Armies of Liberation

Yay, an English version, pretty much what I thought it said but less headache inducing:

Yemen Post The Yemen-based Abaad Centre for Studies and Researches has cautioned that some factions seek to collapse Yemeni cities militarily under the pretext of Al-Qaeda as happened in Radda and Abyan provinces scenarios.
“This scenario may be carried out in Ibb, Dhala’a, Lahj, and, Hadhramout and other cities would be controlled under the pretext of fighting Al-Qaeda as it is expected to happen in Dhamar, Taiz, and Hodeidah.
In a periodic report, Abaad pointed out that Al-Qaeda has no systematic structure and its goals are foggy, affirming that it lacks strategic visions.
“Therefore, Al-Qaeda was penetrated by local and international bodies, and only those bodies take advantages of Al-Qaeda,” added the centre. “Even some figures benefited from Al-Qaeda as that clearly appeared during its control and withdrawal of Al-Amria in Rada when Tariq Al-Dhahab could get his brother out of the custody.”
“There are figures affiliated to Al-Qaeda, some were in Abyan and others who escaped jails, are currently existed in Sana’a, and some Al-Qaeda fugitives live with the displaced people inside schools in Aden.”
The report ruled out that Al-Qaeda has the ability to take over any town, if it does not receive direct and indirect logistic support by some sides that are in connection to the power transfer process.
“Al-Dhahab withdrew from Radda after he failed to recruit enough numbers to completely control the city as well as he got his main demand, release of his bother” the report added.
The periodic report revealed that Al-Dhahab was not the real leader of Al-Qaeda in Radda.
It further cited that Al-Qaeda senior leaders, Nasser Al-Wohaish, the leader of Al-Qaeda, and Ebrahim Darwish, another Al-Qaeda leader were at Alzahir district of Baidha governorate when Radda was taken over.
“Decisions were taken by Al-Qaeda Shura council consisted of 20 persons who are selected of 60 persons, the real division of Al-Qaeda which is called ” Almuhajreen” which includes a Saudi and Pakistani nationals. Their duties were not external protection. Some Bedouins, tribesmen and other escapees joined Al-Qaeda in its fighting with the aim of getting money and others were contained as a result of Al-Dhahab’s charisma in the area. (Read on …)

SOHR’s June report includes updates of activities of the Southern Movement, and its civil and violent repression, fatalities from across the south (warning graphic photos) and the events in (Zinjibar) Abyan, Aden, Lahj, Dhalie etc.

To download in English, click here

For Arabic, click here

TAJ sent the following letter to the UN and a variety of Yemen’s donors and international organizations highlighting the war crimes and destruction the Yemeni government wrought on its own citizens in the last week. The document includes the names of the homeowners whose property was destroyed, giving us some kind of estimate on the newly displaced in South Yemen. With 78 homes destroyed and an average of ten to twenty living in each dwelling, Yemenis are big on extended family, then there are between 700 to 1500 citizens homeless, displaced, as a result of the latest assault. As we recall from the state’s campaigns in Sa’ada, Yemen has a tendency toward collective punishment of the civilian population in areas of conflict including the withholding of food as a tactic of war, random bombing of residential areas and the denial of access to medical services to injured persons. The US deems the whole bloody mess an internal affair, giving Sana’a the green light to crush various sectors of the population, in the misguided hope that Saleh will turn his attention to al Qaeda once things get quiet again. But things may never get quiet again. Either way, the US narrative of civilian immunity loses all legitimacy and the al Qaeda narrative of a US double standard on human rights gains credibility.

Your Excellency,
We would like to put you in the form of what is happening from the painful events and sufferings that are happening to the people in Juhav directorate in the province of Lahj in the south (South Arabia), as consequences of the crimes committed by the Yemeni occupation forces in its military campaign since Monday 21/06/2010 until today.

The situation is getting worse because of the siege at the Directorate, where residents, pacifists and houses were bombed with various types of heavy and light weapons, tanks, rocket launchers, artillery guns and Huns, which led to the destruction of houses on the heads of women and children, the infirm, the destruction and ways of life and infrastructure, including electricity and water services and the imposition of a state of emergency on movement of people, hampering patients chronic diseases such as kidney failure and heart disease, diabetes and pregnant women from going to the hospitals and stopping the students from going to perform their yearly exams, paralyzing life, making the citizen’s life hell for unendurable as was the case of violation of human rights and we have provided an example of the citizen Mohammed Mohsen who was kidnapped from (Ibb hospital) by the Yemeni forces who tortured him to death and thrown his body on the side of the road near his village in Sweida and found many traces of torture on his body and neck due to hanging.

On the other hand, there are many private properties and premises that were demolished and destroyed particularly in the following town ; AlQarna; Aluzla; Alsuaida; Aaniem; Alnujid; Blass; shaggo; Taqmur; Aladania and Alquraiat .

