By Nasser Arrabyee,31/01/2012
The early presidential elections on February 21st, will be almost the last major step for Yemenis to move to the new Yemen.
A new President will be elected, and a new reign will start.
Every one is looking forward to that historic date despite concerns and worries of possible violence to thwart such an internationally,regionally, and nationally supported step to end the one-year political crisis.
Al Qaeda among the groups that refuse the elections and try to keep the chaos as a guarantee for them to continue. But crackdown is at its highest level.
For instance, the top leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsular (AQAP), Nasser Al Wahayshi survived US drones and missiles attacks that killed at least 10 Al Qaeda operatives south of Yemen, according to local residents Tuesday.
The Hauk missiles , which came from American ships in the Arabian Sea, shelled the school of Martyr Awadh Abd Al Nabi in Amkhaidara, an area between Lawdar and Modya, ib the southern province of Abyan where a group of Al Qaeda operatives were hiding.
The drone attacks destroyed two cars with fighters on board, close to the same area of Amkhaidar
Although the elections will be nominal because only one consensus candidate will be running, but the majority of Yemenis see the step as the only possible way to transfer the power peacefully.
They say it's a great and unprecedented lesson to be learnt by the coming generations.
If it's bad,it is avoiding Yemen the worst, which is the war over who will rule and why?
All political parties, without exception, are calling every one to go to the polls and elect the consensus candidate , current vice president Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi,who was partly authorized by President Ali Abdullah Saleh to run the country until elections are held according to an internationally and regionally supported deal which was sponsored mainly by Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Nations except for Qatar that withdrew in the middle.
The US, EU, Russia,China and the Gulf Cooperation council urged all parties and groups to make the elections on time a success, as an extremely important step in the power transfer deal.
On January,22, 2012, and before flying to United States for a short and private visit for more treatment, President Ali Abdullah Saleh called his party and all his supporters to go and vote for Mr Hadi on February 21 elections.
President Saleh also insisted on attending the installation ceremony of Mr Hadi as an important protocol that has never ever been done over the history of Yemen and maybe the history of the region as a whole.
Saleh will return from US to make this protocol a good tradition for the coming generations to follow, and then he will remain as a head for his party as he confirmed in a speech before heading to US late last Month.
President Saleh cleared airs with his own tribe leaders to guarantee their protection when he becomes a normal man after February 21.
This step, however, did not remove the tensions in Saleh's tribe, Sanhan, between those loyal to Saleh and those loyal to the defected general Ali Muhsen.
Officers and soldiers from the air defense are demanding the ouster of their commander, Mohammed Saleh, half brother of President Saleh. Those who demand the ouster of the commander Saleh are believed to be supported by the defected general Ali Muhsen.
Earlier this week at night, three explosions could be heard inside the Muhsen's defected division, which is close to the protests square in the capital Sanaa.
The three explosions, which harmed no one, were interpreted by many Yemenis, as a warning message for Muhsen to stop making problems in the army units.
All tribal leaders from Sanhan tribe, both loyal and opposed to Saleh, held a meeting on January 22, 2012.
The purpose of the meeting was to clear the airs and make a comprehensive reconciliation between Saleh and his opponents in the same tribe, especially those with the defected general Ali Muhsen , Saleh's cousin and who was one of the most important pillars in Saleh's rule over the last 33 years.
Although general Ali Muhsen did not attend the meeting, but he was included in that historic tribal reconciliation through the tribal leaders loyal to him like general Saleh Al Dhani, and the tribal leader Abdul Elah Al Qadi.
While President Saleh was attending the meeting as one of the tribal leaders of Sanhan tribe, the meeting was chaired by the general Ahmed Ismail Abu Huriah, one of the most respected tribal leaders in Sanhan. The Vice Presodent Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi, attended the meeting as a national sponsor.
The tribal leader, Abdul Qader Helal, was attending the meeting as one of the tribal leaders of Sanhan.
Helal and Abu Huriah are seen as neutral leaders who were and still have connections with Saleh and Muhsen during the year crisis.
" With the help of Allah Almighty, all brothers from Sanhan tribe, including the opponents, met and pardoned each other completely and let bygones be bygones," said a document signed by the tribal leaders at the end of the meeting.
Later on the same day, and only hours before his trip to United States Saleh said to Media" I would go to United States for treatments and get back to Sanaa as a head of the People's General Congress and to install Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi as President after February 21."
"The national anthem will be played and all senior officials in the Palace will be attending, then Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi will take the Presidency, and Ali Abdullah Saleh will take his bag and say to all good bye, and will then go to his house, and this is the protocol that is done everywhere in the world," President Saleh said.
President Saleh also promoted his vice president Hadi to the rank of Marshal, the highest rank in the Yemeni armed forces, as a sign of respect and appreciation of the national role Hadi has been doing and will be doing as the new President of Yemen.
" From here I would declare the promotion of my deputy Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi to the rank of Marshal, in respect and appreciation of his national efforts and positions," President Saleh said.
On Saturday January 21, 2012, the members of the Parliament of both the opposition and ruling party unanimously voted for an immunity law that will stop any future prosecutions or taking revenge between President Saleh and his now opponents but who were his partners one day during his 33-year rule.
" The immunity law includes Ali Abdullah Saleh and those who worked with him during the 33 years from civil, military and security agencies, " said President Saleh.
Two Yemeni leading women activists under fire of extremist Islamists as " not good Muslims" , atheists, apostates
Yemen Islamists changed their minds about the activists who mainly led the one-year protests for change and establishing the modern and civil State, the dream of a lot Yemenis.
Influential Islamists,now, campaign against these activists as kafers,(infidels), agents, and traitors, which are words that might endanger the lives of these activists in a conservative and un-knowledgeably religious country like Yemen.
At the top of the list of these activists being targeted day and night nowadays by extremists come Tawakul Karman, the Nobel prize winner for 2011, and Bushra Al Maktari, another woman activist and one of leaders of the anti-regime protests in the southern central city of Taiz.
The inciting campaigns are being launched in the squares, mosques, schools, houses and the social media like facebook, twitter and you tube.
The best and most lenient of these campaigns talk about putting these activists on trial for charges of trying to convert to another religion or blasphemy.
And the worst and harshest campaigns talk about killing these activists as enemies of Allah without being tried.
Killing without trial seems to be the easiest way for the brain-washed young people who believe they would get married to beautiful wives in paradise if they get killed while killing kafers, enemies of Allah.
Sheikh Ali Abdul Majid Al Zandani, one of the sons of Sheikh Abdul Majid Al Zandani, who is wanted by US and UN for terror charges, said January,23, 2012, that Tawakul Karman had converted to a new religion, other than Islam, which is very dangerous accusation.
" today I have not any doubt that she is calling for overturning the Islam and replacing it with a new religion," said Al Zandani, the son in a statement published in local media.
Earlier in the week, Ms Karman said in a televised interview that "Islam is a source of inspiration not a source of legislation".
Commenting on this Al Zandani, the son, said " I was extremely shocked to hear her saying this."
"She is making the Muslem equals to the kafer," he wondered.
Al Zandani, the father,who is influential and spiritual leader in the Islamist party,Islah, last March went to the square of protests at the gate of Sanaa university and delivered a rhetoric speech in which he told the protesters that they had discovered the thing that he did not discover in his life to establish the Islamic Caliphate.
And he said that the protesters deserve an invention patent for that discovery of protesting to overthrow the regime.
For Ms Bushra Al Maktari, the campaign against her is happening more in Taiz where she is based.
The Member of Parliament of the Islamist party, Islah, Abdullah Ahmed Ali, leads the campaign against Ms Al Maktari and other activists like the sarcastic writer Fekri Kasem.
The MP Ali, who is also a mosque speaker in Taiz, led on January 23, tens of extremists outside his mosque, Al Noor, with some of them carrying banners condemning the activists as atheists and infidels.
" Yemen of wisdom and faith will never be a country for atheism" one of the banners read.
"Our country will be a cemetery for blasphemists" another banner read.
The Islamist leader, Abdullah Ahmed Ali was using a loudspeaker and shouting to the people to come and join the protests saying Allah is here Allah is here.
"Be with the scholars and do not be with the agents" he was telling people through his loudspeaker.
The Salafi demonstrators were demanding that Bushra and Fekri and others be put on trial for charges of blasphemy.
Earlier Bushra Al Maktari wrote a lengthy article titled " first year of revolution" in which she strongly criticized the Islamists for stealing the revolution and conspiring with the traditional forces, tribesmen and military, against the project of establishing the civil and modern state.
In the article, she was talking about Allah, the God, as the helper of the protesters and where there is no help to the protesters, she says Allah is not there.
For example, in her poetic article she said Allah was not present in Khedar, referring to a place outside the capital Sanaa where Bushra and hundreds of demonstrators spent one night during their walking March from Taiz to Sanaa last December.
No one helped them at all in the villages of Khedar as she said, they could not even get in the mosque for sleeping. So, she said Allah was not in Khedar , the phrase that extremist Islamists considered as blasphemy.
The political analyst Najeeb Ghallab defended Bushra Al Maktari as a freedom fighter and more believing in Allah than those who accused her of blasphemy.
"Bushra was believing in Allah much more than those, when she wrote that article," said Ghallab.
The latest news stories and independent and balanced reports on the political, security, economic and social developments in Yemen by the Yemeni journalist Nasser Arrabyee.
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Tuesday, 31 January 2012
Monday, 30 January 2012
US drone and missile attacks killed 10 Al Qaeda operatives, top leader survived
By Nasser Arrabyee, 31/01/2012
The top leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsular (AQAP), Nasser Al Wahayshi survived US drones and missiles attacks that killed at least 10 Al Qaeda operatives south of Yemen, said local residents Tuesday.
The Hauk missiles , which came from American ships in the Arabian Sea, shelled the school of Martyr Awadh Abd Al Nabi in Amkhaidara, an area between Lawdar and Modya, in the southern province of Abyan where a group of Al Qaeda operatives were hiding.
The drone attacks destroyed two cars with fighters on board, close to the same area of Amkhaidar
Tareq Al Dhahab, AQAP leader in Rada, survived the attacks on the cars, the local resident said.
Among those fighters who were killed, are:
Abu Ali Al Shabwani, Ahmed Noyran, Muthana Mawala Al Maramy, Abu Al Khatab Al Marabi, and Abdul Munem Al Fathani, leader of AQAQ in Modya.
The top leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsular (AQAP), Nasser Al Wahayshi survived US drones and missiles attacks that killed at least 10 Al Qaeda operatives south of Yemen, said local residents Tuesday.
The Hauk missiles , which came from American ships in the Arabian Sea, shelled the school of Martyr Awadh Abd Al Nabi in Amkhaidara, an area between Lawdar and Modya, in the southern province of Abyan where a group of Al Qaeda operatives were hiding.
The drone attacks destroyed two cars with fighters on board, close to the same area of Amkhaidar
Tareq Al Dhahab, AQAP leader in Rada, survived the attacks on the cars, the local resident said.
Among those fighters who were killed, are:
Abu Ali Al Shabwani, Ahmed Noyran, Muthana Mawala Al Maramy, Abu Al Khatab Al Marabi, and Abdul Munem Al Fathani, leader of AQAQ in Modya.
Al Qaeda still taking advantage of Yemen's unrest, and Obama says it is scrambling up there
Source: CNN,30/01/2012
By CNN’s Pam Benson
When President Barack Obama told Americans last week that al Qaeda operatives in Yemen “are scrambling, knowing that they can’t escape the reach of the United States of America,” he may have been telling only half the story.
While al Qaeda’s Yemen branch has been hit hard — most notably with the killing of American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki — U.S. officials and experts say there are signs that al Qaeda is making significant gains in Yemen as the government’s control over outlying regions continues to fray amid political unrest.
Furthermore, they say, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) hasn’t given up its goal of striking the United States, though there have been no attempted attacks on American soil by al Qaeda since 2010.
While the death of al-Awlaki by a CIA-operated drone in September eliminated AQAP’s external operations commander and chief recruiter of English-speaking militants, key players remain at-large in Yemen.
They include AQAP leader Naser al-Wuhayshi — a close associate of Osama bin Laden — and Ibrahim al-Ashiri, the skilled bomb-maker U.S. officials believe was behind the attempt to blow up a U.S. commercial airliner on Christmas Day in 2009 and a plot to bomb cargo planes belonging to such companies as FedEx the following year.
And while some of al Qaeda’s most-wanted members may be “scrambling,” as Obama put it during his State of the Union speech Tuesday, AQAP’s goal of striking the United States either overseas or at home has not diminished, according to one U.S. official.
“AQAP hasn’t changed its two main aims which are to attack the West, while establishing a safe-haven in Yemen. They may have more success at the latter if they continue to take advantage of the political unrest there, which is going to be tense for some time,” said the U.S. official, who spoke only on condition of anonymity.
Gregory Johnsen, a Yemen expert at Princeton University, said AQAP members “are taking advantage of the chaos” in Yemen right now.
In addition to the fight against AQAP, Yemen has been wracked with protests throughout the past year, with demonstrators and rival factions demanding the departure of President Ali Abdullah Saleh and calling for elections.
Daniel Green, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, agreed that AQAP has much more room to operate within Yemen, and offered a dire prediction: the group has an incentive to launch a spectacular attack in a presidential election year.
“They have shown a very entrepreneurial ability to get explosives into the U.S.,” Green said. “I wouldn’t put it past them to try and do something this year.”
Most of the group’s gains have been in the southern provinces where the government exercises little control, according to the experts. Clashes between suspected militants and security forces have been particularly fierce over the past year in southern Abyan province, where suspected AQAP members held the provincial capital of Zinjibar under siege for months before eventually being flushed out.
The U.S. official agreed AQAP is “particularly strong” in the southern provinces and warned, “they’ll most likely try to expand from there to establish themselves as a force in the surrounding provinces.”
It appeared they did just that with the recent seizure of Radda only 100 miles south of the capital of Sanaa and considered a key transit route to the south. Suspected militants stormed the town earlier this month, taking over government buildings and mosques and freeing inmates from jails, according to local authorities and residents.
The U.S. official acknowledged AQAP had “made some new gains” in Radda, but questioned soon after it happened whether the militants would be able to hold onto them.
“Often in the areas where AQAP has some control, they use intimidation and violence against tribal officials to force local support for their activities,” the official said.
In the end, the militants relinquished control. They agreed to leave Radda in exchange for the release of three prisoners, according to the office of the Yemeni vice president.
The U.S. official also cautioned against confusing secessionist violence with AQAP actions.
In 1990, North Yemen and South Yemen united as one country, but a secessionist movement has been gaining steam in the south, emboldened by the popular uprising against Saleh.
Green said that measuring the apparent gains of the organization is tricky.
“The challenge is discerning how much of this is al Qaeda and how much of this is just tribes taking advantage of the security vacuum to get more power.”
There is also a question of whether al Qaeda is growing in Yemen.
Johnsen estimated the number of fighters at more than 1,000 — what he called a “significant increase” from the hundreds just a couple of years ago.
Two U.S. officials suggested that while difficult to determine, there are probably hundreds of hardcore operatives. When low-level and affiliated fighters are included, the total number could be anywhere from 1,000 to 3,000 people, the officials said.
Meanwhile, the emergence of a group last year called Ansar al-Sharia has experts debating its connections to AQAP. The group has been linked to the takeover of Radda, according to Johnsen.
“Ansar al-Sharia seems to be a front AQAP sometimes uses in Yemen to avoid the baggage that comes with the al Qaeda name. But, they are still al Qaeda,” a U.S. official said.
However, a U.S. counterterrorism official referred to Ansar al-Sharia as a social movement that favors Islamic rule in Yemen and appears to support the ideals of al Qaeda.
Johnsen thinks the group is certainly tied to AQAP and is pursing a model similar to the one the Taliban used to gain control of Afghanistan.
“These people are coming in and they are trying to provide some services to the people,” said Johnsen, noting that all they have to do is be better than the Yemeni government to gain support.
