Internet Censorship in Yemen

The Internet has taken root in Yemen, functioning as it does everywhere, as a social network, as an electronic pamphleteer and as a purveyor of facts and ideas. The Yemeni government is intimidated by the public’s internet use and the resulting social and political progress. Consequently the Yemeni state dramatically increased internet censorship in the last months, as it is prone to do in times of crisis and negative publicity.

Yemen’s Illogical Logic of Repression

“When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty,” Thomas Jefferson.

As Yemenis struggle toward freedom from tyranny, the Yemeni government uses all means at its disposal to thwart the growing democracy movement. The regime simultaneously creates a façade of reform for the benefit of the western donors, often with depressingly good results.

Yemen’s Intifada

يواجه اليمن عدم استقرار غير مرئي منذ الحرب الأهلية في 1994م زادت من حدته الحرب التي خاضتها الدولة مع الثوار الشيعة

في محافظة صعدة الواقعة شمال اليمن، حيث خلفت تلك الحرب أكثر من 50000 لاجئ داخلي، ورغم أن التمرد انتهى في يونيو/ حزيران الماضي إلا أن التهديد ما زال قابلا للاشتعال بسبب عدم تطبيق أي من الطرفين لشروط وقف إطلاق النار.

التهميش السياسي والاقتصادي لقطاع واسع من المجتمع ساهم في التمرد وبالتالي خلق فسادا حكوميا مستوطنا.. قلة الخدمات الأساسية والتدابير الأمنية المتشددة كانت من أهم العوامل المحفزة لاحتجاجات جنوب اليمن واسعة الانتشار والتي جذبت أكثر من 100.000 محتج والتي راح ضحيتها حتى الآن عشرة محتجين زعم أن قوات الأمن هي من قتلتهم بالإضافة إلى ضرب واعتقال الكثير منهم.

Yemen’s Intifada

Yemen is facing instability unseen since its 1994 civil war. A war with Shiite rebels in the northern Sa’ada province left over 50,000 internal refugees. The rebellion ended in June but threatens to re-ignite as neither side has fully implemented the cease-fire conditions. The political and economic marginalization of vast segments of society contributed to the rebellion as did endemic governmental corruption, lack of basic services and draconian security measures. These factors are also the catalyst for widespread protests in southern Yemen, some of which attracted over 100,000 protesters. Ten protesters were killed, allegedly by security forces, and many were beaten and arrested.

Yemeni Officials Who Profited from Land Confescation

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

INTERVIEW: Colonel Naser Saleh Abdul Qawi, secretary general of Aden Military Retirees Society.

Colonel Naser Saleh Abdul Qawi is the secretary general of Aden Military Retirees Society. Col. Abdul Qawi was a member of the southern Air Force, and was stationed at the al-Anad military base before it fell to Sanaa’s forces in Yemen’s 1994 civil war. Abdul Qawi is one of hundreds of military retirees who were reinstated to the Yemeni military in response to months of protests that have rocked the southern Yemeni governorates.

One Killed, Four Wounded in Aden Protests

November 29, Aden: One person was killed and several wounded when Yemeni soldiers prevented thousands of protesters from reaching the site of an anti-regime demonstration.

INTERVIEW: Yemeni MP Ahmed Saif Hashed, “There Are No Human Rights In Yemen”

Mr. Ahmed Saif Hashed serves on the Yemeni Parliament’s Freedom and Human Rights Committee. An independent MP, Mr. Hashed represents constituency 70, which includes parts of Lahj and Taiz. Mr. Hashed is a prominent human rights activist with a special interest in the condition of Yemeni prisoners. He heads the Al-Tageer human rights organization and owns the Al-Mostakela newspaper. Jane Novak interviewed him for the Global Politician.

Yemen’s Truce with Al-Qaeda

THE AMERICAN ATTEMPTS to rehabilitate the Yemeni regime of Ali Abdullah Saleh have not succeeded. Yemeni authorities recently pardoned Jamal Al-Badawi, convicted mastermind of the 2000 USS Cole bombing. Almost all the terrorists who bombed the American warship and killed 17 American sailors are free, except those dead or in U.S. custody.

Bloody Protests Continue in Yemen

Since May, Yemen has witnessed widespread civil unrest in the southern governorates including Aden and Marib. Three protesters were killed during demonstrations in Mukallah, and two more were killed in Dhalie. On October 13, five people were shot dead at a sit-in in Radfan, Lahj when security forces opened fire on the crowd. Witnesses reported a dozen wounded. Over fifty thousand people gathered the next day in Radfan for a previously scheduled demonstration despite these brutal security practices.

INTERVIEW: Dr. Aidros Nasr Al Naqeeb, Head of the YSP Parliamentary Block, “The Yemeni regime has no desire for reforms in any field.”

Armies of Liberation conducted an interview with DR. AIDROOS NASR NASER AL NAQEEB, the chairman of the Yemeni Socialists Party’s (YSP) Parliamentary block. Dr. Aidroos represents three districts in the southern governorate of Abyan.

The USS Cole Bombing: A Seven Year Perspective

On October 12, 2000 two Yemeni suicide bombers rammed an explosives-laden dingy into an American destroyer, the USS Cole. Seventeen US service members were killed and forty-nine injured. The destroyer had been invited by the Yemeni government to refuel in the port of Aden.

In the light of historical perspective, several facts have become clear. Intelligence warnings generated prior to the attack were never forwarded to the commander of the Cole. The investigation afterwards was marred by turf wars within the US government, leaving links between the Cole bombing and the attacks of 9/11 unexplored. The Yemeni government worked diligently to limit the scope of the US investigation. Almost all the Yemenis involved in the Cole bombing are walking free. The involvement of some Yemeni officials in the bombing is documented; however, the scope of that involvement is not.

Yemen on the Brink of Civil War?

Tensions simmering since the Yemeni civil war in 1994 have flared into violence that may engulf the nation.

