, and encourage investment by enhancing economic and social stability.

(Read on …)

Whoever has the biggest gun and the most men normally wins.

Almotamar.net - More than 400 inhabitants of Lahj governorate from Al-Uzaiba tribe on Tuesday gathered around a tent erected in front of Lahj governorate building. The gathering was in protest t what they said that the son of Abdulwahab al-A’nisy, secretary general of the Yemeni Congregation for Reform (Islah) party is leading a gang that plunders their lands in the district of Tabn.

The gathering people raised placards condemning the gangs that seize others’ pieces of land. And in a memorandum they handed over to the local authority of the governorate they demanded the formation of a committee from the local council of the governorate and the district to make a field visit and see the aggression acts. The memorandum also included a demand for removing all results of seizure of the lands in the nearby area.

They have also dispatched a memorandum to the deputy premier, the minister of interior and other concerned authorities demanding implementation of the president of the republic’s directives on Monday to the government to stop any aggression on others’ lands.

It is to be mentioned that accusations were sent against the Islah party secretary general of seizing a poultry farm located on the road between Aden and Lahj.

again, still, as usual

NY

SANA’A, NewsYemen

The Yemeni citizen Mohammad Qaed al-Osabi, who is emigrant in Saudi Arabia, came to Yemen to vote for Mohammad Saleh al-Nahiya in the parliamentary elections in 1997 and offered him a temporary stay at this house in Sana’a.

Al-Nahiya could win the Parliament’s membership at last and had immunity, so he thought he could do what he wants under the immunity.

When al-Osabi came to Yemen in 2002 and told his candidate that his sons would come back to study in Yemen and should stay at the house, the MP refused to leave it and continued to escape the owner’s requests and attempts to convince him to leave the house for his sons.

(Read on …)

then they sell it cheap to “influential persons” who resell it at a huge profit or sometimes keep it.

ADEN, NewsYemen

The member of Parliament Abdul-Bari Doghaish could not complete narrating the story of people lost their lands and houses in Dar Daad in Aden at the Parliament’s session on Monday.

The bitter feeling of the situation of those people, some of them died and some others committed suicide due to injustice and deprivation of their rights forced Doghaish to stop finishing the story, which he could bring to the Parliament for the first time.

Doghaish’s colleagues Sakhr al-Wajeeh and Ensaf Mayo urged to hold back measures being taken by the Land and Estates Authority to hand over the Military Economic Corporation lands in Dar Saad and to hand over those lands to their legal owners. They also recommended to restore lands taken from their owners in the past and to obligate the Local Authority in Aden to compensate people whose houses were “unduly destroyed”.

The members attacked the Military Economic Corporation, which has confiscated lands in Aden.
The MP al-Wajeeh asked the Parliament to form an inspection committee to scrutinize the reality of the corporation, which has activities in different fields, according to al-Wajeeh. “We really do not know if it is military or economic!” said al-Wajeeh.

The member Mohammad al-Naqeeb said “the corporation has taken lands enough to be a republic”, while the member Mohsin Ba-Sora described the quandary as “timed bomb that may affect the national unity”.

The head of Lands and Estates Authority’s office in Aden Yahya Ba Dwaid admitted that some legal failures led to the crisis of lands in Aden that “affects the social peace”. He asked for amendments of legislations related to lands and estates.

The Parliament decided to send an order to the government to compel the minister of local administration and Adel local authority to achieve the Parliament’s recommendations regarding houses destroyed and lands confiscated by the Military Economic Corporation.

Because its the ‘influential people” who are stealing the land

Yemen Times

SANA’A, July 26 — The Yemeni Parliament admitted failing to oblige the government to ensure the specific mechanism for handling the pending investment issues. It brought this issue in a Parliamentarian session on third week of July on investment stating that it couldn’t pressure on the government to develop a strategy to protect investors from the frequent aggressions on their properties, especially, in Aden’s Free Zone.

It was confirmed that the Parliament has granted Abdulqader Helal, Minister of the Local Administration, along with the local authorities in Eden the opportunity to coordinate with the Services Committee in the parliament to find solutions for the problems resulted from removing and destroying citizens’ and investors’ establishments in Dar Sa’ad, Aden.