Ansar al-Sharia recently released a video on its website of what it claimed to be U.S. soldiers on the roof of the Sheraton Hotel in the capital of Sanaa. There has been no confirmation of when the video was shot or whether in fact the men on the roof are American soldiers.
Johnsen said the group could use the video as a rallying cry to justify waging jihad against the United States, similar to what al Qaeda in Iraq and the Taliban in Afghanistan did in response to U.S. forces being in country.
For his part, Green said he believes AQAP is also trying to balance its image among the populace having learned a lesson from the playbooks of al Qaeda operators in Iraq and Pakistan where their brutality alienated local populations.
“They are being very careful pursuing a softer policy in addition to this hard policy of fighting,” Green said.
Sunday, 29 January 2012
Half a million children suffer from malnutrition in Yemen
Source: Yemen Observer, 30/01/2012
UNICEF Regional Director Maria Calivis concluded on Tuesday a two-day visit to Yemen where she saw first-hand the impact of malnutrition on children’s health.
“This year alone, half a million children in Yemen are likely to die from malnutrition or to suffer lifelong physical and cognitive consequences resulting from malnutrition if we don’t take action. Malnutrition is preventable. And, therefore, inaction is unconscionable,” Calivis said. “Conflict, poverty and drought, compounded by the unrest of the previous year, the high food and fuel prices, and the breakdown of social services, are putting children’s health at great risks and threatening their very survival.”
With 58 per cent of children stunted, Yemen has the second highest rate of chronic malnutrition among children in the world after Afghanistan. Acute malnutrition affects as many as 30 per cent of children in some parts of the country, nearing the levels observed in south Somalia, and twice as high as the internationally recognized emergency threshold.
Malnutrition, along with poor health services, is also to blame for most of the recent deaths of 74 children from measles among 2,500 children affected by a recent outbreak of the disease, according to government figures. While most children would recover from measles within two to three weeks, children with malnutrition can suffer serious complications which can lead to death.
Yemen also has one of the highest rates of death among children under the age of five in the Middle East and North Africa region, at 77 per 1,000 live births. This means that some 69,000 children die every year before their fifth birthday.
Calivis, who is visiting Yemen officially for the first time since her appointment as Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa
in December 2011, met with high-level Yemeni officials to look at ways to boost aid for children in the country.
“Now more than ever is the time for a renewed commitment to a better, peaceful future for Yemen’s children. As the country prepares for the next phase, it is essential that children are given top priority in the political agenda. Their needs need to be met and their rights upheld.” she said.
UNICEF appealed for nearly US$50 million to be able to meet children’s urgent humanitarian needs in 2012. Fighting malnutrition features high on UNICEF’s priorities for the new year, along with ensuring children have access to education, primary health care services, safe drinking water, adequate sanitation and are protected from violence, exploitation and abuse.
UNICEF Regional Director Maria Calivis concluded on Tuesday a two-day visit to Yemen where she saw first-hand the impact of malnutrition on children’s health.
“This year alone, half a million children in Yemen are likely to die from malnutrition or to suffer lifelong physical and cognitive consequences resulting from malnutrition if we don’t take action. Malnutrition is preventable. And, therefore, inaction is unconscionable,” Calivis said. “Conflict, poverty and drought, compounded by the unrest of the previous year, the high food and fuel prices, and the breakdown of social services, are putting children’s health at great risks and threatening their very survival.”
With 58 per cent of children stunted, Yemen has the second highest rate of chronic malnutrition among children in the world after Afghanistan. Acute malnutrition affects as many as 30 per cent of children in some parts of the country, nearing the levels observed in south Somalia, and twice as high as the internationally recognized emergency threshold.
Malnutrition, along with poor health services, is also to blame for most of the recent deaths of 74 children from measles among 2,500 children affected by a recent outbreak of the disease, according to government figures. While most children would recover from measles within two to three weeks, children with malnutrition can suffer serious complications which can lead to death.
Yemen also has one of the highest rates of death among children under the age of five in the Middle East and North Africa region, at 77 per 1,000 live births. This means that some 69,000 children die every year before their fifth birthday.
Calivis, who is visiting Yemen officially for the first time since her appointment as Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa
in December 2011, met with high-level Yemeni officials to look at ways to boost aid for children in the country.
“Now more than ever is the time for a renewed commitment to a better, peaceful future for Yemen’s children. As the country prepares for the next phase, it is essential that children are given top priority in the political agenda. Their needs need to be met and their rights upheld.” she said.
UNICEF appealed for nearly US$50 million to be able to meet children’s urgent humanitarian needs in 2012. Fighting malnutrition features high on UNICEF’s priorities for the new year, along with ensuring children have access to education, primary health care services, safe drinking water, adequate sanitation and are protected from violence, exploitation and abuse.
Friday, 27 January 2012
Yemen's "parallel revolution" inspires street-level protests
Source: Reuters, 27/01/2012
By Tom Finn
SANAA-The protest that paralyzed Yemen's main airport erupted when an air force officer hurled a boot at his commander, a relative of the outgoing president and a symbol of the corruption that divides even his supporters.
"This is all I have left for the month," says Faris Al-Jabar, one of about 50 officers who blocked Sanaa airport's runway this week, plucking a few banknotes from his tattered wallet.
"I earn in a month what my superiors spend in a day."
Their mutiny last week against General Mohammed Saleh Al-Ahmar, half-brother of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, halted flights at the capital's airport.
Riot police used water cannon to scatter the rebel airmen but they decamped to picket the heavily fortified home of Saleh's deputy, the country's acting leader.
Saleh's departure for medical treatment in the United States has done little to placate popular anger in the impoverished Arabian peninsula state.
Saleh's sons and nephews still hold key positions in the military and intelligence services, though the military is supposed to be restructured during two years of transition presided over by vice-president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, Saleh's presumed successor.
A string of mutinies has disrupted military and government departments headed by loyalists of Saleh, who has agreed to step down after a year of protests, and are inspiring wider civil disobedience.
Many protesters complain the regime they sought to overthrow remains largely intact.
"They may have altered the leadership but at the ground level we see no changes. The same corrupt officials who ruled for decades are still running our country," said Ahmed Al-Zumair, a 45-year-old civil servant.
TANGLE OF PATRONAGE
From petrol stations to government newspapers, workers have been turning on their superiors, storming offices to demand reforms and the dismissal of managers whom they claim are corrupt beneficiaries of the regime.
Dubbed 'the parallel revolution', at least 19 state institutions have been targeted by protesters, among them Sanaa police headquarters, the Armed Forces Moral Guidance Department, the Agriculture and Irrigation office, the coastguards, the traffic police and state television.
"It is a more dramatic and efficient way of effecting change that reflects the grievances of civil servants who have been controlled by corrupt officials for a very long time," said AbdulGhani Al-Iryani, a prominent Yemeni political analyst.
"They are not willing to wait for political negotiations to deal with these corrupt officials so they're taking things into their own hands and it's proving remarkably effective."
Notable triumphs for the strikers since mid-December include the sacking of President Saleh's son-in-law, Abdul Khaleq al-Qadi, who was director of the national airline Yemeniyya, after its workers disrupted operations.
This was followed by the dismissal of General Ali Hassan al-Shater after protesters seized control of his influential 26 September army newspaper and published a damning editorial against him.
Both men were long-standing allies of the president, previously regarded by their staff as untouchable.
CULTURE OF STRIKES, DISOBEDIENCE
The recent wave of disobedience may give Hadi, who is set to become president next month, the chance to assert himself as a political figure in his own right.
"Hadi is seeking to step out from Saleh's shadow. Dislodging some of those notoriously corrupt men who have close ties to the president is one way of doing that," said Abdullah al-Faqih, a professor of politics at Sana'a University.
He acknowledged, though, that the graft problem was deeply rooted and would outlive Saleh's regime. "It will be an uphill struggle - patronage remains the modus vivendi of Yemen politics."
An end to corruption was a central motivating force in anti-government protests that quickly turned into calls for the ouster of Saleh, whose forces killed hundreds of protesters in an attempt to end the demonstrations and underpin his position.
With a hugely overstaffed and underpaid civil service, Yemen has endured an epidemic of corruption, slipping in 2011 from 146 to 164 on Transparency International's corruption scale.
Enraged by months of fuel shortages and day-long power outages residents of Sanaa have taken a cue from the strikers, forcing their government to listen.
On Tuesday a band of young men sealed off a main highway with piles of rocks and flaming car tires to demand their homes be supplied with water after a two-month cutoff.
They fended off angry drivers, and even police cars, with shouts and nail-studded planks, and the blockades dragged on for hours until a government water-truck arrived with the promise of filling their tanks.
"These people have learned a new culture, which is the culture of strikes and disobedience," said Maher, a 20-year-old bystander.
"They feel they can vent their anger against anything that goes against their welfare. They are tired of being ignored."
By Tom Finn
SANAA-The protest that paralyzed Yemen's main airport erupted when an air force officer hurled a boot at his commander, a relative of the outgoing president and a symbol of the corruption that divides even his supporters.
"This is all I have left for the month," says Faris Al-Jabar, one of about 50 officers who blocked Sanaa airport's runway this week, plucking a few banknotes from his tattered wallet.
"I earn in a month what my superiors spend in a day."
Their mutiny last week against General Mohammed Saleh Al-Ahmar, half-brother of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, halted flights at the capital's airport.
Riot police used water cannon to scatter the rebel airmen but they decamped to picket the heavily fortified home of Saleh's deputy, the country's acting leader.
Saleh's departure for medical treatment in the United States has done little to placate popular anger in the impoverished Arabian peninsula state.
Saleh's sons and nephews still hold key positions in the military and intelligence services, though the military is supposed to be restructured during two years of transition presided over by vice-president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, Saleh's presumed successor.
A string of mutinies has disrupted military and government departments headed by loyalists of Saleh, who has agreed to step down after a year of protests, and are inspiring wider civil disobedience.
Many protesters complain the regime they sought to overthrow remains largely intact.
"They may have altered the leadership but at the ground level we see no changes. The same corrupt officials who ruled for decades are still running our country," said Ahmed Al-Zumair, a 45-year-old civil servant.
TANGLE OF PATRONAGE
From petrol stations to government newspapers, workers have been turning on their superiors, storming offices to demand reforms and the dismissal of managers whom they claim are corrupt beneficiaries of the regime.
Dubbed 'the parallel revolution', at least 19 state institutions have been targeted by protesters, among them Sanaa police headquarters, the Armed Forces Moral Guidance Department, the Agriculture and Irrigation office, the coastguards, the traffic police and state television.
"It is a more dramatic and efficient way of effecting change that reflects the grievances of civil servants who have been controlled by corrupt officials for a very long time," said AbdulGhani Al-Iryani, a prominent Yemeni political analyst.
"They are not willing to wait for political negotiations to deal with these corrupt officials so they're taking things into their own hands and it's proving remarkably effective."
Notable triumphs for the strikers since mid-December include the sacking of President Saleh's son-in-law, Abdul Khaleq al-Qadi, who was director of the national airline Yemeniyya, after its workers disrupted operations.
This was followed by the dismissal of General Ali Hassan al-Shater after protesters seized control of his influential 26 September army newspaper and published a damning editorial against him.
Both men were long-standing allies of the president, previously regarded by their staff as untouchable.
CULTURE OF STRIKES, DISOBEDIENCE
The recent wave of disobedience may give Hadi, who is set to become president next month, the chance to assert himself as a political figure in his own right.
"Hadi is seeking to step out from Saleh's shadow. Dislodging some of those notoriously corrupt men who have close ties to the president is one way of doing that," said Abdullah al-Faqih, a professor of politics at Sana'a University.
He acknowledged, though, that the graft problem was deeply rooted and would outlive Saleh's regime. "It will be an uphill struggle - patronage remains the modus vivendi of Yemen politics."
An end to corruption was a central motivating force in anti-government protests that quickly turned into calls for the ouster of Saleh, whose forces killed hundreds of protesters in an attempt to end the demonstrations and underpin his position.
With a hugely overstaffed and underpaid civil service, Yemen has endured an epidemic of corruption, slipping in 2011 from 146 to 164 on Transparency International's corruption scale.
Enraged by months of fuel shortages and day-long power outages residents of Sanaa have taken a cue from the strikers, forcing their government to listen.
On Tuesday a band of young men sealed off a main highway with piles of rocks and flaming car tires to demand their homes be supplied with water after a two-month cutoff.
They fended off angry drivers, and even police cars, with shouts and nail-studded planks, and the blockades dragged on for hours until a government water-truck arrived with the promise of filling their tanks.
"These people have learned a new culture, which is the culture of strikes and disobedience," said Maher, a 20-year-old bystander.
"They feel they can vent their anger against anything that goes against their welfare. They are tired of being ignored."
Al-Qaeda in Yemen ‘still a real threat’ to US, says Panetta
Source: AFP, 27/01/2012
WASHINGTON: Despite the killings of Osama bin Laden and radical US-Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, the al-Qaeda terror network remains a “real threat to the United States,” Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said in a TV interview late Wednesday.
CBS News released excerpts of an interview with Panetta scheduled to run Sunday, in which the Pentagon chief discusses US strategy to disband al-Qaeda’s global networks.
“We’re going after al-Qaeda, wherever they’re at,” Panetta told CBS in the interview excerpt.
“And clearly, we’re confronting al-Qaeda in Pakistan. We’re confronting the nodes of al-Qaeda in Yemen, in Somalia, in North Africa. … and obviously whatever al-Qaeda links are involved in Afghanistan,” he said.
Have US forces have defeated al-Qaeda?
“Not yet,” Panetta said.
“They’re still a real threat. There’s still al-Qaeda out there. And we’ve got to continue to put pressure on them wherever they’re at.”
Panetta however said that US forces have “undermined their leadership significantly.” Of the network’s 10 main leaders listed after the Sept 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, only one is still alive: Ayman al-Zawahiri, who took over after Osama was shot dead in a dramatic US commando raid in Pakistan in May.
In the past year, eight of al-Qaeda’s top 20 leaders were eliminated, most by missiles fired from US drones operating under an expanded covert warfare effort launched by President Barack Obama after taking office in January 2009.
Those killed include Awlaki, slain in Yemen in a US drone strike on Sept 30.
Former CIA chief Panetta took over as defence secretary in July, replacing Robert Gates, a holdover from the presidency of George W Bush. — AFP
WASHINGTON: Despite the killings of Osama bin Laden and radical US-Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, the al-Qaeda terror network remains a “real threat to the United States,” Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said in a TV interview late Wednesday.
CBS News released excerpts of an interview with Panetta scheduled to run Sunday, in which the Pentagon chief discusses US strategy to disband al-Qaeda’s global networks.
“We’re going after al-Qaeda, wherever they’re at,” Panetta told CBS in the interview excerpt.
“And clearly, we’re confronting al-Qaeda in Pakistan. We’re confronting the nodes of al-Qaeda in Yemen, in Somalia, in North Africa. … and obviously whatever al-Qaeda links are involved in Afghanistan,” he said.
Have US forces have defeated al-Qaeda?
“Not yet,” Panetta said.
“They’re still a real threat. There’s still al-Qaeda out there. And we’ve got to continue to put pressure on them wherever they’re at.”
Panetta however said that US forces have “undermined their leadership significantly.” Of the network’s 10 main leaders listed after the Sept 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, only one is still alive: Ayman al-Zawahiri, who took over after Osama was shot dead in a dramatic US commando raid in Pakistan in May.
In the past year, eight of al-Qaeda’s top 20 leaders were eliminated, most by missiles fired from US drones operating under an expanded covert warfare effort launched by President Barack Obama after taking office in January 2009.
Those killed include Awlaki, slain in Yemen in a US drone strike on Sept 30.
Former CIA chief Panetta took over as defence secretary in July, replacing Robert Gates, a holdover from the presidency of George W Bush. — AFP
Thursday, 26 January 2012
Sectarian clashes kill at least 22 in Yemen
Source: Reuters,26/01/2012
SANAA-At least 22 people were killed in clashes between Shi'ite Muslim rebels and fighters from a Sunni Islamist group in a province under rebel control in rugged northern Yemen, tribal sources said on Thursday.
