Armies of Liberation

Thats just infuriating. And yes, the CD does prove the wiretapping.

Interior minister Rashad al-Alimi denied that his ministry ordered to wiretap private calls and that it made a deal with telecommunication companies working in Yemen to bring systems for recording and wiretapping.
In his reply to a question by the MP Abdul-Razaq al-Hajri on wiretapping to people personal calls, al-Alimi said the constitution and law prohibit that except if there a judicial order, confirming that his ministry is ready to refer the wiretapping cases to justice if proved.
He admitted that his ministry asked the ministry of telecommunications to order the telecom centers write names and the identity cards of people who call form those centers to keep social security. He justified that some people misuse phones for threats. But he asserted there were no cases of wiretapping.
“We have not to make rules according to rumors, but according to facts. If there is a real incidence, the ministry will investigate in to it and raise the results to the Parliament, said Alimi in his comment on al-Hujri question.
The MP al-Hujri said there was a CD includes a personal conversation between the correspondent of al-Jazeera space channel in Sana’a Ahmad al-Shalafi and his wife.
Al-Alimi said shops “are full of such CDs and the CD does not prove the allegation”.
He said that people who have suits should file them to the prosecution or to the interior ministry offering adequate evidence. He pointed that his ministry is preparing a draft law to fight “electronic crimes”.

Well thats certainly a nice article fromAlsharq Alawasat.

The focusing on news and events of one country at the expense of others is unjustifiable both professionally and morally. Although we are not the only ones that practice this type of discrimination, we have yet to do anything to reverse it.

Usually nations that are more powerful from a political, military, and economic perspective, get the most media coverage, even when it comes to trivial matters like entertainment, with the coverage usually bordering on the shallow and exaggerated. On the other hand, poorer and weaker nations are the prisoners of their grim circumstances, marginalized and out of the world’s collective conscience, except on rare occasions.

Yemen is a great example of this. As close as we are to Yemen geographically, our knowledge of it does not exceed that of their daily headlines, and they are usually about the rising fundamentalist movements, or the latest Al-Qaeda crimes, or the country’s Qat obsession, and that is hardly enough information for us to say that we know what goes on there.

A recent report by “the Committee to Protect Journalists” revealed that no less then 24 Yemeni journalists have been tortured, imprisoned or criminally prosecuted in the last two years. In addition, many newspapers were closed down or have had their licenses revoked. In the report, a number of journalists went on record to detail the arrests, torture, and intimidation the faced because they dared to write about sensitive issues.

These are just the quick facts, the details are more horrific. In addition to the above-mentioned methods of punishment, the Yemeni authorities have managed to create some new ones. On two separate occasions, Private intimate phone conversation between journalists and their wives were recorded and circulated in a society notorious for its moral conservatism.

Today in Yemen the noose is tightening around the press’s neck, which is the only tool available that can reflect the voices of opposition and political dialogue.

The essence of the problem is that the Arab media are not giving Yemen half the coverage it gives other countries in the region, for in less than a year, a number of journalists have been brutalized, kidnapped and imprisoned and none of them received the same attention their counterparts did in other Arab countries.

SUPER COOL! I’m so proud of them. They deserve it.

In March, Dr. al-Saqqaf posthumously won a lifetime achievement award at the Middle East Publishing Conference, from WAN, the World Association of Newspaper Editors.

IPI Names Yemen Times “Free Media Pioneer 2006″

The International Press Institute (IPI) has announced its decision to honour the independent newspaper, Yemen Times, with its 2006 Free Media Pioneer Award. Mr. Raidan Al-Saqqaf, Member of the newspaper’s Board of Directors, will receive the prize on behalf of the Yemen Times at an award ceremony on 30 May, during the forthcoming IPI World Congress in Edinburgh, Scotland (27-30 May).

Founded in 1990 by Prof. Abdulaziz Al-Saqqaf, a prominent economist and human rights activist, who was also its editor and publisher until his untimely death at age 46 in a traffic accident in 1999, the Yemen Times started publishing on 28 February 1991. Yemen’s first and most widely-read English-language newspaper, its declared aim is “to make Yemen a good world citizen.”

The Yemen Times operates in a part of the world known for harsh government restrictions on the media. The closure of independent and opposition newspapers and the criminal prosecution of journalists for critical coverage of sensitive issues are routine in the Middle East and North Africa and have led to a climate of fear in which self-censorship is common. Violent attacks against journalists are also on the rise, making the practice of their profession more dangerous than ever.

Against this backdrop, the Yemen Times continues to provide accurate and timely news and information on Yemen and the region, and actively participates in efforts, outlined in its mission statement, to support “press freedom, respect for human rights, political pluralism and democracy.”

The annual Free Media Pioneer Award was established by IPI, the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists, in 1996 to honour individuals or organisations that have fought against great odds to ensure freer and more independent media in their country or region. The Award is co-sponsored by the U.S.-based Freedom Forum, a non-partisan, international foundation dedicated to free press and free speech.

Previous winners of the Free Media Pioneer Award are: SW Radio Africa, UK (2005); the Central Asia and Southern Caucasian Freedom of Expression Network – CASCFEN (2004); the Media Council of Tanzania (2003); the independent daily newspaper Danas, Serbia (2002); the independent on-line newspaper Malaysiakini.com, Malaysia (2001); the Press and Society Institute – IPYS, Peru (2000); the Ethiopian Free Press Journalists’ Association – EFJA (1999); Radio B-92, Yugoslavia (1998); the Alliance of Independent Journalists – AJI, Indonesia (1997); and NTV, Russia (1996).

….to honour individuals or organisations that have fought against great odds to ensure freer and more independent media in their country or region.

