Armies of Liberation

Yemeni confesses at court of phone contact with Iranian intelligence
Tuesday, 11-November-2008
Almotamar.net - The Yemeni Specialised criminal First Instance Court continued Tuesday listening to evidence presented by the prosecution against one of three persons accused of holding phone communication with Iran.

At the court sitting chaired by Judge Muhsin Alwan the prosecution continued presentation of statements of the first defendant Abdulkarim Ali Abdulkarim Laji in reports of the prosecution investigations containing what he provided to staffers in the Iranian embassy of information on the Yemeni Coast Guard and movements of American citizens in Yemen.

On the court question to the defendant on the statements attributed to him he confessed they were his but deeds were not his.

The court then decided to postpone the sitting to Wednesday to continue presenting statements of the second defendant Hani Ahmed Shin. The prosecution accused three persons of conducting phone calls and illegitimate communication with a foreign country and work for its interest and providing it with news and information in addition to documents and photos on the political and security situations in Yemen in the way that harmed the political, economic and war status of the Republic of Yemen

The prosecution said in the court sitting that Abdulkarim Ali Abdulkarim Laji, 33, Hani Ahmed Shin 31, secretary of the director general of Coast Guard
Of Hadramout and Iskandar Abdullah Yusuf, 57 had in the year 1997-2008 held contacts with Iran and that they were holding meetings foreigners and provided them with news and information on Yemen. The prosecution pointed out that the defendants were exchanging information via CDs and telephone memories.

Most of the arms dealers were released after signing a pledge

Almotamar.net - Interior Minister General Mutahar Rashad al-Misri revealed that security authorities on Tuesday seized 3 million and 700 thousand intoxicating pills and managed during the first half of this year 18 tons of drugs, saying it was a quantity enough to destroy the entire youth of the Arab homeland.

Minister al-Misri also said the security authorities also managed to capture the terrorist cell that was sending threatening messages to some embassies in Yemen. In addition, security authorities were able to carry out the campaign of prohibiting weapons and the closure of 230 shops for selling arms and munitions. They detained 270 arms dealers in a number of governorates.

The Americans planted the drugs on the boat, they say.

13 Iranians stand trial on charges of smuggling drugs
Sunday, 12-October-2008
Almotamar.net - Yemen Specialised Criminal Court has on Sunday begun its first sittings for the trial of thirteen Iranian defendants on charge of bringing in and promoting drugs as well s entering the Yemeni regional waters in an illegal way.

In the sitting chaired by Judge Muhsin Alwan the prosecution accused the defendants of bringing drugs from Iran to Yemen via the Iranian port of kanar on board of a boat and entering the Yemeni regional waters illegally.

The attorney added that 20kg of hashish were caught in possession of the defendants. The prosecution related causes of the accusation and a list of evidence containing confessions of the defendants of being arrested by American forces and in their possession the narcotics on board of the launch they were boarding and then they were handed over to Yemeni forces and that they had no permission for entering the Yemeni regional waters an had signed the minutes of their capture, but they accused the Americans of putting drugs in the boat though they do not possess the evidence that the Americans were the ones that put the drugs on the boat. That cohesion was made by most of the defendants whereas some confessed of possessing o drugs.

The court decided postponement of the trial to next Sunday to enable the prosecution present evidence and address the lawyers union to retain lawyers to defend the defendants.

American international forces had caught the boat al-Hussein in the regional waters and on its board 13 Iranians and 3 tons of hashish which was destroyed by the international forces there and kept a sample of 20 kg in addition to capturing 22 empty sacks which were hashish package. The captured things were also 3 Thoraya telephone sets, a wireless set a set for spotting locations and a sum of 830 Iranian riyals and 10200 Pakistani rupees.

Penal court tries Iranians on charges of drugs trafficking

[12 October 2008]
SANA’A, Oct. 12 (Saba)- The specialized primary penal court started on Sunday trying a new group of thirteen Iranians accused of bringing drugs from Iran to Yemeni regional waters.

In the first session presided over by Judge Mohsen Alwan, the court conducted judicial investigations with accused for knowing their identities, their business and their personalities as well as it heard the accusation decision made by the prosecution against them.

The decision clarified that the accused brought last March 3100 pound of drugs of Hashish kind from Iran port of Kiran into Yemeni regional waters.

The prosecution showed the court that the international forces that arrested the boat, carrying Iranian banner and 13 Iranians on board, in the Indian Ocean had spoiled the quantities of Hashish and kept 20 kilos, then handed them over to Yemeni authorities with other plastic sacks.

The court then presented the case directed by the prosecution against the accused who denied knowledge of the drugs seized in their boat. They accused the American forces who arrested them of banding their eyes and laying down the drugs in their boat after they unloaded the fish they hunted into the sea.

The court asked the prosecution to provide the evidences for discussing them during the session to come and directed memo to Lawyers Syndicate for authorizing advocate for defending the accused Iranian.