A source close to the Shi'ite rebels known as Houthis said fighters from a Sunni group known as the Salafi attacked the rebels overnight in Hajja and in the Kataf area of Saada province, an area that has seen intense sectarian fighting in recent months.
"We blocked the attack in under an hour and 13 people died in Hajja and nine in Kataf," said the Houthi source.
The Salafi fighters are followers of a Sunni creed akin to Saudi Arabia's Wahhabi school of Islam.
The Houthis, who draw their name from a tribal leader, had fought government forces for years until an uprising against President Ali Abdullah Saleh last year gave them free rein in Saada province, which borders the world's number one oil-exporter Saudi Arabia.
The kingdom, a key regional U.S. ally, briefly fought the Houthis in Saada after they seized Saudi territory in 2009.
Political upheaval over Saleh's fate has severely weakened central government control over swathes of Yemen, allowing some groups to seize whole provinces including Saada.
"The whole governorate (Saada) is controlled by Houthis, we only have to deal with one party," the International Committee of the Red Cross's (ICRC) head of operations for the Near and Middle East, Beatrice Megevand-Roggo, said in an interview.
Saleh left Sanaa for medical treatment in the United States on Sunday, saying in a parting speech that he would return to Yemen, which was paralysed for most of 2011 by protests against his 33-year rule.
Despite his absence, many fear he and his associates will continue to hold sway over the impoverished country.
Yemeni air force officers went on strike for a fifth day on Thursday, demanding the resignation of their commander Mohammed Saleh al-Ahmar, a half-brother of Saleh.
Soldiers who defected from Saleh's forces and joined those calling for his overthrow said government forces had kidnapped two senior air force officers in the coastal city of Hudaida for supporting the strike.
SANAA-At least 22 people were killed in clashes between Shi'ite Muslim rebels and fighters from a Sunni Islamist group in a province under rebel control in rugged northern Yemen, tribal sources said on Thursday.
A source close to the Shi'ite rebels known as Houthis said fighters from a Sunni group known as the Salafi attacked the rebels overnight in Hajja and in the Kataf area of Saada province, an area that has seen intense sectarian fighting in recent months.
"We blocked the attack in under an hour and 13 people died in Hajja and nine in Kataf," said the Houthi source.
The Salafi fighters are followers of a Sunni creed akin to Saudi Arabia's Wahhabi school of Islam.
The Houthis, who draw their name from a tribal leader, had fought government forces for years until an uprising against President Ali Abdullah Saleh last year gave them free rein in Saada province, which borders the world's number one oil-exporter Saudi Arabia.
The kingdom, a key regional U.S. ally, briefly fought the Houthis in Saada after they seized Saudi territory in 2009.
Political upheaval over Saleh's fate has severely weakened central government control over swathes of Yemen, allowing some groups to seize whole provinces including Saada.
"The whole governorate (Saada) is controlled by Houthis, we only have to deal with one party," the International Committee of the Red Cross's (ICRC) head of operations for the Near and Middle East, Beatrice Megevand-Roggo, said in an interview.
Saleh left Sanaa for medical treatment in the United States on Sunday, saying in a parting speech that he would return to Yemen, which was paralysed for most of 2011 by protests against his 33-year rule.
Despite his absence, many fear he and his associates will continue to hold sway over the impoverished country.
Yemeni air force officers went on strike for a fifth day on Thursday, demanding the resignation of their commander Mohammed Saleh al-Ahmar, a half-brother of Saleh.
Soldiers who defected from Saleh's forces and joined those calling for his overthrow said government forces had kidnapped two senior air force officers in the coastal city of Hudaida for supporting the strike.
President Saleh cleared airs with his own tribe before flying to US for treatment
President Saleh will return from US to attend the installation ceremony of the new elected President
By Nasser Arrabyee, 26/01/2012
The tribe in Yemen realistically is still above the law and State.
Knowing this very well, President Ali Abdullah Saleh did not forget to fix up every problem he had with his own tribe, Sanhan tribe, before he left to US for more treatments last week.
All tribal leaders from Sanhan tribe, both loyal and opposed to Saleh, held a meeting on January 22, 2012, that's hours before Saleh left the country for Oman on his way to US.
The purpose of the meeting was to clear the airs and make a comprehensive reconciliation between Saleh and his opponents in the same tribe, especially the with the defected general Ali Muhsen , Saleh's cousin and who was one of the most important pillars in Saleh's rule over the last 33 years.
Although general Ali Muhsen did not attend the meeting, but he was included in that historic tribal reconciliation through the tribal leaders loyal to him like general Saleh Al Dhani, and the tribal leader Abdul Elah Al Qadi.
While President Saleh was attending the meeting as one of the tribal leaders of Sanhan tribe, the meeting was chaired by the general Ahmed Ismail Abu Huriah, one of the most respected tribal leaders in Sanhan. The Vice Presodent Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi, attended the meeting as a national sponsor.
The tribal leader, Abdul Qader Helal, was attending the meeting as one of the tribal leaders of Sanhan.
Helal and Abu Huriah are seen as neutral leaders who were and still have connections with Saleh and Muhsen during the year crisis.
" With the help of Allah Almighty, all brothers from Sanhan tribe including the opponents met and pardoned each other completely and let bygones be bygones," said a document signed by the tribal leaders at the end of the meeting.
Later in the day, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said he would travel to United States for more treatments and get back to Sanaa for attending the protocols ceremony of installation of the new President of Yemen after the day of elections on February 21, 2012.
Hours before his trip to United States Saleh said to Media" I would go to United States for treatments and get back to Sanaa as a head of the People's General Congress and to install Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi ad President after February 21."
"The national anthem will be played and all senior officials in the Palace will be attending, then Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi will take the Presidency, and Ali Abdullah Saleh will take his bag and say to all good bye, and will then go to his house, and this is the protocol that is done everywhere in the world," President Saleh said.
President Saleh also promoted his vice president Hadi to the rank of Marshal, the highest rank in the Yemeni armed forces, as a sign of respect and appreciation of the national role Hadi has been doing and will be doing as the new President of Yemen.
" From here I would declare the promotion of my deputy Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi to the rank of Marshal, in respect and appreciation of his national efforts and positions," President Saleh said.
Then President Saleh called all Yemenis to cooperate with Mr Hadi and with the opposition-chaired national unity government.
President Saleh then called all Yemenis for national reconciliation after the elections of February 21, 2012 by holding a national conference in which Al Qaeda will be excluded.
" Except for Al Qaeda and terrorism, this is something else," he said.
On Saturday January 21, 2012, the members of the Parliament of both the opposition and ruling party unanimously voted for an immunity law that will stop any future prosecutions or taking revenge between President Saleh and his now opponents but who were his partners one day during his 33-year rule.
" The immunity law includes Ali Abdullah Saleh and those who worked with him during the 33 years from civil, military and security agencies, " President Saleh.
President Saleh asked the Yemeni people to pardon him for any shortcomings he did and apologized for every one men and women.
" I would ask my people men and women to pardon me for any shortcomings during my 33 years in rule, and I apologize for all citizens men and women, and we should now take care of our martyrs and injured," he said.
President Saleh did not say when he is leaving for United States.
But on Saturday, sources from the Presidential Office told Nasser Arrabyee website that President Saleh will head for Oman and Ethiopia in official visits before he flies to New York, United States within the coming 48 hours.
By Nasser Arrabyee, 26/01/2012
The tribe in Yemen realistically is still above the law and State.
Knowing this very well, President Ali Abdullah Saleh did not forget to fix up every problem he had with his own tribe, Sanhan tribe, before he left to US for more treatments last week.
All tribal leaders from Sanhan tribe, both loyal and opposed to Saleh, held a meeting on January 22, 2012, that's hours before Saleh left the country for Oman on his way to US.
The purpose of the meeting was to clear the airs and make a comprehensive reconciliation between Saleh and his opponents in the same tribe, especially the with the defected general Ali Muhsen , Saleh's cousin and who was one of the most important pillars in Saleh's rule over the last 33 years.
Although general Ali Muhsen did not attend the meeting, but he was included in that historic tribal reconciliation through the tribal leaders loyal to him like general Saleh Al Dhani, and the tribal leader Abdul Elah Al Qadi.
While President Saleh was attending the meeting as one of the tribal leaders of Sanhan tribe, the meeting was chaired by the general Ahmed Ismail Abu Huriah, one of the most respected tribal leaders in Sanhan. The Vice Presodent Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi, attended the meeting as a national sponsor.
The tribal leader, Abdul Qader Helal, was attending the meeting as one of the tribal leaders of Sanhan.
Helal and Abu Huriah are seen as neutral leaders who were and still have connections with Saleh and Muhsen during the year crisis.
" With the help of Allah Almighty, all brothers from Sanhan tribe including the opponents met and pardoned each other completely and let bygones be bygones," said a document signed by the tribal leaders at the end of the meeting.
Later in the day, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said he would travel to United States for more treatments and get back to Sanaa for attending the protocols ceremony of installation of the new President of Yemen after the day of elections on February 21, 2012.
Hours before his trip to United States Saleh said to Media" I would go to United States for treatments and get back to Sanaa as a head of the People's General Congress and to install Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi ad President after February 21."
"The national anthem will be played and all senior officials in the Palace will be attending, then Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi will take the Presidency, and Ali Abdullah Saleh will take his bag and say to all good bye, and will then go to his house, and this is the protocol that is done everywhere in the world," President Saleh said.
President Saleh also promoted his vice president Hadi to the rank of Marshal, the highest rank in the Yemeni armed forces, as a sign of respect and appreciation of the national role Hadi has been doing and will be doing as the new President of Yemen.
" From here I would declare the promotion of my deputy Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi to the rank of Marshal, in respect and appreciation of his national efforts and positions," President Saleh said.
Then President Saleh called all Yemenis to cooperate with Mr Hadi and with the opposition-chaired national unity government.
President Saleh then called all Yemenis for national reconciliation after the elections of February 21, 2012 by holding a national conference in which Al Qaeda will be excluded.
" Except for Al Qaeda and terrorism, this is something else," he said.
On Saturday January 21, 2012, the members of the Parliament of both the opposition and ruling party unanimously voted for an immunity law that will stop any future prosecutions or taking revenge between President Saleh and his now opponents but who were his partners one day during his 33-year rule.
" The immunity law includes Ali Abdullah Saleh and those who worked with him during the 33 years from civil, military and security agencies, " President Saleh.
President Saleh asked the Yemeni people to pardon him for any shortcomings he did and apologized for every one men and women.
" I would ask my people men and women to pardon me for any shortcomings during my 33 years in rule, and I apologize for all citizens men and women, and we should now take care of our martyrs and injured," he said.
President Saleh did not say when he is leaving for United States.
But on Saturday, sources from the Presidential Office told Nasser Arrabyee website that President Saleh will head for Oman and Ethiopia in official visits before he flies to New York, United States within the coming 48 hours.
Wednesday, 25 January 2012
Al Qaeda still causing sufferings to Yemen's civilians
Source: BBC, Hardtalk,25/01/2012
By Stephen Sackur
Aden, Yemen
Next month, Yemen is supposed to be holding a presidential election which could mark the final departure from power of the country's long-time ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh. But now the poll looks in doubt as the security situation deteriorates in this strategically vital, highly volatile corner of the Arab World.
When the morning bell sounds inside the Bir Ahmed middle school in Aden no-one cares nor moves.
The classrooms are full, not with students but with listless refugees: families from the jagged hill country of south-eastern Yemen, who have laid bedding where the desks used to be and hung sheets from the walls to hide their women folk from strangers' prying eyes.
Mansour al-Arabi has been in this school for eight months, along with his wife Dowla and seven children.
“ Go any further and we cannot protect you. You will be killed ”
This proud farmer of sheep, apricots and sesame oil, is now dependent for survival on a monthly food handout from the United Nations.
Mr Arabi's misfortune was to live close to the town of Zinjibar, provincial capital of Yemen's Abyan province.
Heavy artillery
Last May, it was overrun by fighters from Ansar al-Sharia - widely seen as a front for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) - perhaps the most potent offshoot of the global jihadi network.
Many residents fled; those that did not found their homes under attack as the Yemeni military pounded the rebels with airstrikes and heavy artillery.
"When we left we had to step over the bodies of the dead on the road," Dowla al-Arabi told me. "We are desperate to go home, but we can't."
More than 160,000 civilians have been forced to flee as the al-Qaeda-backed insurgency has spread.
Yemen, the Arab world's poorest country, riddled with corruption and lacking any semblance of a coherent national government, is disintegrating.
Tens of thousands of destitute refugees have flooded into Aden. The port city's schools have been commandeered to provide them with shelter.
And that has pleased neither the refugees - who claim they are desperately short of food and water - nor the city's resident population.
"How much longer do we have to put up with this?" the headmistress of Bir Ahmed school yelled at me.
"We want our building back. And if we don't get it, there is going to be an explosion here".
Aden, a half-forgotten remnant of Britain's imperial past, clings to the rim of an ancient volcano jutting into the Arabian Sea.
These days it feels beleaguered, angry and increasingly lawless.
During my recent stay, two policemen were gunned down close to the port and four protesters were killed at a demonstration demanding secession for South Yemen.
When I went to see a senior UN official in his capacious compound - it housed the British Embassy during the days when South Yemen was an independent Marxist republic - I found him supervising the construction of blast walls around the front entrance.
'Turn around'
He pointed toward the blue waters of the Gulf of Aden and said: "Three days by boat and you've reached the Somali coast. Yemen is Somalia in the making".
I drove east out of Aden on the main route towards Zinjibar to see just how far the Sanaa government's writ now runs.
Within 15km (9 miles) I was stopped at a military checkpoint.
"You must turn around," the local commander told me.
"Go any further and we cannot protect you. You will be killed'.
A short time later, word came through of another town taken by the jihadists - this time just 160km (100 miles) from the capital Sanaa.
Many in the south believe the al-Qaeda threat has been tacitly encouraged by the country's long-time ruler, President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Mr Saleh, now in the US for medical treatment, has relinquished power after months of popular protest inspired by the Arab Spring, but there are hints that presidential elections may have to be postponed as the security situation deteriorates.
The Sanaa government has consistently used the spectre of al-Qaeda to drum up support from the West - many Yemenis believe that game is still being played.
And if it is, that spells danger not just for Yemen but the wider Arabian Peninsula.
Aden's battered harbour looks out on some of the most strategically important shipping lanes in the world.
That is why a British expeditionary force first occupied this rocky outpost 173 years ago.
It is why Western warships still patrol the waters off Yemen's coast.
And why America's most sophisticated surveillance equipment is trained on this southernmost corner of the Arab world.
In the coming months, the fear is they will be watching, powerless, as Yemen sinks deeper into chaos.
HARDtalk on the Road in Yemen will be broadcast on the BBC News Channel and on
By Stephen Sackur
Aden, Yemen
Next month, Yemen is supposed to be holding a presidential election which could mark the final departure from power of the country's long-time ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh. But now the poll looks in doubt as the security situation deteriorates in this strategically vital, highly volatile corner of the Arab World.
When the morning bell sounds inside the Bir Ahmed middle school in Aden no-one cares nor moves.
The classrooms are full, not with students but with listless refugees: families from the jagged hill country of south-eastern Yemen, who have laid bedding where the desks used to be and hung sheets from the walls to hide their women folk from strangers' prying eyes.
Mansour al-Arabi has been in this school for eight months, along with his wife Dowla and seven children.
“ Go any further and we cannot protect you. You will be killed ”
This proud farmer of sheep, apricots and sesame oil, is now dependent for survival on a monthly food handout from the United Nations.
Mr Arabi's misfortune was to live close to the town of Zinjibar, provincial capital of Yemen's Abyan province.