Thats actually pretty interesting and thought provoking, with a variety of views and issues. I can’t believe its Faris who put this together. I wonder if he called anybody a hedgehog, accused them of hard work? hahaha

SANA’A – The Yemen Observer’s Think Tank Tent (TTT), a new discussion group, was launched last week by Faris Sanabani, publisher of the Yemen Observer Publishing House.
The first and inaugural session, held at the Yemen Observer office on April 27, discussed the situation of press freedom in Yemen.
The TTT is intended to be a “forum of choice for new ideas, analysis and debate on the most important issues facing Yemen,” Sanabani said.
The discussions are intended to allow the discussion of important issues in a candid and transparent way, in order to get a wide spectrum of opinions. It is therefore hoped to create a better understanding of the issue.
The list of subjects planned to be debated include corruption, the presidential elections, transparency in the government, the reform agenda, foreign aid, education and health care, foreign policy, tribalism, tourism and poverty.
A “Who’s Who” of journalists, government representative and opposition figures were invited, so that voices from all opinions and sides were heard.
It included Nasr Taha Mustafa, the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Saba News Agency, Hafez Al-Bukari, the Secretary General of Yemen Journalists Syndicate (YJS) and Hamid Shihra, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Al-Nass Publishing House.
In addition Nabil Al-Sofi, Editor-in-Chief of NewsYemen, Mahmoud Yassin, writer and journalist, Ahmed Al-Zorqa, the YJS Executive Director also took part.
Jalal Yagoob, Assistant Deputy Minister of Planning, Akram Sabra, Managing Editor of the suspended Al-Hurriyah Newspaper and Mohammed Al-Asadi, Editor-in-Chief of Yemen Observer also participated.

The outcome of this discussion is below, so readers can see and take part in the conversations too. We are therefore especially interested in your feedback and hearing what you think.

The content of future discussions, and the feedback we receive, will be published in a separate booklet so as to be easily available to researchers, politicians, legislators and the general public.
Copies of these booklets will also be passed on to government officials, lobbyists and decision makers, so that the ideas and opinions exchanged can better help them make informed decisions on the topic discussed.
Academics, reformers and the leaders of this country are also invited to participate with ideas, opinions and support for the TTT.
The next discussion will debate the issue of corruption in Yemen, including the government’s commitment to fight corruption, create anti-corruption laws and increase awareness about the problem. (Read on …)

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.”

By Dr. Moncef Marzouki*

The problems facing the Yemeni journalist Mohammed Al-Asadi and the other Arab journalists arrested in Morocco, Algeria and Jordan for accusations of reprinting insulting cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), reminds us of the American military terminology of ‘collateral damage’.

They are like the associated, often innocent, casualties arising from a showdown between two warring sides.

However, I take it for granted that the collateral damages are part of plot and not a mistake. Indeed, sometimes are in fact the goal of the plot, which is ostensibly targeted otherwise.

The sides that fuelled the war of the blasphemous cartoons are the racist right-wingers who dream of a devastating collision of civilizations, while also seizing the opportunity for Islamic and Arab regimes to appear as advocates of Islamic values. Instead, they are desperately in need of a shot of mercy.

Some religious figures, such as the Mufti of Qatar, have exploited the opportunity for improving their own battered image. They want to form what they call ‘Committees for Prophet Protection’, a behaviour that suggests the Holy Prophet Mohammed Salla Allahu Alayhi Wasallam, is an ordinary person.

They have taken it upon themselves, as if the prophet needs these jokers to defend him. It has become a battle between two mad, opportunist sides who struck successfully at the most sensitive of issues.

In this battle of elephants, the journalist Mohammed Al-Asadi, editor of the Yemen Observer, has been maliciously knocked to the ground, so that he is now amongst those blackmailed for the alleged assault against the symbol of holiness.

Among al-Asadi’s writings I have read are these phrases: “My name is Mohammed, the same name of the prophet Sallah Allahu Alayhi Wasallam. I can’t in any way insult him. “What I published defends the Prophet, and you can see that for yourself”.

He adds: “The report of ours joined the Islamic world in denouncing the insult. It was a summary of what some scholars have said in admiration of the prophet”.

He also said: “I published a 5cm picture of parts of the cartoons, concealed with a large cross. It was a signal of total rejection and contempt of the cartoons for the western readers of the paper”.
He asks: “Is this a slander of the Holy Prophet – which no Muslim can do, as long as he professes that there is no God except Allah and that Mohammed is Allah’s messenger?” He has given all the articles and information, translated into Arabic, to the court. “This is an accusation of my faith that I can’t accept,” he adds.

Is that then the crux of the issue? Al-Asadi is a journalist, a profession sometimes seen as one of the worst threats for Arab states under totalitarian rule.

Here we come to face our regular enemy that we hold in contempt and hate, the corrupt Arab political regime.

However, the problem is that Al-Asadi’s case is more complicated that it appears to be. A totalitarian state merely exploits the opportunity to annihilate its most hated foe, free journalists producing news of corruption and distortion.

Yet the person spearheading this campaign against Al-Asadi is one of the victims of this regime. He doesn’t bother to make an ally of Al-Asadi today, even though he may fear they may be a potential enemy of the regime tomorrow

Ali al-Jaradi, the media and culture director for the Association of Yemeni Journalists, has called on Sheikh Abdulmajid al-Zandani to use the funds he raised for suing the journalists to instead sue the US authorities, for alleged abuse in the Guantanamo Bay prison including flushing a Holy Qu’ran down a toilet.

Perhaps we exaggerated by blaming political autocracy, for that is simply the tip of the iceberg.

What we have learnt is that this political totalitarianism is not an import from Mars, nor the imposed will of Israel or President Bush. Instead, the regimes crippling our energies are the result of our own totalitarian societies. This is incontrovertible.

The one spearheading the oppression of this free journalist is not the ruling authority. Instead, it is an individual volunteering to raise funds not for fighting hunger but for suiting Al-Asadi. He is well aware of what he will gain, killing two birds with one stone.