Yemen Times

Yemen seizes ten million drugs capsules in 8 months

Security sources said on Sunday that Interior Ministry seized about 1400000 capsules of drugs since the beginning of 2008. The sources added that the latest operation of capturing drugs was done in the Aden harbor, where about 3500000 capsules of drugs were found inside water heaters imported from a neighbor country. The source pointed out that investigations are underway with the smugglers.

Last week, the security forces in Hodeidah province held a Syrian citizen charged with smuggling 1.212 million captagon pills into the country. The seizure comes after the security forces seized a large amount of captagon pills concealed in water heaters shipped in a container and after they found large quantities of hashish on two cars.

UN Office on Drugs and Crime

Due to its technological development under communism,
Bulgarian criminals have had an advantage in synthetic
drugs production. They are best known for production
of Kaptagon (fenethylline), a synthetic stimulant prized
in the Middle East for its alleged aphrodisiacal qualities.
Today, most pills sold as Kaptagon are, in fact, forms
of amphetamine that are easier to produce, but large
quantities of these counterfeits are regularly seized.
There have also been reports of false Kaptagon being
produced in Turkey, destined largely for markets in the
Middle East. According to Europol:
… amphetamine tableted with the ‘captagon’ logo is produced
on a substantial scale in Bulgaria for the domestic
market as well as for the export to Turkey and Middle
East countries such as Saudi Arabia. More than 900 kg
of amphetamine were seized in Bulgaria in 2006, the
majority on its way to Turkey. Moreover, Turkey reported
the seizure of nine amphetamine production, storage
and tableting sites detected in its territory plus more than
fourteen million amphetamine / ‘captagon’ tablets as well
as 65 kg of BMK. According to Bulgarian information this
production is controlled by Bulgarian organised crime.189
But the potential for synthetic drug production exists in
other countries as well, such as Serbia.

but lets just call them all terrorists:

Yemen Observer

220 out of 1045 terrorist suspects were arrested by the Yemeni police in the year of 2007, according to a recent report issued by the Yemeni Ministry of Interior.

According to the report the 220 detainees were arrested under accusations of being involved in terrorist cases or in other organized and drug crimes. The report also revealed that other thousands of criminals were detained in 2007 for being involved in other different crimes.

The report stated that the security authorities could handle 34,386 crimes out of 36,894 at a rate of 63.2 percent.

According to the same report the number of premeditated crimes dropped by 96 percent compared to the year 2006 due to the firm implementation of the law that banned weapon-carrying in the main cities.

The report also revealed that 812 stolen cars out of 1,173 were brought back to their owners.

In 2007 the Yemeni authorities deported 1,390 Arabs and foreigners living illegally in the country, while more than 27,900 illegal immigrants were caught by the coastguard. The coastguard also registered more than 1,418 cases of smuggling refugees and water pollution cases in 2007. The report also stated that Yemeni authorities have given more than 32,000 residence identity cards for refugees from Africa and other Arab and Asian countries.

The United Nations granted the Yemeni Ministry of Interior its shield for the year 2008 in recognition for the great success it achieved in fighting drugs.

AFP

RIYADH (AFP) — Saudi border guards have seized almost a tonne of explosives and large quantities of arms and drugs on Yemen’s border over the past three months, making hundreds of arrests, Okaz newspaper said on Saturday.

The paper, quoting the guards, said 13 hand- and rocket-propelled grenades, 99 sticks of dynamite, 100 fuses, 12 detonators, more than 100 guns and 15,000 cartridges figured in the seizures.

Okaz praised security guards for their vigilance which had prevented the weapons and drugs from falling into the hands of “terrorists and other elements seeking to destabilise” the Saudi kingdom.

As many as 800 suspected arms and drugs dealers were arrested over the same period, along with 83 illegal immigrants, the report said.

Some 1,600 kilograms (2,640 pounds) of hashish, two million amphetamine pills and 280 bottles of alcohol, which is banned in the ultra-conservative Muslim country, were also seized.

Interior Ministry releases detained weapon dealers
Saturday, 12-July-2008
Almotamar.net - Yemen’s Ministry of Interior on Saturday released all merchants of weapon it has arrested in its campaign carried out by security authorities for closing own shops trading with weapons. The shops included in the campaign amounted to 234 until the end of last week.
Security sources said instructions of the Interior Ministry decided to keep weapons shops closed and continue the seizure of the weapons it captured in the campaign that covered all governorates of Yemen until to decide what to do about them later.

The Security Information Centre at the Ministry of interior sad that Ministry released weapons merchants after they submitted written pledges of not practicing again this type of activity that is violating the law and their pledge to report to security authorities whenever they are requested.

Good topic. FYI I didn’t write this article and Jane’s is not me. Jane’s Intelligence Digest is published by Janes Information Group, which produces independent publications on the defense, security, transport and law enforcement sectors. Jane’s Information Group and associated publications like Janes Defense Weekly are in no way associated with the British military or the US Pentagon and are not published by any government. (D’oh, the regime idjits misunderstooded.)