Heavy artillery
Last May, it was overrun by fighters from Ansar al-Sharia - widely seen as a front for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) - perhaps the most potent offshoot of the global jihadi network.
Many residents fled; those that did not found their homes under attack as the Yemeni military pounded the rebels with airstrikes and heavy artillery.
"When we left we had to step over the bodies of the dead on the road," Dowla al-Arabi told me. "We are desperate to go home, but we can't."
More than 160,000 civilians have been forced to flee as the al-Qaeda-backed insurgency has spread.
Yemen, the Arab world's poorest country, riddled with corruption and lacking any semblance of a coherent national government, is disintegrating.
Tens of thousands of destitute refugees have flooded into Aden. The port city's schools have been commandeered to provide them with shelter.
And that has pleased neither the refugees - who claim they are desperately short of food and water - nor the city's resident population.
"How much longer do we have to put up with this?" the headmistress of Bir Ahmed school yelled at me.
"We want our building back. And if we don't get it, there is going to be an explosion here".
Aden, a half-forgotten remnant of Britain's imperial past, clings to the rim of an ancient volcano jutting into the Arabian Sea.
These days it feels beleaguered, angry and increasingly lawless.
During my recent stay, two policemen were gunned down close to the port and four protesters were killed at a demonstration demanding secession for South Yemen.
When I went to see a senior UN official in his capacious compound - it housed the British Embassy during the days when South Yemen was an independent Marxist republic - I found him supervising the construction of blast walls around the front entrance.
'Turn around'
He pointed toward the blue waters of the Gulf of Aden and said: "Three days by boat and you've reached the Somali coast. Yemen is Somalia in the making".
I drove east out of Aden on the main route towards Zinjibar to see just how far the Sanaa government's writ now runs.
Within 15km (9 miles) I was stopped at a military checkpoint.
"You must turn around," the local commander told me.
"Go any further and we cannot protect you. You will be killed'.
A short time later, word came through of another town taken by the jihadists - this time just 160km (100 miles) from the capital Sanaa.
Many in the south believe the al-Qaeda threat has been tacitly encouraged by the country's long-time ruler, President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Mr Saleh, now in the US for medical treatment, has relinquished power after months of popular protest inspired by the Arab Spring, but there are hints that presidential elections may have to be postponed as the security situation deteriorates.
The Sanaa government has consistently used the spectre of al-Qaeda to drum up support from the West - many Yemenis believe that game is still being played.
And if it is, that spells danger not just for Yemen but the wider Arabian Peninsula.
Aden's battered harbour looks out on some of the most strategically important shipping lanes in the world.
That is why a British expeditionary force first occupied this rocky outpost 173 years ago.
It is why Western warships still patrol the waters off Yemen's coast.
And why America's most sophisticated surveillance equipment is trained on this southernmost corner of the Arab world.
In the coming months, the fear is they will be watching, powerless, as Yemen sinks deeper into chaos.
HARDtalk on the Road in Yemen will be broadcast on the BBC News Channel and on
Monday, 23 January 2012
Two Yemeni leading women activists under fire of Islamists as " not good Muslims"
By Nasser Arrabyee, 24/01/2012
Yemen Islamists changed their minds about the activists who mainly led the one-year protests for change and establishing the modern and civil State, the dream of a lot Yemenis.
Influential Islamists,now, campaign against these activists as kafers,(infidels), agents, and traitors, which are words that might endanger the lives of these activists in a conservative and un-knowledgeably religious country like Yemen.
At the top of the list of these activists being targeted day and night nowadays by extremists come Tawakul Karman, the Nobel prize winner for 2011, and Bushra Al Maktari, another woman activist and one of leaders of the anti-regime protests in the southern central city of Taiz.
The inciting campaigns are being launched in the squares, mosques, schools, houses and the social media like facebook, twitter and you tube.
The best and most lenient of these campaigns talk about putting these activists on trial for charges of trying to convert to another religion or blasphemy.
And the worst and harshest campaigns talk about killing these activists as enemies of Allah without being tried.
Killing without trial seems to be the easiest way for the brain-washed young people who believe they would get married to beautiful wives in paradise if they get killed while killing kafers, enemies of Allah.
Sheikh Ali Abdul Majid Al Zandani, one of the sons of Sheikh Abdul Majid Al Zandani, who is wanted by US and UN for terror charges, said today January,23, 2012, that Tawakul Karman had converted to a new religion, other than Islam, which is very dangerous accusation.
" today I have not any doubt that she is calling for overturning the Islam and replacing it with a new religion," said Al Zandani, the son in a statement published in local media.
Earlier in the week, Ms Karman said in a televised interview that "Islam is a source of inspiration not a source of legislation".
Commenting on this Al Zandani, the son, said " I was extremely shocked to hear her saying this."
"She is making the Muslem equals to the kafer," he wondered.
Al Zandani, the father,who is influential and spiritual leader in the Islamist party,Islah, last March went to the square of protests at the gate of Sanaa university and delivered a rhetoric speech in which he told the protesters that they had discovered the thing that he did not discover in his life to establish the Islamic Caliphate.
And he said that the protesters deserve an invention patent for that discovery of protesting to overthrow the regime.
For Ms Bushra Al Maktari, the campaign against her is happening more in Taiz where she is based.
The Member of Parliament of the Islamist party, Islah, Abdullah Ahmed Ali, leads the campaign against Ms Al Maktari and other activists like the sarcastic writer Fekri Kasem.
The MP Ali, who is also a mosque speaker in Taiz, led last Sunday tens of extremists outside his mosque, Al Noor, with some of them carrying banners condemning the activists as atheists and infidels.
" Yemen of wisdom and faith will never be a country for atheism" one of the banners read.
"Our country will be a cemetery for blasphemists" another banner read.
The Islamist leader, Abdullah Ahmed Ali was using a loudspeaker and shouting to the people to come and join the protests saying Allah is here Allah is here.
"Be with the scholars and do not be with the agents" he was telling people through his loudspeaker.
The Salafi demonstrators were demanding that Bushra and Fekri and others be put on trial for charges of blasphemy.
Earlier Bushra Al Maktari wrote a lengthy article titled " first year of revolution" in which she strongly criticized the Islamists for stealing the revolution and conspiring with the traditional forces, tribesmen and military, against the project of establishing the civil and modern state.
In the article, she was talking about Allah, the God, as the helper of the protesters and where there is no help to the protesters, she says Allah is not there.
For example, in her poetic article she said Allah was not present in Khedar, referring to a place outside the capital Sanaa where Bushra and hundreds of demonstrators spent one night during their walking March from Taiz to Sanaa last December.
No one helped them at all in the villages of Khedar as she said, they could not even get in the mosque for sleeping. So, she said Allah was not in Khedar , the phrase that extremist Islamists considered as blasphemy.
The political analyst Najeeb Ghallab defended Bushra Al Maktari as a freedom fighter and more believing in Allah than those accused her of blasphemy.
"Bushra was believing in Allah much more than those, when she wrote that article," said Ghallab.
Yemen Islamists changed their minds about the activists who mainly led the one-year protests for change and establishing the modern and civil State, the dream of a lot Yemenis.
Influential Islamists,now, campaign against these activists as kafers,(infidels), agents, and traitors, which are words that might endanger the lives of these activists in a conservative and un-knowledgeably religious country like Yemen.
At the top of the list of these activists being targeted day and night nowadays by extremists come Tawakul Karman, the Nobel prize winner for 2011, and Bushra Al Maktari, another woman activist and one of leaders of the anti-regime protests in the southern central city of Taiz.
The inciting campaigns are being launched in the squares, mosques, schools, houses and the social media like facebook, twitter and you tube.
The best and most lenient of these campaigns talk about putting these activists on trial for charges of trying to convert to another religion or blasphemy.
And the worst and harshest campaigns talk about killing these activists as enemies of Allah without being tried.
Killing without trial seems to be the easiest way for the brain-washed young people who believe they would get married to beautiful wives in paradise if they get killed while killing kafers, enemies of Allah.
Sheikh Ali Abdul Majid Al Zandani, one of the sons of Sheikh Abdul Majid Al Zandani, who is wanted by US and UN for terror charges, said today January,23, 2012, that Tawakul Karman had converted to a new religion, other than Islam, which is very dangerous accusation.
" today I have not any doubt that she is calling for overturning the Islam and replacing it with a new religion," said Al Zandani, the son in a statement published in local media.
Earlier in the week, Ms Karman said in a televised interview that "Islam is a source of inspiration not a source of legislation".
Commenting on this Al Zandani, the son, said " I was extremely shocked to hear her saying this."
"She is making the Muslem equals to the kafer," he wondered.
Al Zandani, the father,who is influential and spiritual leader in the Islamist party,Islah, last March went to the square of protests at the gate of Sanaa university and delivered a rhetoric speech in which he told the protesters that they had discovered the thing that he did not discover in his life to establish the Islamic Caliphate.
And he said that the protesters deserve an invention patent for that discovery of protesting to overthrow the regime.
For Ms Bushra Al Maktari, the campaign against her is happening more in Taiz where she is based.
The Member of Parliament of the Islamist party, Islah, Abdullah Ahmed Ali, leads the campaign against Ms Al Maktari and other activists like the sarcastic writer Fekri Kasem.
The MP Ali, who is also a mosque speaker in Taiz, led last Sunday tens of extremists outside his mosque, Al Noor, with some of them carrying banners condemning the activists as atheists and infidels.
" Yemen of wisdom and faith will never be a country for atheism" one of the banners read.
"Our country will be a cemetery for blasphemists" another banner read.
The Islamist leader, Abdullah Ahmed Ali was using a loudspeaker and shouting to the people to come and join the protests saying Allah is here Allah is here.
"Be with the scholars and do not be with the agents" he was telling people through his loudspeaker.
The Salafi demonstrators were demanding that Bushra and Fekri and others be put on trial for charges of blasphemy.
Earlier Bushra Al Maktari wrote a lengthy article titled " first year of revolution" in which she strongly criticized the Islamists for stealing the revolution and conspiring with the traditional forces, tribesmen and military, against the project of establishing the civil and modern state.
In the article, she was talking about Allah, the God, as the helper of the protesters and where there is no help to the protesters, she says Allah is not there.
For example, in her poetic article she said Allah was not present in Khedar, referring to a place outside the capital Sanaa where Bushra and hundreds of demonstrators spent one night during their walking March from Taiz to Sanaa last December.
No one helped them at all in the villages of Khedar as she said, they could not even get in the mosque for sleeping. So, she said Allah was not in Khedar , the phrase that extremist Islamists considered as blasphemy.
The political analyst Najeeb Ghallab defended Bushra Al Maktari as a freedom fighter and more believing in Allah than those accused her of blasphemy.
"Bushra was believing in Allah much more than those, when she wrote that article," said Ghallab.
Sunday, 22 January 2012
President Saleh will return from US to attend the installation ceremony of the new elected President
By Nasser Arrabyee,22/01/2012
The Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said Saturday he would travel to United States for more treatments and get back to Sanaa for attending the protocols ceremony of installation of the new President of Yemen after the day of elections on February 21, 2012.
Hours before his trip to United States Saleh said to Media" I would go to United States for treatments and get back to Sanaa as a head of the People's General Congress and to install Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi ad President after February 21."
"The national anthem will be played and all senior officials in the Palace will be attending, then Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi will take the Presidency, and Ali Abdullah Saleh will take his bag and say to all good bye, and will then go to his house, and this is the protocol that is done everywhere in the world," President Saleh said.
President Saleh also promoted his vice president Hadi to the rank of Marshal, the highest rank in the Yemeni armed forces, as a sign of respect and appreciation of the national role Hadi has been doing and will be doing as the new President of Yemen.
" From here I would declare the promotion of my deputy Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi to the rank of Marshal, in respect and appreciation of his national efforts and positions," President Saleh said.
Then President Saleh called all Yemenis to cooperate with Mr Hadi and with the opposition-chaired national unity government.
President Saleh then called all Yemenis for national reconciliation after the elections of February 21, 2012 by holding a national conference in which Al Qaeda will be excluded.
" Except for Al Qaeda and terrorism, this is something else," he said.
On Saturday January 21, 2012, the members of the Parliament of both the opposition and ruling party unanimously voted for an immunity law that will stop any future prosecutions or taking revenge between President Saleh and his now opponents but who were his partners one day during his 33-year rule.
" The immunity law includes Ali Abdullah Saleh and those who worked with him during the 33 years from civil, military and security agencies, " President Saleh.
President Saleh asked the Yemeni people to pardon him for any shortcomings he did and apologized for every one men and women.
" I would ask my people men and women to pardon me for any shortcomings during my 33 years in rule, and I apologize for all citizens men and women, and we should now take care of our martyrs and injured," he said.
President Saleh did not say when he is leaving for United States.
But on Saturday, sources from the Presidential Office told Nasser Arrabyee website that President Saleh will head for Oman and Ethiopia in official visits before he flies to New York, United States within the coming 48 hours.
The Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said Saturday he would travel to United States for more treatments and get back to Sanaa for attending the protocols ceremony of installation of the new President of Yemen after the day of elections on February 21, 2012.
Hours before his trip to United States Saleh said to Media" I would go to United States for treatments and get back to Sanaa as a head of the People's General Congress and to install Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi ad President after February 21."
"The national anthem will be played and all senior officials in the Palace will be attending, then Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi will take the Presidency, and Ali Abdullah Saleh will take his bag and say to all good bye, and will then go to his house, and this is the protocol that is done everywhere in the world," President Saleh said.
President Saleh also promoted his vice president Hadi to the rank of Marshal, the highest rank in the Yemeni armed forces, as a sign of respect and appreciation of the national role Hadi has been doing and will be doing as the new President of Yemen.
" From here I would declare the promotion of my deputy Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi to the rank of Marshal, in respect and appreciation of his national efforts and positions," President Saleh said.
Then President Saleh called all Yemenis to cooperate with Mr Hadi and with the opposition-chaired national unity government.
President Saleh then called all Yemenis for national reconciliation after the elections of February 21, 2012 by holding a national conference in which Al Qaeda will be excluded.
" Except for Al Qaeda and terrorism, this is something else," he said.
On Saturday January 21, 2012, the members of the Parliament of both the opposition and ruling party unanimously voted for an immunity law that will stop any future prosecutions or taking revenge between President Saleh and his now opponents but who were his partners one day during his 33-year rule.
" The immunity law includes Ali Abdullah Saleh and those who worked with him during the 33 years from civil, military and security agencies, " President Saleh.
President Saleh asked the Yemeni people to pardon him for any shortcomings he did and apologized for every one men and women.
" I would ask my people men and women to pardon me for any shortcomings during my 33 years in rule, and I apologize for all citizens men and women, and we should now take care of our martyrs and injured," he said.
President Saleh did not say when he is leaving for United States.
But on Saturday, sources from the Presidential Office told Nasser Arrabyee website that President Saleh will head for Oman and Ethiopia in official visits before he flies to New York, United States within the coming 48 hours.
Saturday, 21 January 2012
President Saleh in official visits to Oman and Ethiopia before he flies to New York
Immunity law approved by parliament and Hadi is consensus candidate for early elections of February 21
By Nasser Arrabyee,21/01/2012
The Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh is expected to pay official visits to the Gulf Sultanate of Oman and to Ethiopia before he flies to New York for more treatment, said sources in the presidential office Saturday.
Earlier in the day, the opposition and the ruling party members of parliament unanimously approved Saturday a modified immunity law to prevent any future prosecutions between the conflicting parties.
Two days earlier than scheduled, the opposition and the ruling party also approved the current vice president Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi to be the consensus candidate in the early presidential elections on February 21? 2012.
The Parliament was supposed to vote on the immunity law next Monday January 23, after it was amended to make the protection from prosecution for specific leaders from opposition and ruling party including President Ali Abdullah Saleh. But because time is running out for implementing all the other steps of the GCC deal, and the regional and international pressure on all parties, the vote took place Saturday, 21/01/2012.
The approved immunity law is considered to be the essence of internationally and regionally supported deal signed by the Yemeni conflicting parties in Saudi capital Riyadh last November.