This person is carrying the flag of a society riddled with fanaticism and misogynism.

If it is not stopped, only a bloodier form of totalitarianism will be established over the ruins of the present totalitarian system.

The new totalitarianism will be ignorant and will only slowly learn – over the dead bodies of the innocent.

Al-Asadi is between the heavy hammer of political totalitarianism and the deeper totalitarianism of the society. We are all morally obliged to stand by him and to step up our rhetoric to attack totalitarianism.
Journalism, the most important tool of democracy – represented by Al-Asadi – is under siege in Yemen and the whole Arab world on two fronts, not a single one.

We must look after the individual tree more than we care for the whole wood.

——————————————————————————–

* A Tunisian Public Freedoms Activist and writer.

Yemen Observer

from the Yemen Times,

Accusing the lawyers of taking money from foreign sources…..

At the West Capital Court’s April 1 session in the Al-Ray Al-A’am newspaper trial, the defense, led by Allaw Establishment and headed by lawyer Mohamed Naji Allaw, presented its pleading. The paper is being tried for republishing insulting caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh).

Defense confirmed a lack of material evidence due to absence of legal Sharia in the claim against the paper, asserting that republishing the caricatures to criticize them is not a crime, which is what the journalists did. Defense quoted a fatwa by prominent Islamic scholars, which validated republishing the caricatures to defend the prophet. It also presented Saudi Islamic Jurist ‘Mufti’ Dr. Suliman Al-Awdah, who republished the caricatures on Al-Arabia Satellite Channel, and Sheikh Mohamed Al-Arifi.

Allaw described Prosecution’s claim of applying Sharia law upon the defendants as a demand for the death sentence against them for the crime they allegedly committed, even if the charge is wrong. Allaw continued, saying the case is a criminal one, which Prosecution lawyers are unauthorized to file because it is the Attorney General’s duty.

Allaw stated that he is defending the journalists because they republished the caricatures to defend the prophet, adding that he is addressing all citizens, whatever their position, so they can distinguish what they hear before making premature judgments. He gave the example of mosque preachers who incited citizens against the journalists, deeming them to be the same as the Danish journalists, even collecting money to indict them.

Allaw asserted that Prosecution lawyers’ allegations are full of lack of knowledge of the basis for law and Sharia. In return, Prosecution lawyers accused Allaw Establishment of receiving funds from foreign bodies, which they did not mention, to defend Yemeni newspapers that republished the caricatures, saying they have proof that Allaw Establishment received such sums, in dollars, to defend newspapers that insulted the prophet. They demanded that HOOD and Allaw Establishment be banned for this reason, as well as demanding that case documents, memos and correspondence be reviewed.

Press Prosecution requested the opportunity to respond to Defense claims at the next court session.

From the Yemen Times, the quote of the day, “This is really stupid.“

The hysteric media barrage the political regime is launching against the opposition parties entails a bad omen of the coming few months prior to the presidential and local elections. Upon hearing rumors that the former president of the South Yemen Ali Naser Mohammed would run for office, the regime has opened up the question of the mass graves of the January 13, 1986 Aden, bringing into mind of the Yemeni people the agonies of the infighting and reviving the bloodshed memories and hatred sentiments.

Again, the state-run- and -financed media have also tried to revive the hostilities between the socialists, saying that the socialists of the North have controlled everything and left nothing for the socialists of the South.

Last Thursday, the 26 September newspaper of the army said the US embassy had given the government some important documents about the South during 1980s. It described these documents as important, revealing secrets of the conflict between the leaders of the socialist party at that time and other relevant issues to their term in office.

This is really stupid. What does it mean to incite such kind of sentiments? Won’t this hamper the national unity and stability of the country? They always say the unity is a “red line” and a taboo that must not be touched whatsoever the reason. I agree with my colleague Jamal Anaam when he said that the unity of the political parties is a part of the overall unity of the country. President Ali Abdullah Saleh has been always giving sermons on the importance of keeping the country united, burying the past hostilities and looking ahead for a better tomorrow. Why now recalling the past with all its miseries and pains? Won’t this stir up the anger the people of the South who are now lamenting the pre-unification era wherein law and order was respected and cherished by everybody, despite the other wrongdoings of the socialist regime.

Read the rest.

Its hard to get information in Yemen. From News Yemen:

“It was a very strange action when he denied what he had said” reported a journalist concerning an interview he conducted with a member of parliament. The journalist stated that as soon as he had finished recording the MP’s remarks, the MP left and went to another media source and denied everything.
Such behavior has become normal between the parties and the journalists who complain of difficulty in obtaining information from MPs. Sami Ghaleb, editor in chief of Al-Nida’, stated that the behavior of many MPs is far from being professional. He said that the reason behind this goes back to the leadership’s inability to listen to different opinions as well the ideological and historical background of these parties. The presence of local newspapers is new to the political life in Yemen. He feels that time and the continued practice of journalism in Yemen will change the political field’s opinion of it and that relationships between the journalism profession and the parties will change as well. “Our papers hold to professional standards and give balance to their coverage which will find acceptance among the ruling elite.
Al-Ghobari stated that dealing with the parties is much easier than dealing with the official bodies. He stated that it is a priority of the ruling party to make interaction with the journalistic profession difficult, followed by Islah. He stated that dealing with the Nasserite party and the YSP is the easiest. He said that the political parties in Yemen still show great reservation towards giving information about disputes among the ruling party and the opposition.
Concerning the internal workings of the parties, Islah is the most tight-fisted when it comes to giving information. He said most information is passed on by news leaks and conversation and not through official channels.
It is unlikely that the position of the parties will change their position towards journalists and try to solve the current impasse. An official spokesman stated that his is a paradox that does not only concern the parties but the state as well.