An important point raised by this article is the collusion between criminal elements in Iraq and in Yemen, and the extent to which the smuggling pipelines of all sorts are within the domain of officials in the Yemeni adminstration. There are well established transportation routes between Yemen and Iraq upon which persons and contraband pass both ways.

In the last three years, Yemen has become a centre for trafficking Iraqi women.

In Yemen, this has focused on transhipment; the women are brought to Yemen and then sold to clients in other countries, mainly the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries.

A number of factors have contributed to Yemen’s development as a centre for human trafficking. Yemen is relatively close to the GCC countries and the Yemeni police are either unwilling or unable to stop or impede the traffickers.

Trafficking not only exacts a terrible cost in human terms but also contributes to the continued instability of Iraq. The amount of money being generated through the sale of these women is substantial. While most of the money generated through the trafficking operation remains in Yemen, some of the money is returned to Iraq where it helps fund additional criminal activity.

Given the continued instability in Iraq and the lack of enforcement in Yemen, it seems certain that even more women will be sold into sexual slavery this year.

The last bust had a street value of about 50 million dollars. And this one, like that one, comes in the context of regional security agreements. But the Yemeni Coast Guard is doing well for itself despite being under funded and under equipped:

Yemen seizes 1700 km of drugs

SANA’A, June 04 (Saba) - Yemeni coastguard forces have seized 1700 km of drugs while they were attempted to smuggle into some neighboring states, the state-run 26sep.net.

An official source was quoted as saying that the coastguard forces in the cooperation with UAE security services seized a Pakistani ship carrying on board 1700 km of the drugs off Yemeni coasts.

al-Motamar

Almotamar.net - On charges of bringing, exporting and transporting quantities of narcotics and hashish as well as money laundering, the Yemeni Specialised Criminal Court began Tuesday the trial of 16 defendants among them a Kuwaiti army captain and his son, at large, in addition to another defendant.

(Read on …)

Of course Saleh was in on it.

CIA website

Possible Yemeni Breaches of UN Sanctions

2001: Government of Yemen Offers to supply Military Goods to Iraq
Recovered documents refer to the Yemen Ambassador meeting with the Iraqi military to discuss a list of guaranteed military materials. According to the documents, the President of Yemen gave his blessing to support the effort to supply military goods to Iraq.

A letter from the Iraqi Defense Minister Sultan Hashem Ahmed dated 23 March 2001 speaks of a meeting with the Republic of Yemen’s Ambassador, Mr. Abid Al-Malek Saeed. The letter states that Yemen had been helping the Iraqi Armed forces through a Yemeni business-man named Mr. Shaher Abid Al Haqq.

Reference is given to a meeting held 19 February 2001, were the Yemeni side was ready to export military materials from Yemen and Ethiopia to Iraq. The letter indicates the President of Yemen, Ali Abid Allah Salah, gave his blessing to the deal and that the Iraqis were given guarantees for the spare parts. These parts were specifically drawn from the stocks of the Yemeni armed forces, air force, army aviation and included armor, trucks, and weapons.

A follow-up meeting was held on 22 March 2001, which included the Yemeni Ambassador and Mr. Al-Haqq. Al-Haqq and the Ambassador provided the Iraqi military with a list of guaranteed available military materials and prices. Al-Haqq also revealed that he had met with the President Salah who had given his blessing for these efforts and support. The letter indicates that the President Salah, “believes that the support of Iraq with the proposed exports is necessary” and he had made calls to his brother, an Air Force Commander, asking him to present everything possible to Iraq, even if he has to take supplies from the Yemeni Air Force and ask Russia and others for replacement material.

Arab billionaire’s son: ‘I didn’t kill party girl’

Source: Metro

Tuesday, March 25, 2008- The son of an Arab billionaire businessman who left Britain hours before a Norwegian friend was found dead has denied killing her.

(Read on …)

Al-Motamar

Almotamar.net - Judicial sources told almotamar.net on Thursday that the specialised criminal prosecution in Yemen began on Wednesday interrogating 11 Iranian persons on charge of entering the Yemeni territorial waters illegally and the possession of around 200kg of narcotics and smuggling them to Saudi Arabia as aborted.

The sources mentioned that the prosecution began Wednesday investigation with the accused persons via a Yemeni translator.

Yemeni security arrested the accused in mid of last February on board a motorboat offshore Al-Mahara governorate, east of Yemen and were in possession of 203kg of drugs carefully packed to prevent water effect in case of attempting to hide the quantity in the sea. The quantity was put inside 20 bags on deck of the boat to pretend it were an ordinary goods.

CA chairman: Blacklist for violators of customs law due to be issued soon

SANA’A- March 07 (Saba)- Chairman of the Customs Authority (CA) Ali al-Zabidi has revealed that the authority is preparing a blacklist for traders who breach customs law.

In an interview with Saba, al-Zabidi said that solutions to tackle issues of customs need safe measures and care for employee of the authority.

Saba: what are the key reforms taken in Customs Authority during two years ago?