On February 21st, 2012, a new president for Yemen will be elected in an early election agreed upon by all conflicting parties to end the one-year long political crisis.
Preparations for the February elections are in full swing despite the fact that the two conflicting parties (opposition and ruling) are required to nominate only the current vice president Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi, as the candidate of consensus, according to the deal and its implementation plan.
About 100,000 soldiers are expected to protect the process of early elections.
However, this election may be delayed if the opposition-chaired unity government can not stop the armed conflicts that broke out over the last few weeks in different areas of the country where government is almost absent.
The most dangerous of these conflicts is Al Qaeda occupation of a new city in the south-east of the country.
And the second most dangerous is the war between Al Houthi Shiite fighters and the Sunni Salafi fighters in the north of the country at the border of Saudi Arabia.
Tens of people from both sides were killed and injured so far over the last few weeks.
For Al Qaeda, at mid night of Saturday,January 14, 2012, hundreds of Islamic extremists in connection with Al Qaeda occupied parts of the city of Rada'a , in a step that showed the strength of these fighters and weakness of the authorities.
They occupied first a historic mosque, Al Amerya, and a castle overlooking it before they stormed the central prison in the heart of the city and let 52 prisoners go out.
The leader of the group is an Islamic and tribal leader called Tarek Ahmed Nasser Al Dhahab, the brother in law of the Yemeni-American extremist cleric Anwar Al Awlaki who was killed by an American drone with three others on September 30, 2011, in the eastern province of Al Jawf.
In a video recording by Al Dhahab on Wednesday January 18, he said that the first step of establishing what he called Islamic Caliphate has started from his area in Radaa.
Tribal leaders from Al Dhahab tribe, Kaifa, reduced the threats of the man saying he would quit fighting if his brother, Khaled, is released,
Khaled Al Dhahab was arrested in Syria and was handed over to the Yemeni government about four months ago. And he is still in prison of the Political Security,intelligence.
"On Wednesday, the government promised to release Khaled Al Dhahab but they want three men from the tribe to be put in prison as a guarantee that he would not stop violence and his brother Tarik would withdraw from the places he is controlling," Sheikh Zaid Yahya Al Riymi from Kaifa tribe and who is involved in the tribal mediation.
" The situation is very difficult,but we are optimistic to find a solution and save blood," said Al Riyami.
The deputy minister of interior, Mohammed Al Kawsi, said Tuesday the city of Rada'a is surrounded by the security forces but they will wait until suitable decision is taken by the military and security committee chaired by vice president.
Earlier in the day, Al Qaeda fighters kidnapped 11 soldiers from a check point at the outskirt of Rada'a city where one of Al Qaeda fighters was killed.
The House of Representatives was unable to do anything over these developments as it was waiting for the government to come back from their first visit to the Gulf countries where they went to seek economic and political support.
The opposition prime minister, Mohammed Salem Basondaw and 8 ministers returned to Sanaa on Tuesday January 17.
Last week, the opposition-chaired unity government approved a law draft that would grant president Ali Abdullah Saleh and some opposition leaders who were ruling with him one day during the 33-year rule, immunity from prosecution.
The most important opposition leaders who are expected to be included in the immunity law are those who led the anti-Saleh protests during 2011, after they were essential partners with Saleh.
The defected general Ali Muhsen, and the extremist cleric, Abdul Majeed Al Zandani, who is wanted for US and UN for terror charges, are both among those who need immunity.
Sources close to the opposition say the opposition figures who need immunity are 16 politicians.
One of them also is the Islamic and tribal leader, the billionaire Hamid Al Ahmar, who is accused of orchestrating and mainly funding the anti- Saleh revolution,
The immunity from prosecution for the leaders of the conflicting parties is the essential part of a Saudi-led and internationally supported gulf deal for peaceful transfer of power.
The deal and immunity are both refused by the protesters in the streets, although their leaders signed the deal in November 23, 2011,and approved the immunity law earlier this month.
The UN envoy, Jamal Bin Omar arrived in Yemen last week to help and push the conflicting parties to continue implementation of the GCC deal according to its step-by-step and scheduled plan of implementation.
By Nasser Arrabyee,21/01/2012
The Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh is expected to pay official visits to the Gulf Sultanate of Oman and to Ethiopia before he flies to New York for more treatment, said sources in the presidential office Saturday.
Earlier in the day, the opposition and the ruling party members of parliament unanimously approved Saturday a modified immunity law to prevent any future prosecutions between the conflicting parties.
Two days earlier than scheduled, the opposition and the ruling party also approved the current vice president Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi to be the consensus candidate in the early presidential elections on February 21? 2012.
The Parliament was supposed to vote on the immunity law next Monday January 23, after it was amended to make the protection from prosecution for specific leaders from opposition and ruling party including President Ali Abdullah Saleh. But because time is running out for implementing all the other steps of the GCC deal, and the regional and international pressure on all parties, the vote took place Saturday, 21/01/2012.
The approved immunity law is considered to be the essence of internationally and regionally supported deal signed by the Yemeni conflicting parties in Saudi capital Riyadh last November.
On February 21st, 2012, a new president for Yemen will be elected in an early election agreed upon by all conflicting parties to end the one-year long political crisis.
Preparations for the February elections are in full swing despite the fact that the two conflicting parties (opposition and ruling) are required to nominate only the current vice president Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi, as the candidate of consensus, according to the deal and its implementation plan.
About 100,000 soldiers are expected to protect the process of early elections.
However, this election may be delayed if the opposition-chaired unity government can not stop the armed conflicts that broke out over the last few weeks in different areas of the country where government is almost absent.
The most dangerous of these conflicts is Al Qaeda occupation of a new city in the south-east of the country.
And the second most dangerous is the war between Al Houthi Shiite fighters and the Sunni Salafi fighters in the north of the country at the border of Saudi Arabia.
Tens of people from both sides were killed and injured so far over the last few weeks.
For Al Qaeda, at mid night of Saturday,January 14, 2012, hundreds of Islamic extremists in connection with Al Qaeda occupied parts of the city of Rada'a , in a step that showed the strength of these fighters and weakness of the authorities.
They occupied first a historic mosque, Al Amerya, and a castle overlooking it before they stormed the central prison in the heart of the city and let 52 prisoners go out.
The leader of the group is an Islamic and tribal leader called Tarek Ahmed Nasser Al Dhahab, the brother in law of the Yemeni-American extremist cleric Anwar Al Awlaki who was killed by an American drone with three others on September 30, 2011, in the eastern province of Al Jawf.
In a video recording by Al Dhahab on Wednesday January 18, he said that the first step of establishing what he called Islamic Caliphate has started from his area in Radaa.
Tribal leaders from Al Dhahab tribe, Kaifa, reduced the threats of the man saying he would quit fighting if his brother, Khaled, is released,
Khaled Al Dhahab was arrested in Syria and was handed over to the Yemeni government about four months ago. And he is still in prison of the Political Security,intelligence.
"On Wednesday, the government promised to release Khaled Al Dhahab but they want three men from the tribe to be put in prison as a guarantee that he would not stop violence and his brother Tarik would withdraw from the places he is controlling," Sheikh Zaid Yahya Al Riymi from Kaifa tribe and who is involved in the tribal mediation.
" The situation is very difficult,but we are optimistic to find a solution and save blood," said Al Riyami.
The deputy minister of interior, Mohammed Al Kawsi, said Tuesday the city of Rada'a is surrounded by the security forces but they will wait until suitable decision is taken by the military and security committee chaired by vice president.
Earlier in the day, Al Qaeda fighters kidnapped 11 soldiers from a check point at the outskirt of Rada'a city where one of Al Qaeda fighters was killed.
The House of Representatives was unable to do anything over these developments as it was waiting for the government to come back from their first visit to the Gulf countries where they went to seek economic and political support.
The opposition prime minister, Mohammed Salem Basondaw and 8 ministers returned to Sanaa on Tuesday January 17.
Last week, the opposition-chaired unity government approved a law draft that would grant president Ali Abdullah Saleh and some opposition leaders who were ruling with him one day during the 33-year rule, immunity from prosecution.
The most important opposition leaders who are expected to be included in the immunity law are those who led the anti-Saleh protests during 2011, after they were essential partners with Saleh.
The defected general Ali Muhsen, and the extremist cleric, Abdul Majeed Al Zandani, who is wanted for US and UN for terror charges, are both among those who need immunity.
Sources close to the opposition say the opposition figures who need immunity are 16 politicians.
One of them also is the Islamic and tribal leader, the billionaire Hamid Al Ahmar, who is accused of orchestrating and mainly funding the anti- Saleh revolution,
The immunity from prosecution for the leaders of the conflicting parties is the essential part of a Saudi-led and internationally supported gulf deal for peaceful transfer of power.
The deal and immunity are both refused by the protesters in the streets, although their leaders signed the deal in November 23, 2011,and approved the immunity law earlier this month.
The UN envoy, Jamal Bin Omar arrived in Yemen last week to help and push the conflicting parties to continue implementation of the GCC deal according to its step-by-step and scheduled plan of implementation.
Thursday, 19 January 2012
Preparations for early elections in full swing despite obstacles
By Nasser Arrabyee,19/01/2012
Next Monday January 23, the Members of Yemeni Parliament from both opposition and ruling party will vote for a controversial immunity law after it was amended to make the protection from prosecution for specific leaders from opposition and ruling party including President Ali Abdullah Saleh, according to sources from both sides.
The would-be immunity law is considered to be the essence of internationally and regionally supported deal signed by the Yemeni conflicting parties in Saudi capital Riyadh last November.
On February 21st, 2012, a new president for Yemen will be elected in an early election agreed upon by all conflicting parties to end the one-year long political crisis.
Preparations for the February elections are in full swing despite the fact that the two conflicting parties (opposition and ruling) are required to nominate only the current vice president Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi, as the candidate of consensus, according to the deal and its implementation plan.
About 100,000 soldiers are expected to protect the process of early elections.
However, this election may be delayed if the opposition-chaired unity government can not stop the armed conflicts that broke out over the last few weeks in different areas of the country where government is almost absent.
The most dangerous of these conflicts is Al Qaeda occupation of a new city in the south-east of the country.
And the second most dangerous is the war between Al Houthi Shiite fighters and the Sunni Salafi fighters in the north of the country at the border of Saudi Arabia.
Tens of people from both sides were killed and injured so far over the last few weeks.
For Al Qaeda, at mid night of Saturday,January 14, 2012, hundreds of Islamic extremists in connection with Al Qaeda occupied parts of the city of Rada'a , in a step that showed the strength of these fighters and weakness of the authorities.
They occupied first a historic mosque, Al Amerya, and a castle overlooking it before they stormed the central prison in the heart of the city and let 52 prisoners go out.
The leader of the group is an Islamic and tribal leader called Tarek Ahmed Nasser Al Dhahab, the brother in law of the Yemeni-American extremist cleric Anwar Al Awlaki who was killed by an American drone with three others on September 30, 2011, in the eastern province of Al Jawf.
In a video recording by Al Dhahab on Wednesday January 18, he said that the first step of establishing what he called Islamic Caliphate has started from his area in Radaa.
Tribal leaders from Al Dhahab tribe, Kaifa, reduced the threats of the man saying he would quit fighting if his brother, Khaled, is released,
Khaled Al Dhahab was arrested in Syria and was handed over to the Yemeni government about four months ago. And he is still in prison of the Political Security,intelligence.
"On Wednesday, the government promised to release Khaled Al Dhahab but they want three men from the tribe to be put in prison as a guarantee that he would not stop violence and his brother Tarik would withdraw from the places he is controlling," Sheikh Zaid Yahya Al Riymi from Kaifa tribe and who is involved in the tribal mediation.
" The situation is very difficult,but we are optimistic to find a solution and save blood," said Al Riyami.
The deputy minister of interior, Mohammed Al Kawsi, said Tuesday the city of Rada'a is surrounded by the security forces but they will wait until suitable decision is taken by the military and security committee chaired by vice president.
Earlier in the day, Al Qaeda fighters kidnapped 11 soldiers from a check point at the outskirt of Rada'a city where one of Al Qaeda fighters was killed.
The House of Representatives was unable to do anything over these developments as it was waiting for the government to come back from their first visit to the Gulf countries where they went to seek economic and political support.
The opposition prime minister, Mohammed Salem Basondaw and 8 ministers returned to Sanaa on Tuesday January 17.
Last week, the opposition-chaired unity government approved a law draft that would grant president Ali Abdullah Saleh and some opposition leaders who were ruling with him one day during the 33-year rule, immunity from prosecution.
The most important opposition leaders who are expected to be included in the immunity law are those who led the anti-Saleh protests during 2011, after they were essential partners with Saleh.
The defected general Ali Muhsen, and the extremist cleric, Abdul Majeed Al Zandani, who is wanted for US and UN for terror charges, are both among those who need immunity.
Sources close to the opposition say the opposition figures who need immunity are 16 politicians.
One of them also is the Islamic and tribal leader, the billionaire Hamid Al Ahmar, who is accused of orchestrating and mainly funding the anti- Saleh revolution,
The immunity from prosecution for the leaders of the conflicting parties is the essential part of a Saudi-led and internationally supported gulf deal for peaceful transfer of power.
The deal and immunity are both refused by the protesters in the streets, although their leaders signed the deal in November 23, 2011,and approved the immunity law earlier this month.
The UN envoy, Jamal Bin Omar arrived in Yemen last week to help and push the conflicting parties to continue implementation of the GCC deal according to its step-by-step and scheduled plan of implementation.
Next Monday January 23, the Members of Yemeni Parliament from both opposition and ruling party will vote for a controversial immunity law after it was amended to make the protection from prosecution for specific leaders from opposition and ruling party including President Ali Abdullah Saleh, according to sources from both sides.
The would-be immunity law is considered to be the essence of internationally and regionally supported deal signed by the Yemeni conflicting parties in Saudi capital Riyadh last November.
On February 21st, 2012, a new president for Yemen will be elected in an early election agreed upon by all conflicting parties to end the one-year long political crisis.
Preparations for the February elections are in full swing despite the fact that the two conflicting parties (opposition and ruling) are required to nominate only the current vice president Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi, as the candidate of consensus, according to the deal and its implementation plan.
About 100,000 soldiers are expected to protect the process of early elections.
However, this election may be delayed if the opposition-chaired unity government can not stop the armed conflicts that broke out over the last few weeks in different areas of the country where government is almost absent.
The most dangerous of these conflicts is Al Qaeda occupation of a new city in the south-east of the country.
And the second most dangerous is the war between Al Houthi Shiite fighters and the Sunni Salafi fighters in the north of the country at the border of Saudi Arabia.
Tens of people from both sides were killed and injured so far over the last few weeks.
For Al Qaeda, at mid night of Saturday,January 14, 2012, hundreds of Islamic extremists in connection with Al Qaeda occupied parts of the city of Rada'a , in a step that showed the strength of these fighters and weakness of the authorities.
They occupied first a historic mosque, Al Amerya, and a castle overlooking it before they stormed the central prison in the heart of the city and let 52 prisoners go out.
The leader of the group is an Islamic and tribal leader called Tarek Ahmed Nasser Al Dhahab, the brother in law of the Yemeni-American extremist cleric Anwar Al Awlaki who was killed by an American drone with three others on September 30, 2011, in the eastern province of Al Jawf.
In a video recording by Al Dhahab on Wednesday January 18, he said that the first step of establishing what he called Islamic Caliphate has started from his area in Radaa.
Tribal leaders from Al Dhahab tribe, Kaifa, reduced the threats of the man saying he would quit fighting if his brother, Khaled, is released,
Khaled Al Dhahab was arrested in Syria and was handed over to the Yemeni government about four months ago. And he is still in prison of the Political Security,intelligence.
"On Wednesday, the government promised to release Khaled Al Dhahab but they want three men from the tribe to be put in prison as a guarantee that he would not stop violence and his brother Tarik would withdraw from the places he is controlling," Sheikh Zaid Yahya Al Riymi from Kaifa tribe and who is involved in the tribal mediation.