Also: this is interesting:

Sami Ghaleb defended the syndicate in his article published in Al-Nida’ under the title “The Governmental Quagmire and the Journalists’ Syndicate.” He considers this as a war waged by the government against journalism in order to raise party strife and incite anger against its members. This campaign began after the leader of the syndicate presented his resignation and following the joint parties’ support of it. He was surprised by this after a cordial visit between the minister of information and the syndicate which was considered a first step by a government official.
Al-Thawra published an article that stated “there are accusations of deals being made between journalists and foreign embassies in order to execute suspicious projects. However, do not forget the doubt surrounding MPs and their evil intentions towards the syndicate.”
The author, Al-Majidi, stated that the reason for the attacks comes from the profession’s defense of several journalists who underwent attacks and death threats as well as their opposition to laws that would restrict journalistic freedom.

Theres a lot more in the original article.

Its this kind of stuff that makes me think the Yemeni government fits the definition of a rouge regime.

fromNews Yemen:

The Yemeni Journalists Syndicate announced its condemnation for the hostile acts suffered by the journalist Qa’id Al-Tiri, (the editor of al-Thoury) and expressed its disapproval of the closure of Al-Usbu’.

The Syndicate demanded that the Ministry of the Interior conduct an investigation into circumstances surrounding the journalist’s kidnapping which occurred on Saturday as he was heading to his workplace in the Ministry of Media. The Syndicate condemned the criminal aggression that Mr. Al-Tiri was exposed to during his captivity, which included torture with electricity.

The Yemeni Journalists Syndicate stated that this act was just one in a string of aggressive acts committed against journalists over the last few months. It went on to say that if it were not for the indifference of the concerned parties then the perpetrators of these acts would have been brought before the court.

The Syndicate disapproved of the continued closure of Al-Usbuu’ despite the expiration of last year’s ruling to close the journal. It announced its deep concern over the arbitrary use of the law to close newspapers, which goes against the spirit of the law. Such manipulation causes material, mental, and physical harm to journalists.

Related: Judge Beaten by Prison Official:

A member of the Haja Governorate public prosecutor’s office, Judge Sahal al-Samit, was harmed during his visit to a prison yesterday. In a special interview with News Yemen Judge al-Samit stated that the vice manager of the prison in the security administration began to beat him as he (the judge) was freeing a number of prisoners who had been held illegally for some time. The president of the public prosecutor’s office in Haja sent a memo requiring lawful investigation into the event. The head of security in Haja related to News Yemen that he stopped the beating.

And Lawyers Beat-up by judicial police and soldiers.

from his paper, The Yemen Observer:

SANA’A – Yemen is focusing on the wrong people in targeting Mohammed Al-Asadi and the Yemen Observer in the accusations of insulting the Prophet (PBUH), according to a leading academic.
Dr Abdullah Al-Faqih, Professor of Politics at Sana’a University and head of the Change Forum, an independent NGO working to promote political dialogue, appealed to they Yemeni people arguing that they are “fighting the wrong war” in targeting the newspaper.

“Yemen’s battle is not with Al-Asadi but with poverty, illiteracy, underdevelopment, and diseases,” he said.
Dr Al-Faqih, in an interview with the Observer, wrote an appeal for real justice to be made, calling the trial a ‘witch hunt.’
His statement follows below.
“It is inconceivable to think that a newspaper like the Yemen Observer would intentionally seek to insult Muslims or their Prophet (PBUH) in any manner.

Yet the Observer and its Editor-in-Chief, Mr. Mohammed Al-Asadi, are put on trial for committing such a crime.
The paper and its editor are accused of republishing the infamous blasphemous cartoons that were initially published in a Danish paper last September.
The cartoons later provoked world-wide Muslim rage, leading to the death of tens of Muslims after clashing with police in several world capitals.

The editor of the paper, whom I met a few months ago in Aden, is a very articulate, polite, and trustworthy young Muslim journalist.
The paper itself has a history of moderation and respect for Islam and other religions. In fact, it frequently runs stories attesting to its commitments to, and respects of, Islamic values and principles.
Those close to Al-Asadi, lawyers and friends hold great respect for him and think he and the paper are being targeted for no good reason.
Images of the cartoons appearing in the paper were covered with a big X. The accompanying editorials expressed disgust at the publication of the cartons.

This is not a case related to freedom of the press per se. The Observer was part of the anti-cartoon movement and not a supporter of those ridiculing the Prophet and all Muslims.
The case appears to be a case of “witch-hunt.” The trial of the Observer and the call for the execution of its editor is a disservice to Yemenis, Muslims and to Islam too. “Witch-hunting” has nothing to do with Islam and its principles, values, and way of life.

The attempt to use a situation, of misjudgment at worse, to settle old scores or to intimidate newspapers and journalists, gives the wrong message to people within and without the Muslim world.
The ongoing court case serves only those who propagate stereotypes of Muslims as intolerant people.
It is neither in the interest of the litigants, nor in the interest of the defendants to continue a baseless case and to provoke laymen’s emotions in a very irresponsible manner.

Sheik Zindani, a very popular Yemeni religious scholar, is said to be steering the case. It has been reported that Mr. Zindani collected the sum of five million Yemeni rials from donors for hiring lawyers to prosecute the Observer and two other Yemeni papers.
The motives behind the case are not quite clear. Zindani himself has had some trouble with press coverage, with American accusations leveled against him. He also has had trouble with the government’s handling of his case. The political situation in Yemen is very complicated.

Whatever the motives are, it would be a violation of justice to try the paper and its editor -using an incident of misjudgment in the worst case scenario – and not taking into account the paper’s history and the editor’s characteristics.
While my brothers and sisters who are litigants in the case may have the best of intentions, they should know that they are fighting the wrong war.

The Yemen Observer is not the enemy, and its editor-in-chief is not the culprit. To those brothers and sisters who were offended by the paper, please and direct your attention, energy, and resources to Yemen’s real battle. Yemen’s battle is not with Al-Asadi but with poverty, illiteracy, underdevelopment, and diseases.”