Al-Zabidi: The reforms focused on two domains, one on legislation and the second on administration. The authority worked to review laws associated with customs tariff and correct some customs measures.

Regarding the administrative reforms, the authority has conducted a study over
restructuring the authority, held several training courses for employees, appointed skilled personnel and rehabilitated certain customs outlets in some regions like in Mukalla, and Taiz airport as well as set up new customs centers after agreement with neighboring countries within joint cooperation.

The authority also has supplied these centers with up-to-date customs systems.

(Read on …)

Almost always there’s the forged currency as well

Almotamar.net - The specialised criminal prosecution in Yemen began Saturday investigation with a Syrian national accused of attempting to bring drugs into Yemen.

Judicial sources told almotamar.net Saturday the accused called Faez Mustafa Duraid was arrested in the capital Sana’a with his wife who was handed over to the Syrian consulate in Yemen at a later time after the arrest. The sources added that security men had captured in the accused person’s flat a factory for manufacturing narcotic tablets, pointing out that the investigation held with him led to the seizure of 465000 narcotic tablets at the Sana’a International Airport the accused Syrian was trying to bring them into Yemen. The accused person will be sent the Specialised Criminal Court after finishing investigation with him.

On the other hand the prosecution began investigation with 14 persons accused of drug trafficking and currency forgery, among them 12 Yemenis, one Saudi and one Kuwaiti.
Judicial sources told almotamar.net that the accused who were arrested at the end of last January were in possession of 889 thousand forged Saudi riyals and a small quantity of drugs.

The sources added that interrogation with the accused led to the seizure of 1000 kg of drugs in the city of Aden they were intending to smuggle to Saudi Arabia. The accused will be sent to court soon.

Saturday, March 08, 2008

RIYADH: Saudi police have foiled an attempt to smuggle 140 kilograms of hashish from neighboring Yemen, SPA state news agency reported on Friday. A border patrol in the southwestern region of Najran clashed on Thursday with a group of smugglers after spotting them trying to infiltrate into the kingdom through rough terrain, SPA said. The smugglers, who were trying to cross the borders on foot, fired at the patrol before they retreated, leaving behind the drugs and a number of machine-guns and ammunition, it added. In October, Saudi authorities announced foiling an attempt to smuggle 1,050 kilograms of hashish through the same area, along the borders with impoverished Yemen. Saudi Arabia imposes death penalties on people convicted of drug trafficking. In January, two men convicted of drug smuggling were beheaded by the sword. - AFP

Oil subsidies at work.

SHABWA,NewsYemen

The director of security in Shabwa Hamoud al-Harithi said police arrested a group of people while they were attempting to smuggle a quantity of diesel abroad.

“The smugglers were trying to take away tanks containing 150,000 liter of diesel through the see,” said al-Harithi. He said owners of some fuel stations and some oil companies working in Yemen have offered assistance to smugglers.

Government officials are also involved in drug smuggling, gun running, child trafficking. Its not just plain old State Capture, the state has been captured by criminal gangs. And this is why the water plan never gets implemented.

Yemen Times

SANA’A, March 4 — The Committee of Agriculture and Irrigation in the Yemeni Parliament disclosed last week the implication that officials in the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation and Hodeidah governorate allowed banned pesticides to enter the country illegally through Hodeidah port.

The cargo consists of five 20 20-foot containers which contain 58,500 kiloliters of pesticides, going to Daghsan corporation warehouses in Sana’a city.

In its report, the committee said that the cargo of chemicals and poisons constitute a very dangerous risk to people’s lives, and can cause damage to the environment, plants and soil.

The committee asked for everyone who participated in letting the cargo enter Yemen to be handed over to the court for prosecution to be punished according to the Constitution and law. The report affirmed applying the punishments stipulated in law 25 for the year 1999 regarding the circulation of pesticides, on the importer Saleh Ahmed Daghsan.

The people involved in releasing the cargo of pesticides are Mohammed Ahmed Daghsan, the representative of Bin Daghsan corporation, Abdullah Shamlan, the head of the Oversight and Inspection Department in the General Department for Plants Protection. Ali Muhriz, the head of the registration department in the General Department for Plants Protection, Yassen Al-Naqeeb, the head of the Department of Oversight in the General Authority for Plants protection, and finally Omer Abdullah Al-Muqbli, a security officer for the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation.

According to a report issued by Parliament in June 2007, the pesticides were released from Hodeidah port’s customs department and moved to Daghsan Corporation warehouses. “However, the pesticides were supposed to be stored at Ministry of Agriculture warehouses, but they were fully packed with other goods,” the report added.

Parliament member (MP) Moqtar Sadeq Abu Rass, who is also on the Agriculture Committee, stated that the container locks were broken by Daghsan corporation. “Daghasn broke the locks and sold the pesticides, so when the Ministry of Agriculture went to claim the cargo, they found that half of it had been sold and distributed in Taiz and Al-Dhale’e governorates,” said Abu Rass.