" The situation is very difficult,but we are optimistic to find a solution and save blood," said Al Riyami.
The deputy minister of interior, Mohammed Al Kawsi, said Tuesday the city of Rada'a is surrounded by the security forces but they will wait until suitable decision is taken by the military and security committee chaired by vice president.
Earlier in the day, Al Qaeda fighters kidnapped 11 soldiers from a check point at the outskirt of Rada'a city where one of Al Qaeda fighters was killed.
The House of Representatives was unable to do anything over these developments as it was waiting for the government to come back from their first visit to the Gulf countries where they went to seek economic and political support.
The opposition prime minister, Mohammed Salem Basondaw and 8 ministers returned to Sanaa on Tuesday January 17.
Last week, the opposition-chaired unity government approved a law draft that would grant president Ali Abdullah Saleh and some opposition leaders who were ruling with him one day during the 33-year rule, immunity from prosecution.
The most important opposition leaders who are expected to be included in the immunity law are those who led the anti-Saleh protests during 2011, after they were essential partners with Saleh.
The defected general Ali Muhsen, and the extremist cleric, Abdul Majeed Al Zandani, who is wanted for US and UN for terror charges, are both among those who need immunity.
Sources close to the opposition say the opposition figures who need immunity are 16 politicians.
One of them also is the Islamic and tribal leader, the billionaire Hamid Al Ahmar, who is accused of orchestrating and mainly funding the anti- Saleh revolution,
The immunity from prosecution for the leaders of the conflicting parties is the essential part of a Saudi-led and internationally supported gulf deal for peaceful transfer of power.
The deal and immunity are both refused by the protesters in the streets, although their leaders signed the deal in November 23, 2011,and approved the immunity law earlier this month.
The UN envoy, Jamal Bin Omar arrived in Yemen last week to help and push the conflicting parties to continue implementation of the GCC deal according to its step-by-step and scheduled plan of implementation.
Yemen amends immunity law, Saleh still protected
Source: Reuters, 19/01/2012
By Mohammed Ghobari
SANAA- A Yemeni draft law granting immunity to the outgoing president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, from prosecution over the killing of protesters was amended on Thursday to limit the protection his aides would enjoy, a minister said.
The draft law, which has been heavily criticized by rights groups, the United Nations and Yemeni protesters, will now shield the aides only in "political cases," Legal Affairs Minister Mohammad Makhlafi told Reuters.
It had previously offered blanket immunity to associates of Saleh, who will still get full protection himself, Makhlafi said, without elaborating on what kinds of cases could be tried.
Under a power transfer plan hammered out by Yemen's wealthier Gulf neighbors and signed by Saleh in November, the veteran leader was promised legal immunity to help ease him out of office and end months of protests against his 33-year rule.
Rights groups say hundreds of protesters were killed by security forces in the uprising, which was punctuated by bursts of street fighting between Saleh loyalists and their foes.
Yemenis angry at the draft law are still taking to the streets calling for Saleh to be put on trial and U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay earlier this month warned the immunity offer could violate international law.
Discussion of the law in parliament has repeatedly been put off, but Makhlafi said it would now take place on Saturday.
The United States has defended the draft law as the only way to coax Saleh from power, but question remain over his intentions after he reversed a pledge to leave Yemen before presidential elections in February.
Washington and neighboring oil giant Saudi Arabia are keen for the plan to work, fearing protracted political upheaval will let al Qaeda's regional Yemen-based wing establish a foothold along oil shipping routes through the Red Sea.
Islamist militants this week seized the town of Radda, about 170 km (100 miles) southeast of the capital Sanaa, underscoring those concerns.
A tribesman negotiating with the militants on behalf of the government said their leader, Tareq al-Dahab, had refused to withdraw unless a council was set up to run the town according to Islamic law and 15 prisoners suspected of links to al Qaeda were released, including his brother Nail.
Dahab is related to Anwar al-Awlaki, a U. s. citizen whom Washington accused of a leadership role in the Yemeni branch of al Qaeda, and assassinated in a drone strike last year.
The tribesman, Sheikh Sale al-Jawfi, said Islamism fighters from Aryan and Shaw provinces had made their way to Radar to join militant ranks, adding that armed tribesmen were taking up positions in another part of the town.
Sale's opponents have accused him of deliberately ceding territory to Psalmists to prove his argument that only he stands in the way of an al Qaeda takeover in Yemen, from where the global militant network has previously launched abortive attacks.
By Mohammed Ghobari
SANAA- A Yemeni draft law granting immunity to the outgoing president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, from prosecution over the killing of protesters was amended on Thursday to limit the protection his aides would enjoy, a minister said.
The draft law, which has been heavily criticized by rights groups, the United Nations and Yemeni protesters, will now shield the aides only in "political cases," Legal Affairs Minister Mohammad Makhlafi told Reuters.
It had previously offered blanket immunity to associates of Saleh, who will still get full protection himself, Makhlafi said, without elaborating on what kinds of cases could be tried.
Under a power transfer plan hammered out by Yemen's wealthier Gulf neighbors and signed by Saleh in November, the veteran leader was promised legal immunity to help ease him out of office and end months of protests against his 33-year rule.
Rights groups say hundreds of protesters were killed by security forces in the uprising, which was punctuated by bursts of street fighting between Saleh loyalists and their foes.
Yemenis angry at the draft law are still taking to the streets calling for Saleh to be put on trial and U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay earlier this month warned the immunity offer could violate international law.
Discussion of the law in parliament has repeatedly been put off, but Makhlafi said it would now take place on Saturday.
The United States has defended the draft law as the only way to coax Saleh from power, but question remain over his intentions after he reversed a pledge to leave Yemen before presidential elections in February.
Washington and neighboring oil giant Saudi Arabia are keen for the plan to work, fearing protracted political upheaval will let al Qaeda's regional Yemen-based wing establish a foothold along oil shipping routes through the Red Sea.
Islamist militants this week seized the town of Radda, about 170 km (100 miles) southeast of the capital Sanaa, underscoring those concerns.
A tribesman negotiating with the militants on behalf of the government said their leader, Tareq al-Dahab, had refused to withdraw unless a council was set up to run the town according to Islamic law and 15 prisoners suspected of links to al Qaeda were released, including his brother Nail.
Dahab is related to Anwar al-Awlaki, a U. s. citizen whom Washington accused of a leadership role in the Yemeni branch of al Qaeda, and assassinated in a drone strike last year.
The tribesman, Sheikh Sale al-Jawfi, said Islamism fighters from Aryan and Shaw provinces had made their way to Radar to join militant ranks, adding that armed tribesmen were taking up positions in another part of the town.
Sale's opponents have accused him of deliberately ceding territory to Psalmists to prove his argument that only he stands in the way of an al Qaeda takeover in Yemen, from where the global militant network has previously launched abortive attacks.
Wednesday, 18 January 2012
Yemen Islamists say to quit town if prisoners freed
Source: Reuters, 18/01/2013
SANAA-Yemeni Islamist fighters who seized a small town southeast of the capital Sanaa this week have said they will withdraw if several comrades are released from jail, tribal sources said on Wednesday.
Yemeni tribesmen negotiating with the militants on behalf of the government said Tareq al-Dahab, leader of the group that took over Radda about 170 km (105 miles) southeast of Sanaa, agreed to go if his brother Nabil and several others were freed.
Dahab is related to Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen whom Washington accused of a leadership role in the Yemeni branch of al Qaeda, and assassinated in a drone strike last year.
Radda's capture underscored U.S. fears that political turmoil in Yemen over the fate of President Ali Abdullah Saleh will give al Qaeda a foothold near shipping routes through the Red Sea and may spread to world No. 1 oil exporter Saudi Arabia.
Dozens of militants entered Radda on Sunday, expanding militant control outside the southern province of Abyan, where they have captured several towns since an uprising against Saleh began early last year.
Residents of Radda said the streets were empty and shops stayed shut on Wednesday.
Saleh formally handed over power to his deputy late last year, in line with a Gulf-brokered plan to end months of mass protests and bursts of open combat between his forces and those of a rebel general and tribal militias.
Under the deal hammered out by Yemen's wealthier neighbours, Saleh's General People's Congress and opposition parties divided up cabinet posts between them, forming a unity government to steer the country towards presidential elections in February.
But question marks remain over the intentions of the veteran leader, who recently said he would stay in Yemen, reversing a pledge to leave for the United States.
His opponents accuse him of ceding territory to Islamists to bolster his claim that his rule alone keeps al Qaeda from growing strong in Yemen, and ultimately aiming to retain power by sabotaging the transition deal.
Washington, which long backed Saleh as key to its "counter-terrorism" policy, endorses the transition plan. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday that Saleh was failing to meet his pledges under the deal and that Washington was "focused on the threat posed by al Qaeda in Yemen".
SANAA-Yemeni Islamist fighters who seized a small town southeast of the capital Sanaa this week have said they will withdraw if several comrades are released from jail, tribal sources said on Wednesday.
Yemeni tribesmen negotiating with the militants on behalf of the government said Tareq al-Dahab, leader of the group that took over Radda about 170 km (105 miles) southeast of Sanaa, agreed to go if his brother Nabil and several others were freed.
Dahab is related to Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen whom Washington accused of a leadership role in the Yemeni branch of al Qaeda, and assassinated in a drone strike last year.
Radda's capture underscored U.S. fears that political turmoil in Yemen over the fate of President Ali Abdullah Saleh will give al Qaeda a foothold near shipping routes through the Red Sea and may spread to world No. 1 oil exporter Saudi Arabia.
Dozens of militants entered Radda on Sunday, expanding militant control outside the southern province of Abyan, where they have captured several towns since an uprising against Saleh began early last year.
Residents of Radda said the streets were empty and shops stayed shut on Wednesday.
Saleh formally handed over power to his deputy late last year, in line with a Gulf-brokered plan to end months of mass protests and bursts of open combat between his forces and those of a rebel general and tribal militias.
Under the deal hammered out by Yemen's wealthier neighbours, Saleh's General People's Congress and opposition parties divided up cabinet posts between them, forming a unity government to steer the country towards presidential elections in February.
But question marks remain over the intentions of the veteran leader, who recently said he would stay in Yemen, reversing a pledge to leave for the United States.
His opponents accuse him of ceding territory to Islamists to bolster his claim that his rule alone keeps al Qaeda from growing strong in Yemen, and ultimately aiming to retain power by sabotaging the transition deal.
Washington, which long backed Saleh as key to its "counter-terrorism" policy, endorses the transition plan. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday that Saleh was failing to meet his pledges under the deal and that Washington was "focused on the threat posed by al Qaeda in Yemen".
Tuesday, 17 January 2012
Yemen's presidential elections may be delayed after Al Qaeda took control over new city
Source: Voice of America, 17/01:2012
Yemen's foreign minister says a presidential election planned for next month may have to be delayed because of security problems in the country.
In an interview broadcast Tuesday on al-Arabiya television, Abu Bakr al-Qirbi said if Yemen does not deal with the security issues it will be “difficult” hold elections on February 21.
His comments come days after al-Qaida militants took control of the southern town of Radda. Islamist militants also control other areas of the country's south.
The election is part of a Gulf-brokered plan to end nearly a year of unrest sparked by calls to oust President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Under the agreement, Mr. Saleh handed authority to Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who is the consensus candidate of major parties in the election.
Yemen's interim government approved a law earlier this month granting Mr. Saleh immunity from “legal and judicial prosecution” for any alleged crimes committed during his 33-year rule.
Pro-democracy activists have criticized the transition deal, saying they want Mr. Saleh and his powerful relatives to stand trial for a government crackdown on protests in which hundreds of people have been killed.
Yemen's foreign minister says a presidential election planned for next month may have to be delayed because of security problems in the country.
In an interview broadcast Tuesday on al-Arabiya television, Abu Bakr al-Qirbi said if Yemen does not deal with the security issues it will be “difficult” hold elections on February 21.
His comments come days after al-Qaida militants took control of the southern town of Radda. Islamist militants also control other areas of the country's south.
The election is part of a Gulf-brokered plan to end nearly a year of unrest sparked by calls to oust President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Under the agreement, Mr. Saleh handed authority to Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who is the consensus candidate of major parties in the election.
Yemen's interim government approved a law earlier this month granting Mr. Saleh immunity from “legal and judicial prosecution” for any alleged crimes committed during his 33-year rule.
Pro-democracy activists have criticized the transition deal, saying they want Mr. Saleh and his powerful relatives to stand trial for a government crackdown on protests in which hundreds of people have been killed.
Sunday, 15 January 2012
Al Qaeda storms a new city south-east Yemen
Source: Reuters, 15/01/2012
SANAA- Dozens of al Qaeda militants have seized a small town about 170 km (105 miles) southeast of Yemen's capital Sanaa, a police source and witnesses said on Sunday.
They said the militants entered the town of Radda in al-Baydah province on Saturday night with little resistance from a small contingent of police and seized an ancient citadel and mosque.
The capture of Radda expands militant control outside the southern province of Abyan, where they have taken over several towns since an uprising against President Ali Abdullah Saleh began early last year that culminated with a power transfer deal in November.
Residents in Radda, which has a population of 60,000, said the group was led by Tareq al-Dahab, a suspected militant who had been handed over by Syria to Yemen recently while trying to infiltrate to Iraq.
Dahab is a brother-in-law of U.S.-born Muslim cleric linked to al Qaeda who was killed in an air strike last year.
Yahia Abu Usba, deputy head of the Yemeni Socialist Party and a Saleh critic, charged that the security forces appeared to have done very little to stop the militants from entering Radda and warned that al Qaeda was planning to strike at the oil-rich Maarib Province next, bringing it closer to Sanaa.
No Yemeni officials were immediately available for a comment.
The United States and Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter which helped broker the Gulf deal that allowed Saleh to transfer power to his deputy, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, have been worried that al Qaeda was expanding its control in the impoverished Arab state next to key oil shipping lanes.
Saleh critics have accused the outgoing president, who still wields a great deal of power through his family control of security forces despite handing over power, of turning a blind eye to the militants' expansion to show that his rule was important to keep al Qaeda out. He denies the charges.
SANAA- Dozens of al Qaeda militants have seized a small town about 170 km (105 miles) southeast of Yemen's capital Sanaa, a police source and witnesses said on Sunday.
They said the militants entered the town of Radda in al-Baydah province on Saturday night with little resistance from a small contingent of police and seized an ancient citadel and mosque.
The capture of Radda expands militant control outside the southern province of Abyan, where they have taken over several towns since an uprising against President Ali Abdullah Saleh began early last year that culminated with a power transfer deal in November.
Residents in Radda, which has a population of 60,000, said the group was led by Tareq al-Dahab, a suspected militant who had been handed over by Syria to Yemen recently while trying to infiltrate to Iraq.
Dahab is a brother-in-law of U.S.-born Muslim cleric linked to al Qaeda who was killed in an air strike last year.
Yahia Abu Usba, deputy head of the Yemeni Socialist Party and a Saleh critic, charged that the security forces appeared to have done very little to stop the militants from entering Radda and warned that al Qaeda was planning to strike at the oil-rich Maarib Province next, bringing it closer to Sanaa.
No Yemeni officials were immediately available for a comment.
The United States and Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter which helped broker the Gulf deal that allowed Saleh to transfer power to his deputy, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, have been worried that al Qaeda was expanding its control in the impoverished Arab state next to key oil shipping lanes.
Saleh critics have accused the outgoing president, who still wields a great deal of power through his family control of security forces despite handing over power, of turning a blind eye to the militants' expansion to show that his rule was important to keep al Qaeda out. He denies the charges.
Thousands of displaced Yemenis return to area controlled by al-Qaida-linked militants
Source: Associated Press,15/01/2012
SANAA, Yemen — At least 2,000 displaced Yemenis returned home Friday to a restive area in the country’s south that has been under the control of al-Qaida-linked militants for more than seven months.
