( أصداء و متابعات إخبارية): القضية الجنوبية في الصحافة العالمية

[Ganoob67]

One Yemeni paper facing government wrath

Al-Ayyam finds itself in hot water in troubled Yemen but the 50-year-old paper is no stranger to pressure.

By Christian Chaise - ADEN, Yemen
Published 2009-06-05

High calibre bullets have peppered the place -- a wall in the children's room on the first floor, in shattered windows and on the facade of the building.
The compound in downtown Aden housing the office of Al-Ayyam, the biggest daily newspaper in southern Yemen, was the scene of a deadly shootout on May 13 between security forces and armed guards.
One man was killed and three were wounded in the hour-long battle.
Police and soldiers had arrived to arrest Al-Ayyam owner Hisham Basharaheel, 66, in connection with a killing more than a year ago in Sanaa, the capital, 400 kilometres (250 miles) north of Aden.
But Basharaheel and those close to him say the arrest warrant was a direct result of the secessionist unrest that erupted in southern Yemen in late April that has claimed 16 lives.
South Yemen, then run by a socialist government allied to the former Soviet Union, was an independent state until unification with the north on May 22, 1990.
Al-Ayyam is one of eight publications that were forced by the government of President Ali Abdullah Saleh to cease publication early last month for allegedly working against Yemeni unity.
The violence broke out in Radfan district in Lahaj province north of Aden. Eight people, including four soldiers, were killed between April 27 and May 3 in clashes between protesters and security forces.
For several days in a row, pictures of the dead and wounded featured on Al-Ayyam's front page.
"When Al-Ayyam stopped publishing we were printing 78,000 copies a day," a huge number for Yemen, "and we were selling 100 percent," said Basharaheel Basharaheel, one of the owner's three sons, who heads the foreign desk.
He said average daily circulation was normally around 50,000, although it has not been possible to verify these figures independently.
After a spate of incidents early last month, when delivery trucks were stopped by armed civilians or security forces and thousands of copies seized and destroyed, Al-Ayyam decided to suspend publication on May 5 as it could no longer distribute, he says.
On May 6, the paper's Internet site was blocked, and the next day the government announced the publishing ban on Al-Ayyam and seven weeklies.
For Al-Ayyam the situation was about to get even worse.
A prosecutor issued an arrest warrant against Hisham Basharaheel in connection with a shooting on February 12, 2008 in Sanaa between armed men and a security guard at the newspaper's office there.
One person was killed and the guard was arrested. Basharaheel stood accused of encouraging the guard to open fire.
Basharaheel's son said his father was prepared to appear in an Aden court to answer the charge, but not in Sanaa where he would fear for his life.
The authorities and Al-Ayyam offer conflicting versions of what happened next -- the gun battle at the newspaper's Aden compound.
Police said Al-Ayyam guards opened fire first, but Basharaheel Basharaheel is adamant to the contrary.
"They (the security forces) just opened fire all of a sudden," he said. The security guards "fired back. That's their job."
The building is also home to the Basharaheel family.
"There were twenty women and children in the compound at the time," the younger Basharaheel said. His wife and two children, aged five years and just six months, were among them.
"By a miracle, my wife and two kids had left the room a few seconds before," he said, pointing to bullet holes in the wall just above a child's bed.
Hundreds of Al-Ayyam supporters rushed to the scene after the shooting, and they now take turns to keep vigil outside the building which has become a fortress.
"Basically, we're trapped," the young Basharaheel said.
The security forces may have pulled back, but they are still doing their utmost to keep the family isolated.
They tried to prevent an AFP reporter from visiting Al-Ayyam, and also forced an AFP photographer to delete pictures he had taken.
It is not the first time Al-Ayyam has found itself in hot water. Established in 1958, the paper was suspended for 23 years between 1967 and 1990, during socialist rule in the south. "They told us 'You should suspend the publication for one week pending licensing procedures'," the younger Basharaheel recalled with a smile. "The licence came 23 years later..."

[فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات]

[Ganoob67]

Press Freedom First Casualty Of Yemen Unrest

Friday June 5th, 2009 / 6h37[فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات] (AFP)--The growing separatist unrest in southern Yemen and the ensuing government crackdown has already made a casualty of press freedom.
Eight publications independent or critical of President Ali Abdullah Saleh's *****istration were suspended in early May when police halted their distribution and seized all copies.
The information ministry accused them of violating the press law which bans the publication of anything that could threaten the unity of Yemen, the poorest Arab country.
The regime accused the seven weeklies and the main southern daily, Aden-based Al-Ayyam, of siding with anti-government protesters in the south.
A total of 16 people, including five members of the security forces, have been killed in the south since the new wave of unrest erupted in late April.
Some of the four-million-strong population of southern Yemen, the most impoverished part of the country and until May 1990 an independent state, feel discriminated against by the central government which is controlled by northerners, and are now demanding independence.
"I am against independence but I understand the demands of our brothers in the south," said Samir Jubran, the young founder and editor-in-chief of Al-Masdar (The Source), one of the eight publications that were shut down.
Jubran believes the problem is that the government considers any publication that doesn't toe the official line to be supporting the opposition.
The government has also decided to set up a special court to deal exclusively with press-related offenses.
"These actions are a clear effort to silence independent voices in Yemen," New York-based Human Rights Watch said May 16, calling on Saleh to "end this campaign of intimidation and censorship."
Information Minister Hassan Ahmad al-Lawzi didn't give an interview, despite several requests.
But Justice Minister Ghazi al-Aghbari said that establishing the court was merely a "technical measure" aimed at "protecting the dignity of journalists," not at silencing them.
However, journalists remain skeptical. Jubran, for example, is convinced the new court "will not be independent."
Many Yemeni publications have never been afraid of vigorously criticizing the government. This is rare in Arab countries, where the press is either censored by the authorities or practices self-censorship.
Press freedom has deteriorated alarmingly in the past few years, especially since the start of an uprising in the north in 2004 by Zaidi rebels.
An offshoot of Shiite Islam, the Zaidis are a minority in the mainly Sunni country, but they are a majority in the Saada governorate in the far north.
Journalist Abdul Karim al-Khaiwani, 43, has been jailed four times and has spent a total of 359 days behind bars over the past five years on charges of supporting the Zaidi rebels.
A former editor-in-chief of the opposition weekly Ash-Shura, he has harsh words for the government over the way it has tried to crush the uprising.
Khaiwani was last sentenced in June 2008 to six years in jail, before being pardoned by Saleh in September, but he has had to give up writing for the time being.
He says he was simply doing his job by trying to present the rebels' point of view.
The Brussels-based International Crisis Group, in a report late last month on "Yemen: Defusing the Saada Time Bomb," cited the Zaidi rebellion as carrying "grave risks for Yemen's political, sectarian and social equilibrium."
As with the Zaidi conflict in the north, a similar situation seems to be developing regarding secessionist sentiment in the south.
"The fall of the regime might come from the south," Khaiwani said.
Jubran said he had already been interrogated three times over his weekly's coverage of the unrest in the south, especially over seven articles published in one edition.
He believes the aim of the government is to bully the newspapers into submission, but also that if the situation in the south deteriorates even further, "it might well shut down all of them."
Monday, Qatar-based watchdog the Doha Centre for Media Freedom pointed the finger at Sanaa, saying: "There can be no doubt that the Sanaa authorities have sacrificed press freedom in their efforts to control unrest in the south of the country."


[فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات]

[Ganoob67]

Southern Yemen an impoverished hotbed of unrest

by Christian Chaise

ADEN, Yemen, June 3, 2009 (AFP) - Almost two decades after unification and 15 years after a failed secession bid, southern Yemen feels so estranged from the north that the country's very unity has been thrown into question.
Anger among a large part of the some four million people living in the highly impoverished south has reignited separatist sentiment and caused an upsurge in violence in recent weeks.
Sixteen people, including five members of the security forces, have been killed in clashes in the south since demonstrations erupted in April.
"It has reached dangerous levels of racial hatred. It's like the northerners are another race," one local journalist said.
A businessman in Aden who asked not to be identified told AFP it was "clear" that the violence would escalate in the coming months.
The confrontation "could be long and bloody, since it won't be a battle between two armies," as in the short-lived attempt at secession by the south in 1994, he said.
The current unrest has its roots in the years after Yemeni unification which was proclaimed on May 22, 1990, particularly in the period that followed the 1994 civil war which lasted less than two months.
Known from 1970 as the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen and run by a socialist government, the south, which was part of the Soviet bloc, was independent from 1967 when the British left until 1990.
"As soon as the northerners came here they just helped themselves -- they looted the land and the economic resources," the businessman said. The north "acted in 1994 as if they were an invader in a defeated country."
The issue of land ownership is particularly thorny. Stories of northerners given huge free tracts of land in the south abound.
"It's mainly people in power, especially military personnel," the Aden businessman said.
But Sheikh Salem Banaffa, general manager of the real estate and urban planning department in Aden province, said: "There is no advantage, no privilege for anybody."
"These are rumours," he said of the free land allegations. "It's not true."
In addition to the land ownership issue, disenchantment with employment conditions runs deep, with many southerners convinced that jobs in the south are reserved for northerners.
'Separation is not a viable option'
Estimated at 40 percent for the whole country, unemployment is thought to be much higher in the south.
A minister who resigned last year, Abdul Kader Hilal, is now a member of a government commission on the south.
He sees "some similarities" between the current situation in Yemen and in Germany after 1989 when the West merged with the ex-communist East, a former Soviet satellite.
"The southerners do not care about separation, about the north or the south. What they care about is their rights, health, education, electricity and water supply services," he told AFP, indirectly confirming the state's failure to provide basic services.
Many such factors have combined to rekindle separatist ideas, with some southerners claiming their region has been "colonised" by the north.
Such sentiment has led to the birth of the "Southern Movement," a loose coalition of opposition groups from former socialists who were in power in Aden until 1990 to hard-core Islamists who fought in Afghanistan against the Soviets in the 1980s along with Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
Even Al-Qaeda's Arabian Peninsula wing has publicly pledged its support for the south against the central government.
Government circles blame the current unrest on the economic crisis, insisting that some unemployed are being manipulated and exploited by the supporters of southern independence, as others are by Al-Qaeda.
This viewpoint looks upon the problem not as one of discrimination but of a lack of development.
Whatever the reason, there is no doubt that the Sanaa government is worried, with President Ali Abdullah Saleh himself warning in April of the risks of Yemen breaking up into "several entities."
Hilal thinks the solution lies in "giving local authorities full responsibilities," and says reform to that effect is in the pipeline.
For many in the south it will be too little too late, but not everyone in the south believes that independence is the solution.
"Separation is not a viable option, because 80 percent of the population of Yemen (estimated at 24 million) live in the north, but the north only has 20 percent of the resources," the businessman said, referring to the fact that most oil and gas fields are in the south. Independence of the south would create "a powderkeg," with northerners rushing south en masse, he predicted.
</DIV>

[فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات]

[Ganoob67]

Southern crisis tests Yemen ******'s grip on power


Experts warn Yemen’s south is on the verge of exploding in most serious problem facing Saleh.
By Christian Chaise - ADEN
First Published 2009-06-03