The committee expressed its regret that the public prosecution hasn’t notified the committee about the steps it has taken concerning the matter, despite transferring the issue to the public prosecutor on February 14, 2007. “The prosecution refuses to inform us about what they have done about the issue so far. It never informs us about anything under the pretext that the judiciary is independent,” added Abu Rass.

On his part, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation Mansour Al-Hawshabi confessed before Parliament the ministry’s inability to tackle pesticides smugglers, and requested the cooperation of all official authorities and people in restricting this dangerous epidemic.

During the February 26 Parliament session, Al-Hawshabi said that pesticides smuggling is ongoing and complained to the MPs that the prosecution hasn’t adjudicated in the smuggling cases that have been transferred to it from the ministry in the past. He mentioned that the ministry seized a 21-ton cargo of pesticides in Jabal Al-Nar in Taiz, and another 12 containers in Aden from an importer accused of importing a previous cargo of poisonous pesticides. He said that these issues have been transferred to the public prosecution, which hasn’t made any decision on them yet.

Al-Hawshabi added, “The problem isn’t in seizing these poisons; the stores of the ministry are full of them and using them will cause a catastrophe for the environment. What we need is to enforce the importers to get them back to their country of origin.”

Parliament neither advocated cooperating with nor to punishing the ministry. It didn’t excuse the ministry from responsibility, but suggested publishing a black list of smugglers’ names through the mass media. Moreover, the MPs asked that the officials who facilitated the passing of the banned cargo through Haradh strait be taken off the job and transferred to prosecution to be held accountable for their actions.

Two recent studies conducted at the University of Aden found that 118 kinds of pesticides are used in Yemen, mostly by qat farmers.

According to one study conducted by Abdul-Rahman Alawi bin Yehia, a researcher in the Environmental Studies and Sciences Center at the university, Yemen imports these pesticides under 555 trade names, and most of them are very dangerous.

Another study conducted by pharmacy students at the university stated that these pesticides cause chronic diseases such as cancer, behavioral changes, and liver and kidney diseases.

Just missing the antiquities Yemen Observer:

Yemen and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) security forces seized a large amount of drugs at the Arabian Sea on its way to be smuggled to the KSA on a boat coming from Pakistan last Tuesday, said security sources.

Security sources said that the joint security operations in the two countries resulted after numerous sailors were apprehended in possession of contraband.

In the beginning of February, Yemen and Saudi joint forces arrested a major international gang involved in producing counterfeit money, and drug dealing. Sources told the Sep 26 website that the members of the gang are from Yemen, Saudi, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Kenya, and that members of the gang were arrested In Sana’a, Aden, and Jeddah, possessing large amounts of drugs and counterfeit money. They were able to phish approximately million Saudi Rial into banks.

(Read on …)

Local News: Child trafficking attempts foiled:
Monday 03 March 2008 / Mareb Press

Security men thwarted an attempt of trafficking 34 childern one of them was an Egyptian nationality and arrested the smugglers in the operation which happened in Hajah province, security source said Monday.

Security source in the province told Almotamar net that there were attempts of trafficking 13 childern in Hajah province, 6 from Hudiedah and 6 from al-Mahouit province, 4 from Saada province and 4 from Dhamar and al-Beetha provinces. One of these children was an Egyptian nationality who came to Hajah from Sanaa province.

The source confirmed that the children trafficking rate decreased compared with the same period last year when 80 children were trafficked.

Memri

According to UN sources, young Yemeni boys are snatched from their poor villages and smuggled into in Saudi Arabia and other oil-rich Gulf countries to work as drivers of racing camels [a tourist attraction but dangerous undertaking for a young boy], shepherds, home servants or beggars [the use of children as beggars is particularly extensive during the pilgrimage season because of the concentration of millions of pilgrims in a small area and, because it is a season when people to likely to display a measure of generosity]. Organized gangs are involved in this illegal and degrading activity. Poor families in remote villages, which often cannot provide for their children, are tempted by promises of additional income to let their children go.

The Children’s Fund of the United Nations says that 1.2 million children are “traded” in the world annually.

Source: al-Quds al-Arabi, February 28, 2008

Local News: Saudi authorities deport 2000 Yemenis

Wednesday 27 February 2008 / marebpress

The Saudi authorities have deported 2000 Yemenis during two weeks on board of trade Saudi ships due to illegal immigration claims.

The independent Newsyemen website reported a source as saying that Hudeidah port has received today the Egyptian ship, Sarah, which carried on board 965 Yemenis coming from the Kingdom of Suadi Arabia.

The source said that the deportees were in bad psychological and physical status due the circumstance of detention in Saudia Arabia.

The Yemenis were detained in different Saudi cities and they have entered Saudi lands illegally through the borders and some them have entered Saudi with the pretext of performing Omra (visiting Kaba), the source said..

Before two weeks, the Saudi authorities deported 997 Yemeni illegal migrants.

The report issued by the coast guards in Hudeidah last year mentioned that Hudeidah port received 13 thousands Yemeni deportees including children, women and old people.