“We want equal rights,” retired Brigadier General Ali Moqbel stated. The simple declaration expressed the sentiment of tens of thousands of Yemenis who have repeatedly clashed with security forces in Aden, Makallah, Dahlie and other towns in southern Yemen since the spring.

INTERVIEW: General Ali Moqbel, Head of the Yemeni Retired Military Consultive Association, “We demand equality in citizenship.”

In an effort to enlighten our readership on the true nature of the growing civil unrest in Southern Yemen, Armies of Liberation obtained an exclusive statement from Brigadier General Ali Moqbel, organizer and member of the Yemeni Retired Military Consultive Association (MCRA). In the statement, General Moqbel clarified the goal of the protests, “We demand equality in citizenship and the return of all our officers to their positions.”

Disband Yemen’s Ruling Party

from World Press, 9/2/07

Since Yemen’s presidential election last September, the nation is experiencing several areas of instability. Crisis areas include the fourth recurrence of the Saada war in North Yemen, popular protests in the former South Yemen, hostile tribal posturing, and the resurgence of terror attacks directed at the state. One causal factor common to all these conflicts is institutionalized inequality or state discrimination. This inequality is also the foundation of massive corruption that is destroying Yemen. With elitism so engrained and corruption so pervasive structural reform is nearly impossible. One solution may be to dissolve the national mechanisms that function to perpetuate inequality and enable corruption, starting with Yemen’s ruling party.

Hopes generated before Yemen’s presidential election were dashed in its wake. Oppositionists were disappointed that the election was a pantomime of democracy with state resources overwhelmingly supporting President Ali Abdullah Saleh, the victor and incumbent of 28 years. Saleh’s supporters were disappointed when his expansive election platform produced few tangible results upon his reelection. In fact, the situation worsened for the average Yemeni with prices rocketing higher.

After the election, Yemen’s military fought an intense war with Shia rebels in Yemen’s northernmost Saada region. Estimates are the war cost over a billion dollars since January. Thousands of soldiers, rebels, and civilians have been killed and wounded. Cities and villages have been laid to waste. Internal refugees number over 50,000. The International Committee of the Red Cross has noted that food in the region is in critically short supply and the local population has been without medical facilities since the inception of the war. Yemen has fought the insurgents three times since 2004. Each time, mediation led to a ceasefire that was then broken by both sides.

Renewal of tensions between Yemen’s major northern tribal confederations was a predictable result of the tribalization of the Saada war. The military inducted thousands of President Saleh’s Hashid tribesmen, and reports of looting and indiscriminate violence emerged. Senior Bakil sheiks issued statements warning of the potential for the broadening of the conflict or years of localized retaliatory tribal warfare. The National Solidarity Council was announced in July and consists of 1,000 tribal sheiks and dignitaries primarily from the Hashid confederation. A hastily formed grouping of Bakil tribal leaders announced their opposition to the National Solidarity Council in August, accusing it of intending to foster conflicts and Libyan support.

With war tapering off in the north, long suppressed tensions have come to the surface in the south. Popular protests are expressing the grievances of tens of thousands of southern military officers who were punitively discharged after Yemen’s 1994 civil war. Despite the regime’s assurances of reconciliation, the southern officers remained unemployed and lived on below-sustenance pensions for over a decade. In August, Yemeni security forces banned “unauthorized” demonstrations in Aden after a series of increasingly large protest marches began in May. Hundreds of demonstrators were arrested. Others were beaten on the street. One died. Regime efforts to quell the movement included promoting about 600 former officers, creating a clone of the pensioners’ organization, and promising to increase the pensions to legally required levels.

Each of these conflicts has its roots in intentional inequality. The 1990 unity between the former South Yemen and North Yemen was subverted by the dominance of the northern General People’s Congress (G.P.C.) party. In the south, state discrimination takes the form of massive land theft, targeted impoverishment, and the withholding of employment and educational opportunities. Geographic discrimination is not unusual. The withholding of water to Taiz is discrimination against a city. The politicized arrest of Al Shura editor Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani is discrimination against a person. The war in Saada, primarily a political one, gained sectarian overtones when security forces began to target Zaidis by identity. The mass arrest of Zaidi preachers, students, and villagers is state discrimination, as is the withholding of food and medicine to the region. The primacy of President Saleh’s Hashid tribe is derived from its association with the tools of the state. The access to economic benefits based on tribal affiliation as well as the immunity of the Hashid from the judiciary is institutionalized inequality. The inequality among groups (political, regional, tribal, sectarian) is reinforced by state media incitement.

In response to these recurring areas of instability and violence, the regime and the opposition parties are reacting predictably and in ways that initially fostered the conflicts. The government has responded with coercion, patronage, and propaganda without addressing any of the underlying factors such as political exclusion. The Houthis remain “monarchists” and the southerners “separatists” according to the official media. Movement leaders are plied with funds and accommodations while the bulk of Yeminis face brutal security forces and a well-armed military.

The Yemeni opposition blames and criticizes the G.P.C.; however, it is just as elitist. Some opposition leaders have also been co-opted by the G.P.C. and work toward the best interest of the ruling party, not the opposition or the people. The opposition coalition, the Joint Meeting Parties (J.M.P.), hopes to wrest control away from the powerful ruling party in Yemen’s 2009 parliamentary elections. The J.M.P. operates in a limited political space with the threat of violence never far away. The constraints on the J.M.P. do not preclude it from operating democratically. However, the J.M.P.’s lack of commitment in practice to equality, transition of power, transparency, and free speech work to limit its credibility. For the J.M.P.’s promises to ring true, the coalition would need to demonstrate the ability to reform itself and engage in internal democratic practices.

Yemen is facing dramatic times that require new and dramatic solutions. One way to disentangle corrupt relationships and encourage a merit-based hierarchy is to dissolve the ruling party. The G.P.C. functions similarly to the Syrian Baath party and the former Iraqi Baath party, as a party of access, influence, and patronage. The party merged with state institutions and bureaucracies that have become politicized. The party operates in its own self-interest and has grown to dominate public space.