The names of owners of these destroyed houses in appendix no. 1 (Read on …)

The document of Pledge and Accord is posted here in English. The document was drafted as a last ditch effort to avoid a civil war in Yemen, and its recommendations were ignored. Fifteen years later, all the problems are the same but more so, including Saleh’s tendency to use al Qaeda to attack his opponents, and the solutions presented in the document remain a valid course of action to save the nation from imploding. The Yemenis’ answer in 1994 was power sharing and popular empowerment, as required by the constitution, but the criminal networks were and are too well entrenched in the Yemeni central government to allow that to happen. The document is also linked on the side bar under “Research Resources.” Ah, maybe I’ll just post it again for the people on subscription:

The Document of Pledge and Accord, 1994

Issued by the Political Forces Dialogue Committee,
18 January, 1994

Note by al Bab: This translation, originally published in the Yemen Times, is the only version currently available in English. Although it generally reflects the content of the document, there are some ambiguities and inaccuracies. Anyone intending to quote the document is advised to check the Arabic original.

Quote: Praised be the Lord who said, “Join hands together all of you around the truth of God and do not go separate ways.”

During the period from 1/6/1414 till 7/8/1414 H (equivalent to 23/11/93 till 18/l/1994), the Dialogue Committee of the Political Forces held steady and continued meetings in Sanaa and Aden in a national and sincere effort to contain the crisis which the nation has witnessed, and to arrive at real outlets for the unification procession which started on 22/5/1990, and to promote the process of consolidation of unity, democracy, stability, and construction of a state based on law and order and institutions.

The efforts of the Dialogue Committee came at a time when the crisis reached such levels that could not be neglected. So the people of Yemen joined hands in put a decisive end to the crisis and its destructive fall-out which would have impacted the unity, cohesion, and all the achievements of the people made over a long and arduous struggle in which the martyrs gave their lives and blood.

Yemen appeared to the world as if about to fall in a deep chasm because of the situation of lack of trust due to the mistakes, excesses, and dangerous overlapping of responsibilities and duties, lack of commitment to the laws and constitution all of which accumulated over time leading to a major deterioration in the security and economic conditions which have negatively affected our people in a sad way. (Read on …)

Dawn

SANAA: One hundred and eighty-seven children have been killed since August in the conflict in north Yemen, a report by the local SEYAJ children’s rights organisation and the UN Children’s Fund said on Monday.

The report also accused both north Yemen Shiite rebels and a pro-government militia of using child soldiers. 71 per cent of the 187 were killed in the fighting, while the remainder died from lack of food or medical services, the report said.
The most recent round of a six-year conflict between the rebels, also known as Huthis, and government forces began on August 11, when the government launched an all-out offensive aiming to crush the uprising. (Read on …)

Habeleen, Lahj May 27, 2009: A protester is draped in the flag of the formerly independent South Yemen which merged with North Yemen in 1990.

On the heels of earlier bloody protests in Aden on May 21 that resulted in ten deaths and nearly a thousand arrests, last week saw continuing unrest in south Yemen in most provinces. New arrests and civilian injuries were reported in several cities. Several times when the Yemeni government forced pro-unity demonstrations, the crowds instead began chanting pro-independence slogans, and the gatherings turned into clashes. In some cases, the protests were in reaction to the earlier arbitrary arrests of protesters in south Yemen. The institutional media blackout continues in an attempt to limit national and international awareness of the southern independence movement.

May 25 There was a demonstration was in Abyan, reportedly attended by tens of thousands. Tareq al Fadhli addressed the crowds.

May 27 A large anti-government rally was held in Dahlie

May 27 Radfan, one of the hot spots of the protests since 2007, held another large protest.

May 27 Habeleen in Laehj saw demonstrations as well.

May 28 A protest in Al-Shehr in Hadhramaut resulted in many injuries and about 30 arrests when the police opened fire on protesters.

May 28 Several demonstrations were held in Lahj including a large gathering in the capital, al Houta. The regime had organized a forced pro-unity demonstration supporting President Saleh, but the people began repeating slogans for calling independence and a republic with its capital Aden. Hundreds were arrested in Lahj, among them dozens of students.

May 28, Also in Lahj, in Yafea, demonstrations were held in Al Maflehi and Alasadi cities.

SANA’A, NewsYemen

The Democracy Reporting International (DRI), in cooperation with the Human Rights Information and Training Center (HRITC), released on Wednesday a report comprehensively assessing the electoral framework of Yemen. The report highlighted some shortcomings in the electoral system in Yemen and offered recommendations in light of the current political crisis between the ruling part and opposition. Here is an excerpt of the report:
The 2009 Elections: A Potential Step Backwards?

Elections for the 301 seats in parliament as well as local elections for 21 governorate councils and the 333 district councils are scheduled for April 2009. A new electoral commission has been appointed and election preparations are already underway yet there is still no political agreement on the rules for the election. (Read on …)