The report added that the Saudi authorities deported the Yemenis for illegal migrations, security cases, smuggling drugs, burglary etc.

Wow. I have to say its impressive Mujawar admitted the gross theft of Yemeni public money in the form of smuggling subsidized oil. The World Bank said it first though.

1) Why not end the smuggling first then do the reduction in subsidies?

2) Reduction in subsidies should be accompanied by a rational government budget not one where 25% of public funds goes to administrative maintenance and 25% goes to military spending. Subsidies are another 25% of the public budget.

3) Beyond misappropriation of funds, corruption control is another component of economic reform. It should be accomplished before raising prices on diesel.

Yemen Times

Following Prime Minister Mujawar’s presentation to the parliament regarding the economic achievements of his cabinet during 2007, parliament members expressed fury and anger at the poor performance of the government, given the record inflation experienced during the year. The prime minister started his presentation by highlighting the economic growth and developmental achievements during the last three years, but he also stated that economic growth has declined from 3.6 % in 2006 to 3.2 % in 2007. He also explained to the parliament that the government is suffering from immense pressures due to the decline in oil production and in turn revenue.

Removal of oil subsidies

The Prime Minister also added that the government will be forced to remove oil subsidies due to the cost of the subsidies on the government budget; he stated that in 2005 subsidies constituted 23.5 % of the budget, dropping to 21.2% in 2006. However, he added that in 2007 the subsidy will exceed 30 % due to the increases in international oil prices. He also added that the World Bank states that less than 23% of the subsidy benefits the population living under the poverty line, indicating that the other 75 % of the subsidy simply goes to smugglers of refined oil products to outside the country. The prime minister also added that the government of Yemen has failed in putting a stop to five oil and diesel smuggles who smuggle refined oil products out of the country.

“I am not saying that we will remove all oil subsidies immediately, but I wanted to inform you about the challenges the government faces including the fact that 6000 billion Riyals of oil subsidies isn’t going to the poor, but only 4 % of subsidies is” the prime minister stated, adding that the government needs the help of the parliament in making the decision to remove oil subsidies.

In response, parliament members strongly opposed the notion of removing oil subsidies stating that the increase in oil prices will be accompanies by a price hike in all other products, which will increase inflation and become an economic and social catastrophe. Head of Al-Ishah parliamentary block Dr. AbdulRahman bafadhl stated that the Yemeni public will not be able to tolerate any additional increase in retail prices. While the head of the socialist parliamentary block Dr. Aydarous Al-Naqib stated that removing the subsidies is the opposite of what the public is expecting from the government, adding that holds the government responsible for any consequences of removing the subsidies, demanding that the government holds the corrupt officials and those who misuse public resources accountable and punish them instead of punishing the Yemeni people. He concluded his remarks by saying “we, and the government, complain of corruption but we’ve never heard of holding any corrupt officials accountable”.

Even parliament members of the ruling party were disappointed at the prime minister’s justification for removing oil subsidies, saying that the smuggling of oil is done through tankers coming to Yemeni ports and sailing across the sea, not smuggled by donkeys which the government cannot trace. While other parliament members denounced the government’s inability to put a stop to organized oil smuggling, unless the smugglers are a part of the government itself.

Parliament members mistrust in government

Parliament members continued to attack the prime minister’s presentation and government economic polities, MP Abdullah Al-Badani stated that he always feels suspicious and horrified whenever the government visits the parliament to present its achievements. He stated that he cannot see the economic progress the government is referring to while the value of the Yemeni Riyal is collapsing as opposed to other currencies, stating that the government economic policies are similar to a missile attack that aims at the destruction of the country, calling on the government members to go to the street and see the thousand who eat out of the garbage.

MP Sakher Al-Wajeh inquired why does the government have a monopoly on a single entity in importing refined oil products, adding that the government’s reliance on treasury bills to control the supply of money is a sign of economic failure. He also demanded an explanation why the government has monopolized import of scrap metal to only two selected businessmen, in turn driving many others out of business. MP AbdulRazaj Al-Hajri also commented on the prime minister’s achievement in giving raises to seven thousand retired political security officers, and said that we need seven thousand bakeries to feed the people, and this achievement is no achievement at all and the government needs to reprioritize.

MP Abdulkarim Shaiban stated that the economic development mentioned in the prime minister’s presentation is simply a myth and un true numbers, adding that the government has failed in preparing a business environment that succeeds in attracting investments, as evident by the declining investments coming to Yemen. He also added that the privet sector has become tired of continued restrictions on business and additional taxes.

Several other parliament members criticized the government for providing inconclusive information relation to other issues including security issues and the unrest in the south which have a direct baring on the economy. MPs also demanded that the prime minister revises his report and includes detailed information on the price hikes, how the proposed subsidy funds are going to be used if the oil subsidy is removed. The prime minister promised to resubmit his report in mid April.