Dissolving the G.P.C. would enable space for authentic reform by removing the structure that determines inclusion and exclusion. The G.P.C. is a primary mechanism of discrimination. It discriminates against all Yeminis but does so by identity, thereby reinforcing social divisions. Party affiliation is a factor in education, employment, judicial rulings, and public services, where they exist. Through G.P.C. control of the bureaucracy, the oligarchy absorbs the benefits of donor aid and natural resources while clean water, electricity, and educational and medical facilities are largely unavailable to the bulk of Yeminis. Yemen’s elite routinely deploy state institutions, including security forces and the judiciary, for personal ends as well as to stifle dissent, criticism, and efforts toward reform. Those within the G.P.C. with the foresight and courage to press for real reform can only go so far before the interests of “influential people” are threatened.

Another solution may be to create a new party that models equality and therefore democracy. A party committed to egalitarian principles would abide by its own charter, model financial transparency, hold fair internal elections, make leadership positions available to all members, and follow the expressed will of the majority. Yemen has yet to see a party that uniformly follows those prescriptions. And such a party needs to exist to give political access to ordinary citizens and hope to its 10 million youth. Democracy is the choice of the Yemeni people and therefore so is equality. A state or a party that discriminates by identity is inherently undemocratic.

Disband the GPC

واجه اليمن حالة من عدم الاستقرار في عدة مجالات منذ الانتخابات الرئاسية الماضية، وتشمل جوانب الأزمة عودة حرب صعدة في شمال اليمن للمرة الرابعة، والاحتجاجات الشعبية في المحافظات الجنوبية سابقاً،والتحالف القبلي المواجه،وعودة الهجمات الإرهابية التي تستهدف الدولة.

كل تلك النزاعات لها عامل مشترك ومسبب واحد يتمثل في تأسيس حالة من عدم المساواة أو العنصرية الرسمية حالة هذه هي أيضاً متجذرة بفساد هائل يدمر اليمن ،ومع وجود نخب النافذين المتجذرة وتفشي الفساد، يبقى الإصلاح المؤسسي مستحلاً تقريباً، ربما يكون هناك حل واحد ، هو حل الآليات التي تعمل على إطالة أمد حالة عدم المساواة وتمكين الفساد،بدءا بحل الحزب الحاكم.

Yemen’s Ruling Party Subverts Democracy

Since Yemen’s presidential election, the nation is experiencing several areas of instability. Crisis areas include the fourth recurrence of the Sa’ada war in North Yemen, popular protests in the former South Yemen, hostile tribal posturing, and the resurgence of terror attacks directed at the state. One causal factor common to all these conflicts is institutionalized inequality or state discrimination. This inequality is also the foundation of massive corruption that is destroying Yemen. With elitism so engrained and corruption so pervasive, structural reform is nearly impossible. One solution may be to dissolve the national mechanisms that function to perpetuate inequality and enable corruption, starting with Yemen’s ruling party.

Reform in Yemen: Progress and Obstacles

Yemen is a country facing substantial problems. It is one of the most undeveloped, poverty stricken countries globally. Basic services are scarce, and corruption is rampant. Half of Yemen’s 20 million citizens are under 15. High fertility rates and early marriage mean the population will double within decades. Oil, a mainstay of the economy, is rapidly depleting. Both illiteracy and unemployment are high. International donors and many within the Yemeni administration recognize the urgency of the issues facing the nation. However some governmental strategies are undermined from within the regime itself. Both water management and corruption mitigation efforts have been limited by the failure of ministries to coordinate among themselves.

Leading Yemeni Journalist Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani Arrested

(Arabic, Al-Thawry pdf)

In 2004, prominent Yemeni journalist Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani wrote from jail, “I believe in democracy, freedom, equality and rights and am willing to suffer for their sake simply because I do not wish my children to suffer dictatorship and I will strive to provide them a better future.”

Ceasefire In Yemen

The Sa’ada war in northern Yemen may be coming to a close. The Yemeni government announced on June 15 that a cease-fire had been negotiated through the good offices of the Emir of Qatar. Shiite rebels agreed to lay down their arms after nearly three years of fighting. Hopes are high that an end to hostilities will allow immediate assistance to over a half a million Yemenis in Sa’ada province adversely affected by the fighting.

Tensions Flare in South Yemen

Demonstrations and armed conflict in southern Yemen are heightening fears of growing instability in the impoverished nation, already battling an insurgency in the North.

Yemen has experienced marked instability since September’s 2006 presidential election. In the northern Sa’ada province, about 60,000 soldiers have been embroiled in a guerrilla war with about 2000 Zaidi Shi’a rebels since January. Tens of thousands of civilians have fled the fighting and military bombing, and many are without shelter, food, water, and medical care.

Political Tribalism in al-Ja’ashen, Yemen

The winds of change may be sweeping across Yemen. President Ali Abdullah Saleh recently appointed Dr. Ali Mohammed Mujawar as Prime Minister. Formerly the Minister of Electricity, Mujawar comes to the post with a strong reputation as an academic and a technocrat. This change in leadership was followed by a cabinet shuffle in April that brought eleven new ministers on board. The enthusiasm of the new government is palpable. However, the Cabinet’s ability to act decisively is limited by countervailing authority seated outside governmental institutions.

The elite among President Saleh’s northern tribesmen have supplanted the jurisdiction of the state. Since Yemen’s 1994 civil war, power has become consolidated in a network of influential individuals who largely operate above the law. Weak central government is counterbalanced by strong tribal authority, resulting in a nearly feudal substructure. The glue that stabilizes this political system is entrenched governmental corruption and patronage.