Al-Faqih runs the Change Forum, which seeks to promote dialogue among political forces in Yemen, provide consultation on policy matters, and propose policy alternatives.

He makes a good point that this case is giving the regime another big round of negative publicity internationally, following on the heels of the escape.

The paper’s editorial:

For the past eight years the Yemen Observer has worked hard to provide accurate, balanced and informative news about all aspects of Yemen. It prides itself on providing up-to-date news and analysis in English, acting as a vital tool for non-Arabic speakers to learn more about the country.

Yet the continued suspension of the newspaper’s license – for unfounded allegations connected to the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) – is starving it of the crucial funds it needs to operate.

The actions were and still are meant to damage the good reputation of the newspaper, which has only ever acted with the very best interests of the country and its readers at its heart.

The Observer journalists continue to write and produce news on this website. We will, of course, resume printing the newspaper immediately when the draconian restrictions are lifted. However, if the Government do not change their mind, the newspaper faces a bleak future.

The newspaper’s forced closure has come just as the Government tries to boost tourist numbers and international investment in the country. If the Observer remains closed, a valuable international window onto Yemen will be lost, and a worrying message about press freedom in this country will be sent to the rest of the world. Press freedom is in real danger in this vital year.

The Yemen Observer has launched a massive campaign with local authorities including Parliament, leading religious scholars and senior judicial consultants at the Supreme Court of Yemen. All of them have shown understanding and sympathy. They admitted they were misinformed by the official media, which claimed that the Observer ran the abusive cartoons, but gave no further explanation in what context.

The editorial board of the Yemen Observer and all its workers at all levels would like to extend their deepest gratitude to readers and international organizations that have been a great support for all of us during this difficult time.

The situation cannot be allowed to continue.

On Wednesday March 8 the trial of the Editor-in-Chief Mohammed Al-Asadi resumes. We hope that both the Court and the Government will take the sensible and correct route, and allow Mr. Al-Asadi to run the newspaper freely once again.

Until then, we will be continuing all our usual news coverage online at this website: www.yobserver.com. We value our readers greatly. At this difficult time for the newspaper, we appreciate your support all the more. Thank you, and please keep visiting the site.

Update: Un-believable. The proscutors (all 21 of them) want the death penalty and the YO shut with financial compensation in the form of their assests. I still dont get this: how a private citizen can pay for state lawyers. I know its Yemen and I know its Zindani, but what is that?

Up to 21 prosecution lawyers called for the death penalty against Mohammed Al-Asadi, the Editor-in-Chief of the Yemen Observer, and the permanent closure of the newspaper, during Al-Asadi’s trial on Wednesday. The lawyers, commissioned by Sheik Abdul-Majid Zindani, the Chairman of Islah Shura Council and led by Mohammed Al-Shawish, also called for the confiscation of all the newspaper’s property and assets, and for financial compensation to be paid to be the Muslim’s ‘Finance House’, which last existed during the time of the Caliphs, 1200 years ago. They recounted a story in which a lady was killed during the Prophet’s lifetime after she insulted him, and that the Prophet then praised the killer.

Original Post:
I still cant believe this. Zindani whipping up a frenzy and collecting money and the YO shut. Ten new lawyers for the prosecution. At least he’s getting international coverage unlike Khalid Salman and the other Yemeni journalists kidnapped, beaten, stabbed, beat up every week for the last year. From the WAPO :

Arab Press on Trial Again
As freedom of the press in the Arab world grows, so do the challenges faced by independent journalists there.

Yesterday, Kuwait passed one of the strongest press freedom laws in the Arab world. Tomorrow, Muhammad al Asadi, editor of the weekly Yemen Observer, goes on trial for charges of blasphemy resulting from the Observer’s coverage of the Danish cartoon controversy.

While many Arab governments still wield heavy influence over newspapers and broadcast outlets, the days in which journalists simply served their governments are gone. An independent press has emerged in Lebanon and Iraq. New online media are thriving, especially in the Persian Gulf. But as Al Asadi’s trial shows, governments that fear a free press are not resting either.

Al Asadi was detained for 11 days last month after the Observer published the cartoons under a thick black banner in a story about Yemeni protests over the caricatures of the prophet Mohammad that appeared in the Copenhagen daily Jylands Posten. The government revoked the Observer’s license to publish. Two weekly tabloids, Rai al-A’am and Al-Hurriya, condemned the cartoons but also lost their licenses, apparently for reproducing the controversial images.

Al Asadi says the Yemeni government objected most to the paper’s editorial denouncing the cartoons but also calling for Muslims to stop protesting and accept the apology offered by Jylands Postens.

“That’s what really angered the hard-liners,” he told Newsweek’s Rod Nordland. “Even religious scholars have supported us: it’s the intention behind the publication, not just the publication.” Al Asadi was not alone in presenting all sides of the Danish cartoon controversy.

Related from UNNWR: Just like Zindani blames the oppostion media for his designation by the US (ande UN) as a major terrorist, President Saleh blames the journalists for the cuts in World Bank and US funding:

What do you think about the cuts in U.S. and World Bank aid?

It is true that the World Bank and some other donor countries have reduced their assistance according to misinformation that they received from the newspapers of the opposition parties, as well as from the leaders of these political parties, who want to create frustrations for the Yemeni government. They tried to spearhead a campaign against the government on the theme of corruption, as well as reforms, which have caused the World Bank and some donor countries to believe that this is true, but it’s not true.