Al-Sahwa

Hodaida’s security operations chief subjected to assassination attempt

January 2, 2008- Security sources told Alsahwa.net that the Hodaida’s security operations chief Bashir Hadad was subjected Wednesday to an assassination attempt in his office.

Furthermore, he was harshly beaten with rifle butts and weapons by a security official along with four soldiers, according to the sources.

“The chief of security operations is currently lying at the Military Hospital to which he was transferred.” they added.

The sources explained that those who carried out the attack today on the security operations chief are the same persons who were charged with attempting to assassinate deputy of the Criminal Investigation last month.

It is noteworthy that this is the second attempt that targeted security leaders within four weeks after smuggled modern weapons which were seized last month were disappeared by security officials.

January 3, 2008

– Security sources in Hodaida province have said that 25 gunmen from Amran province stormed Hodiada’s security building on Thursday and closed down its gate in new updates of trafficked weapons case .

Officers of Hodaida security expressed surprise as the security authorities have not yet captured the suspects who had tried to assassinate the Hodaida’s security operations chief, Bashir Hadad .

Hodaida’s security operations chief Bashir Hadad was subjected Wednesday to an assassination attempt in his office. He was harshly beaten with rifle butts and weapons by a security official along with four soldiers, according to the sources.

Hadad is currently lying at the Military Hospital to which he was transferred.” they added.

Those who carried out the attack on the security operations chief are the same persons who were charged with attempting to assassinate deputy of the Criminal Investigation, Mohammad al-Maqaleh tasked with investigating of the disappearance of automatic and sophisticated weapons were in way to Saada rebels last month.

The disappearance of automatic and sophisticated weapons had taken considerable attention from the President who authorized the Interior Ministry to form a committee to investigate this serious security issue.

SABA

Plan to protect Yemen from radiations not to be implemented yet

[15 December 2007]

SANA’A, Dec. 15 (Saba) - The Customs Authority’s head Ali al-Zabidi has called on the National Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC) to implement its part in the agreement the two bodies signed at the beginning of 2007 on carrying out a plan to protect the country from the risks of radiation sources that may enter the Yemeni lands illegally.

He told Saba that the plan, which was scheduled to be implemented in collaboration with the NAEC, security authorities and coastguards, aimed at setting up updated apparatuses able to control strictly
land, marine and air outlets and to prevent any attempts of smuggling nuclear and radioactive materials.

Under the agreement, the NAEC should provide the authority with modern apparatuses and training the authority’s cadre on the use of them to thwart any smuggling of radioactive materials into the
Yemeni lands, but the agreement has not implemented yet, al-Zabidi said.

10% die generally in the crossing from Somalia. What is the answer: let them land? Set up a UN station in Bossasso?

GENEVA (Reuters) - More than 1,400 would-be migrants, mostly Somalis and Ethiopians, have drowned off Yemen this year trying to cross the Gulf of Aden on rickety boats run by brutal smugglers, the U.N. refugee agency said on Tuesday.

The toll includes nearly 200 people believed to have died last weekend after one vessel capsized off the coast of Yemen and another broke up after hitting a rock.

Desperate passengers have been beaten, pushed overboard and doused with acid on perilous journeys during 2007, according to aid workers who are trying to halt further loss of life.

“This has been a tragic year in the Gulf of Aden. As of now we have statistics that more than 1,400 people have died. These are the ones that we have recorded, and there might be more,” Astrid van Genderen Stort, spokeswoman of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told a news briefing.

(Read on …)

Two words on narco-terrorism: private docks.

National Post
Terrorist groups may be funding their activities through khat, an illegal stimulant smuggled daily into Canada, says a newly released intelligence report.

The report by the Canadian government’s Integrated Threat Assessment Centre says “some part of the proceeds involved in the global khat trade possibly finances terrorism.”

Khat is an illicit drug that is wildly popular among Somali-Canadians. It originates in East Africa and the Middle East, regions that “are ‘of concern’ from a terrorism viewpoint,” the report says.

“Given that a number of terrorist organizations around the world finance their activities through the drug trade, and that much of the khat trade occurs in and emanates from a region of the world closely identified with terrorism, it is possible that some parts of the proceeds involved may end up in the hands of terrorists or their sympathizers.”

(Read on …)

Ecological disaster already, fish washing up on shore.

HODEIDAH, NewsYemen

Reliable sources in Hodeidah said that Yemeni Coast Guards have found, two miles off Al-Salif port, 26 bags contain poisonous materials threw out in the Yemeni territorial waters near Camaran island by an unknown trade ship last Wednesday.

The coast guards along with teams from the ministries of fisheries, environment and maritime science are looking for more bags might be thrown out and washed by wind to somewhere else, said the sources. They said that many fish and other sea livings were found dead on shores near Al-Salif port.

Official bodies do not talk about this fearing a horrible environmental crisis may happen due to such materials if searching teams could not find them and get them out, said the sources.

Sources pointed that each bag contains 400 gram of such dangerous materials.