Their return to Zinjibar, the provincial capital of Abyan province, provides some of the first civilian views of the Islamic rule the militants have begun to set up in the poorly governed hinterlands of the Arab world’s poorest country: A zone where armed men from a various Arab countries move about in new Toyota trucks and vow to implement strict Islamic law.
The militants have taken advantage of the security collapse across Yemen during 11 months of mass protests calling for the ouster of longtime autocratic President Ali Abdullah Saleh. A wily politician who has ruled for 33 years, Saleh is due to transfer power later this month to his vice president under a U.S.-backed deal brokered by Yemen’s powerful Persian Gulf neighbors.
The U.S. has long considered Saleh a necessary ally in combatting Yemen’s active al-Qaida branch, which has been linked to terror attacks on U.S. soil and is believed to be one of the international terror organization’s most dangerous franchises.
Militants began seizing territory in Yemen’s southern Abyan province last spring, solidifying their control over the town of Jaar in April before taking the provincial capital, Zinjibar, in May. They call their organization Ansar al-Shariah, or Partisans of Shariah, which is linked to al-Qaida.
Yemeni security forces have been trying unsuccessfully to push them out since then in fierce fighting that has caused regular casualties on both sides. The conflict has forced tens of thousands of civilians from Zinjibar and the surrounding area to flee, many to the port city of Aden.
Some made their first efforts to return last month, staging two marches from Aden. Both times, militants turned them back, saying the city wasn’t safe.
But Saturday’s return was coordinated with the militant group. More than 2,000 residents entered Zinjibar, where the militants welcomed them with carbonated drinks and cookies then slaughtered cows for dinner, said resident Abdel-Hakim al-Marqashi.
Before dinner, however, all gathered in the city center for an address by a man called “Abu Hamza,” who was introduced as the prince of what the militants declared a new Islamic state.
Al-Marqashi said Abu Hamza told the crowd that they were now “safe and secure,” and that the leaders of the Islamic emirate will work to restore services like water and electricity and impose justice according to Islamic Shariah law.
Abu Hamza said the group had set up an Islamic court to deal with crimes and problems between residents.
Residents were shocked by the destruction left by months of clashes between militants and the army.
“Zinjibar has been turned into a city of ghosts,” said Mohammed al-Marfadi. He said the town, once home to more than 100,000 people, was virtually empty except for the armed men cruising the streets in pickup trucks and motorcycles with mounted machine guns.
Most of the city center is in ruins, he said, and all government offices have been destroyed or burned. Charred cars litter the streets, while some roads are pockmarked with craters from artillery strikes.
Militants manning anti-aircraft guns occupied military posts throughout the city, residents said.
A regional army commander, Brig. Gen. Mohammed al-Somali, said the residents have the right to return home, but cautioned that “the citizens must not allow al-Qaida to use them as human shields or to use their homes to fire at army positions.”
“Should this happen, we’ll respond with all force,” he told reporters Saturday in Aden.
The returning residents expressed mixed feelings about the militants now in control of Zinjibar.
“Ansar al-Shariah and al-Qaida are not atrocious beings from some other planet,” said Wagdi al-Shabi. “We found them to be people like us, of flesh and blood. What makes them better is their belief and their jihad for the victory of Islam and to help the less fortunate.”
But another resident, Hussein Qadri, said bearded men now run the ruined city like a military camp.
“If the situation is that scary during the day, imagine what it will be like at night,” he said. Qadri was among the few hundred residents who left the city before nightfall.
The nearby town of Jaar, which the same militant group has controlled for the past nine months, may provide the best idea of what lies ahead for Zinjibar.
Security has returned to Jaar and shops and coffee houses are open, said Jameel Rawih, who visited the town Saturday. The militants oversee the marketplace and ensure that women cover their faces in public and that men, too, dress modestly.
Strict Islamic law is firmly imposed. Town residents say the militants have cut off the hands of people convicted of stealing, and executed some people convicted either of murder or of spying for the Yemeni army.
SANAA, Yemen — At least 2,000 displaced Yemenis returned home Friday to a restive area in the country’s south that has been under the control of al-Qaida-linked militants for more than seven months.
Their return to Zinjibar, the provincial capital of Abyan province, provides some of the first civilian views of the Islamic rule the militants have begun to set up in the poorly governed hinterlands of the Arab world’s poorest country: A zone where armed men from a various Arab countries move about in new Toyota trucks and vow to implement strict Islamic law.
The militants have taken advantage of the security collapse across Yemen during 11 months of mass protests calling for the ouster of longtime autocratic President Ali Abdullah Saleh. A wily politician who has ruled for 33 years, Saleh is due to transfer power later this month to his vice president under a U.S.-backed deal brokered by Yemen’s powerful Persian Gulf neighbors.
The U.S. has long considered Saleh a necessary ally in combatting Yemen’s active al-Qaida branch, which has been linked to terror attacks on U.S. soil and is believed to be one of the international terror organization’s most dangerous franchises.
Militants began seizing territory in Yemen’s southern Abyan province last spring, solidifying their control over the town of Jaar in April before taking the provincial capital, Zinjibar, in May. They call their organization Ansar al-Shariah, or Partisans of Shariah, which is linked to al-Qaida.
Yemeni security forces have been trying unsuccessfully to push them out since then in fierce fighting that has caused regular casualties on both sides. The conflict has forced tens of thousands of civilians from Zinjibar and the surrounding area to flee, many to the port city of Aden.
Some made their first efforts to return last month, staging two marches from Aden. Both times, militants turned them back, saying the city wasn’t safe.
But Saturday’s return was coordinated with the militant group. More than 2,000 residents entered Zinjibar, where the militants welcomed them with carbonated drinks and cookies then slaughtered cows for dinner, said resident Abdel-Hakim al-Marqashi.
Before dinner, however, all gathered in the city center for an address by a man called “Abu Hamza,” who was introduced as the prince of what the militants declared a new Islamic state.
Al-Marqashi said Abu Hamza told the crowd that they were now “safe and secure,” and that the leaders of the Islamic emirate will work to restore services like water and electricity and impose justice according to Islamic Shariah law.
Abu Hamza said the group had set up an Islamic court to deal with crimes and problems between residents.
Residents were shocked by the destruction left by months of clashes between militants and the army.
“Zinjibar has been turned into a city of ghosts,” said Mohammed al-Marfadi. He said the town, once home to more than 100,000 people, was virtually empty except for the armed men cruising the streets in pickup trucks and motorcycles with mounted machine guns.
Most of the city center is in ruins, he said, and all government offices have been destroyed or burned. Charred cars litter the streets, while some roads are pockmarked with craters from artillery strikes.
Militants manning anti-aircraft guns occupied military posts throughout the city, residents said.
A regional army commander, Brig. Gen. Mohammed al-Somali, said the residents have the right to return home, but cautioned that “the citizens must not allow al-Qaida to use them as human shields or to use their homes to fire at army positions.”
“Should this happen, we’ll respond with all force,” he told reporters Saturday in Aden.
The returning residents expressed mixed feelings about the militants now in control of Zinjibar.
“Ansar al-Shariah and al-Qaida are not atrocious beings from some other planet,” said Wagdi al-Shabi. “We found them to be people like us, of flesh and blood. What makes them better is their belief and their jihad for the victory of Islam and to help the less fortunate.”
But another resident, Hussein Qadri, said bearded men now run the ruined city like a military camp.
“If the situation is that scary during the day, imagine what it will be like at night,” he said. Qadri was among the few hundred residents who left the city before nightfall.
The nearby town of Jaar, which the same militant group has controlled for the past nine months, may provide the best idea of what lies ahead for Zinjibar.
Security has returned to Jaar and shops and coffee houses are open, said Jameel Rawih, who visited the town Saturday. The militants oversee the marketplace and ensure that women cover their faces in public and that men, too, dress modestly.
Strict Islamic law is firmly imposed. Town residents say the militants have cut off the hands of people convicted of stealing, and executed some people convicted either of murder or of spying for the Yemeni army.
Thursday, 12 January 2012
20 killed in Sunni-Shiite conflict in Yemen
Source:AP,12/01/2012
SANAA, Yemen — Yemeni security officials say 20 fighters have been killed in new clashes between an ultraconservative Islamist group and former Shiite rebels in the country’s north.
Tensions between the groups have reignited since President Ali Abdullah Saleh signed a U.S.-backed deal in November to pass power to his vice president. Yemen has been badly shaken by 10 months of protests calling for Saleh’s ouster.
The fighting pitted Shiite Hawthis against Sunni Salafi Islamists. Ten died on each side, officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity according to military protocol.
The Hawthis fought a bloody six-year war against Saleh’s government that ended with a cease-fire last year. Yemen’s Salafis practice a hard-line interpretation of Islam similar to al-Qaida’s.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
SANAA, Yemen — Yemeni security officials say 20 fighters have been killed in new clashes between an ultraconservative Islamist group and former Shiite rebels in the country’s north.
Tensions between the groups have reignited since President Ali Abdullah Saleh signed a U.S.-backed deal in November to pass power to his vice president. Yemen has been badly shaken by 10 months of protests calling for Saleh’s ouster.
The fighting pitted Shiite Hawthis against Sunni Salafi Islamists. Ten died on each side, officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity according to military protocol.
The Hawthis fought a bloody six-year war against Saleh’s government that ended with a cease-fire last year. Yemen’s Salafis practice a hard-line interpretation of Islam similar to al-Qaida’s.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Monday, 9 January 2012
Opposition-chaired government approves amnesty law for President Saleh and his aides and opponents
Source: CNN,09/01/2012
Sanaa-The Yemeni cabinet has approved the draft of a law that will give President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his aides immunity from prosecution.
The draft was submitted to parliament for approval and is expected to be approved within days, said Yahya al-Arasi, a senior vice presidential aide.
Ghaleb al-Odaini, the spokesman for the opposition Joint Meeting Parties (JMP), said the law will pass but expect lawmakers to make changes to it before approving it.
Under the terms of a Gulf Cooperation Council-brokered deal, Saleh has agreed to step down as president on February 21 in exchange for immunity from prosecution.
The law, if approved in its current form, will also give immunity to officials who worked under Saleh during his 33-year rule.
A day after the draft was approved, thousands of protesters rallied Monday in more than a dozen provinces against the proposal.
Some waved banners that showed a picture of Saleh holding a butcher knife in his bloodied hands.
Others, however, saw the merit in the proposal.
"We are against the immunity bill, but it will play a big role in ending the Saleh family rule in Yemen and give us a chance to build a new nation," said Abdullah al-Kuraimi, a youth activist in Sanaa.
Yemen's Prime Minister Mohammed Basendowah defended the immunity bill saying that it will help Yemen avoid violence through the immunity.
"We granted President Saleh immunity to rid the country from a civil war or possible bloodshed," he said.
He said it was a necessary political solution.
"For those who think a revolution can force Saleh out of power, they can try," he said.
Senior Saleh aides said the president will head to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment after he steps down.
Meanwhile, parliamentarians argued vehemently Monday with Saleh's aides refusing to accept Vice President Abdu Rabu Hadi as the unified candidate for the February 21 presidential elections.
Sultan Barakani, the head of the ruling General People Congress bloc in parliament, said discussions on Hadi should be delayed until February, giving time for Saleh's immunity law to pass.
Aides to Hadi have accused Saleh -- both of whom are in the same political party -- of being behind the rising tensions, whether by sitting quietly as his supporters chastised Hadi or siding against the vice president.
The vice presidential aides said that Saleh and his supporters appear unhappy with Hadi's actions in recent months, including his steadily decreasing the powers of the president and his most ardent loyalists.
Sanaa-The Yemeni cabinet has approved the draft of a law that will give President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his aides immunity from prosecution.
The draft was submitted to parliament for approval and is expected to be approved within days, said Yahya al-Arasi, a senior vice presidential aide.
Ghaleb al-Odaini, the spokesman for the opposition Joint Meeting Parties (JMP), said the law will pass but expect lawmakers to make changes to it before approving it.
Under the terms of a Gulf Cooperation Council-brokered deal, Saleh has agreed to step down as president on February 21 in exchange for immunity from prosecution.
The law, if approved in its current form, will also give immunity to officials who worked under Saleh during his 33-year rule.
A day after the draft was approved, thousands of protesters rallied Monday in more than a dozen provinces against the proposal.
Some waved banners that showed a picture of Saleh holding a butcher knife in his bloodied hands.
Others, however, saw the merit in the proposal.
"We are against the immunity bill, but it will play a big role in ending the Saleh family rule in Yemen and give us a chance to build a new nation," said Abdullah al-Kuraimi, a youth activist in Sanaa.
Yemen's Prime Minister Mohammed Basendowah defended the immunity bill saying that it will help Yemen avoid violence through the immunity.
"We granted President Saleh immunity to rid the country from a civil war or possible bloodshed," he said.
He said it was a necessary political solution.
"For those who think a revolution can force Saleh out of power, they can try," he said.
Senior Saleh aides said the president will head to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment after he steps down.
Meanwhile, parliamentarians argued vehemently Monday with Saleh's aides refusing to accept Vice President Abdu Rabu Hadi as the unified candidate for the February 21 presidential elections.
Sultan Barakani, the head of the ruling General People Congress bloc in parliament, said discussions on Hadi should be delayed until February, giving time for Saleh's immunity law to pass.
Aides to Hadi have accused Saleh -- both of whom are in the same political party -- of being behind the rising tensions, whether by sitting quietly as his supporters chastised Hadi or siding against the vice president.
The vice presidential aides said that Saleh and his supporters appear unhappy with Hadi's actions in recent months, including his steadily decreasing the powers of the president and his most ardent loyalists.
Thursday, 5 January 2012
Yemen president capitalizes on his political wits
Source: Los Angeles Times
By Jeffrey Fleishman and Zaid al-Alayaa,
President Ali Abdullah Saleh has managed to sidestep his promise to resign by deftly manipulating Yemen's multiplying dangers to his own benefit.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh is as relentless as he is cunning, promising to step aside yet remaining very much in power even after nearly a year of deadly rebellion has edged his impoverished nation to the brink of implosion.
Bearing the scars from an assassination attempt last year, Saleh, who has transferred duties to his vice president, still holds an uncanny sway over the country he has ruled for 33 years. He has been maneuvering for his son and nephews to retain control of Yemen's military and security agencies, and last week he startled many by canceling a trip to the U.S. for medical treatment.
Saleh has deftly, if erratically, manipulated Yemen's multiplying dangers. But since November, when he signed an agreement backed by Washington and Saudi Arabia to cede power, his attention has focused on escaping prosecution and consolidating his family's grip on key institutions. The opposition accused him over the weekend of using sleight-of-hand ploys to again sidestep his promise to step down.
Pressure on his government has increased because of the growing influence of the Islamist party, Islah, a leading voice in labor unrest and dissident movements. At the same time, Al Qaeda militants are assassinating his security officials and battling his army in southern towns in a conflict that has left the U.S. concerned about the expansion of terrorism in the Arabian Peninsula.
Saleh, a former tank commander who survived a rocket attack on his compound in June, has proved more resilient than his toppled contemporaries, including the late Moammar Kadafi in Libya and Egypt's Hosni Mubarak. He can leave the country, as he did to recuperated in Saudi Arabia for months, and return to even more bloodshed and political disarray, yet somehow stay a step ahead of his enemies.
Yemen's many threats and Saleh's mercurial gambits have made the nation unique in the revolts that have swept the Arab world over the last year. Protesters face more than a stubborn despot. Their rallying cries have been subsumed by struggles involving larger forces, including mutinous soldiers, rival tribes, a secessionist movement in the south and sporadic war between security forces and rebels in the north.
The nation, which often seems at the brink of bursting, as it did in the 1994 civil war, appears inured to conflict like a well-armed dysfunctional family that has learned to share a battered house. But many now suggest the momentum against Saleh is too daunting for him to survive.