Update: the late Dr. al-Saqqaf won. Im very happy and I commend the conference for their excellent choice.

from AMEinfo:

Awards for lifetime achievement in regional publishing will be made at the Middle East Publishing Conference that opened in Dubai yesterday…..Newspapers: Ghassan Tueni, journalist, publisher and civil servant, who took over An Nahar (Lebanon) in 1947 and helped establish it as an outspoken, independent, liberal newspaper; Hisham and Muhammad Ali Hafiz, considered founders of journalism in Saudi Arabia, having in 1978 founded Asharq Al Awsat; the late Abdulaziz Al-Saqqaf (1952-99) the founder, editor and publisher of the Yemen Times who was also a human-rights activist; the late Abdul Aziz Fahd Al Msa’eed who was a towering figure in Kuwait’s post-independence press; and Mustafa Ameen (1914-97), journalist, writer and publisher who established Al Akhbar.

You know who Im rooting for. The Yemen Times archives go back quite a ways and Ive read several articles by its founder, and they are quite impressive and you can get a sense of who he was and why he’s still so missed and respected in Yemen.

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.

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

From the Yemen Times

As Muslims, we have nothing to be alarmed about in terms of freedom of speech, as we are the ones provided with wisdom and the miraculous Qur’an.

We are not to call for tyranny and bans on freedom. It is obvious that we cannot stop publication of what we view as indecent in our sacred faith. The telecommunications revolution and future sciences tell us this. Let me say frankly that demanding closure of the Danish newspaper that insulted our prophet and the other newspapers that followed suit is a lack of common sense. Yet, failing to make use of Western freedom of press and other technologies to show the West the values of Islam is intellectual failure and a guilt that should not be linked to Islam. However, adopting censorship in dealing with the West is a woeful mistake against Islam and our prophet.

It is certain that official bodies were behind the rage that spread throughout the Arab world. Yet, governments were the main inciters of the people, undertaking to magnify the insult and determining the method of retaliation as well.

It remains skeptical whether those who burned the Danish and Swedish embassies in Damascus and Beirut were politically, rather than religiously motivated. The stylish slogans used in demonstrations hid other things. God did not order the burning; it is not the prophet’s norm. Even if it was voluntary public rage, it undoubtedly contributed to spreading offense and paved the way for future prejudicial behavior. The result of burning embassies and treading on flags is the self-same objective these drawings wanted to highlight. It was their intention to say that Muslims are terrorists and their religion is a peril to Western civilization.

What was the outcome of these enraged behaviors? Obviously, it was not to respond to the insult. It was even prudent not to provoke it. However, it was a basic ideal in the media profession. Some of those deprived of journalistic fame and lacking any fans tend to seek fame by insulting pillars of humanity. In most times, their publications will remain unread, rendering them to be the editors and the readers.

However, things take a different turn if they are met with angry reactions, as their readership surely will increase. Now that the Danish illustrations have been read widely and other cartoonists have followed suit by adding more drawings, a question arises about the wisdom of such enraged reactions, reenacted in Sana’a, Amman, Rabat and Cairo. Do we expect to burn these cities’ embassies and ban their trade? It is certain that the aim of all this was not to receive an apology or to wipe out the offense. Like the old racist, extreme, hidden agenda, it was the desire to rupture dialogue with the West, to draw a wedge and stir up religious, societal and cultural conflicts. Yet, the common interests of these groups that came together pose a great threat to humanity at large and the Islamic nation and authorities should be aware of their danger. They should not follow in their tracks and they should avoid the irrational artificial conflicts they often arouse.

I do not want to belittle or be indifferent to the insults to our prophet (pbuh). I denounce insulting our prophet and announce that my heart is filled with his love. Yet, I refuse that his position should be employed for ignoble political gains. However, I protest being used as a tool because of this love to spread the offense and turn naïve individuals into heroes. The drawers of these illustrations were made famous by our actions and more light was shed on their drawings as well.

The agenda of burning embassies and treading on flags has its objective, of which seeking an apology for defaming our prophet is not among them at all. Yet, apology or no apology, officially financed conferences, seminars and debates will not stop.

The concurrent burning of the embassies in Beirut and Damascus did not come out of the blue. Those who still dream and long for the ‘old days’ are seeking to restore them through hatred and incendiary actions. I am aware that it is rather unsafe to say such things and there are many who advise that it be overlooked. Yet, it would be a misuse of religion to ignore it because our religion is a complete network of values and principles.

Tawakkol Karman is a Yemeni journalist and heads Women Journalists Without Constraints (WJWC).

The unlikely hero, Yemeni Editor Mohammed al-Asadi, has an interview with Newsweek:

You mean to say the government has a prosecutor dedicated to the press, and that prosecutor has a dedicated jail?
That is one of the characteristics of the Yemeni government, putting journalists in jail to stop us from telling the truth to the public.

Your newspaper has been closely identified with the government, so is this the result of some sort of factional dispute within it?
The Yemen Observer has an independent line, and while it’s true that our CEO is close to the government, when he hired me he granted me complete editorial independence. He had no say over what I published.

The article as a whole discussed Islam and particularly the Prophet in reverential tones. So why the government reaction?
Most of these extremists don’t read English, they just saw the pictures. And the article was accompanied by an editorial, saying the cartoons were terrible, but we should accept the apologies of the newspaper that published them and move on, not continue running through the streets. That’s what really angered the [government] hard-liners. Even religious scholars have supported us: it’s the intention behind the publication, not just the publication.

Saleh promises again. This first time he said this, I think it was 2003, I believed him. Then al-Khaiwani went to jail. Now he says this again as al-Asadi is in jail.

Much discussion lately has been centered on what limits a responsible media should place on itself. At the other end of the spectrum remains the burning issue of censorship, propaganda and governmental limitations on the flow of information to the public. For some years the reformist posture of the Yemeni regime of Ali Abdullah Saleh had credibility internationally because of the existence of a lively Yemeni press. One reason confidence in Saleh’s commitment to democratization has diminished is a prolonged and systematic assault on Yemeni journalists, as an informative press is the bedrock of a government run by the people.