Training Day

يوم تدريب
كيف يساعد اليمن ويحرض المتمردين العراقيين ؟
جين نوفاك
كاتبة ومحللة سياسية أمريكية
خبيرة في شؤون اليمن
5 أبريل 2007
ترجمة : حميد يحيى القطابري

يعمل اليمن بشكل كبير كداعم للإرهاب الدولي تحت مظلة الشراكة مع الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية في الحرب على الإرهاب ؛ حيث ركز كل من المسؤولين اليمنيين والأمريكيين على هذه الشراكة علنيا.
سفارة الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية في صنعاء وصفت هروب عناصر القاعدة الثلاثة والعشرين في فبراير من العام 2006 من سجن الأمن السياسي مُبررًا بطريقة ما ، معتبرةً الفساد المستشري في اليمن وضعف المؤسسات وعدم أهلية الحكومة. ( الهاربون يتضمنون عددا من مفجري المدمرة الأمريكية كول وأمريكيا مرتبطا بخلية اللاك أوانا الإرهابية في نيويورك)

Training Day, How Yemen Aids and Abets Iraqi Insurgents

YEMEN OPERATES LARGELY under the radar as a supporter of the global jihad. Both Yemeni and U.S. officials publicly tout Yemen’s partnership with the United States in the war on terror. The U.S. embassy in Sana’a described the February 2006 escape of 23 al Qaeda operatives from a maximum security jail as “understandable in a way,” considering Yemen’s rampant corruption, weak institutions, and bureaucratic incompetence. (The escapees included several Cole bombers and an American associated with the Lackawanna, New York terror cell.) Presidential assistant Frances Townsend has described the Yemeni regime as an “inconsistent” partner in the war on terror, but Yemen has been quite consistent in its appeasement and facilitation of al Qaeda and related jihadi groups, and, as a result, has played a significant role in the destabilization of Iraq.

From Nepotism to Jihad

The upper levels of the Yemeni military, judiciary and intelligence services are inculcated with hard core Salafists, and many aspects of Yemeni state institutions support jihaddist campaigns all over the world, including Iraq. It is in this context that the Yemeni Ministry of Defense recently published a fatwa on its website authorizing and obligating the use of deadly force against the Believing Youth, a small band of Shiite Zaidi rebels that has been battling the government on and off since 2004. Essentially Yemen’s military leadership declared a jihad on the group.

Democracy Without Minority Rights

ترجمة : سامي نعمان، الشورى نت:

تحصل اليمن على الكثير من المساعدات من الدول الغربية، وبشكل خاص الولايات المتحدة، وذلك مقابل تعاونها في الجهود العالمية في الحرب على الإرهاب.
وعلى نفس المنوال فإن جهود اليمن في (الدّمَقْرَطَة)، خصوصاً الاندفاع المتقدم في الذي شهدته في انتخابات سبتمبر/أيلول الرئاسية، ستفضي إلى زيادة مساعدات المانحين التي تعتبر اليمن في أشد الحاجة إليها.
ولكن، إثر الانتخابات، دشن النظام اليمني حملات تشويه السمعة، واعتقالات ومضايقات لزعماء المعارضة والناشطين والناخبين على السواء. في إحدى القضايا الغريبة، زعم النظام أن أحد ناشطي حقوق الإنسان مرتبط بالقاعدة، وهو أمر يثير الشكوك حول مدى إخلاص النظام في كلا الأمرين: تطوير الديمقراطية، والحرب على الإرهاب.

Democracy Without Minority Rights

Yemen extracts benefits from the West, notably the US , in return for its cooperation in global anti-terror efforts. Likewise Yemen’s efforts at democratization, especially the improved conduct of September’s presidential election, should result in an increase in badly needed donor funds. However, in the aftermath of the election, the Yemeni regime has begun discrediting, arresting and harassing opposition leaders, activists and voters. In one bizarre case, the regime has alleged a human rights activist is linked to al-Qaeda, casting doubt on the sincerity of both Yemen’s democracy promotion and its efforts against terrorism.

Yemen’s Natural Gas

al-Shoura

حكومة مالطا تعلم عن الغاز اليمني أكثر من البرلمان والشعب
الغاز الطبيعي في اليمن: لمنفعة من؟
جين نوفاك* ( 17/08/2006 )

مؤخرا، وضع بيت الحرية اليمن بين الدول النامية الأكثر فسادا في العالم. وكون المصالح الشخصية للنخبة الحاكمة التي تأخذ الأولوية على حساب التطوير الوطني، فإن قرابة نصف الأطفال اليمنيين يفتقرون إلى التعليم ويعانون من سوء التغذية. البطالة في مستويات عالية والخدمات الطبية غير متوفرة. فيما تلوح بوادر أزمة مياه مرتقبة تهدد بزعزعة البلاد.

ادعاءات التنمية لا تزيد عن كونها دعاية حكومية ترافقها فجوة تزداد رقعتها بين الغنى الفاحش والفقر المدقع مع بقاء مستويات وفيات الأطفال عالية سنة بعد أخرى.

وفي ذروة الأزمة الوطنية الحالية، يتوقع الخبراء أن احتياطيات اليمن من النفط – الذي يمثل قرابة 70 % من الإيرادات الحكومية- سيستنفد فعليا خلال عقد من الزمان.

Yemen’s Natural Gas: Who Benefits?

Freedom House recently noted Yemen as among the world’s most corrupt developing nations. With the personal interests of the ruling elite taking priority over national development, nearly half Yemeni children are malnourished and out of school. Unemployment is high and medical services scarce. A looming water crisis threatens to destabilize the country. Claims of development are little more than government propaganda with the gap between the extremely rich and the extremely poor widening and infant mortality remaining high year after year.

The Presidential Drama in Yemen, Act Two

Thursday could have been a historic day. That was when President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen refused to accept his party’s nomination for the presidency, declaring “I am not a taxi to hire for a ride.” It was a good line in a bad play.

Saleh had spent nearly a year indignantly insisting that his sincere intention was to relinquish power in the presidential elections scheduled for September. He had made the same pledge only to renege in the 1998 election. Late Saturday Saleh announced, to the surprise of no one, he would keep his old crown after all and the palace and the purse and the other accouterments of his monarchy.