"Saleh has resisted stepping down for the last year and every time he's agreed to a deal he's broken his promise," said Jamal Anam, an opposition member. "But the president will not be able to stop the wheel of change. Saleh will become more and more isolated."
The transfer of power agreement was expected to ease tension. The pact called for Saleh to hand authority to Vice President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi in preparation for a presidential election next month. Saleh has vowed that once a new president, widely expected to be Hadi, is in place, he will formally step down in exchange for immunity from prosecution. This proviso has angered hundreds of thousands of protesters demanding Saleh's arrest.
"The signing of the deal did not satisfy the demonstrators in the streets," said Ali Saif Hassan, an analyst and head of the Political Development Forum. "The West has to think more creatively to pressure for a national dialogue. It can convince political forces by freezing their assets and bank accounts."
Saleh's maneuvering since the deal has left Yemenis and the international community at times feeling whiplashed. His announcement last month about plans to travel to the U.S. caught many in Yemen off guard.
The proposal put Washington in the sensitive predicament of possibly offering refuge to a reviled autocrat who also has been a U.S. ally in fighting Al Qaeda. But Saleh, as he often does to keep his opponents exasperated, reversed himself Saturday, suggesting his absence would imperil stability at a time Islah is plotting to paralyze state offices.
There were also indications Saleh would not be treated with the pomp the U.S. usually gives a head of state. Ahmed Sofi, the president's spokesman, said Saleh made "compromises and sacrifices" to Washington by agreeing to step down and "if President Obama or a high-ranking official in the U.S. won't receive him, we do not want to go."
The deepening political tumult in Yemen is a sign of Islah's attempt to strike at the core of Saleh's power. The Islamist organization, which is intent on creating an Islamic state that would certainly run counter to U.S. interests, has instigated unrest in federal and local government agencies. Seizing on national anger over public corruption, Islah has called for the firing of school principals and top government officials.
The strategy threatens to roil the military and intelligence establishments controlled by Saleh's family. It is an indication that the politically shrewd Saleh may be finding it difficult to counter elements more powerful than hundreds of thousands of peaceful demonstrators.
Employees at the September 26 newspaper, a mouthpiece for the military, have demanded the resignation of Ali Shatar, chief editor and head of Moral Guidance, an agency with the Defense Ministry. The manager of state-controlled Yemen TV and several of his executives were forced to flee their offices after fistfights broke out between workers and a production manager over graft.
Islah, the country's main opposition party, has been moving to steer the protest movement. It competes in Change Square, the epicenter of anti-Saleh sentiment in Sana, the capital, with socialists, students, nationalists, tribes, Houthi rebels and others in what represents an often violent mosaic of dissent.
Saleh has often warned that Islah is a front for a dangerous brand of radicalism. He has repeatedly played on fear of Islamic extremism, especially resonant in the West, as a way to enhance his power. However, Saleh critic Hassan Zaid, head of an opposition party, also warned recently that "the world will be surprised when Al Qaeda, the militant wing of the Islah, controls Yemen."
Among Islah's more prominent personalities are the ultraconservative Sheik Abdul Majeed Zindani, a henna-bearded cleric who is considered a terrorist by the U.S. and was once a spiritual mentor to Osama bin Laden, and defector Gen. Ali Mohsen Ahmar, whose 1st Armored Division has clashed with Saleh loyalists in the capital. But the group also has less radical members such as Tawakul Karman, a human rights activist who shared the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize.
The neighborhoods around Saleh's palace in Sana have been carved up by warring factions, including one funded by a billionaire telecommunications tribesman and another led by Saleh's son, Ahmed, commander of the Republican Guard. Artillery blasts and power blackouts are common. On Sunday, Saleh's forces shelled a neighborhood, killing three people.
"Saleh will ultimately be forced to leave the country, but not now," said Ahmed Zurqah, a political analyst. "He has to make sure his family and the political loyalists around him are not harmed and the nation doesn't shatter."
By Jeffrey Fleishman and Zaid al-Alayaa,
President Ali Abdullah Saleh has managed to sidestep his promise to resign by deftly manipulating Yemen's multiplying dangers to his own benefit.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh is as relentless as he is cunning, promising to step aside yet remaining very much in power even after nearly a year of deadly rebellion has edged his impoverished nation to the brink of implosion.
Bearing the scars from an assassination attempt last year, Saleh, who has transferred duties to his vice president, still holds an uncanny sway over the country he has ruled for 33 years. He has been maneuvering for his son and nephews to retain control of Yemen's military and security agencies, and last week he startled many by canceling a trip to the U.S. for medical treatment.
Saleh has deftly, if erratically, manipulated Yemen's multiplying dangers. But since November, when he signed an agreement backed by Washington and Saudi Arabia to cede power, his attention has focused on escaping prosecution and consolidating his family's grip on key institutions. The opposition accused him over the weekend of using sleight-of-hand ploys to again sidestep his promise to step down.
Pressure on his government has increased because of the growing influence of the Islamist party, Islah, a leading voice in labor unrest and dissident movements. At the same time, Al Qaeda militants are assassinating his security officials and battling his army in southern towns in a conflict that has left the U.S. concerned about the expansion of terrorism in the Arabian Peninsula.
Saleh, a former tank commander who survived a rocket attack on his compound in June, has proved more resilient than his toppled contemporaries, including the late Moammar Kadafi in Libya and Egypt's Hosni Mubarak. He can leave the country, as he did to recuperated in Saudi Arabia for months, and return to even more bloodshed and political disarray, yet somehow stay a step ahead of his enemies.
Yemen's many threats and Saleh's mercurial gambits have made the nation unique in the revolts that have swept the Arab world over the last year. Protesters face more than a stubborn despot. Their rallying cries have been subsumed by struggles involving larger forces, including mutinous soldiers, rival tribes, a secessionist movement in the south and sporadic war between security forces and rebels in the north.
The nation, which often seems at the brink of bursting, as it did in the 1994 civil war, appears inured to conflict like a well-armed dysfunctional family that has learned to share a battered house. But many now suggest the momentum against Saleh is too daunting for him to survive.
"Saleh has resisted stepping down for the last year and every time he's agreed to a deal he's broken his promise," said Jamal Anam, an opposition member. "But the president will not be able to stop the wheel of change. Saleh will become more and more isolated."
The transfer of power agreement was expected to ease tension. The pact called for Saleh to hand authority to Vice President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi in preparation for a presidential election next month. Saleh has vowed that once a new president, widely expected to be Hadi, is in place, he will formally step down in exchange for immunity from prosecution. This proviso has angered hundreds of thousands of protesters demanding Saleh's arrest.
"The signing of the deal did not satisfy the demonstrators in the streets," said Ali Saif Hassan, an analyst and head of the Political Development Forum. "The West has to think more creatively to pressure for a national dialogue. It can convince political forces by freezing their assets and bank accounts."
Saleh's maneuvering since the deal has left Yemenis and the international community at times feeling whiplashed. His announcement last month about plans to travel to the U.S. caught many in Yemen off guard.
The proposal put Washington in the sensitive predicament of possibly offering refuge to a reviled autocrat who also has been a U.S. ally in fighting Al Qaeda. But Saleh, as he often does to keep his opponents exasperated, reversed himself Saturday, suggesting his absence would imperil stability at a time Islah is plotting to paralyze state offices.
There were also indications Saleh would not be treated with the pomp the U.S. usually gives a head of state. Ahmed Sofi, the president's spokesman, said Saleh made "compromises and sacrifices" to Washington by agreeing to step down and "if President Obama or a high-ranking official in the U.S. won't receive him, we do not want to go."
The deepening political tumult in Yemen is a sign of Islah's attempt to strike at the core of Saleh's power. The Islamist organization, which is intent on creating an Islamic state that would certainly run counter to U.S. interests, has instigated unrest in federal and local government agencies. Seizing on national anger over public corruption, Islah has called for the firing of school principals and top government officials.
The strategy threatens to roil the military and intelligence establishments controlled by Saleh's family. It is an indication that the politically shrewd Saleh may be finding it difficult to counter elements more powerful than hundreds of thousands of peaceful demonstrators.
Employees at the September 26 newspaper, a mouthpiece for the military, have demanded the resignation of Ali Shatar, chief editor and head of Moral Guidance, an agency with the Defense Ministry. The manager of state-controlled Yemen TV and several of his executives were forced to flee their offices after fistfights broke out between workers and a production manager over graft.
Islah, the country's main opposition party, has been moving to steer the protest movement. It competes in Change Square, the epicenter of anti-Saleh sentiment in Sana, the capital, with socialists, students, nationalists, tribes, Houthi rebels and others in what represents an often violent mosaic of dissent.
Saleh has often warned that Islah is a front for a dangerous brand of radicalism. He has repeatedly played on fear of Islamic extremism, especially resonant in the West, as a way to enhance his power. However, Saleh critic Hassan Zaid, head of an opposition party, also warned recently that "the world will be surprised when Al Qaeda, the militant wing of the Islah, controls Yemen."
Among Islah's more prominent personalities are the ultraconservative Sheik Abdul Majeed Zindani, a henna-bearded cleric who is considered a terrorist by the U.S. and was once a spiritual mentor to Osama bin Laden, and defector Gen. Ali Mohsen Ahmar, whose 1st Armored Division has clashed with Saleh loyalists in the capital. But the group also has less radical members such as Tawakul Karman, a human rights activist who shared the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize.
The neighborhoods around Saleh's palace in Sana have been carved up by warring factions, including one funded by a billionaire telecommunications tribesman and another led by Saleh's son, Ahmed, commander of the Republican Guard. Artillery blasts and power blackouts are common. On Sunday, Saleh's forces shelled a neighborhood, killing three people.
"Saleh will ultimately be forced to leave the country, but not now," said Ahmed Zurqah, a political analyst. "He has to make sure his family and the political loyalists around him are not harmed and the nation doesn't shatter."
Yemen rises up against its mini-dictators
Source: Guardian.co.uk,
By: Abubakr al-Shamahi
In a 'parallel revolution', Yemenis are challenging President Saleh's henchmen, who run institutions as personal fiefdoms.
In the current state of confusion in Yemen, with the president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, and his family attempting to retain control behind the scenes even though he is officially due to leave office in February, Yemeni protesters have a new tactic.
A "parallel revolution" of anti-corruption protests and strikes is seeking to remove the mini-dictators – Saleh's lieutenants who are in charge of the various state institutions and the bloated state bureaucracy.
Ten months after the start of anti-government protests, and with the country's future steeped in uncertainty, Yemenis are determined to ensure that real change is the fruit of their sacrifices.
A dictator's power comes from having the ability to surround himself with a loyal group of henchmen, the faithful minions who will ensure that power remains in the hands of the leader. Without such followers it is impossible to rule dictatorially.
Over his 33 years at the helm, Saleh has managed to build an effective network of partisans, people who aid him in controlling the various branches of the state, and yet also know that they are only in their position because of their loyalty to Saleh.
In turn, Saleh allows these men to get rich and to run their institutions as personal fiefdoms. These corrupt officials have siphoned off millions, most likely billions, in a country that is ranked as the poorest in the Arab world. This nouveau riche group are busy building villas and mansions on the edge of Sana'a, Yemen's capital. In the meantime, the city is running out of water because of mismanagement and poor infrastructure.
Weak state institutions mean that officials can get away with many illegitimate practices. Contracts are given out to friends and family, or simply the person willing to grease officials' hands with the most money. Yemen's oil and natural resources industry – its main (but dwindling) source of income – is notoriously corrupt, with oil revenues under-reported and educational scholarships from oil money going to the children of high officials.
The Yemeni mini-dictators abuse their power in other ways. There have been reports of military officers running "personal prisons" and taking money from officers' salaries.
One protester at a government office in the city of Taiz said his boss had put a gun to his head only the week before. The boss, at first confused, and then angry, was barred from entering the building by the protester and his colleagues.
Such scenes have been replicated across the country, and across a wide array of government institutions – any success giving encouragement to other workers tired of their overlords. And they have met with success in many cases now.
One video shows Abubakr al-Amoodi, a military man who heads the Civil Status Office, being hounded out of the building. The employees line the path cheering his exit.
Saleh has realised the seriousness of this situation, and has cancelled his planned trip to the US. He has apparently been hoping to negate the impact of the forthcoming handover of power to his vice-president by retaining control over military and government institutions. That plan now appears to be in serious danger of falling to pieces. It is no accident that the bosses under the most pressure now are Saleh's men.
The protests and strikes also expose the fact most Yemenis do not believe that any real change will come out of the "transition" deal negotiated by the Gulf Cooperation Council. The deal has brought about very little that could be claimed as a real success for the revolution. The Saleh family remain in their positions and are not barred from any future entry into politics. The latest round of protests should send a signal to Washington, and Riyadh, that Yemeni protesters cannot be quietened so easily.
Instead, it seems that the impending removal of Saleh from the presidency has given Yemenis a taste for removing others that they do not like from positions of authority. They will be looking for their next corrupt target very soon.
By: Abubakr al-Shamahi
In a 'parallel revolution', Yemenis are challenging President Saleh's henchmen, who run institutions as personal fiefdoms.
In the current state of confusion in Yemen, with the president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, and his family attempting to retain control behind the scenes even though he is officially due to leave office in February, Yemeni protesters have a new tactic.
A "parallel revolution" of anti-corruption protests and strikes is seeking to remove the mini-dictators – Saleh's lieutenants who are in charge of the various state institutions and the bloated state bureaucracy.
Ten months after the start of anti-government protests, and with the country's future steeped in uncertainty, Yemenis are determined to ensure that real change is the fruit of their sacrifices.
A dictator's power comes from having the ability to surround himself with a loyal group of henchmen, the faithful minions who will ensure that power remains in the hands of the leader. Without such followers it is impossible to rule dictatorially.
Over his 33 years at the helm, Saleh has managed to build an effective network of partisans, people who aid him in controlling the various branches of the state, and yet also know that they are only in their position because of their loyalty to Saleh.
In turn, Saleh allows these men to get rich and to run their institutions as personal fiefdoms. These corrupt officials have siphoned off millions, most likely billions, in a country that is ranked as the poorest in the Arab world. This nouveau riche group are busy building villas and mansions on the edge of Sana'a, Yemen's capital. In the meantime, the city is running out of water because of mismanagement and poor infrastructure.
Weak state institutions mean that officials can get away with many illegitimate practices. Contracts are given out to friends and family, or simply the person willing to grease officials' hands with the most money. Yemen's oil and natural resources industry – its main (but dwindling) source of income – is notoriously corrupt, with oil revenues under-reported and educational scholarships from oil money going to the children of high officials.
The Yemeni mini-dictators abuse their power in other ways. There have been reports of military officers running "personal prisons" and taking money from officers' salaries.
One protester at a government office in the city of Taiz said his boss had put a gun to his head only the week before. The boss, at first confused, and then angry, was barred from entering the building by the protester and his colleagues.
Such scenes have been replicated across the country, and across a wide array of government institutions – any success giving encouragement to other workers tired of their overlords. And they have met with success in many cases now.
One video shows Abubakr al-Amoodi, a military man who heads the Civil Status Office, being hounded out of the building. The employees line the path cheering his exit.
Saleh has realised the seriousness of this situation, and has cancelled his planned trip to the US. He has apparently been hoping to negate the impact of the forthcoming handover of power to his vice-president by retaining control over military and government institutions. That plan now appears to be in serious danger of falling to pieces. It is no accident that the bosses under the most pressure now are Saleh's men.
The protests and strikes also expose the fact most Yemenis do not believe that any real change will come out of the "transition" deal negotiated by the Gulf Cooperation Council. The deal has brought about very little that could be claimed as a real success for the revolution. The Saleh family remain in their positions and are not barred from any future entry into politics. The latest round of protests should send a signal to Washington, and Riyadh, that Yemeni protesters cannot be quietened so easily.
Instead, it seems that the impending removal of Saleh from the presidency has given Yemenis a taste for removing others that they do not like from positions of authority. They will be looking for their next corrupt target very soon.