President Ali Abdullah Saleh's grip on power in Yemen faces a major new challenge from southern separatism, adding to a raft of problems including a festering rebellion in the north, analysts say.
The country also faces an increasing risk of attack by Al-Qaeda's local branch, which has been bolstered by Saudi militants, and an economic crisis that has dramatically cut oil income to the Arab world's poorest nation.
Experts warn that the south, which was independent between 1967 and 1990 under a socialist government allied with the former Soviet Union, is on the verge of exploding in the most serious problem facing the veteran Saleh.
"The situation in the south is much more serious than ever before," said one foreign analyst in Sanaa, capital of today's Yemen and also of the former North Yemen.
"At this moment, there is a real risk of a violent conflict in the south," he said on condition of anonymity.
In Aden, capital of what used to be the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, and in other southern provinces security checkpoints have mushroomed and clashes are becoming more and more frequent.
In all, 16 people have been killed since late April in violence between demonstrators and security forces.
Saleh, who came to power in North Yemen in 1978, became president of a united Yemen in 1990 before crushing a secession bid in the south four years later.
In addition to secessionist sentiment in the south, the sporadic Shiite Zaidi rebellion in the north's Saada province could erupt again at any time despite a shaky truce, the International Crisis Group said.
In a report entitled "Yemen: Defusing the Saada Time Bomb," the ICG said the Saada conflict "carries grave risks for Yemen's political, sectarian and social equilibrium."
Saleh, a wily 67-year-old tactician, has so far managed to weather one crisis after another by supporting some rivals in an effort to neutralise others.
And despite dealing with radical Islamists close to Al-Qaeda, he has also succeeded since 2000 in retaining Western support, first and foremost in the United States which considers him a key ally in the fight against terrorism.
'All the tribes of the south are united'
But the question now being widely asked in Yemen and in Western embassies is whether violence in the south will not prove one crisis too many.
"I think that he is not even aware of the gravity of the situation," said a businessman from Aden who asked not to be identified.
"All the tribes of the south are united (against him). We have never seen such a thing," he said.
According to Nadia al-Sakkaf, publisher and editor-in-chief of the Yemen Times, Saleh "is like in an ivory tower," detached from reality.
A Western diplomat in Sanaa compared the president to the central character in Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez's acclaimed novel "The Autumn of the Patriarch" -- a sharp mockery of Latin American dictators.
Power, the diplomat said, is no longer exercised by the government but by a small shadowy group of close Saleh relatives who all hold key security posts.
Addressing the nation ahead of unification day on May 22, Saleh invited his adversaries to resolve the crisis through talks and confirmed the constitution would be amended soon, mainly to increase decentralisation.
The ruling party and opposition have already agreed to delay a general election, which had been due in April, for two years.
But Saleh made no mention of wider political autonomy for the south, which sits on 80 percent of Yemen's oil and gas resources.
Diplomats believe that if the situation in the south deteriorates further, Saleh will not hesitate to send in more troops as he did with the Saada rebellion in 2004.
But some believe that not all units would follow orders and that Saleh would have to rely on what one diplomat called "the regime's protection forces."
'They all know Yemen is fragile'
These include the Special Forces, the Republican Guards and the 1st armoured division, all recruited from the president's own tribe and led by faithful officers.
Saleh could also "buy some (tribal) chiefs in the south to divide and rule" -- a tactic he is master of, said a diplomat.
But Saleh's room for manoeuvre has also been drastically narrowed because of the economic crisis.
According to central bank figures published in May, oil revenue fell by a massive 74.5 percent to 254.8 million dollars in the first quarter from the same period in of 2008 because of the sharp drop in crude prices.
This is all the more worrying for Saleh because crude exports represent 70 percent of government revenues and 30 percent of gross domestic product.
Saleh recently lost a key ally in the south, Islamist ****** Tariq al-Fadhli who fought the Soviets in Afghanistan along with Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in the 1980s and then helped Saleh crush southern separatists in 1994.
By switching sides, Fadhli has now allied himself with his former enemies, the remnants of the socialists who used to run South Yemen.
"I believe that the regime in its current form cannot last for long," predicted the Aden businessman. Saleh "is the main player in the regime, so he will have either to go by himself or be forced to leave."
The regime's survival "depends on the foreign support that it will be able to get," he added.
For now such support appears strong, with Saleh banking on his image as the only man who can stop terrorism and prevent a slide into chaos.
The United States and the European Union, as well as neighbouring Saudi Arabia which fears for its own stability, have all stressed support for a united Yemen.
Shiite Iran has also done so, despite being suspected by Sanaa of supporting the Zaidi rebellion. "They all know that Yemen is a fragile country... (but) if there is an alternative (for the regime), they will jump on it," the businessman added.

[فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات]

[Ganoob67]

Yemen tries former envoy for threatening unity
SANAA, June 2 (Reuters) -

Yemen, scrambling to silence secession calls in the south, took a former ambassador to court on Tuesday on charges of threatening national unity.

Former envoy to Mauritania Qasem Jobran denied the charges at the inaugural hearing and declined to answer questions until he had legal representation.

Jobran "has committed criminal acts with the intention of harming the country's unity and inciting armed dissent against authorities", prosecutors said in a charge sheet presented to a state security court.

People in the south, home to most of Yemen's oil facilities, have long complained that northerners have abused a unity agreement to grab their resources and discriminate against them.

It was not clear in what context Jobran made the alleged calls for armed resistance.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh visited Saudi Arabia on Sunday to ask King Abdullah to block the flow of funds from Yemeni expatriates to separatists in the south, a Yemeni government source said.

Four people were killed in clashes this weekend in the southern town of Dalea between Yemeni police and protesters, residents said.

Ali Abdullah Saleh took power in former North Yemen in 1978 and has been president since union with the south in 1990. He fought a brief war in 1994 against southern separatists after their ****** Ali Salem al-Beidh declared an end to the union.

In May, Saleh called on Yemenis to hold a dialogue to maintain national unity following a week of clashes in the south between the police and locals.

The poorest country in the Arabian Peninsula is trying to shake off an image of violence and lawlessness to promote tourism and foreign investment. It is battling al Qaeda, calls for secession in the south and Shi'ite rebels in the north.

Demonstrations over army pensions turned violent in Aden in 2007 and job protests in the south degenerated into riots last year. Some southern ******s have openly called for secession.

Insecurity in Yemen has affected international companies developing the oil and gas sector, while attacks on foreigners -- including kidnappings by disgruntled tribesmen -- have hit tourism. (Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari; Writing by Inal Ersan; editing by Mark Trevelyan)



[فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات]

[Ganoob67]

Yemeni former ambassador on trial for 'support' to secessionists

Posted : Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:35:43 GMTAuthor : DPA

Sana'a, Yemen ([فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات])
[فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات]
- Yemen's former ambassador to Mauritania appeared before a state security court in Sana'a Tuesday charged with inciting an armed disobedience by allegedly calling for the south of Yemen to secede from the north. Qassim Askar Jubran, who served as Yemen's ambassador to Mauritania from 2002 to 2006, was charged with "seeking to destabilise the country, harm national unity and spread the culture of hatred."

Prosecutors told the court ([فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات]) that Jubran was among southern opposition ******s who called for protests in southern cities that led to clashes between protesters and security forces over the past few weeks.

The diplomat was arrested on April 17 in the southern port ([فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات])of Aden.

Jubran refused to offer a plea to the charges against him, saying the trial was "political."

He read out a statement from behind bars saying he was supporting a "peaceful struggle by the people of the south that is being faced by violence, oppression and tyrannical military force."

"My trial is political and this court is an emergency court," he said.

The trial was adjourned until June 9.

Violent protests have rocked several cities in southern Yemen the last few weeks, leaving dozens of dead and wounded among both the protesters and security force members.

The protests were organised by southern secessionist groups that want the south to secede from the north claiming that the central government exercises discriminatory policies against southerners.

North and South Yemen were united ([فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات]) in 1990. In 1994, southern ******s announced the secession of the south and battled northern forces led by President Saleh for 10 weeks in a civil war that ended in their defeat.

The violence highlights the increasing discontent by the southerners and tensions between southern and northern Yemen, 15 years after the civil war.

[فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات]

[Ganoob67]

Yemen unity remains a mirage

By Fred Halliday, Special to Gulf News
Published: June 01, 2009, 23:07

From a land that is often the source of exotic or disconcerting news, the reports of recent weeks coming out of Yemen have been especially worrying. The news is bad for the stability and security of the region in which Yemen is located, for the broader regional conflict between radical, terroristic, Islamism and its opponents, and, most of all, for the 20 or more million long-suffering people of that country itself.
At a time when Yemen’s oil revenues, never large (output hit, at the most, 400,000 barrels a day), have started to decline, when tourism has all but come to a halt, and when a zone of insecurity reigns in the waters of Aden and in neighbouring Somalia, mass protests have broken out in the southern part of the country.
In the port of Aden demonstrators have been killed, newspaper offices occupied by the army and closed. In the far north of the country, around Sada, a tribal insurrection, led by elements of the Al Huti family, continues. In a country where political statements are usually chloroformed in formal terminology, a tone of palpable alarm can be heard.
In what must count as a serious warning to the political ******s of the Yemen, and their opponents, the presidential adviser and former ****** of FLOSY, the pro-Egyptian nationalist movement against the British in Aden, Mohammad Basendwah, has declared that the country is now in the most serious crisis he has ever seen – and he is a man who has seen a protracted war in the north in the 1960s, years of guerrilla war against the British in the south, two wars between independent Yemeni states and the inter-Yemeni civil war of 1994.
Meanwhile Sheikh Hamad Al Ahmar, son of the once powerful tribal ****** Abdullah Al Ahmar, who, as I learnt when I visited him in 1992, had a house in Sanaa that included a private jail in the basement, has called on behalf of the united opposition forces for a change of policy and recognition of the seriousness of the situation.
Among his associates are the Yemeni Socialist Party, former rulers of the pro-Soviet south: Al Ahmar and others are now called for the return from exile of YSP ******s who fled the country after the north-south civil war of 1994, in which the north vanquished the south. Chief among these is Ali Al Bid, former secretary-general of the YSP, who has lived, almost incommunicado, in Muscat since that time.
The roots of this crisis lie in the flawed unification of two separate Yemeni states in May 1990, of what were formerly the Yemeni Arabic Republic in the north, and the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen, in the south. No unification is easy – as the histories of Germany, Italy and the USA remind us – but this one was exceptionally badly planned and executed.
No-one who knew Yemen in the 1970s and 1980s, as I did, could doubt the deep commitment to unity which nearly all Yemenis, ordinary people and intellectuals alike, felt. The sense of historic and cultural unity, fragmented in the early eighteenth century, was compounded by a belief that, once united, the Yemenis would be able to face up to their greatest enemies, the Saudis, and reclaim their rightful place as, with Egypt, the most ancient of Arab lands.
After two decades of rivalry between the two Yemeni regimes, with their capitals in Sanaa and Aden respectively, and two wars in which the two states tried by force to impose their own conception of ‘unity’ on the other ( the north invading the south in 1972, with support from Libya and Saudi Arabia, the south invading the north in 1979), a gradual rapprochement took place in the late 1980s: the lessening of Soviet support to the south under Gorbachev, the exhaustion of the PDRY’s experiment in Soviet-style socialism, and the prospect of oil revenues that would boost the economy of both, led Presidents Ali Abdullah Saleh and Ali al Bidh to commit to unity in May 1990.
The unification process was, however, flawed from the start. The decision to go for unity, and within a matter of months, was taken spontaneously by the two ******s, so, it is, said, while driving in a car through a tunnel in Aden, and without the consent of many of their advisers or any serious thought to implementation.
External factors may also have played a part: apart from receiving a green light from, respectively Riyadh and Washington (for Sanaa) and Moscow (for Aden), the two ******s were greatly encouraged by Iraq: Saddam, at that time recovering from the war with Iran which ended in August 1988, and looking to build a broad anti-Saudi and anti-Egyptian alliance provided political and, it is said, some financial support to the two ******ships.
The full import of the Iraqi support for a united, and, implicitly, anti-Saudi Yemen only became clear some months later, with the invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. This provoked a major crisis for Yemen: hundreds of thousands of Yemenis were summarily expelled by Saudi Arabia, which, as did Washington, cut off all aid to Saleh.
Yemen was also, to its misfortune, in the international limelight holding at that time a seat on the UN Security Council: represented by its long-standing representative, Abdullah Al Ashtal, it abstained in the crucial vote on armed action against Iraq, and, in so doing, incurred the wrath of the USA.
The years that followed only served further to sour the initial and genuine popular enthusiasm of May 1990. The northern elite around Saleh saw unification as an opportunity to take hold of the resources of the south – oil revenues, British colonial villas in Aden, local trade.
The negotiated merger of 1990 soon gave way to conflict and in May 1994 the President launched a war to destroy the military and political presence of the YSP in the south: in ‘The Seventy Day War’, which ended with the occupation and pillage of Aden in July 1994, the northern army, with superior weapons and numbers, the benefit of surprise and, not least, the support of Islamist militia forces linked to Al Qaida, prevailed.
The story since then has been one of increased tension, and resentment, between the two former states. Some measures have been taken to disguise this process: some of the southern political and military ******ship were incorporate into the northern state; periodic, but in effect meaningless, elections were held for parliament and the presidency; gestures of reconciliation and political reform were made to assuage credulous western governments and NGOs.
In the south, however, these meant little and southerners came increasingly to resent northern intrusion, referring to northerners as atrak, ‘Turks’, a reference back to the Ottoman occupation of the nineteenth century, and dahbashah, the name of a criminal family in a TV series.
Regime spokesmen are these days blaming foreigners and enemies of Yemen for the crisis: however, the main responsibility for this conflict, and for the squandering of what was, in its inception, an important and positive unificatory initative, must lie with Saleh, his close associates and his relatives: ‘Abu Ahmad’, as he is known, the architect of Yemeni unity, has also been the person who has done more than anyone else to destroy it.
Fred Halliday is ICREA Research Professor at the Barcelona Institute for International Affairs.



[فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات]

[Ganoob67]

Media Watchdog Lambasts Yemen Press Crackdown

DOHA, Qatar (AFP)--

The Yemeni government has "sacrificed" press freedom in attempting to control unrest in the southern regions, a Doha-based media watchdog said Monday.
"There can be no doubt the Sana'a authorities have sacrificed press freedom in their efforts to control unrest in the south of the country," the Doha Centre for Media Freedom said in a statement.
The government of President President Ali Abdullah Saleh decided in May to close eight newspapers it accused of inciting separatism in southern Yemen, where 16 people have been killed in clashes since late April, including five members of the security forces.
"We call for an end to official censorship and unfair arrests," it said, commenting on the release of online journalist Yahya Bamahfoud Friday after being held by state security in the southeastern town of Mukalla for three weeks.
"Another online journalist is still being held in blatant disregard for the most basic human rights. Eight newspapers are officially censored in Yemen. The army has even been sent with grenades and machine guns to arrest journalists," the centre added.
South Yemen was united in 1990 with North Yemen to form the current republic.
Socialists who formerly ruled the south led a secession bid in 1994 that sparked a two-month civil war before the uprising was crushed by northern forces loyal to Saleh.



[فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات] 171&title=media-watchdog-lambasts-yemen-press-crackdown

[%الوحيد%]

الله يحفظك ياريت ترجمت على تعبك وبارك الله فيك على النقل

[Ganoob67]

Yemen needs a plan of dialogue



Last Updated: May 31. 2009 7:23PM UAE / May 31. 2009 3:23PM GMTThe London-based daily Al Sharq al Awsat featured an opinion piece by Abdul Rahman al Rashed, who wrote: “When the Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh described secessionists as “swine flu”, he did not realise that he had praised them. After all, the epidemic, by nature, is fatal and can spread rapidly. Ironically, these are the qualities of effective opposition.”

The opposition in Yemen are of two types. One is official, a part of the political system and acts according to the law. The other is outside of the law, rebellious and against the political system. It is based in the north and the south.
It is not suitable at all now for Yemen to be described in “epidemiological” terms at a time when it was going through a critical situation as admitted by the Yemeni president himself who warmed the separatists that their revolt might lead to the dismemberment of the country.

The situation may get worse given Yemen’s geographical location bordering “the pirates’ sea”, a further challenge to its stability. In view of all these factors, there is no solution to the crisis other than opening a dialogue with southerners. “Secessionists need to be invited to a political dialogue, and enlarge their political participation as long as this option would serve the national interests. The government equally needs to promote development by providing sufficient public services in remote areas.”


[فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات]

[Ganoob67]

Yemen steps up crackdown on newspapers
Yemen wants Saudi to block cash for separatists

SANAA (AlArabiya.net, Agencies)
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh will ask King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia to block the flow of funds from Yemeni expatriates to separatists in the south, a Yemeni government source said on Sunday.

Yemen, which is trying to shake off an image of violence to promote its tourism sector, has witnessed frequent clashes between government forces and protesters in the south, where secessionist sentiment is strong.
"Saleh will be discussing the situation in Yemen with King Abdullah, and the activities of some of the Yemeni opposition living in Saudi Arabia," the source said.

The talks will tackle "measures against individuals raising donations to support the protests in the south," he said.

Saleh was due to arrive on Sunday in the kingdom, which hosts tens of thousands of Yemeni expatriates, mainly laborers seeking higher income.

People in the south, home to most of Yemen's oil facilities, have complained that northerners abuse their unity agreement to grab their resources and discriminate against them.

"I think Saudi Arabia is very worried what is happening in Yemen because Saudi Arabia has an 800-kelometer (494-mile) long border with Yemen," said Khaled Dakhil, a Saudi political analyst.

On Sunday four Yemenis, including a policeman, were killed and 13 others wounded after two days of clashes between police and anti-government protesters in southern Yemen, medics and witnesses said.

The deaths bring the toll of Yemenis killed since demonstrations broke out in the south in late April to sixteen, including five security force members. The Sanaa government has blamed the protests on southern separatists.

Protesters chanted slogans against the government, which is controlled by northerners, and carried posters of Ali Nasser Mohammed, the former president of South Yemen, which was united with North Yemen in 1990.
Crackdown on media
The president has warned against the risks of Yemen breaking up into "several entities" as the government stepped up its crackdown on media accused of inciting violence.

The Yemeni Information Ministrys also banned eight independent newspapers and charged their editors-in-chief with inciting violence, Al Arabiya TV reported Saturday.

The papers, all shuttered in early May, published a series of articles about the recent clashes between government forces and protestors from the south of the country. The government said the reports jeopardized Yemen’s national unity.

Reporters and editors-in-chief at the banned papers, which include al-Masdar, al-Nedaa, al-Mustakillah, al-Ayam, al-Deyar, and the website Mukalla Press, are to be tried on charges of instigating violence as well as encouraging armed conflict and supporting separatist movements.

[فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات]

[Ganoob67]

Yemen wants Saudis to block cash for separatists

RIYADH, May 31 (Reuters) - Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh will ask King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia to block the flow of funds from Yemeni expatriates to separatists in the south, a Yemeni government source said on Sunday.

Yemen, which is trying to shake off an image of violence to promote its tourism sector, has witnessed clashes between government forces and protesters in the south, where secessionist sentiment is strong.

"Saleh will be discussing the situation in Yemen with King Abdullah, and the activities of some of the Yemeni opposition living in Saudi Arabia," the Yemeni government source said.

The talks will tackle "measures against individuals raising donations to support the protests in the south", he said before Saleh's departure to the kingdom, Yemen's wealthy neighbour which hosts tens of thousands of Yemeni expatriates, mainly labourers seeking higher income.

Saudi state-run television, reporting the arrival of Saleh, said the talks would focus on bilateral ties, regional issues and joint efforts to fight terrorism and piracy.

People in the south, home to most of Yemen's oil facilities, have complained that northerners abuse their unity agreement to grab their resources and discriminate against them.

Saudi Arabia and Yemen, one of the poorest countries outside Africa, are allies of the United States and are partners in the fight against al Qaeda-linked Islamists.

Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, has said it fears instability in Yemen could allow it to become a launch pad for a revival of a 2003-2006 campaign by al Qaeda militants to destabilise the rule of the Al Saud family.

"The Saudis are really concerned about instability in Yemen. You hear it all the time from them," said a Western diplomat in Riyadh.

Last week, minority Shi'ites asked the Saudi government to end discrimination in the remote Najran province bordering Yemen.

In 2000, Najran was the scene of clashes between the police and hundreds of Ismailis, followers of a Shi'ite sect.

"I think Saudi Arabia is very worried what is happening in Yemen because Saudi Arabia has a 800-km (494-mile) long border with Yemen," said Khaled Dakhil, a Saudi political analyst.

"I think there are so many things they (Saudis) could do; intelligence, political, financial (help)." (Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari in Sanaa and Ulf Laessing in Riyadh; Editing by Richard Balmforth)


[فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات]

[Ganoob67]

Jemens brüchige Einheit
03.06.2009

Nicht nur Deutschland feiert 20 Jahre Mauerfall. Auch der Jemen überwand 1990 seine Teilung. Doch die jemenitische Einheit ist brüchig. Das Goethe-Institut bringt in Sanaa Künstler aus beiden Landesteilen zusammen.

Im Hof des Nationalmuseums von Sanaa mischen sich Nord und Süd, als sei die jemenitische Einheit beispielhaft vollendet. Die Kulisse geh&ouml;rt unverkennbar in den Norden: Hochh&auml;user aus gebrannten Lehmziegeln, ihre Fenster verziert mit wei&szlig;em Gips. Die Folklore, die aus dem Kassettenrekorder dudelt, stammt dagegen aus dem Süden: Der S&auml;nger mit der Laute kommt aus der N&auml;he von Aden. Die Künstler, die hier mit Acryl und &Ouml;lfarbe ihre Leinw&auml;nde bemalen, arbeiten Hand in Hand: die schwarz verschleierte Malerin aus Sanaa Seite an Seite mit dem Bildhauer aus Aden.

"Wir haben viele Gemeinsamkeiten, wir wurden im gleichen Jahr vereinigt", sagt der Maler Kamal al-Makrami, der aus Aden stammt. Er findet das vor allem deswegen so spannend, weil er selbst schon einmal in Deutschland war und die Geschichte der Teilung kennt. Acht Künstler hat das Goethe-Institut in Sanaa zusammengebracht: vier aus dem einst sozialistischen Südjemen und vier aus dem Norden. Ihre Aufgabe: die Gestaltung von Mauersteinen. Die mit Leinwand bespannten Styroporbl&ouml;cke stehen symbolisch für die Berliner Mauer. Am 9. November sollen sie in Deutschland wie Dominosteine vor dem Brandenburger Tor fallen.

Riesige Unterschiede zwischen Aden und Sanaa
Auf seinen Mauerstein malt Makrami eine Faust, die eine schwarz-rot-goldene Flagge umfasst. Auf die Rückseite kommen zwei &Ouml;lf&auml;sser. "Die sollen an den Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin erinnern", erkl&auml;rt der 48-J&auml;hrige. "Aber zugleich geht es mir auch um die jemenitische Vergangenheit, denn Checkpoints gibt es hier auch."

Im gleichen Jahr wie die Bundesrepublik und die DDR schlossen sich ganz im Süden der Arabischen Halbinsel auch zwei v&ouml;llig unterschiedliche Staaten zur Republik Jemen zusammen: der einst sozialistische Südjemen mit der Hauptstadt Aden und die von konservativ-islamischen St&auml;mmen gepr&auml;gte Republik mit der Hauptstadt Sanaa im gebirgigen Norden. So wie es in Deutschland Differenzen zwischen Ossis und Wessis gibt, l&auml;stern auch die Jemeniten übereinander: Die Sozialisten im Süden gelten als "gottlose Biertrinker", umgekehrt ziehen die Bewohner des Südens über die "rückst&auml;ndigen Stammeskrieger" im Norden her.

Kein echter Zusammenschluss

Auch der Maler Makrami kommt sich in dem von Krummdolchtr&auml;gern bev&ouml;lkerten Sanaa oft noch wie ein Fremder vor. "Es gibt riesige Unterschiede zwischen Aden und Sanaa", sagt er. "Vor der Vereinigung waren das die Hauptst&auml;dte von zwei unterschiedlichen L&auml;ndern. Ich bin viel durch Europa gereist damals, aber im Nordjemen bin ich nie gewesen." Doch der Maler fühlt sich nicht nur fremd. Ihn belastet auch das Gefühl der Benachteiligung: Jetzt nach der Vereinigung dominiere der Norden, klagt er: "Wir im Süden mussten unsere Traditionen aufgeben, Frauen müssen sich heute verschleiern, vieles hat sich ge&auml;ndert für uns."

Wirklich eins ist der Jemen nie geworden. Zwar gelang es dem seit drei Jahrzehnten amtierenden Pr&auml;sidenten Ali Abdullah Saleh bis heute, das Land zusammenzuhalten, indem er Geld und &Auml;mter verteilte. Doch das wird schwieriger, denn die Ressourcen gehen aus. Der Jemen ist eines der &auml;rmsten L&auml;nder der Welt, &Ouml;l und Wasser werden knapp. Das sorgt vor allem im Süden für Unmut, wo die letzten &Ouml;lvorr&auml;te liegen, aber wenig von den Einnahmen ankommt. Diese Kombination aus Wirtschaftskrise und Misstrauen führte bereits vor 15 Jahren dazu, dass die Sozialisten wieder die Abspaltung erkl&auml;rten – Auftakt für einen Bürgerkrieg, in dem der Norden endgültig über den Süden siegte.