International reaction to the government’s proposed amendments to Yemen’s Press and Publications Law has been unanimous in condemning the measure as a mechanism of heightened censorship and an infringement on the rights of the Yemeni public.

The Committee of Protect Journalists recently issued an alert outlining numerous and often violent attacks on Yemeni journalists. The CPJ noted that journalists have been stabbed, shot, bombed, arrested, kidnapped and threatened. Newspapers have been fined, closed, and cloned-ie, “establishing similarly titled and similar-looking newspapers to undercut them and confuse readers.” A transcript of a journalist’s tapped telephone conversation with his wife was circulated via email. According to CPJ research, “Witnesses and evidence point to involvement by government officials and suspected state agents in a number of brutal assaults.” In 2005, the violations averaged about one a week. The CPJ notes that the judiciary is also used as a means of retribution against journalists. The latest violation is the verdict against the opposition newspaper al-Thoury and its editor Khalid Solman, The paper, the editor, and several writers were found guilty of the crime of insulting the president.

One function of the media is to act as a watchdog on government, constructively reporting on its failures as well as successes. With increasing concentration of political power, military power, land ownership, and business ownership in much of the same hands, there are very powerful forces working against transparency in Yemen. As illegal and unjust practices multiplied, so have attacks on Yemen’s journalists. In the context of widespread corruption, hostile and powerful elite prefer to operate without public scrutiny.

The institutions that normally would provide a vehicle for the expression of the peoples’ voice are disabled in Yemen, often becoming an extension of regime power. Those in civil society with independence are undermined in a variety of ways. The NGO “Female Journalists Without Borders” was recently cloned by a government affiliated organization that began operating under the same name, forcing the authentic organization to rename itself “Women Journalists without Constraints.” Prominent civil leaders Hafez al-Bokari, head of the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate, and his wife, journalist Rahma Hujaira, were targeted by the official newspaper of the Yemen military, The 26 September, with false charges that they were agents of Denmark. In a letter to the Yemeni public prosecutor, the couple wrote, “Such fake information proves that this article is an attempt to use the anger spread in the Muslim world to attack us individually and to attack our institutions; Yemen Polling Center and Yemen Female Media Forum for that these institutions are concerned with democratic, social, and media reformation and development and they tackle general issues related to the society.”

Some traditional Yemeni social institutions have been distorted by corruption. Some sheiks place their loyalty with the ruling apparatus and work for its welfare as well as their own benefit, with the welfare of the people a distant concern. Sheila Carapico, a professor of Middle Eastern politics at the University of Richmond, recently said in an interview with The Christian Science Monitor that Yemen has used a range of tactics to erode the independence of the tribes. “One of the techniques the government uses to extend its reach is to coopt selected prominent sons of sheikhly families, who are almost always also military officers, into the regime,” Carapico stated.

Many members of Parliament are also from sheikly families. The anthology Building Democracy in Yemen, observes about the ruling party, The General Peoples Congress, “The dominant GPC has developed a policy of mixing tribal sheikhs with the political authorities. These traditional forces have come to dominate Parliament through the GPC, which in turn, because of loopholes in the current electoral system, continues to strengthen ties and to move, from one election to the next, towards a one party system.” The author concludes, “This reflects the dominance of a very small minority in society in terms of actual structure and authentic culture.” This elitism undercuts the equal access and equal rights necessary for democracy.

The inherited political power of some families has distorted the representative nature of the Parliament, which works against the health and welfare of the Yemeni people. The 2006 budget, which passed overwhelmingly, underfunded education, healthcare, electrical development, and water projects, and increased military spending to 37% of the national expenditures. Further, in a clear conflict of interest, many of those with governmental or military positions also have ownership stakes in numerous large businesses and have become some of Yemen’s largest land owners. As noted by Paul Dresch in The History of Modern Yemen, “the style of politics complained of by Southerners as a return to tribalism was complained of by others, within the North, as tribalism’s negation.” The reality he says is “day to day politics with networks of individuals who control both trade and real estate.”

Elections are often a way to express the people’s judgment and hold their representatives accountable. This institution is also dysfunctional in Yemen. The electoral commission is heavily biased toward the ruling party, leaving open the possibility of fraudulent voter registration rolls. Numerous instances of underage voting occurred in the last Parliamentary election. Pre-printed ballots were distributed. Vote buying and voter intimidation occurred. The ruling party controls and exploits the broadcast media, denying equal opportunity to opponents in the market place of ideas.

In the absence of effective social or political institutions for the expression of grievances, some disenfranchised groups have resorted to other means. Motorcyclists have been denied their right to work in Yemen’s capital city, Sanaa. After months of peaceful protest, they left the head of an ox outside Parliament, hoping perhaps that tribal means might get the attention of their representatives. Somali refugees staged a protest outside UN headquarters that resulted in severe violence when security forces moved to disperse them. A march by students was also violently broken up. Residents took to the streets in Taiz to protest water shortages. (The absence of clean water adversely affects over 80% of the Yemeni population while large qat plantations owned by influential persons consume a great deal of water.) Teachers staged a nationwide sit-in to protest unfair and undemocratic practices. Textile workers staged a series of strikes to demand overdue salaries. In July, nation wide protests were sparked by the latest reform dose that was implemented without cuts in government spending or authentic anti-corruption measures. (The effects of the dose are continuing to cripple most Yemeni households while corruption and embezzlement continue in some ministries.) Recently, Yemeni women’s groups protested to urge the government to enact a gun control law that has been pending for years.