The Parliament’s decision was due because of a demand, from the Minister of Local Administration, who was attending the Parliament’s session for discussing the concerned matter, to find practical solutions for these problems and present them to the Parliament on the coming Saturday.

On the other hand, Ansaf Mayo, the reformation representative, criticized the Services Committee for hiding some of the facts in its report and considered the Committee deliberate for doing that.

Mayo added that the recommendations of the Committee didn’t scale the level of the notices which reach its claim with reference the court. He also called for shouldering the responsibility to bring justice for citizens, compensating them well and fixing their rights in land-ownerships.

Mayo emphasized the necessity of the Parliament’s stand against the documented lands in Eden, which became a source of corrupted people’s trading inside and outside the government.

Similarly, Sakhr Al-Wajeeh, the independent representative from the Congress Party, criticized the Committee’s report for not uncovering the names of the 26 individuals to whom the governor of Eden gave lands, as well as those people, that Al-Wajeeh thought, are responsible and powerful in the governorate.

The Committee’s report confirmed that the process of destruction, which controlled by the local authority in the conflict area, is wrong and a rash action which is contrary to the President’s orders, that included handling the establishments according to the law of the lands and the real estates of the country. Additionally, the report considered this process as a negative spot on the side of the governorate, which is supposed to attract the internal and external investment.

The report also indicated that the land problems, in Aden, go back to the political events which happened in the governorate before the unification. That is like, the nationalization of lands and the disposal of lands, which were owned by the government, throughout releasing beneficial contracts under several names.

The parliamentary report criticized the government’s policy in this respect as well as not submitting the presidential decision, 1999, to the court to be put into action.

Furthermore, the report accused Aden’s authorities of not bringing a complete report to the President about the current situation of land disputes in the governorate. For instance, a governor (without mentioning his name) got benefits from agricultural contracts that were released for the 26 persons who got their prescribed lands.

Are they socialists now?

Its a poverty reduction mechanism.

Yemen Times, HADRAMOUT, July 25 - In an unprecedented incident, the authorities in Hadramout are preparing for a project through which fertile land is to be distributed to poor young men and families in order to provide them with a source of income through farming these lands.

Led by Hadramout governor Taha Abdullah Hajer and representatives from Ministries of Agriculture and General Works, the project was finalized earlier this week. Worth-noting, the preparation phase of the project included field visits to the various districts in Hadramout in order to identify suitable public land.

According to local source, the project team, which consists of two committees, designated 600 hectares so far and more land will be identified in the few weeks to come. The source added that the land selection includes testing soil for salts and minerals and, therefore, decide on the fertility of the land, as well as creating a central spray irrigation system which had proved economic and effective in the local area. Furthermore, it added that the Agriculture Promoting Fund is also contributing to this project through providing 500 thousand palm tree seedlings, 20,000 of which had already been distributed through the governor’s office.

Yemen Observer

Some 200 protestors gathered at the home of Minister of the Interior Dr. Rashad al-Alimi Sunday to demonstrate against the presence of security officers on their land in Haddah. These people fear that their lands are going to be seized by security forces. These people’s lands are located in the al-Ashash section of Haddah. When the protestors arrived at al-Alimi’s house, the minister told them to go to the Central Security to file their complaint, according to the people.

The Yemen Observer tried repeatedly to contact the Ministry of Interior, but officials there said they knew nothing about the issue. The protestors then headed to Central Security, where they complained to the head of Central Security, Abdul-Malek al-Taib, who told them to stay on their lands, said Moahmmed al-Shara’I (one person whose lands are being threatened). Al-Taib could not be reached for comment. “I have told these people that I will meet them in my office and this problem will be solved,” said Mohammed Razq al-Surmi, Deputy Mayor of Sana’a.

The lands in question are going to be used by the central security, and the people will be compensated for them, said al-Surmi. Mohammed Ali al-Hawani, who is one of the people worried about losing his land, claimed that he was physically assaulted by the officers from Haddah police station, but the police at the station denied it. “This land problem started 10 days ago. We were told that the area is needed for the security forces and we said we need official paper so we can claim compensation from them,” said al-Shar’ai.