A Day in the Life of a Failing State

An outbreak of chickenpox in Yemen goes a long way in demonstrating the challenges of daily life for Yemeni citizens. The incident is also a snapshot of the factors that may lead Yemen toward state failure. Barhan is a typical village in Yemen where most villages have no electricity, no sewage system and no clean water. Nationally, one in ten kids dies by age five; contaminated water contributes to half their deaths. Of the millions of kids not in school, the highest percentage is among rural girls.

The Impossible is Possible in Yemen

Motorcyclists denied their right to work in Yemen engaged in a symbolic funeral procession for the main Yemeni political parties. It may have been an apt analogy: the multi-party system may be dead. The democratic institutions established over fifteen years ago in Yemen may shrivel up and blow away without anyone noticing. The country may sink further into chaos as it slowly implodes and the oil runs out.

Democracy or Failure

Ahmed Al-Rabei recently described the worst case for Yemen as, “an Afghan scenario and a civil war that will spread to the borders of GCC countries.” Al-Rabei, a columnist for Alsharq Alwasat, wrote with great affection for the Yemeni people of his concern for the future of Yemen. Al-Rabei is not alone in his assessment of an uncertain future for Yemen. A variety of international organizations and reports have highlighted increasingly dysfunctional Yemeni institutions and governance.

Al-Qaeda Escape in Yemen: Facts, Rumors and Theories

One theory circulating in Yemen these days is that the recent escape of 23 prisoners from a maximum security intelligence facility was orchestrated to transfer them to U.S. custody, circumventing Yemen’s extradition laws. Certainly the U.S. would have interest in obtaining custody of the escapees. Several were convicted of complicity in the bombing of the USS Cole which killed 17 US service members on October 12th 2000. Others include convicted bombers of the French oil tanker, the Lindburg, and an American, Gaber Elbaneh, convicted in the U.S. of involvement in an al-Qaeda cell in Lackawana, New York.

An Attack on All

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.

Jane Novak and the Democratic Bulwark

al-Shoura
تفاعلاً مع الحملة ضد نوفاك

من تعز.. “جين نوفاك وديمقراطية واق الواق”

محمد عزالدين ( 09/12/2005 )

كثيرون هم المهتمون في الكتابة عن الشأن اليمني لكن القلة منهم من وضع يده على مكامن الخلل بتشخيص الوضع القائم في البلاد.

ولعل الكاتبة والمحللة السياسية الأميركية جين نوفاك قد احتلت مرتبة متقدمة في قائمة المتخصصين في تحليل الأوضاع في اليمن رغم حداثة عهدها في ذلك.

وما من شك أن الحملة الإعلامية الموجهة ضد نوفاك من قبل الإعلام الرسمي وإعلام الحزب الحاكم ومن دار في فلكه قد دعمت مكانتها، بعد أن انشغلت بمهاجمة نوفاك والتشهير بها عوضاً عن توضيح خطأ ما تذهب إليه في آراءها، وهي تظن أنها بتهمها تقضي على أطروحاتها الموجهة ضد الفساد القائم في البلاد.

خبرة »نوفاك« بدت بمدى ما أحدثته من اهتزاز في الخطاب الرسمي الذي أعلن عن نفسه أمام الجميع في برنامج »من واشنطن الذي بثته الجزيرة قبل أكثر من ثلاثة أسابيع، وتكرم السكرتير الصحفي للرئيس بإطلاع العالم على الهواء مباشرة بمستوى صحافتنا الرسمية، رغم أن المرأة لم تقدم جديداً سوى أنها تكلمت بحصيلة تقارير وأخبار ودراسات استشهدت بها وسردتها بطريقة منظمة، وكثير من السياسيين والصحفيين وحتى العامة يكتبون ويتكلمون بصورة أقوى عن مواضيع متفرقة جمعتها دفعة واحدة دون أي اعتبار لخطوط حمراء أو خوف من أدنى مساءلة رسمية. عقدة الأجنبي أيضاً أسهمت في الإعلاء من شأن أطروحاتها لدى السلطة والمعارضة، وأيضاً لأنه لم يسبق لأحد قبلها أن تعامل مع القضايا اليمنية بنفس نفَس الجدية والتركيز الذي اعتمدته في فترة وجيزة.

Stop Attacking the American Journalist

October 2005Yemen Times by Abdulkarim Al-Khaiwani

Many official newspapers and others affiliated to the ruling party launched a fierce attack against the American writer and Journalist Jane Novak. The observer of current matters in the Yemeni scenario knows the secret of such an attack against Ms. Novak who publishes regular columns reflecting the Political situation in Yemen and the different types of harassments Yemeni journalists and opinion leaders of free speech are subjected to.

Drug Smuggling, Gun Running and Other Crimes

President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen is scheduled to visit the United States in November for a round of meetings with President Bush and other high-ranking officials. As the representative of the Yemeni people, Saleh deserves a great deal of respect and hospitality. Yet it has become increasingly apparent that the regime, under the total domination of President Saleh, is engaged in a wide variety of criminal activities to the detriment of regional stability and the Yemeni people themselves.

The Battle for Truth in the Age of Terror

جين نوفاك*

قال تقرير صادر عن البرنامج الإنمائي للأمم المتحدة مؤخرا بأن اليمن «مليئة بالفساد» في كافة القطاعات بما في ذلك أجهزة الرقابة والمحاسبة، وتفتقر الحكومة اليمنية لنظام فعال لتعرية وكشف الفساد.

الفساد المنتشر نتيجة منطقية السلطة في اليمن.. فعلي عبدالله صالح هو الرئيس، وقائد الجيش، ورئيس القضاء، ورئيس الحزب الحاكم، إضافة إلى سيطرته الأساسية على البرلمان ووسائل الإعلام الرسمية. وهو مسيطر على السلطة منذ 27 عاما.