Others have taken much more extreme measure to express their grievances. A 2004 Parliamentary report documented individuals including children imprisoned by the government as hostages. Recently in an attempt to force the release of some of these government hostages, tribesmen kidnapped foreign tourists in separate incidents. (The regime normally does not respond with urgency to the kidnapping of Yemenis, thus the identity of the victims.) All incidents were resolved peacefully. In one case, the government agreed to provide money and four governmental jobs to each of the kidnappers. In response to a similar incident the next week, the government announced it would seek the death penalty for the kidnappers. A study of these kidnappings published in the official daily al-Thoura concluded that “wronged and weak people sometimes have no way to express their views, gain their rights or publicize their cases.” Advocates of freedom of the press often emphasize the public’s right to know. As the study demonstrated, equally important is the public’s right to be heard. The non-governmental print media is the only vehicle available to the Yemeni public to voice their grievances to each other, the government and the international community.

Public or independent ownership of broadcast media is illegal in Yemen, depriving the people of a national voice. The proposed amendment to the Press Law continues this exclusion. The government controlled broadcast media in Yemen provides little in the way of standard educational programming in this country with an illiteracy rate of nearly 50%. The governmental media often works to hide the true scope of issues from the people themselves and the rest of the world. A week after the escape of 23 prisoners in Yemen, including many convicted members of al-Qaeda, the official English language news agency of the government, SABA, and that of the ruling party, al-Motamar, made no mention of the escape but covered subsequent events like the scheduling of conferences and congratulations issued to other governments.

While the governmental media engages in name calling and scape goating that can deepen divisions in society, the non-governmental media provides a political space for national reconciliation by exploring important issues. Many in Aden have grievances about land confiscation, exclusion from employment and other discriminatory practices, and indiscriminate tactics by security forces that recently resulted in the death of a little girl. Despite the media blackout on the armed confrontations in Saada province between the military and a rebel group, stories have leaked out about the targeting of civilians and the looting of private property by security forces. Some tribal areas have been systematically denied the most basic human services like wells, hospitals, schools, roads and electricity. The non-governmental media also reports very important but less complex issues like those of cotton farmers in Hudeidah province who complained about tainted insecticide that destroyed their entire crops. Social issues are also addressed like the lack of pre-natal and post-natal health care for over 85% of Yemeni women that results in extremely high death rates for both mother and child.

Despite reformist rhetoric, much political power in Yemen is a function of identity not merit. Rather than empowering the public, the trend has been toward the succession of political and economic power within a few families. Any movement toward pluralism and reform requires that the electorate retain what rights and advantages they have, especially the ability to communicate with each other, their government, and the international community. Every citizen becomes disenfranchised when journalists are unable to speak the truth. A Yemeni journalist beaten or threatened is an attack on Yemenis and their right to be heard. And just as it is the responsibility of journalists to defend society, it is the responsibility of all of society to defend its journalists.

Global Politician
World Press

Works Cited:

Carpacio: http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0124/p06s02-wome.html

Study: http://www.upi.com/InternationalIntelligence/view.php?StoryID=20060113-110615-8468r

CPJ: http://www.cpj.org/news/2006/mideast/yemen26jan06na.html

Paul Dresch, A History of Modern Yemen, Cambridge University Press, 2000

Building Democracy in Yemen: Women’s Political Participation, Political Party Life and Democratic Elections, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, 2005

The Yemeni Government manipulating the cartoon controversy.

Update, NY YJS emergency meeting scheduled, tactics described as a settling of accounts with the three papers closed. And that seems rather clear but how blatent, really Im shocked and Im not easily shocked anymore.

Related: al-Jazeera reporter detained for taking pictures of the mosque where the escape occurred. This is the same guy they wiretapped and then emailed around transcripts of his conversation with his wife.

Original post:
I can’t believe this. It’s very unfair. I hope they keep up the website. Also does the Prime Minister have the authority to close a newspaper? Its interesting the way the regime is exploiting this cartoon incident to its advantage, like with the taqrgeting of Hafez Burkett. al-Shoama is the paper always printing stories about international conspiracies against Yemen.

SYO ANA’A – The Prime Minister, Adbul-Qader Bajammal gave instructions to cancel the license of the Yemen Observer claiming the newspaper has republished the Danish cartoons.

The move came with blackmailing efforts by the Al-Shomoa publisher, Saif Al-Hadhiri, an anti-western person, to inflame up the angry public against the newspaper.

Yemen Observer has published a full page on the development of Danish cartoons in Yemen in a full page. Fragments of the cartoons were put together with huge and thick black X mark on the drawings in protest to their existence.

“I am very surprised by this development,” Mohammed Al-Asadi, editor-in-chief of the Yemen Observer said.

“They want to close the newspaper in response to our efforts and continuous calls for understanding, tolerance and accepting the apologies of the Danish people, officials, and editors. We have received dozens of apologies from Denmark.

“We are totally against the publication of cartoons and at the same time we should accept apologies that have been several times made by the Danish editors. We should.

“We, at the Yemen Observer, believe in dialogue if misunderstanding takes place anywhere on any issue and believe in co-existence,” Al-Asadi added.

The Newspaper, Akhbar Al-Yawm by Al-Shomoa, is a blackmailing tabloid and everybody in Yemen knows this fact. They have been trying to blackmail us for the past days, when the newspaper refused to respond to their attempts, they published a story on their front page on this issue.

Updates will follow

So now Im on the side of this paper that has published three editorials against me that called me a CIA operative, a neo-conservative hedgehog, an extremist, an operative for the opposition, an idiot, and a Yemeni man in disguise. Oh yes and a Hashimite and a Houthi. And dispite the fact that the owner of this paper attacked me on air on the al-Jazeera show screaming into the phone in a rather bizarre way that I work too hard, I have to say objectively it is unfair and illegal to shut them down.

Saba: The source said the ministry had based its decision on 1990 Law of Pressand Publishing No. 25 regarding the publishing of insulting images thatviolates Section A of Article 103 of illegal publishing, which stipulates that no publication can cause damage to the Islamic belief and its sublimeprinciples, or degrade divine religions and human conventions.The official stressed that the ministry was committed to press freedom,and media .

YO Editorial to follow: (Read on …)