Mohammed al-Sahr’ai’s mother, Taqya bint Moahmmed Naji, in a traditional Yemeni last appeal, cut part of her hair and burned her sitara (something that she covers herself with) to express her objection to what is happening to her land, in front of the house of the Minister of the Interior. “I am one of the members of the Yemeni army who worked and fought for my country, working loyally for my own country,” said Ali Moahmmed Abdullah al-Ashashi. “I have moved in work from one island to another, to Sa’ada, and I was surprised to find that my land is being taken by force, and it is my land and I have all documents that prove that it is my own property,” said al-Ashashi.

“It is very sad that we don’t feel secure in our own country, security officers are treating us badly, calling us names and all other things,” said al-Ashashi. The protestors claimed that they were fired at on their lands, and that the shooting continued into the night. “Our lands have become easy targets for people that are being protected by security,” said Sheikh Yehya Ismael al-Hwani. The demonstrating people demanded that the security cars move away from their lands. The authorities said that the lands belongs to the Ministry of Endowments.

However, the Ministry of Endowments denies that it received any notice from security saying that it needed these lands. There has been an increase in demonstrations in Yemen in the past three months. Recently, Yemeni people have gathered to demonstrate their support for the victims of the Marib bombings and the people of Spain, their support for freedom of the press, and to demand better medications.

YO

The female journalist Bushra al-Amery was arrested last Wednesday by the police on Taiz Street, while doing her press reporting. Al-Amery was doing a report about the complaints of the citizens of Taiz Street with the camp authority which wanted to take their lands. The late Ibrahim al-Hamdi bought the land, and gave part of it to the government, said al-Amery. Then, the government designated the land to the traffic and immigration services, she said.

The other part of the land belongs to the citizens, as they have property documents, but the government claims that the land is public property and that the citizens have no rights, she said. “Police justified my arrest by saying that I entered an area that was off-limits,” al-Amery said. They broke her voice recorder and took all of her belongings inside her bag. “They returned the bag to me completely empty,” she said. Al-Amery was afraid that her husband would stop her from pursuing her career, as it appears to be making trouble for her.

“He was very considerate, but really angry and wanted to use the tribal solutions, but the lawyers convinced him not to do so,” she said. However, there are no reports of this incident at the Ministry of Interior, said Colonel Ahmed al-Sinaydar, the manager of the Minister’s office. “If it happens, it must be done by individuals; otherwise, we will be reported,” he said. If al-Amery entered the camp and not the adjoining houses, then her arrest would appear to be justified, he says. But if the arrest was of a more personal nature, he will take the necessary steps, al-Sinaydar said.

Al-Amery’s lawyer, Khaled al-Anesi, filed an official complaint with the persecution ver his client’s arrest. “The prosecution transferred the case to the West-East court on Saturday to investigate it,” he said. “There are many crimes that have been committed by the police,” he said. “The first is to stop a journalist from doing her job; but they also violated her privacy when taking her bag. Also, they destroyed her property (the recorder).”

Furthermore, this is a serious case, as the citizens and their visitors have to take permission to get into their houses and also are under constant observation, said al-Anesi. After her arrest, al-Amery called her newspaper, the Hood organization for defending human rights and freedom, and Women Journalists without Chains. “It was appalling experience, but I looked so strong,” said al-Amery. “But I will not be going to report that story again, no matter what.”

What is the criteria for recieiving land?

Almotamar.net - President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced Monday the availability of 2800 job opportunities for health cadres this year to be distributed on all health centres in different governorates and districts.

Inaugurating Al-Saleh project for curbing unemployment in Yemen organised by the Cooperative Bank for Agricultural Credit the president also announced that there are two thousand projects able to employ 20 thousand citizens in the agricultural field. The president urged the ministry of agriculture and the general authority of land to speed up the distribution of agricultural and residential lands among the youth and to make a timetable for that in the next months.

He has also urged for reclamation of agricultural lands in Hadramout, Shabwa, Mareb, al-Jawf, al-Hudeida ad the rest of governorates to be distributed via the local authority. He also thanked the Agricultural Bank administration for the arrangements concerning implementation of al-Saleh Establishment for fighting poverty. President Saleh said it is a good and great beginning and “we support all the good and reformists and we stand by them for combating poverty and limiting unemployment.”
The president said the local authority is the real responsible side and real eye helping the affected people suffering from poverty and it should pay attention to girls and provide jobs for them through supplying them with machines, computers and small factories with easy prices and limited interests. President Saleh added no girl should be unemployed because they are more productive and that has been proved in many governorates.