في ظل غياب الإشتراك في السلطة بين المؤسسات الفعالة التي توازن إحداها الأخرى، فإن الآلية الوحيدة التي تقتضي مسؤولية المسؤولين اليمنيين البارزين بالنسبة للشعب اليمني هي المعارضة وأجهزة الإعلام المستقلة.

A Fair Election in Yemen

قد يكون الأمر محزنا أن تكون من بين أفقر البلدان على سطح الأرض. وبالنسبة لمجتمع وقور كاليمن، تبدو الإشارة مضادة للبديهة. ولكن لسوء الحظ، فإن إساءة استخدام السلطة في اليمن تزحف لعقود وباتت تطال جميع مناحي الحياة. إن روح المقاومة اليمنية التي يمتلكها الشعب اليمني هي وحدها التي تحول دون ابتلاع فيضان الفساد للمجتمع بأسره.

طبقاً للبنك الدولي، فإن 46 بالمائة من أطفال اليمن بعمر الخمس سنوات يعانون من سوء التغذية. فيما نصف الأطفال اليمنيين لا يتلقون التعليم الابتدائي. كما أن حوالي 90 بالمائة من اليمنيين يعانون الحاجة إلى الماء الضروري. في المناطق الريفية البعيدة، 70 بالمائة من السكان لا يحصلون على الخدمات الطبية. أطفال اليمن غائبون بصورة شبه كاملة عن أجهزة الإعلام العالمية، ولا يظهرون -عالمياً- إلا كإحصائيات.

لذلك ربما تسلط الصور بعض الأضواء على ظلال الطفولة اليمنية: صورة لطفل جائع بعمر أربع سنوات يشرب ماءً قذراً، وصورة لآخر بعمر تسع سنوات لم يعرف المدرسة ويحترق جسمه بالحمى. وبملايين المرات المتكررة، فإن المدى الحقيقي للمأساة قد يظهر.

The Battle For Truth in the Age of Terror

A United Nations Development Program report recently said that Yemen is “infested with corruption” throughout all sectors including corruption monitoring agencies, and the Yemeni government lacks an effective system of exposing and checking corruption. Rampant corruption is a logical consequence of the concentration of power in Yemen: Ali Abdullah Saleh is the president, the head of the military, the chief judicial officer, the head of the ruling party, and essentially controls the parliament and the official media. He has been in power for 27 years.

Exciting New Possibilities for Yemenis

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has decided to step down from office after 27 years, and the election to choose a successor has been scheduled for next year. This holds hope for a peaceful transition of power. Saleh has stressed the need for “young blood” to lead the country into a new era, and a new political configuration may begin to disentangle ensconced vested interests and revive a moribund bureaucracy.

A Fair Election in Yemen

It is an unhappy designation to be among the poorest countries on earth, but for a society as dignified as Yemen’s, the label seems counter intuitive. Unfortunately, abuse of power in Yemen has been creeping for decades and is pervasive. It’s only the indomitable spirit of the Yemeni people that prevents an avalanche of corruption from engulfing the nation entirely.

According to the World Bank, 46 percent of Yemen’s five-year-old children suffer from malnutrition. Half of Yemen’s children never attend primary school. About 90 percent of Yemenis lack access to the necessary water. In rural areas, 70 percent of residents have no access to a doctor. Yemen’s children are nearly invisible in the global media, and they appear internationally only as statistics.

Protests in Yemen

Widespread popular protests in Yemen grabbed attention in the West even though some international journalists were prohibited from broadcasting video of the violence via satellite. Tanks and military vehicles line the streets, giving Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, an eerie resemblance to Iraq. The protests were triggered by a reduction in governmental subsidies on many commodity items in this desperately poor nation. The price of petroleum has risen by around 90 percent and the price of gas has increased almost80 percent. In a country where the per capita G.D.P. is $508 a year and half the population is in poverty, the price increases mean more people will be starving. But there is a broader context to the protests than the lifting of subsidies: governmental corruption, brutality, and repression. Much of the anger on Yemen’s streets is directed toward the government itself. “Prices have risen and we’re afflicted while not one single corrupt official has been held accountable,” said Mohammaed al-Baazany, a 25-year-old unemployed university graduate.

Yemen’s Election: A Fraud in the Making

Yemen is a country in trouble. Recently ranked the 12th most unstable nation in the world, ahead of Haiti, Afghanistan, and Rwanda by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Yemen is teetering on failure. Among the top indicators of Yemen’s instability are factionalized elites, uneven development, and delegitimization of the state. The concentration of power in the executive branch has fostered rampant corruption and widespread human rights abuses, including the imprisonment of young children as retribution. Yemen has slid into a painful anarchy and the only consistent law is the supremacy of the personal interests of the ruling elites. Those acting in the public interest do so at great risk to themselves. The threat to regional stability of a failed Yemen could not be greater.

Ayatollah Sistani and the War in Yemen

Now that Iraqi Shiites and Kurds are in power after decades of repression, perhaps some other regional governments will embrace the concepts of pluralism and equal rights. Recently the Shiite religious establishment in Najaf, Iraq, including Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, said the Yemeni government is waging “a kind of war” against Yemeni Zaidis.

Al-Qaeda in Broad Daylight

Recent public statements about Yemen paint a dire picture. Grand Ayatollah Ali and the religious establishment in Najaf, Iraq, said there is a “brutal massacre” of Shiites going on. A defecting Yemeni ambassador has stated that high-ranking members of the Yemeni government and military are affiliated with Al Qaeda. Putting together the massacre with the Al Qaeda, it’s like another 9/11 unfolding slowly in the mountains and cities of Yemen.