This incident came few hours after Yemeni Coast Guards lifted up bodies of ten thousand livestock hurled by a ship coming from the African Horn to water off Hodeidah coasts, according to official sources that did not identify the ship.

Yemen Times

SANA’A, Dec. 16 — 10,000 livestock have sunk in the red see as a result of a U.A.E ship turned over. Likewise, another boat, belonging to Yemeni traders, carrying a huge quantity of pesticides made the same problem in the red see. Livestock and pesticides endangered the Red Sea resources, confirmed Yaha Al-kynaei, Chairman of the Yemen Authority for Developing Yemeni Islands.

(Read on …)

News Yemen

SANA’A, NewsYemen

The officer Mohammed Ameen al-Maqaleh, head of a committee formed by the Ministry of Interior to investigate smuggling weapons to Africa escaped an assassination attempt on Wednesday official source said.

Security sources accuse an officer involved in smuggling 77 pieces of guns and Kalashnikovs of planning for the assassination attempt.

Sources said that officers and security forces could spoil the attempt, but did not give details.

Security forces spoiled smuggling weapons to an African country days ago and arrested two persons. The African country was not identified.

The assassination attempt came one day after the government ordered to refer all involved in weapons smuggling operations through coasts and land borders to the Public Prosecution and military justice.

Yemen Times

In related news, Ba Jamal, a Presidential consultant, calls on countries bordering the Red Sea, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Eritrea, to form a security system for its protection, considering it an important artery between Africa and Asia.

In a statement to Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Ba Jamal stated that these countries are best able to protect the Red Sea, and that Egypt and Yemen are the primary keys to keep it secure, located at the sea’s northern and southern borders, respectively.

Every six months, periodic meetings are held between Yemen and Egypt concerning Red Sea security. These meeting have not ceased despite events taking place in Iraq and Eritrea, he added.

He also confirmed that countries bordering the Red Sea must cooperate to reach mutual ends, emphasizing the importance of engaging Saudi Arabia to secure the Red Sea, as it is an oil exporting country. Eritrea is also involved in the process.

Jamal further stated that Yemen and Egypt can form a security system for the Red Sea, adding: “This will go against the strategy of the U.S. and Israel. Therefore the Red Sea countries, namely Yemen, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Djibouti, and Eritrea, have to think together to form a security system to protect the Red Sea,” indicating that this matter requires resolving Somalia’s crisis.

On the African side, Egypt, Sudan, Djibouti and Eritrea border the Red Sea, whereas Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Jordon are on its Asian border.

Cabinet instructs remitting smuggling matters to military judiciary
Tuesday, 11-December-2007 almotamar.net - In its Tuesday meeting chaired by Premier Ali Mohammed Mujawar, the Yemeni cabinet instructed remitting all smuggling activities cases carried out across sea coasts and land borders, and persons involved in those activities to general prosecution and military judiciary for interrogation and carrying out legal measures against them.

The cabined in this regard authorized the deputy premier, the minister of interior and the minister of defence the task of investigation into all kinds of smuggling into the country and to report that accurately to the general prosecution on parties and individuals who are accomplice in practicing smuggling or supporting them in order to complete the legal procedures.

On the other hand the cabinet approved changing Bakathir House in Hadramout to a State Establishment for Press, Printing and Publication.

The cabinet meeting also discussed a report presented by the minister of agriculture and irrigation on recent attempts to smuggle animals into the Yemeni territories across the sea and the precautionary measures taken by the ministry with regard to the ship carrying 10 thousand cattle that sank near Hunaish Island. The government meeting instructed strengthening preventative measures to avoid any health harms resulting from death of the cattle that was carried by the ship in coordination with relevant sides to study the environmental impact of those animals death.

The cabinet referred a project on countryside electricity strategy presented by the ministry of electricity to the higher committee of energy for more study.

That’s very good, and proposals to combat child smuggling. She’s going to run into conflict from the officials who are making the money from selling kids.

Al-Motamar

almotamar.net - The minister of social affairs and labour Dr Amat al-Razzaq Humd said Monday her ministry has deleted 40 thousand cases not deserving cases from statements of social security along with drawing up a new mechanism depending on differentiation between the deserving through the computer.

The announcement came while the minister was on Monday reviewing measures of her ministry taken for solving the problem of Yemeni children smuggling at meeting of the Children Parliament.

The minister referred to proposed legal amendments being considered by the parliament including incrimination of smuggling children from Yemen and rising the age of the juvenile to 18 years. She also talked about formation of joint committee grouping her ministry and the ministries of interior and defence and local authorities in the border governorates.

The minister of social affairs and labour also praised the UNICEF organisation role in bringing closer the Yemeni and Saudi viewpoints on children smuggling resulted in holding many meetings of Yemeni-Saudi committees that agreed on preparing a study including statistics by a neutral expert and two representatives from each of the two countries.

It is to be mentioned that the government ha taken some treatments for the problem of children smuggling among them the building of centres for the rehabilitation of the returning children and expansion in cases of social security in the border governorates, amounting to one million cases in various governorates of the country.