The president called joining official and people efforts for ending poverty/ he said “We must not be just looking at the state or the government but efforts of all the sincere in the private, mixed and public sectors should join. We have warmly welcomed investments of sisterly countries especially the Gulf States and we will offer land facilities in Aden, Hadramout, Hudeida, Sana’a and other governorates with token prices and duties encouraging investment in 99 years system and success in this regard will absorb many of workforce and unemp0loyment. ” the president added that ” We have defined with the government the investment through a single window system, that is the General Authority for Investment for carrying out all facilities according to the investment law for a period not exceeding six months otherwise the privileges are to be withdrawn from owner of the project.”

(Read on …)

SANA’A, April 18 — An armed gang attacked last Sunday a group of military police who were guarding a plot of land in Asr to the west of Sana’a, killing three of them and injuring another.

Media source mentioned that 40 armed men wearing civilian clothes and affiliated with an officer in the Republican Guard in Taiz Branch named Abdullatif Al-Dhanin, a son of Brig. Saleh Al-Dhanin, the Commander of South Military Area, are responsible for the incident.

The source added that Al-Dhanin was accompanied by some armed men when they attacked the soldiers guarding the land, which belongs to an UAE investor of Yemeni origin. They clashed with soldiers causing three to die and another one critically injured.

It also mentioned that the land belongs to a Yemeni, who was working as a secretary for late UAE President Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan, and not to the state as claimed by some media sources. Further, it added that the President Saleh pledged to guard the land and that is the reason for which dozens of military vehicles existed in the land site

Unconfirmed information revealed that the armed men got out some of their injured comrades by force from the hospital to avoid the accountability especially when security apparatuses caught about 20 armed men.

Similar bloody clashes over a plot of land took place last February in the south of the Capital when a group of armed men from the same tribe, Sanhan, tried to take a land belonging to a citizen from Al-Baidha by force. Many citizens were killed and injured in that incident. In fact, such disputes are attributed to the lack of fair judiciary whose main task is to resolve the pending problems soon especially in Sana’a and Aden.

Update:

SANA’A, April 22 — High directives ordered arresting Brig. Saleh Al-Dhanin and his sons together with other 40 armed followers over the clashes that took place last Monday in Asr where Al-Dhanin’s sons attacked a plot of land belonging to an Emirate investor and caused the death of three soldiers affiliated with the military police.

The incident was met with a wide public rage which led to the removal of Brig. Saleh Al-Dhanin from his post as a leader of Khalid bin Al-Waleed military battalion, a post he assumed for over 25 years. The directives imposed the arresting of Al-Dhanin along with his two sons and referring them to a military judiciary.

Murad tribe, whose son was among those killed in the incident, called its sons for a demonstration in Al-Sabeen Square where over than 400 people gathered, asking President Saleh to arrest Al-Dhanin, his sons, and the armed men affiliated with them.

According to a tribal source, President Saleh delegated the leader of the Military Police to address the demonstrators, showing them copies of Saleh’s orders dictating the arrest of the perpetrators and the removal Al-Dhanin from his military post as well as considering those killed as martyrs.

Brig. Al-Dhanin, who is very close to President Saleh, is still hiding in his Sana’a house after Brig. Jubran Al-Hashidi was appointed in his place. Meanwhile, high ranking military leaders are showing sympathy with him since last Tuesday.

Delay in arresting Al-Dhanin and implementing Saleh’s directives made victims kinsmen cast doubts on the non-seriousness of the Ministry of Interior to arrest them Further, they fear reconciliation which is the case with a lot of similar issues that took place in the past particularly when high ranking officials are involved in.

Observers considered the incident to be a test for Saleh’s seriousness to put an end for land lootings by military leaders and those close to decision-making circles, as well as to provide a safe environment for investments.

The incident has just came few months after land corruption file in Aden was closed under presidential directives and after several high ranking military officials were pointed to be involved in such corruption cases.

YT

TAIZ

Influential person demolishes home with residents insides

April 15 — One of the influential persons in Al-Hasab area in Taiz, aided by a group of policemen, demolished a house, belonging to the citizen, Mr. Awadh Saif Al-Selwi while women and children were inside under the pretext that this person is one of the landlord’s heirs. The mother of the children revealed that policemen, accompanied by gunmen, came aboard police vehicles and raided the house without giving them any chance to go outside.