The Yemeni ambassador to Syria, Ahmed Abdullah al-Hasani, is attempting to defect to the United Kingdom. He says that members of Al Qaeda are in the highest ranks of Yemen’s military and security forces. Al-Hasani says that it is very likely that President Ali Abdullah Saleh “knew in advance of the Cole explosion” which killed 17 United States servicemen. Indeed, Freedom House, an American-based nonprofit organization, in 2003 reported that Saleh refused to even investigate the Cole bombing until the United States threatened military action. Also in 2003, Al Qaeda praised President Saleh as the only Arab and Muslim leader who is not an agent for the West or the East.

Bangladesh: Fertile Ground for Democracy or Extremism?

The Bangladeshis have much to be proud of. They achieved independence and a pluralistic state after a hard fought war. They took to the streets nearly twenty years later dissatisfied with military rule and stood united for democracy. Devastating annual floods covering a third of the country does not deter their commitment to entrenching democracy and promoting modernity. Lately Bangladesh has gained notoriety for the spread of Islamic extremism, but jihadis don’t spring from the ground like mushrooms.

Extremists Should Not Be Allowed to Disfigure Bangladesh Democracy

Bangladeshis have much to be proud of. They achieved independence and a pluralistic state after a hard-fought war. Nearly twenty years later they took to the streets dissatisfied with military rule and stood united for democracy. Devastating annual floods covering a third of the country does not deter their commitment to democracy and modernity. Lately Bangladesh has gained notoriety for the spread of extremism, but jihadis don’t spring from the ground like mushrooms.

Justice in Yemen

Perhaps the most sacred and solemn power granted to a state by its citizens is the power to imprison. It is an action that needs be done with scrupulous care so as not to undermine the rights of all citizens or even one citizen.

There are fundamental requirements necessary to insure justice for the state, the accused and the citizenry at large. One is proper application of the law. Another is the right of the accused to launch a defense. A third is the existence of an impartial judiciary acting in the interest of the nation by neutrally applying the law to a given situation. Justice should be blind to all but the facts and the law.

Democracy and Unicorns in Yemen

What a good con artist Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh is. He had me fooled for quite a while. One of my earliest tip-offs came when he gave a beautiful speech about democracy being “the rescue ship of all regimes.” But he didn’t let the journalists into the democracy conference. Or the human rights groups.

The Children’s Parliament is an institution that I thought demonstrated Saleh’s commitment to educating young Yemenis about the institutions of democracy. But then I learned that the Adult Parliament has never initiated any legislation. The Parliament’s greatest accomplishment to date has been blocking a very few of Saleh’s proposed laws. The real lesson Saleh teaches children in Yemen is that even the adults have no power.

Yemen’s Jihad

The upper levels of the Yemeni military, judiciary and intelligence services are inculcated with hard core Salafism, and many aspects of Yemeni state institutions support jihaddist campaigns all over the world, including Iraq. It is in this context that the Yemeni Ministry of Defense recently published a fatwa on its website authorizing and obligating the use of deadly force against the Believing Youth, a small band of Shiite Zaidi rebels that has been battling the government on and off since 2004. Essentially Yemen ’s military leadership declared a jihad on the group.

Housekeeping in Bangladesh

Several weeks ago, a beloved political figure and ex-governmental minister was killed in a massive explosion. Hundreds were injured and the country is still reeling. No, it was not in Lebanon. The assassinated minister’s name is Shah AMS Kibria, and the country is Bangladesh. Having been through so much to achieve their democracy, the people of Bangladesh deserve much better.

In 1971 Bangladesh seceded from Pakistan after a bloody war. The transition to democracy from military rule came in 1990 after weeks of demonstrations. Bangladesh is a young democracy in the hands of immature parties. The Bangladesh National Party (BNP) is currently in power under Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, opposed by the Awami League (AL), lead by Sheik Hasina. Neither has put the national interest before party politics.

Religious Reconcilliation in Iraq and Beyond

With the stunning election in Iraq, and the accompanying rise of expectations for greater participatory democracy throughout the Middle East, the call has gone out: Democracy is much more than elections. And it is so true.

The courageous Iraqis have led the way by dramatically demonstrating their commitment to universal emancipation and self-representation. Let up hope they can establish another precedent for the region: minority protection.

The US Declaration of Dependence

It is unusual to see a country as large and as lumbering as the US reverse itself. With so much momentum propelling it toward seeking ‘stability’ in its foreign relations, George Bush made a U-turn as nimble as any football player and is now heading for the goal of ‘freedom.’

During his Inaugural speech, setting the tone for his second term, President Bush shocked even the most seasoned observers by changing US policy. ‘So it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world,’ he announced.

Bin Laden, Catalyst for Democracy

The latest Arab dictator, Usama bin Laden, has been issuing his edicts fast and furious. Bomb the oil pipelines. Bomb the Shiites and the Americans. Zarqawi is now the “Amir of Iraq,” and Iraqi Muslims should “listen to him.”

While the US may not have gone far in promoting the ideal of democracy in the Middle East, bin Laden has done a remarkable job of stimulating forward thinking among Arabs and Muslims.

With each new diatribe and beheading video, with each car bomb and civilian massacre, al-Qaeda presents a challenge to the Arab world, an absolute vision of society and governance, and an estimate of its ultimate cost in blood. The Arab world has responded with a countervailing view and a renaissance of the Arab liberalism so hearty in the 19th and 20th centuries until the rise of Nassarism and Bathism.

Yemen in the Spring

Once elections take place in Iraq, the U.S. military may remain for a few years, but its likely Al-Qaeda won’t. Al-Qaeda’s goal in Iraq is to foment a civil war, empower Sunni extremists and create a Taliban style utopia. The false identity of “resistance” falls apart in the face of a legitimately elected government, even to those rooting for their success like Al-Jazeera and France.

Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi has stated that once the Iraqi government “extends its control over the country, we will have to pack our bags and break camp for another land.” Facing increasingly democratic regimes in both Afghanistan and Iraq, and mounting pressure in Pakistan, Al-Qaeda may attempt to regroup in Yemen, one of the least developed countries in the world.

A Double Standard Too Glaring to Ignore

What a glaring double standard. The Arab world is enraged over the shooting of a wounded, unarmed Iraqi insurgent by a uniformed US soldier.