Wer heute die Zentrale der Sozialisten in Sanaa besucht, kann erahnen, wie wenig Macht die Partei noch hat. Das Geb&auml;ude ist heruntergekommen, der gro&szlig;e Sitzungssaal verwaist. Abspaltung sei für seine Partei heute kein Thema mehr, versichert Fraktionschef Aiderus an-Nagib. &Uuml;ber die Proteste im Süden, wo bereits Hunderttausende auf die Stra&szlig;e gingen, habe seine Partei keine Kontrolle. Die Regierung müsse dringend handeln. "Die Machthaber haben den Süden lange als ihr Eigentum betrachtet", sagt er. "Sie haben sich L&auml;ndereien und Besitz unter den Nagel gerissen und die Menschen vertrieben. Mit dieser Ungerechtigkeit muss jetzt Schluss sein."

Proteste gegen die Einheit
Die Regierung müsse &Auml;mter, Land und Immobilien an jene zurückgeben, denen sie geh&ouml;ren, fordert Nagib. Mehr als 200.000 Beamte und Soldaten dürften seit dem Bürgerkrieg nicht mehr zur Arbeit gehen. "Sie müssen endlich ihre Jobs zurückerhalten und für die letzten 15 Jahre entsch&auml;digt werden." Lange hat Pr&auml;sident Saleh diese Forderungen ignoriert. Doch die Proteste im Süden werden immer lauter, das Milit&auml;r schie&szlig;t scharf auf die Demonstranten. Nun warnt Saleh selbst davor, das Land k&ouml;nne in St&auml;mme und Clans zerfallen, sollte Aden sich tats&auml;chlich abspalten.

W&auml;hrend in Sanaa noch die Mauersteine bemalt werden, gehen in Aden wieder Tausende auf die Stra&szlig;e und protestieren gegen die Einheit. Der 20. Jahrestag der Vereinigung im kommenden Jahr sei nicht nur Grund zur Freude, das sagt auch der Maler Makrami, als er die Faust auf seiner Leinwand skizziert. "Manche werden feiern, andere nicht, da bin ich sicher." Doch welchen Ausweg gibt es aus der Krise? "Jene, die die Macht in ihren H&auml;nden haben, müssen an ihr Land denken", sagt Makrami. "Sie müssen einfach mal überlegen: Was wir tun – ist das gut für unser Land, oder nur gut für uns? Dann werden sie ganz schnell den Ausweg finden", sagt der Maler.

Autor: Klaus Heymach
Redaktion: Anne Allmeling

[فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات]></font></b></p>

و الترجمة على شبكة خليج عدن

[فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات]

[Ganoob67]

Jemen: Erneut Toter und Verletzte bei Demonstration

Erstellt von KSP ([فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات]) am 02-06-09 • In Kategorie Arabische Halbinsel ([فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات])

In der Stadt Dali, im Süden des Jemen sind während einer Demonstration durch Schüsse von Polizisten ein Demonstrant getötet worden. Dies berichtet die kuweitische Zeitung „Kuwait Times“. Bei dem Zwischenfall wurden zudem fünf Demonstranten verletzt. Die Kundgebung habe sich gegen die Regierung gewendet, so das Blatt. Die Polizei habe auf die Protestierenden geschossen, um den Aufzug zu beenden.
Laut Augenzeugen sollen die Demonstranten Transparente mit regierungskritischen Aufschriften getragen haben. Laut dem Blatt wurde in Dali am Samstag und am Sonntag demonstriert.
Dali liegt 180 Kilometer nördlich der Küstenstadt Aden. In der Region kommt es seit Wochen immer wieder zu Protesten, die sich ursprünglich gegen die Benachteiligung des Südens gegenüber dem Norden wendete. Immer wieder war es zu gewalttätigen Auseinandersetzungen mit Sicherheitskräften gekommen, wobei acht Demonstranten sowie vier Soldaten getötet wurden. Die Regierung in Sanaa wirft den Protestierenden Separatismus vor und stoppte die Verbreitung von Zeitungen, die über die Opfer unter den Demonstranten berichtet hatten.

[فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات]

[Ganoob67]

Jemen: Proteste im Süden dauern an

Erstellt von KSP ([فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات]) am 05-06-09 • In Kategorie Arabische Halbinsel ([فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات])

In der südjemenitischen Provinz Lahj dauern die Proteste der Einwohner weiter an. Dies berichtet die jemenitische Zeitung „Yemen Times“. Eine Großdemo, die gestern stattfinden sollte, forderte die Freilassung von bei bisherigen Aufmärschen Verhafteten.Zu der Demonstration riefen die „Angehörigen des friedlichen Kampfes“ die Bewohner der Distrikte Hawta und Tuban auf.
Unterstützung erhalten die Demonstranten von der Opposition. Hassan Zaid, der Sprecher der Joint Meeting Parties, zu dem sich die Oppositionsparteien zusammengeschlossen haben, forderte ein Ende der staatlichen Gewalt gegen friedliche Demonstranten. Bereits in der vergangenen Woche hatte die Regierung laut dem Blatt der Opposition vorgeworfen, politische Proteste zu fördern.
Derweil stehen in der Hauptstadt Sanaa diejenigen vor Gericht, denen die Regierung vorwirft, die „Separatisten“ im Süden anzustacheln. Unter ihnen ist der ehemalige Botschafter des Jemens in Mauretanien, Qasim Askar Jubran. Dem 55Jährigen, der seit Mai vergangenen Jahres in Haft sitzt, werden auch bewaffneter Widerstand gegen die Staatsgewalt und Verletzung der Einheit des Jemen vorgeworfen. Der ehemalige Diplomat lehnte das Sondergericht für Sicherheit und Terrorismus als nicht verfassungsgemäß ab.
Seit 2006 kommt es in der Provinz im Süden des Landes zu Demonstrationen gegen die Situation im Süden des Landes und die Benachteiligung gegenüber dem Norden. Seit Anfang Mai hatten sich diese immer wieder gewalttätige Auseinandersetzungen zwischen Demonstranten und staatlichen Sicherheitsorganen entwickelt. Am vergangenen Wochenende wurden dabei laut „Yemen Times“ mindestens vier Demonstranten und ein Polizist getötet und 13 Personen verletzt.

[فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات]

[Ganoob67]

Yémen: quatre morts dans le sud sur fond d'appels à une sécession de la région

06.06.2009

SANAA (AFP) — Quatre personnes, dont un policier, ont été tuées et 13 autres blessées dans une série de troubles samedi soir et dimanche dans le sud du Yémen sur fond d'appels à une sécession de cette région, selon un nouveau bilan de sources médicales et tribales.
"Un civil atteint d'une balle est décédé en salle d'opération", a indiqué un médecin de la ville de Daleh, à 180 km au nord d'Aden, lieu d'une première marche, ajoutant que cinq autres manifestants ont été blessés par balle.
Selon des témoins, un échange de tirs a opposé des manifestants armés et des policiers qui tentaient de disperser la marche pendant laquelle des slogans hostiles au gouvernement ont été lancés.
La police est ensuite venue arrêter un blessé dans l'hôpital de Daleh et a été accueillie par des tirs qui ont blessé un policier et un civil, selon ces témoins.
Dans la région de Lahaj, à 80 km au nord d'Aden, deux marches ont eu lieu. Pendant la première, un policier et un civil ont été tués, selon des sources tribales et un civil a été blessé dans la deuxième.
Samedi soir, la police est intervenue pour disperser une marche dans la localité côtière de Ashshir, dans le sud-est du Yémen. Les heurts entre manifestants demandant la libération de détenus et des policiers usant de leurs armes ont fait un tué et cinq blessés, tous des civils, selon des sources tribales.
Des villes du sud du Yémen, qui était un pays indépendant avant l'unification de 1990, connaissent depuis des semaines une agitation et un mécontentement social, attribués par les autorités de Sanaa à des "éléments séparatistes".
Au total, 16 personnes ont été tuées dans ces violences, dont quatre soldats, depuis le début de l'agitation fin avril.
S'estimant victime de discrimination de la part du pouvoir central, une partie de la population de ce qui fut jusqu'en mai 1990 le Yémen du sud, estimée à quatre millions d'habitants, réclame aujourd'hui l'indépendance.
Fondé en 1967, lors du départ des Britanniques, le Yémen du sud avait fusionné en 1990 avec le nord, dirigé depuis 1978 par le président Ali Abdallah Saleh, qui était devenu chef du nouvel Etat.
Mais la greffe n'avait pas pris et une tentative de scission du sud avait été noyée dans le sang en 1994 par l'armée du nord, appuyée par des combattants islamistes de retour d'Afghanistan.

[فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات]

[Ganoob67]

Yémen : quatre morts et 13 blessés dans une série de troubles

Quatre personnes ont été tuées et 13 autres blessées dans une série de troubles samedi soir et le 31 mai dans le Sud du Yémen, sur fond d'appels à la sécession de cette région, selon un bilan de sources médicales et tribales. Selon des témoins, un échange de tirs a opposé des manifestants armés à des policiers qui tentaient de disperser la marche pendant laquelle des slogans hostiles au gouvernement ont été scandés. Le président yéménite Ali Abdallah Saleh se trouvait le 31 mai en Arabie saoudite, où il a remercié le roi Abdallah pour "son soutien au Yémen, sa sécurité, sa stabilité et son unité", selon une déclaration publiée par l'agence officielle saoudienne Spa.

[فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات]

[Ganoob67]

Security Threats to Yemen Create Dilemma for United States

Publication: Terrorism Monitor Volume: 7 Issue: 15
June 4, 2009 12:23 PM Age: 2 days
Category: Terrorism Monitor, Global Terrorism Analysis, Home Page, Military/Security, South Asia
By: Munir Mawari ([فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات])

Many American political analysts think that the problem the new American *****istration faces in Yemen relates mainly to the fate of the 100 Yemeni detainees presently incarcerated in Guantanamo. Their homeland cannot guarantee that these individuals, if repatriated, will not become a renewed terrorist threat to America and others. In reality, Yemen’s inability to deal effectively with this problem is just a small symptom of a much larger problem that faces President Obama and the West: Yemen’s near future will undoubtedly witness a bloody resolution to the problem of the undemocratic nature of the present regime. The regional repercussions of this unavoidable event could be uncontrolled and widespread.

The regime that has held power in Yemen for over 30 years presents itself as democratic, yet Yemeni democracy has produced the same president in every election since July 17, 1978 (al-Hisbah, May 30, 2007). Although the constitution of Yemen sets a limit of two terms for a president, Ali Abdullah Saleh easily amends the constitution and resets the meter to start from zero every time his term reaches its end (Al-Hiwar, February 25). It now appears that Saleh is grooming his son to succeed him when his current term expires in 2013. There is a belief held by some in Yemen that the policies and actions of the president have contributed to the development of an effective armed opposition (Aram, April 28). In consequence, President Saleh faces five major threats to his country’s stability (Sawt-Al-Yaman, December 2008):

• The Secessionist movement in the South: Saleh’s Yemen did not always include the socialist South, which was independent until 1990. After a political unification, the ****** of the South, Ali Salem al-Bied, was subjected to a series of calculated acts on the part of Saleh designed to marginalize him and his constituency, and to basically create a vassal state in the South (Yemen Times, May 26, 2003). This met with resistance, to which Saleh’s reaction was an invasion of the south under the slogan “Unity or Death!” (Aleshteraki.net, March 31, 2008). After many deaths, Saleh won that war and achieved unity through military occupation. In his haste to neutralize the remaining southern forces, he disbanded both the southern army and security forces, sending more than 60,000 men in arms packing and many jobless (Aleshteraki.net, April 6, 2008). This, of course, created a large reserve of anti-Saleh militants who were without positions but not without means. Over the course of the last 18 years, these people have reorganized themselves and now present a major threat to the “unity” of Yemen.