HAJJAH

Water Corporation threatened of bankruptcy

April 14 — Officials in Hajja governorate’s Local Water Corporation mentioned that the corporation, which is only two years old, is bound to collapse and threatened of bankruptcy due to the heavy loans it granted to social personalities in the governorate. Local sources said that the debts on social personalities to the corporation amount up to YR 120 million. They added that corporation hardly pay the salaries of workers and the operating expenses.

IBB

NUPO criticizes ruling party’s policy

April 15 — The Ibb Branch of Nasserite Unionist Popular Organization (NUPO) expressed concern about obstacles posed to projects funded by the exceptional budget of Ibb Governorate. It said that the money is wasted and the projects are randomly implemented under the pretext that those in charge of works have limited time to complete them as the 17th anniversary of the National Unity is drawing nearer. In addition,The party’s branch released a statement criticising the ruling party’s policy with regard to transforming the development projects into seasonal ones.

Yay!

Sana’a, NewsYemen

A Parliamentary committee has described the process of knocking down some houses in Aden by the local authority as “erroneous and headlong act”.

The committee said the decision of demolishing challenges the president’s order to the local authority to tackle the problem of those houses and lands according to the Law of Estates. It said that the demolishing process included houses “which are not involved in the president’s order at all”.

This behavior may have negative impacts on the province as a free economic zone for local and foreign investments, said the committee in a report raised to the Parliament’s leadership.

The committee said the Prosecution did not issue an order before demolishing and that the warning with the houses owners got from the leadership of the province did not include specific dates and that people received such a warning only one day before starting knocking down their houses.

Parliament and the ICC Statute, Did it pass?

SANA’A, NewsYemen

Although the Yemeni Parliament approved last week the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), many MPs continue to say that the way of voting was not legal.

The legal controversy over this issue came to the climax on Saturday when 80 members voted for rechecking the decision of joining ICC against 50 members opposed to have the approval rechecked.

The Parliament leadership suspended the session for more than an hour as the MPs could not reach an agreement after voting by loudspeakers according to the Parliament bylaw.

Some MPs said that re-voting the approval breaches the constitution as the Parliament had officially raised the approval to the president and asked to complete the constitutional procedures in this regard.

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Thats very good.

almotamar.net - The parliament on Tuesday sent a request of 29 MPs for the consideration of issues related to problems of pensioned military men to the defence and security committee at the parliament and to discuss them with relevant government institutions to meet those retired people demands. They are mainly related to grant them military promotions dating back to 19900 as well as financial dues and plots of lands for houses.

In this regard MP Abdulaziz Jabbari who is member of the workforce committee suggested to MP Aidarous al-Naqeeb who aroused that subject to propose what he wants during the discussion of a report on the workforce regarding the progress of implementing the strategy of wages and salaries that includes its application to the military men.

On the other hand the MPs reviewed a report presented by the committee of trade and industry about its field visits of a number of governorates to see the reality of investment and difficulties facing investments. The parliament also listened to report by the committee of services regarding demolition of houses in the district of Dar Saad in Aden governorate by the local authority as well as complaint by tenants in the part used for selling qat at Al-Qahira market, in Mansoura district.

Related: GPC re-elects leadership.

YT, al-Tajammu

– Influential persons plunder investors’ lands

The newspaper reported that many gunmen with military uniforms were usually citied to plunder agricultural lands belonging to investors in Al-Emad district, Aden governorate. The weekly quoted reliable sources as saying that civilians in charge of guarding the lands were attacked by policemen last week. The assailants damaged pumps and other agricultural equipment and confiscated some of them.

Eyewitnesses said that several agricultural investors had been detained in Da’ar Sa’ad Police Station, as they were filing complaints against policemen who grabbed their lands. The investors complained that they were subjected to torture and mistreatment during their detention. Deputy Chief of Aden Security Department Najib Mughalles ordered the concerned parties to take legal and firm procedures against the plunderers and investigate the incident.

Its astounding the way land ownership is systematically accomplished by brute force in Yemen, notably in the South, resulting in an increasing concentration. The “influential persons” stole a grave yard recently.

The paper also estimates over 25,000 internal refugees in Sa’ada.