There is no similar outrage for Margaret Hassan. Is it because she was an Anglo, a woman, or because a Muslim killed her?

The video of the soldier shooting is proof, we are told, of America’s evil. And the kidnapping, torture and murder of Mrs. Hassan is then proof of what? That America is evil! Muslims wouldn’t do that unless evil America forced their hand.

Joy to the World, Kofi Has Spoken

great glee, Kofi Annan’s personal assessment that the Iraq War was illegal was received as vindication by many around the world who opposed the war. It was received with jubilation by those who would support nearly anyone who could humiliate the hated US. As a practical matter, it surely empowered the ideology of the bombers, the beheaders and the kidnappers in Iraq.

Profiling A Bush Voter

There has been much debate and speculation in the media in the Middle East, Europe and elsewhere as to the identity of the “Bush voter.” The large majority of analyses has been wildly absurd, from the notion that a hard core of evangelicals wanting Armageddon is the true face, to the old theories that only a stupid and manipulated American electorate could support President Bush.

It is important to remember that the election of 2000, highly disputed, complicated and seemingly unending, awakened the American electorate, who were riveted by the twists and turns of the contentious process. This politically alert public then faced together Sept. 11, and together emerged stronger.

The World’s Mayor

Aghast, the world watched the horrific events of September 11, unaware that it was a foreshadowing of a barbaric phenomenon that would spread to Istanbul, to Bali, to Riyadh, to Islamabad, to Baghdad, to Moscow, to Madrid and to Beersheba, that civilians the world over would be threatened with random death, beheading and kidnapping within a few years. The atrocities have become commonplace in 2004.

Kerry and the Middle East

WASHINGTON, 1 August 2004 — During John Kerry’s speech accepting his party’s nomination at the Democrat’s National Convention in Boston, he spent a great deal of time defining himself by the four months he spent in Vietnam 30 years ago. Old comrades were trotted out, old war stories were told, old pictures shown as evidence of his fitness to be Commander in Chief of the US military.

Kerry spoke only three sentences regarding the 20 years he spent in the US Senate and did not mention his consistent pattern of voting to remain unengaged internationally.

Victims of Silence in the Sudan

In this age of the opinionated populace, where’s the nattering, the pontification, and the outbursts demanding international protections for Sudanese civilians? Where are the righteous protest marchers, the invective, and the sermons when real people urgently need real help? The intellectual/academic contingent has little bluster and fewer solutions regarding the world’s worst humanitarian disaster. The media that broadcasts Abu Ghraib photos with such gusto seems to have little interest in actual atrocities without good footage. A half a million Sudanese civilians may die within short months and there is a notable lack of urgency among regional alliances. The world that averted its eyes from the machetes in Rwanda turns its back again as thousands of families are slaughtered in the Sudan. Is self-interest this shallow in the 21st century?

A Multipolar World Fails in the Sudan

NEW YORK, 11 June 2004 — Of the million Sudanese that have fled their home to the edge of the Sahara, 300,000 will die within months. That is the best-case scenario, according to Anthony Natsios, USAID chief. He predicts that without an immediate and enormous international effort, nearly all the displaced population — up to a million people — may perish. None of the European, African or Middle Eastern states so vehemently opposed to the US’s role as global policeman are willing to assume for themselves the burden of the prevention of genocide.

In the last year, the Sudanese government has systematically targeted its black population in Darfur, an Iraq sized area of six million. Families have been driven from their homes by bombings, crop destruction, and well poisoning and mass executions.

A Breach of Law at Abu Ghraib

In Iraq, the US strives to implement a political system based on the idea that pluralism and equality among humans is correct and that states are obligated to provide protections to all their citizens. The foundations of democracy include an unmolested media, a robust civil society, and majority affirmation of minority rights. The abuses at Abu Ghraib demonstrate that a just society also depends on the rule of law.

The international anger generated by the photos of prisoner pyramids is linked in part to the identity of the perpetrators, US soldiers, and the audacity necessary to both preach and torture. Another global response is glee at American shame. Anti-American sentiments have been reinforced and hostility vindicated. Some laud America’s vigorous response to the violation of human dignity. Others see a double standard, the tyranny of power and a campaign against Muslims. Few opinions have changed.

Zarqawi vs. Democracy

Terrorism has struck in Riyadh, Bali, New York, Kabul, Jakarta, and in Istanbul. In the nine months since the toppling of Saddam’s statue, al-Qaeda has been slaughtering Iraqis to protect Sunni Muslims from the scourge of democracy.

Al-Qaeda now faces 150,000 Iraqi security forces, 120,000 coalition soldiers, an Iraqi population that demands self-determination, and an American population that stands firm if bloody, in the face of scorn.

Iraqi officials and civilians have been executed by a series of searing suicide bombings. A letter from Musab al-Zarqawi, Bin Laden’s close associate, was intercepted en route to Afghanistan. Zarqawi gives an update on al-Qaeda’s status in Iraq. He reports: “We were involved in all the martyrdom operations.”

The Free Press and Democracy

It is a telling statement about the rigors of political evolution that the Sana’a Regional Democracy Conference prohibited journalists and some NGOs from attendance, when the foundation and substance of democracy is honest public debate among a well informed electorate.

As noted by Stamford University, since 1974 more than 60 countries in Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa have made transitions from authoritarian regimes to some form of democracy. Many around the Arab world are calling for some reform or democratization in the Middle East.

Let Iraqi Kids Grow in a Free Society

WASHINGTON, 5 December 2003 — The international community and ordinary Americans essentially want the same thing for Iraq: They want the Iraqis to be free of both Saddam Hussein and the US occupation.

Where they differ is in their ideas about the best way to achieve that, and achieve it durably. Is the best way for a lasting liberation from the US to support a constitutional process? Or will it come through support for the bombing of police stations? How may the world at large best help Iraqi families — through investment or impartiality?