• The Houthi Insurgency in the North: The Zaydi Shiite “Believing Youth” movement of northern Yemen was originally an organization supported as well as exploited by Saleh, who used it as a check against the spread of the Salafist movement in the North. Others, more cynically, suggested it was a means of occupying the energies of his cousin, Ali Muhsin al-Ahmar, the most powerful military man in Yemen (Al-Arabiya, April 7, 2007, Nashwannews, May 11). This organization, however, grew out of its intended role and assumed its own agenda, holding its own in five rounds of serious armed conflict against Saleh (Nashwannews, May 11). A sixth round is not an unlikely event at this point, but it could very well spread from the provincial environment to larger areas, including even the capital of San’a (Alahali, April 7). The insurgency is named after the late Shi’a cleric Hussein al-Houthi, who led the Believing Youth’s first major military campaign against San’a in 2004.

• Al-Qaeda and other militant Jihadist groups: The recent announcement by al-Qaeda’s ****** in Yemen, Nasir al-Wuhayshi that he is throwing his support behind the secessionist movement in the South received little approval in the jihadi *****s (Alboraq, May 2009). Some political analysts believe the statement is an indication that Saleh is “engaging in dangerous games with the terrorists” (Al-Majalis, January 28). Al-Wuhayshi (transferred to Yemen by Iran in 2003) was one of the 23 al-Qaeda prisoners who “escaped” from a well-guarded Yemeni jail in 2006 (al-Jazeera, January 26). Since a public pronouncement of political support like this is not common al-Qaeda practice, it appears to be a transparent and manipulative act designed to mislead someone. The secessionist movement being socialist and secular, there is no apparent reason for al-Qaeda support to suddenly materialize.

Regional observers may conclude that none other than Saleh’s political agents arranged the statement of support, using al-Qaeda operatives who owe him favors to create a political theater that can be presented to the West (al-Jazeera, May 14). The goal, of course, is to have the South aligned with inimical forces so they can be discredited by a gain in defensive allies for Saleh’s regime. But this dangerous game could lead to actual war crimes being committed against Southern secessionist ******s, all in the name of “fighting terror” (Marebpress, May 3).

• Popular grievances and grassroots movements: The U.S. Justice Department recently indicted Latin Node Communications Company, an American contractor accused of bribing one of President Saleh’s sons and members of the Ministry of Telecommunications (Yemen Post, May 20). Latin Node eventually entered a guilty plea. [1]

The news immediately plastered the front pages in Yemen, causing President Saleh to shut down eight independent newspapers, claiming they were guilty of “anti-unity” conduct. The origin of this retribution against the press is as follows: Saleh appointed a whole generation of his family members to high positions in the military and the government, placing them in control of the government’s foreign investments committee (Bilakoyood, April 10; Al-Masdar, April 14). These individuals, including his son, Ahmad Ali Abdullah Saleh, were charged with profiting from corrupt practices that used foreign investments for private gain by running fairly primitive “protection scams” wherein they were bribed to not do damage (Al-Masdar, April 28). While the president’s son was cleared by the U.S. Justice Department, the general public in Yemen is not fooled by these corrupt practices, and as poverty levels and unemployment soar (both at 35% of the population) public resentment soars as well (Yemen Times, December 20, 2007; Yemen Post, April 25; May 7). The state of corruption in Yemen is not lost on the average citizen of Yemen who sees $80,000 Rolls Royce and Porsche automobiles being driven around the capital by clerks and mid-level personnel while he or she is commonly found standing in the bread line (Alhadath Yemen, April 24). The result has been a generalized and ever present anger within the population that could be galvanized in a form of an uprising, should some precipitating event come along.

• Conflicts within the regime: Even within the regime, there are high-ranking members of the military or the ruling General People’s Congress party who prefer their own candidacy for president to that of Saleh’s son, Ahmad Ali Abdullah Saleh, ****** of Yemen’s Republican Guards and the Anti-Terrorism Special Forces. Many of these top officials are family members appointed by Saleh. Over the last decade a series of car accidents, helicopter crashes and illnesses have claimed the lives of many figures in Saleh’s inner circle (Hadramut.net, March 3, 2006; Marebpress, April 30, 2008; Yemen Times, May 24). The frequency of fatal car crashes involving regime members and opposition figures (even in a country where 1,000 road fatalities a month is not uncommon) is a matter of public comment and has led to anxiety at the highest levels of the national ******ship (Marebpress, April 30, 2008).

Conclusion

The policies and actions of the Saleh Regime have, in the course of 31 years, led to a critical situation that can be resolved by the Yemeni people only if Saleh is not supported by outside forces. A factor that does not often find its way into the press in this country—that the ordinary Yemeni citizen is armed—is of enormous importance in assessing the near future of Yemen. Among a population of 22 million, there are between 40 to 50 million weapons (al-Sharq al-Awsat, January 9, 2007). No matter who supports or opposes Saleh, he still lives in the middle of an armed camp. Saleh’s hope is that his son takes over for him, not simply to consolidate power within his family, but also to prevent the opening of countless files about the methods used to ensure his 31 years in control. In the meantime he may find that the many armed camps within Yemen are unwilling to agree to this plan.

Notes:
1. “Latin Node Inc., Pleads Guilty to Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Violation and Agrees to Pay $2 Million Criminal Fine,” usdoj.gov. April 7, 2009; Department of Justice Press Release, Miami.fbi.gov., April 7, 2009.

[فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات]

[Ganoob67]

التغطية الأخبارية التي أجريتها و التي تضمنت بحث في الصحف و المواقع الأخبارية الناطقة بالإنجليزية, الفرنسية و الألمانية التي كتبت عن القضية الجنوبية في خلال هذا الأسبوع تعكس حقيقة أن الحديث عن الحصار الإعلامي في الوقت الحالي على الأقل غير دقيق. فهذا العدد الكبير من المقالات التي إبتعدت عن النقل الآلي للخبر كما كان في السابق إلى عرض و تحليل القضية الجنوبية و محاولة سبر أغوارها. هذا العدد الكبير من المواضيع الطويلة التي و جدتها تعكس إزدياد الإهتمام العالمي بما يحصل في الجنوب و محاولة معرفة إلى أين تتجه الأمور و هو نصر كبير يحسب للحراك الجنوبي الذي يحق لنا و بكل فخر أن نصفه بالحراك العنيد الذي لم ييأس من الدق على جدار الحصار الإعلامي حتى سمع صوته العالم.

فليعذرني القارئ من ترجمة هذه المواضيع و ذلك لضيق الوقت و صعوبة الترجمة... و لكني سأضع هنا بعض الملاحظات التي يمكن أن توضح بعض الأشياء عن طبيعة التغطية الإعلامية:


-التغطية في مجملها موضوعية تكشف كذب و زيف نظام صنعاء عن الحرية و الديمقراطية.

- المواضيع في معظمها لا تنسب الحراك للمعارضة و لا يتم فيها ذكر المعارضة اليمنية على الإطلاق كما كان في السابق أو كما لا تزال تفعل بعض الصحف العربية!!.

- كما أوضحت أعلاه... التغطية لم تعد مجرد نقل آلي للأحداث كما كان في السابق من نوعية... قامت مظاهرة في مدينة كذا و أدت إلى سقوط كذا قتيلا... بل أن المقالات تحاول أن تحلل ما يجري في الجنوب و تتعرض بالنقد للوحدة و للحكومة اليمنية كما في مقال قناة دوتشه فيله الألمانية التي تذكر أن الوحدة لم تقم حقيقة.

- يبدوا من خلال قراءة المواضيع أن مصادر المعلومات تأتي في الغالب للصحفيين من شخصيات شمالية... كما في المقال المنشور في الدوتشه فيله حيث الحديث عن رسام عدني إسمه كمال المقرمي و الذي يبدوا لي أنه من تعز. هذا الشخص لم يحد ما يذكره من السلبيات التي جلبتها لنا الوحدة إلا أن "نسائنا أصبحن يرتدين النقاب"!!!

- التغطيات و رغم تميزها بكثير من الموضوعية و تحدثها بإحترام عن الحراك الجنوبي إلا أن وجهة نظر نشطاء الحراك و قادته مغيبة تماما و لم يحدث أن قرأت في أي مقال لقاء أو حتى ذكر إسم لأحد رموز الحراك سواء في الداخل أو الخارج... و بهذا يفتقد القارئ فهم أسباب هذا الحراك الجنوبي و تختلط عليه المطالب الحقوقية بالسياسية.

- مقال الصحفي منير الماوري هو أكثر مقال أثار حنقي لأنه بالرغم من أنه مكتوب بالإنجليزية و منشور في موقع أمريكي و إعتمد فيه الماوري على مصادر متنوعة بذل فيها جهدا يستحق الإشادة عليه إلا أن المقال يبقى مقالا يمنيا بإمتياز. المصادر التي إعتمدها الماوري ليس فيها مصدر جنوبي واحد و كأنه لا يقرأ صحيفة الأيام ولا يتابع أي مواقع جنوبية و حتى عند إشارته لموضوع حظر الصحف الثمانية لا يذكر أسماء الصحف و لا يشير حتى إلى حقيقة أن معظمها جنوبية و لا إلى أن سبب منعها هو نقلها لما يحدث في الجنوب بل يدعي أن السبب هو نشرها لموضوع فضيحة إبن الرئيس اليمنى. أما كتابته عن الحراك الجنوبي فمبهمة و إعتمد فيها على مصادر لا تمثل توجه الحراك الإستقلالي مثل الإشتراكي نت و يمن تايمز.

- هذه التغطية تكشف حقيقة أن على نشطاء و قادة الحراك أن يسعوا للتواصل مع الإعلام الخارجي و ذلك عن طريق تشكيل فريق إعلامي في الخارج مهمته تعريف رجال الصحافة و الإعلام العرب و الأجانب بوجهة نظر أبناء الجنوب من ما يحصل في بلدهم و شرح أهداف الحراك و التركيز على حق تقرير المصير كحق تكفله كل الشرائع و القوانين.

[عدن برس]

One Yemeni paper facing government wrath

Al-Ayyam finds itself in hot water in troubled Yemen but the 50-year-old paper is no stranger to pressure.

By Christian Chaise - ADEN, Yemen
Published 2009-06-05

High calibre bullets have peppered the place -- a wall in the children's room on the first floor, in shattered windows and on the facade of the building.
The compound in downtown Aden housing the office of Al-Ayyam, the biggest daily newspaper in southern Yemen, was the scene of a deadly shootout on May 13 between security forces and armed guards.
One man was killed and three were wounded in the hour-long battle.
Police and soldiers had arrived to arrest Al-Ayyam owner Hisham Basharaheel, 66, in connection with a killing more than a year ago in Sanaa, the capital, 400 kilometres (250 miles) north of Aden.
But Basharaheel and those close to him say the arrest warrant was a direct result of the secessionist unrest that erupted in southern Yemen in late April that has claimed 16 lives.
South Yemen, then run by a socialist government allied to the former Soviet Union, was an independent state until unification with the north on May 22, 1990.
Al-Ayyam is one of eight publications that were forced by the government of President Ali Abdullah Saleh to cease publication early last month for allegedly working against Yemeni unity.
The violence broke out in Radfan district in Lahaj province north of Aden. Eight people, including four soldiers, were killed between April 27 and May 3 in clashes between protesters and security forces.
For several days in a row, pictures of the dead and wounded featured on Al-Ayyam's front page.
"When Al-Ayyam stopped publishing we were printing 78,000 copies a day," a huge number for Yemen, "and we were selling 100 percent," said Basharaheel Basharaheel, one of the owner's three sons, who heads the foreign desk.
He said average daily circulation was normally around 50,000, although it has not been possible to verify these figures independently.
After a spate of incidents early last month, when delivery trucks were stopped by armed civilians or security forces and thousands of copies seized and destroyed, Al-Ayyam decided to suspend publication on May 5 as it could no longer distribute, he says.
On May 6, the paper's Internet site was blocked, and the next day the government announced the publishing ban on Al-Ayyam and seven weeklies.
For Al-Ayyam the situation was about to get even worse.
A prosecutor issued an arrest warrant against Hisham Basharaheel in connection with a shooting on February 12, 2008 in Sanaa between armed men and a security guard at the newspaper's office there.
One person was killed and the guard was arrested. Basharaheel stood accused of encouraging the guard to open fire.
Basharaheel's son said his father was prepared to appear in an Aden court to answer the charge, but not in Sanaa where he would fear for his life.
The authorities and Al-Ayyam offer conflicting versions of what happened next -- the gun battle at the newspaper's Aden compound.
Police said Al-Ayyam guards opened fire first, but Basharaheel Basharaheel is adamant to the contrary.
"They (the security forces) just opened fire all of a sudden," he said. The security guards "fired back. That's their job."
The building is also home to the Basharaheel family.
"There were twenty women and children in the compound at the time," the younger Basharaheel said. His wife and two children, aged five years and just six months, were among them.
"By a miracle, my wife and two kids had left the room a few seconds before," he said, pointing to bullet holes in the wall just above a child's bed.
Hundreds of Al-Ayyam supporters rushed to the scene after the shooting, and they now take turns to keep vigil outside the building which has become a fortress.
"Basically, we're trapped," the young Basharaheel said.
The security forces may have pulled back, but they are still doing their utmost to keep the family isolated.
They tried to prevent an AFP reporter from visiting Al-Ayyam, and also forced an AFP photographer to delete pictures he had taken.
It is not the first time Al-Ayyam has found itself in hot water. Established in 1958, the paper was suspended for 23 years between 1967 and 1990, during socialist rule in the south. "They told us 'You should suspend the publication for one week pending licensing procedures'," the younger Basharaheel recalled with a smile. "The licence came 23 years later..."

[فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات]

الترجمة: الإنجليزية » العربية
One Yemeni paper facing government wrath Al-Ayyam finds itself in hot water in troubled Yemen but the 50-year-old paper is no stranger to pressure. By Christian Chaise - ADEN, Yemen Published 2009-06-05 High calibre bullets have peppered the place -- a wall in the children's room on the first floor, in shattered windows and on the facade of the building. The compound in downtown Aden housing the office of Al-Ayyam, the biggest daily newspaper in southern Yemen, was the scene of a deadly shootout on May 13 between security forces and armed guards. One man was killed and three were wounded in the hour-long battle. Police and soldiers had arrived to arrest Al-Ayyam owner Hisham Basharaheel, 66, in connection with a killing more than a year ago in Sanaa, the capital, 400 kilometres (250 miles) north of Aden. But Basharaheel and those close to him say the arrest warrant was a direct result of the secessionist unrest that erupted in southern Yemen in late April that has claimed 16 lives. South Yemen, then run by a socialist government allied to the former Soviet Union, was an independent state until unification with the north on May 22, 1990. Al-Ayyam is one of eight publications that were forced by the government of President Ali Abdullah Saleh to cease publication early last month for allegedly working against Yemeni unity. The violence broke out in Radfan district in Lahaj province north of Aden. Eight people, including four soldiers, were killed between April 27 and May 3 in clashes between protesters and security forces. For several days in a row, pictures of the dead and wounded featured on Al-Ayyam's front page. "When Al-Ayyam stopped publishing we were printing 78,000 copies a day," a huge number for Yemen, "and we were selling 100 percent," said Basharaheel Basharaheel, one of the owner's three sons, who heads the foreign desk. He said average daily circulation was normally around 50,000, although it has not been possible to verify these figures independently. After a spate of incidents early last month, when delivery trucks were stopped by armed civilians or security forces and thousands of copies seized and destroyed, Al-Ayyam decided to suspend publication on May 5 as it could no longer distribute, he says. On May 6, the paper's Internet site was blocked, and the next day the government announced the publishing ban on Al-Ayyam and seven weeklies. For Al-Ayyam the situation was about to get even worse. A prosecutor issued an arrest warrant against Hisham Basharaheel in connection with a shooting on February 12, 2008 in Sanaa between armed men and a security guard at the newspaper's office there. One person was killed and the guard was arrested. Basharaheel stood accused of encouraging the guard to open fire. Basharaheel's son said his father was prepared to appear in an Aden court to answer the charge, but not in Sanaa where he would fear for his life. The authorities and Al-Ayyam offer conflicting versions of what happened next -- the gun battle at the newspaper's Aden compound. Police said Al-Ayyam guards opened fire first, but Basharaheel Basharaheel is adamant to the contrary. "They (the security forces) just opened fire all of a sudden," he said. The security guards "fired back. That's their job." The building is also home to the Basharaheel family. "There were twenty women and children in the compound at the time," the younger Basharaheel said. His wife and two children, aged five years and just six months, were among them. "By a miracle, my wife and two kids had left the room a few seconds before," he said, pointing to bullet holes in the wall just above a child's bed. Hundreds of Al-Ayyam supporters rushed to the scene after the shooting, and they now take turns to keep vigil outside the building which has become a fortress. "Basically, we're trapped," the young Basharaheel said. The security forces may have pulled back, but they are still doing their utmost to keep the family isolated. They tried to prevent an AFP reporter from visiting Al-Ayyam, and also forced an AFP photographer to delete pictures he had taken. It is not the first time Al-Ayyam has found itself in hot water. Established in 1958, the paper was suspended for 23 years between 1967 and 1990, during socialist rule in the south. "They told us 'You should suspend the publication for one week pending licensing procedures'," the younger Basharaheel recalled with a smile. "The licence came 23 years later..." [فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات]
ورقة واحدة تواجه الحكومة اليمنية غضب

صحيفة الايام على صفيح ساخن المضطربة في اليمن ولكن من العمر 50 عاما ورقة ليست غريبة عن الضغوط.

بقلم كريستيان شيز -- عدن (اليمن
نشر 2009-06-05

مقدرة عالية من الرصاص قد اضفى على المكان -- جدار الطفل في غرفة في الطابق الأول ، وأدى الى تحطم النوافذ وعلى واجهة المبنى.
مجمع السكن في وسط مدينة عدن مكتب قناة الأيام ، أكبر صحيفة يومية في جنوب اليمن ، وكانت مسرحا لقاتلة خلال تبادل لاطلاق النار في 13 ايار / مايو بين قوات الأمن وحرس مسلحين.
وقتل رجل وأصيب ثلاثة آخرون في المعركة التي استمرت ساعة.
رجال الشرطة والجنود وصلوا الى لإلقاء القبض على صاحب صحيفة الايام Basharaheel هشام (66 عاما) فيما يتعلق قتل قبل أكثر من عام في صنعاء ، العاصمة ، على بعد 400 كيلومترا (250 ميلا) إلى الشمال من عدن.
Basharaheel ولكن القريبين منه يقولون مذكرة التوقيف هو نتيجة مباشرة للقلاقل الانفصالية التي اندلعت في جنوب اليمن في أواخر نيسان / أبريل الذي اودى بحياة 16 شخصا.
جنوب اليمن ، التي تديرها حكومة اشتراكية متحالفة مع الاتحاد السوفياتي السابق ، وكانت دولة مستقلة حتى الوحدة مع الشمال يوم 22 مايو 1990.
صحيفة الايام واحد من ثمانية من المنشورات التي أجبرت حكومة الرئيس اليمني علي عبد الله صالح لوقف نشر في مطلع الشهر الماضي لاتهامه بالعمل ضد الوحدة اليمنية.
واندلعت أعمال العنف في منطقة Radfan في محافظة لحج شمال عدن. ثمانية اشخاص بينهم اربعة جنود قتلوا في الفترة بين 27 ابريل و 3 مايو في اشتباكات بين المتظاهرين وقوات الامن.
لعدة ايام متتالية ، وصور القتلى والجرحى ظهر صحيفة الايام في صدر صفحاتها.
وقال "عندما توقفت صحيفة الايام كنا النشر والطباعة 78،000 نسخة يوميا" عدد هائل من أجل اليمن ، "وكنا بيع 100 في المئة" Basharaheel Basharaheel ، وهو واحد من ثلاثة اولاد المالك ، الذي يرأس مكتب الخارجية.
وقال ان المتوسط اليومي لتداول عادة حوالي 50،000 ، على الرغم من أنه لم يكن من الممكن التحقق من هذه الارقام بشكل مستقل.
بعد سلسلة من الحوادث في مطلع الشهر الماضي ، عندما توقفت الشاحنات تسليم المسلحين المدنيين أو قوات الأمن وآلاف من النسخ تم الاستيلاء عليها وتدميرها ، الأيام قرر تعليق نشر في 5 ايار / مايو حيث لم يعد في امكانها توزيعها ، ويقول :
يوم 6 مايو ، طبقا للصحيفة على الانترنت منع ، واليوم التالي اعلنت الحكومة فرض حظر على نشر صحيفة الايام السبعة والأسبوعية.
لصحيفة الايام ان الوضع على وشك أن يزداد سوءا.
وقال المدعي العام أصدر مذكرة توقيف بحق هشام Basharaheel فيما يتعلق باطلاق النار على 12 فبراير 2008 في صنعاء بين مسلحين وحارس أمن في مكتب الصحيفة هناك.
قتل شخص واحد واعتقل حرس. وقفت Basharaheel اتهم تشجيع الحرس الى اطلاق النار.
ابن Basharaheel ان والده مستعد للمثول في عدن امام المحكمة للرد على هذا الاتهام ، ولكن ليس في صنعاء حيث كان يخشى على حياته.
السلطات و آل الايام عرض روايات متضاربة ما حدث بعد ذلك -- في معركة الصحيفة مجمع عدن.
وقالت الشرطة ان صحيفة الايام الحراس فتحوا النار أولا ، ولكن Basharaheel Basharaheel تصر على العكس.
وقال "إنهم (قوات الأمن) وعادل للجميع فتحت النار فجأة". حراس الامن "باطلاق النار هذا وظائفهم".
المبنى ايضا الى Basharaheel الأسرة.
"كانت هناك والعشرين من النساء والأطفال في المجمع في ذلك الوقت ،" الاصغر Basharaheel. زوجته وطفليه ، والذين تتراوح أعمارهم بين خمس سنوات وستة اشهر فقط ، كان من بينها.
"معجزة ، زوجتي وطفلين قد غادر القاعة قبل بضع ثوان" ، مشيرا إلى ثقوب رصاص في الجدار فوق سرير الطفل.
المئات من انصار صحيفة الايام هرع الى مكان الحادث بعد إطلاق النار ، وتحول الآن الى اليقظة امام المبنى الذي أصبح القلعة.
وقال "نحن محاصرون" Basharaheel الشباب.
قوات الامن قد انسحبت ، لكنها لا تزال تبذل كل ما في وسعها للحفاظ على الأسرة المعزولة.
حاولوا منع مراسل وكالة فرانس برس عن زيارة صحيفة الايام ، واضطر ايضا مصور وكالة فرانس برس على حذف الصور التي اتخذها.
انها ليست المرة الاولى صحيفة الايام وجدت نفسها في ورطة كبيرة. أنشئت في عام 1958 ، ورقة علقت لمدة 23 عاما بين 1967 و 1990 ، وخلال الحكم الاشتراكي في الجنوب. "قالوا لنا' يجب تعليق نشر لمدة أسبوع واحد في انتظار إجراءات الترخيص ، "الاصغر Basharaheel أشارت وهو يبتسم. "وجاءت الرخصة بعد 23 عاما..."

[فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات]؟

[عدن برس]

Press Freedom First Casualty Of Yemen Unrest

Friday June 5th, 2009 / 6h37[فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات] (AFP)--The growing separatist unrest in southern Yemen and the ensuing government crackdown has already made a casualty of press freedom.
Eight publications independent or critical of President Ali Abdullah Saleh's *****istration were suspended in early May when police halted their distribution and seized all copies.
The information ministry accused them of violating the press law which bans the publication of anything that could threaten the unity of Yemen, the poorest Arab country.
The regime accused the seven weeklies and the main southern daily, Aden-based Al-Ayyam, of siding with anti-government protesters in the south.
A total of 16 people, including five members of the security forces, have been killed in the south since the new wave of unrest erupted in late April.
Some of the four-million-strong population of southern Yemen, the most impoverished part of the country and until May 1990 an independent state, feel discriminated against by the central government which is controlled by northerners, and are now demanding independence.
"I am against independence but I understand the demands of our brothers in the south," said Samir Jubran, the young founder and editor-in-chief of Al-Masdar (The Source), one of the eight publications that were shut down.
Jubran believes the problem is that the government considers any publication that doesn't toe the official line to be supporting the opposition.
The government has also decided to set up a special court to deal exclusively with press-related offenses.
"These actions are a clear effort to silence independent voices in Yemen," New York-based Human Rights Watch said May 16, calling on Saleh to "end this campaign of intimidation and censorship."
Information Minister Hassan Ahmad al-Lawzi didn't give an interview, despite several requests.
But Justice Minister Ghazi al-Aghbari said that establishing the court was merely a "technical measure" aimed at "protecting the dignity of journalists," not at silencing them.
However, journalists remain skeptical. Jubran, for example, is convinced the new court "will not be independent."
Many Yemeni publications have never been afraid of vigorously criticizing the government. This is rare in Arab countries, where the press is either censored by the authorities or practices self-censorship.
Press freedom has deteriorated alarmingly in the past few years, especially since the start of an uprising in the north in 2004 by Zaidi rebels.
An offshoot of Shiite Islam, the Zaidis are a minority in the mainly Sunni country, but they are a majority in the Saada governorate in the far north.
Journalist Abdul Karim al-Khaiwani, 43, has been jailed four times and has spent a total of 359 days behind bars over the past five years on charges of supporting the Zaidi rebels.
A former editor-in-chief of the opposition weekly Ash-Shura, he has harsh words for the government over the way it has tried to crush the uprising.
Khaiwani was last sentenced in June 2008 to six years in jail, before being pardoned by Saleh in September, but he has had to give up writing for the time being.
He says he was simply doing his job by trying to present the rebels' point of view.
The Brussels-based International Crisis Group, in a report late last month on "Yemen: Defusing the Saada Time Bomb," cited the Zaidi rebellion as carrying "grave risks for Yemen's political, sectarian and social equilibrium."
As with the Zaidi conflict in the north, a similar situation seems to be developing regarding secessionist sentiment in the south.
"The fall of the regime might come from the south," Khaiwani said.
Jubran said he had already been interrogated three times over his weekly's coverage of the unrest in the south, especially over seven articles published in one edition.
He believes the aim of the government is to bully the newspapers into submission, but also that if the situation in the south deteriorates even further, "it might well shut down all of them."
Monday, Qatar-based watchdog the Doha Centre for Media Freedom pointed the finger at Sanaa, saying: "There can be no doubt that the Sanaa authorities have sacrificed press freedom in their efforts to control unrest in the south of the country."


[فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات]





Press Freedom First Casualty Of Yemen Unrest Friday June 5th, 2009 / 6h37ADEN (AFP)--The growing separatist unrest in southern Yemen and the ensuing government crackdown has already made a casualty of press freedom. Eight publications independent or critical of President Ali Abdullah Saleh's *****istration were suspended in early May when police halted their distribution and seized all copies. The information ministry accused them of violating the press law which bans the publication of anything that could threaten the unity of Yemen, the poorest Arab country. The regime accused the seven weeklies and the main southern daily, Aden-based Al-Ayyam, of siding with anti-government protesters in the south. A total of 16 people, including five members of the security forces, have been killed in the south since the new wave of unrest erupted in late April. Some of the four-million-strong population of southern Yemen, the most impoverished part of the country and until May 1990 an independent state, feel discriminated against by the central government which is controlled by northerners, and are now demanding independence. "I am against independence but I understand the demands of our brothers in the south," said Samir Jubran, the young founder and editor-in-chief of Al-Masdar (The Source), one of the eight publications that were shut down. Jubran believes the problem is that the government considers any publication that doesn't toe the official line to be supporting the opposition. The government has also decided to set up a special court to deal exclusively with press-related offenses. "These actions are a clear effort to silence independent voices in Yemen," New York-based Human Rights Watch said May 16, calling on Saleh to "end this campaign of intimidation and censorship." Information Minister Hassan Ahmad al-Lawzi didn't give an interview, despite several requests. But Justice Minister Ghazi al-Aghbari said that establishing the court was merely a "technical measure" aimed at "protecting the dignity of journalists," not at silencing them. However, journalists remain skeptical. Jubran, for example, is convinced the new court "will not be independent." Many Yemeni publications have never been afraid of vigorously criticizing the government. This is rare in Arab countries, where the press is either censored by the authorities or practices self-censorship. Press freedom has deteriorated alarmingly in the past few years, especially since the start of an uprising in the north in 2004 by Zaidi rebels. An offshoot of Shiite Islam, the Zaidis are a minority in the mainly Sunni country, but they are a majority in the Saada governorate in the far north. Journalist Abdul Karim al-Khaiwani, 43, has been jailed four times and has spent a total of 359 days behind bars over the past five years on charges of supporting the Zaidi rebels. A former editor-in-chief of the opposition weekly Ash-Shura, he has harsh words for the government over the way it has tried to crush the uprising. Khaiwani was last sentenced in June 2008 to six years in jail, before being pardoned by Saleh in September, but he has had to give up writing for the time being. He says he was simply doing his job by trying to present the rebels' point of view. The Brussels-based International Crisis Group, in a report late last month on "Yemen: Defusing the Saada Time Bomb," cited the Zaidi rebellion as carrying "grave risks for Yemen's political, sectarian and social equilibrium." As with the Zaidi conflict in the north, a similar situation seems to be developing regarding secessionist sentiment in the south. "The fall of the regime might come from the south," Khaiwani said. Jubran said he had already been interrogated three times over his weekly's coverage of the unrest in the south, especially over seven articles published in one edition. He believes the aim of the government is to bully the newspapers into submission, but also that if the situation in the south deteriorates even further, "it might well shut down all of them." Monday, Qatar-based watchdog the Doha Centre for Media Freedom pointed the finger at Sanaa, saying: "There can be no doubt that the Sanaa authorities have sacrificed press freedom in their efforts to control unrest in the south of the country." [فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات] __________________
حرية الصحافة في اليمن أولى ضحايا الاضطرابات

الجمعة يونيو 5th ، 2009 / 6h37ADEN (اف ب) -- تزايد الاضطرابات الانفصالية في جنوب اليمن ، وأعقبت ذلك حملة الحكومة بالفعل ضحية لحرية الصحافة.
ثمانية منشورات مستقلة أو تنتقد الرئيس علي عبد الله صالح الادارة علقت في مطلع ايار / مايو عندما اوقفت الشرطة توزيعها واستولت على جميع نسخ.
وزارة الاعلام واتهمتها بانتهاك قانون الصحافة الذي يحظر نشر أي شيء يمكن أن يهدد وحدة اليمن ، أفقر بلد عربي.
واتهم النظام السبعة الأسبوعية واليومية الرئيسية في الجنوب ، ومقرها عدن الأيام ، بالانحياز متظاهرين مناهضين للحكومة في الجنوب.
ما مجموعه 16 شخصا من بينهم خمسة أفراد من قوات الأمن ، قد لقوا مصرعهم في جنوب البلاد منذ موجة جديدة من الاضطرابات التي اندلعت في اواخر نيسان / ابريل.
بعض من أربعة ملايين نسمة في جنوب اليمن ، والأكثر فقرا من البلاد وحتى أيار / مايو 1990 في دولة مستقلة ، وتشعر للتمييز من جانب الحكومة المركزية التي يسيطر عليها في الشمال ، والآن يطالبون بالاستقلال.
"أنا ضد الاستقلال ولكن أنا أفهم مطالب اخواننا في الجنوب" وقال سمير جبران ، الشاب مؤسس ورئيس تحرير شركة مصدر (المصدر) ، وهو واحد من ثمانية من المنشورات التي تم إغلاقها.
جبران يعتقد أن المشكلة تكمن في أن الحكومة ترى أن أي نشر لا تسير على الخط الرسمي أن يدعم المعارضة.
وقررت الحكومة أيضا على إنشاء محكمة خاصة للتعامل مع الصحافة حصرا في الجرائم المتعلقة.
"إن هذه الأعمال هي جهود واضحة لإسكات الأصوات المستقلة في اليمن" ، من نيويورك مقرا لها قالت هيومن رايتس ووتش في 16 ايار / مايو ودعا صالح الى "وضع حد لهذه الحملة من التخويف والرقابة".
وزير الإعلام حسن أحمد اللوزي لم يعط مقابلة ، على الرغم من عدة طلبات.
لكن وزير العدل غازي Aghbari قال إن إنشاء المحكمة هو مجرد "تدبير التقنية" التي تهدف الى "حماية كرامة الصحافيين ،" لا إسكاتهم.
ومع ذلك ، لا يزال متشككا تجاه الصحفيين. جبران ، على سبيل المثال ، على اقتناع المحكمة الجديدة "لن تكون مستقلة".
العديد من المطبوعات اليمنية لم تكن تخاف من انتقاد الحكومة بشدة. هذا أمر نادر في البلدان العربية ، حيث لا رقابة على الصحافة من قبل السلطات أو ممارسات الرقابة الذاتية.
حرية الصحافة تدهورت بصورة مفزعة في السنوات القليلة الماضية ، وخصوصا منذ بدء الانتفاضة في الشمال في عام 2004 من قبل المتمردين زيدي.
فرع من المذهب الشيعي ، وأبناء الطائفة الزيدية هم اقلية في البلد الذي يغلب على سكانه السنة ، لكنها أغلبية في محافظة صعدة في أقصى الشمال.
الصحفي عبد الكريم الخيواني (43 عاما) بالسجن أربع مرات وقضى ما مجموعه 359 يوما خلف القضبان على مدى السنوات الخمس الماضية بتهمة دعم المتمردين من الطائفة الزيدية.
سابقا رئيس تحرير اسبوعية للمعارضة الرماد الشورى ، فقد وجه كلمات لاذعة الى الحكومة بسبب الطريقة التي حاولت سحق الانتفاضة.
الخيواني للمرة الاخيرة في حزيران / يونيو 2008 بالسجن لمدة ست سنوات في السجن قبل ان يتم العفو عنهم من قبل صالح في أيلول / سبتمبر ، لكنه كان لا يتخلى عن الكتابة لبعض الوقت.
ويقول انه كان يؤدي وظيفته لمجرد محاولة من جانب المتمردين لعرض وجهة نظر.
من بروكسل مقرا لها المجموعة الدولية لمعالجة الازمات في تقرير لها أواخر الشهر الماضي عن "اليمن : صعدة نزع فتيل قنبلة موقوتة" واستشهد التمرد الزيدي كما تحمل "مخاطر جسيمة في اليمن السياسية والطائفية والتوازن الاجتماعي."
وكما هو الحال مع الصراع الزيدي في الشمال ، وضعا مماثلا ويبدو أن البلدان النامية فيما يتعلق المشاعر الانفصالية في الجنوب.
"ان سقوط النظام قد يأتي من الجنوب" الخيواني.
جبران وقال انه تم استجواب أكثر من ثلاث مرات في خطابه الاسبوعي تغطية الاضطرابات في الجنوب ، ولا سيما ما يزيد على سبع مقالات نشرت في طبعة واحدة.
انه يعتقد ان الهدف من الحكومة للضغط في الصحف على الخضوع ، وإنما أيضا أنه إذا كان الوضع في الجنوب يزداد الوضع تدهورا "قد اغلقت كل منهم".
الاثنين ، قطر ومقرها الدوحة لمركز حرية الإعلام اصابع الاتهام الى صنعاء ، قائلا : "مما لا شك فيه أن سلطات صنعاء ضحوا حرية الصحافة في جهودها الرامية الى السيطرة على الاضطرابات في جنوب البلاد".


[فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات]
_________________

[عدن برس]

جنوب اليمن الفقيرة مرتعا للاضطرابات

بقلم كريستيان شيز

عدن (اليمن ، 3 يونيو 2009 (اف ب) -- ما يقرب من عقدين من الزمن بعد التوحيد و 15 عاما بعد فشل محاولة الانفصال ، جنوب اليمن حتى يشعر المبعدة من الشمال إلى أن وحدة البلاد واجهت شكوكا.
غضب جزء كبير من نحو أربعة ملايين شخص يعيشون في فقر شديد الجنوب تجدد المشاعر الانفصالية وتسبب في تصاعد وتيرة العنف في الاسابيع الاخيرة.
ستة عشر شخصا من بينهم خمسة من عناصر قوات الامن ، لقوا حتفهم في اشتباكات في الجنوب منذ المظاهرات التي اندلعت في نيسان / ابريل.
واضاف "وصلت الى مستويات خطيرة من الكراهية العنصرية. انه مثل الشماليين سباق آخر" وقال صحافي محلي.
أحد رجال الأعمال في عدن الذي طلب عدم الكشف عن هويته لوكالة فرانس برس انه "من الواضح" ان تصعيد العنف في الاشهر المقبلة.
المواجهة "قد تكون طويلة ودامية ، لأنها لن تكون معركة بين جيشين ،" كما هو الحال في تدم طويلا محاولة الانفصال في الجنوب في عام 1994 ، قال.
القلاقل الحالية له جذوره في سنوات بعد الوحدة اليمنية التي أعلنت في 22 مايو 1990 ، ولا سيما في الفترة التي تلت الحرب الاهلية عام 1994 التي استغرقت اقل من شهرين.
معروف من عام 1970 حيث الشعبية الديمقراطية وجمهورية اليمن ، والتي تديرها حكومة اشتراكية ، والجنوب ، التي كانت جزءا من الكتلة السوفياتية ، ومستقلة عن بريطانيا عام 1967 عندما غادر حتى عام 1990.
وقال "بمجرد ان الشماليين جاء الى هنا للتو أنها ساعدت في حد ذاتها -- لأنها ونهب الأرض والموارد الاقتصادية" وقال رجل الأعمال. الشمال "في عام 1994 ، تصرفت كما لو كانت قوة غازية هزمت في البلاد".
قضية ملكية الأراضي بشكل خاص الشائكة. قصص الشماليين نظرا حرة ضخمة من الأراضي في الجنوب وفيرة.
"ان الناس في المقام الأول في السلطة ، خصوصا العسكريين ،" وقال رجل الاعمال عدن.
لكن الشيخ سالم Banaffa مدير عام العقارات وادارة وتخطيط المدن في محافظة عدن ، وقال : "ليس هناك من فائدة ، لا امتياز لاحد."
"هذه الشائعات" من الأرض خالية من الادعاءات. "ليس صحيحا".
إضافة إلى قضية ملكية الأرض ، والاستياء من ظروف العمل والعميق ، وكثير من الجنوبيين على اقتناع بأن فرص العمل في الجنوب محفوظة لالشماليين.
'الانفصال ليس خيارا قابلا للتطبيق'
تقدر ب 40 في المئة بالنسبة للبلد كله ، والبطالة ، ويعتقد أن يكون أعلى بكثير في الجنوب.
وقال الوزير الذي استقال من منصبه العام الماضي ، وعبد القادر هلال ، وهي الآن عضو في لجنة حكومية في الجنوب.
انه يرى "بعض التشابه" بين الوضع الراهن في اليمن ، وبعد عام 1989 في المانيا الغربية عندما اندمجت مع الشرقية الشيوعية سابقا ، والجمهوريات السوفييتية السابقة.
"الجنوبيين لا يهتمون الانفصال عن الشمال أو الجنوب ، ما يهمه هو الإنسان ، والصحة ، والتعليم ، وإمدادات الكهرباء والمياه والخدمات" ، وغير مباشرة تؤكد فشل الدولة في توفير الخدمات الأساسية.
كثير من هذه العوامل لتعيد اشعال الأفكار الانفصالية ، مع بعض الجنوبيين تدعي منطقتهم كانت "استعمرت" من الشمال.
هذه المشاعر قد أدى الى ولادة "في الجنوب لحركة" وهو ائتلاف فضفاض من جماعات المعارضة من الاشتراكيين السابقين الذين كانوا في السلطة في عدن حتى عام 1990 على المتشددين الاسلاميين الذين قاتلوا في افغانستان ضد السوفيات في طول 1980s مع شركة زعيم القاعدة اسامة بن لادن.
وحتى في تنظيم القاعدة في شبه الجزيرة العربية وتعهد الجناح علنا دعمه لالجنوب ضد الحكومة المركزية.
الدوائر الحكومية مسؤولية الاضطرابات الراهنة على الأزمة الاقتصادية ، وأصر على أن بعض العاطلين عن العمل يجري التلاعب بها واستغلالها من قبل أنصار استقلال الجنوب ، وبعضها الآخر من قبل تنظيم القاعدة.
وجهة النظر هذه ، ينظر إلى المشكلة وليس واحدا من التمييز ولكن من نقص في التنمية.
أيا كان السبب ، ليس هناك شك في أن الحكومة قلقة صنعاء مع الرئيس اليمني علي عبد الله صالح نفسه في نيسان / ابريل التحذير من مخاطر تجزئة اليمن الى "العديد من الكيانات".
هلال يرى الحل يكمن في "منح السلطات المحلية مسؤولياتها كاملة" ، وتقول ان الاصلاح في هذا الشأن في الطريق.
بالنسبة للعديد في الجنوب فسيكون الوقت تأخر كثيرا ، ولكن ليس الجميع في الجنوب يعتقد أن الاستقلال هو الحل.
"الانفصال ليس خيارا قابلا للتطبيق ، وذلك لأن 80 في المئة من سكان اليمن (تقدر ب 24 مليون نسمة) يعيشون في الشمال ، ولكن الشمال سوى 20 في المئة من الموارد" وقال رجل الأعمال ، مشيرا إلى أن معظم النفط والغاز من حقول في الجنوب. استقلال الجنوب من شأنه أن يخلق "powderkeg" مع الشماليين التسرع جماعية في جنوب افغانستان ، كما قال.
<شعبة>

[فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات]؟OpenDocument

[Ganoob67]

There is no easy way out for Yemen


By Walid Al Saqaf, Special to Gulf News
Published: June 06, 2009, 23:22
For Yemen to emerge from its current crisis and avoid disintegration and falling into chaos, President Ali Abdullah Saleh will have to take long-awaited and painful decisions. Saleh will have to accept that the old-fashioned temporary solutions in trying to appease a faction, squash a rebellion by force, or prevent the media from covering growing problems around the country will simply not work this time around. The problems have grown out of proportion and cannot be contained by the usual rhetoric or symbolic, decorative gestures here and there.
Here, I will try to describe the most important decisions that the president will have to take in order to try and prevent a doomsday scenario for Yemen, not only for the sake of unity of its land and people, but for the sake of stability of the region.
The first and foremost priority for Saleh is to build the trust of the public in the judiciary by establishing the rule of law as it is supposed to. A real test for the president is in bringing the powerful, corrupt individuals in his regime to justice.
The people have had enough of the rhetoric about the need to combat corruption while showing no real progress on the ground when it comes to big names. Such a move will have to be genuine and sweeping. It must not bring a few scapegoats to trial while leaving the rest untouched.
Apart from corruption, action needs to be taken to resolve the numerous cases of crimes committed against civilians and land grabs by powerful tribal ******s and senior military officers, particularly in the south and west of the country.
Strong action in this regard will bolster the standing of the regime and show it is committed to justice and equality for all citizens, regardless of what class, tribe or province they belong to.
The parliamentary elections that were supposed to be held in April have been postponed and temporarily replaced by a bizarre and unprecedented vote by the members of parliament themselves. Such an act reflects a poor sense of understanding of how democracy works. One can't simply vote for himself to remain in his parliamentary seat for another two years without consulting the people. Yet that is precisely what happened in Yemen this year.
On the other hand, the two-year delay may not be the biggest problem. The real problem is the seriously deficient election process, which leaves little room for competition. The presidential elections of 2006 were a clear example of this problem and unless Saleh acts strongly to correct this serious flaw, democracy will remain handicapped.
Saleh will have to relinquish his grip on the media and allow the reporting of events in the south and other parts of the country without accusing journalists of 'inflaming hatred' or acts 'against the national interests of the country'.
Recently, many newspapers were prevented from publishing, including Yemen's most widely read independent daily, Al Ayyam, whose headquarters in Aden was besieged and two of its employees killed by government forces.
News websites were blocked, and various acts of intimidation against journalists through trials and threats have increased. Such acts are counter-productive and only inflame the situation across the country because in the age of satellite TV channels and the internet, it is virtually impossible to block out information all the time. People, particularly in the south, feel that their voices will not be heard because the media are prevented from reporting about their protests and miseries.
Finally, the regime needs to understand that unity for Yemen, regardless of how great an accomplishment it may be, is not a goal in its own right. Unity should have been an umbrella under which every citizen would be treated equally and justly. It is a means through which development and prosperity should have manifested themselves across the country.
Often times the regime portrays unity as a final destination, the last bus stop after which everyone is expected to leave the bus without asking any questions.
Obviously, unity as a symbol has never been and should never be seen as the reason for the deterioration of living standards and all the negatives that have dominated the lives of Yemeni citizens.
Although calls for breaking up Yemen and turning it back into two or more countries are not the solution to the ongoing crisis, it is important to explore the reasons behind those calls and try to remedy the situation before it is too late.
There is no easy way out of the mess Yemen is in right now. I cannot provide the secret recipe that can save the country from disintegration. But I am convinced that using force to squash local calls for separation, targeting the media, turning a blind eye to corruption and lawlessness, and underestimating or discounting the real roots behind the calls for separation are all the perfect recipe for disaster.

Walid Al Saqaf is the *****istrator of YemenPortal.net and a Phd candidate at Örebro University, Sweden.




[فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات]

[Ganoob67]

Q&A-What are the risks of instability in Yemen?

Sun Jun 7, 2009 5:02am EDT

June 7 (Reuters) - Yemen, the Arab world's poorest country, is struggling with an on-off revolt in the north, a secessionist movement in the south and intensified al Qaeda militancy.

Oil output is dwindling and water resources are depleting. The global financial crisis has further limited the ability of President Ali Abdullah Saleh's government to cope with high unemployment, runaway population growth and widespread poverty.

If Yemen tipped further into instability, or even state failure, this could endanger its neighbours, especially Saudi Arabia, and complicate efforts to combat al Qaeda and protect international shipping routes from piracy in the Gulf of Aden.

Western alarm is growing.

The United States has reacted to unrest in the south, where several people have been killed in protests in recent weeks, by urging an end to violence it said could sap Yemen's unity.

The European Union's anti-terrorism chief warned in May that Yemen could become a failed state and a safe haven for al Qaeda.

WHO RULES YEMEN?

Saleh, 67, took power in the former North Yemen in 1978 and has been president since the merger with the south in 1990, winning another seven-year term in a 2006 election.

The former army officer has dominated Yemen's formal democratic structures via his northern tribal power base, patronage networks and support in the armed forces.

Parliament voted in February to delay this year's parliamentary election to 2011 pending electoral reform.

Saleh has no obvious successor. His own grip on power is facing multiple challenges in a country awash with weaponry.

HOW BIG A THREAT IS AL QAEDA?

Yemen, where Osama bin Laden's father was born, has suffered a new wave of al Qaeda attacks over the past year. Saudi Arabia has said it fears al Qaeda could use Yemen to relaunch a 2003-6 campaign to topple the U.S.-allied Saudi royal family.

Yemen issued a list of 38 wanted militants after an al Qaeda suicide bombing killed four South Korean tourists in March.

Al Qaeda's Yemen wing changed its name to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in February, suggesting it aimed to revive the struggle against Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter.

Yemen cooperated with Washington after Sept. 11, 2001 and al Qaeda attacks at home, including one on a U.S. warship. Many Yemenis fought U.S.-led forces in Iraq after the 2003 invasion.

WHAT LIES BEHIND THE NORTHERN INSURGENCY?

Tribesmen led by members of the Houthi family began an intermittent rebellion against the government in the northern Saada region in 2004. The insurgents are Zaidis, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, whose Imam ruled Yemen until the 1962 revolution.

They have economic and religious grievances, accusing Saleh, himself a Zaidi, of favouring Salafi Sunnis who lean towards Saudi-style Wahhabi Islam. The Yemeni government has suggested that Iran supports the rebels, but evidence for this is thin.

Rebel ****** Abdel Malik al-Houthi signed a Qatari-mediated peace deal in 2007, which broke down. It was revised in August 2008. Tension remains and it is not clear the revolt is over.

WHY ARE SOUTHERNERS DISCONTENTED?

The latest violence erupted on April 28 at an opposition rally to mark the 1994 civil war, in which Saleh's forces defeated the secessionist south, known before the 1990 unity deal as the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen.

People in the south, home to most of Yemen's oil facilities, have long complained that northerners abused the unity agreement to grab their resources and discriminate against them.

Demonstrations over army pensions turned violent in Aden in 2007. Job protests in the south degenerated into riots last year. Some southern ******s have openly called for secession.

HOW IS YEMEN'S ECONOMY FARING?

Oil production, the source of two-thirds of public revenue and 90 percent of export earnings, averaged 300,000 barrels per day last year, down from 410,000 bpd in 2004. Government oil export revenue fell 75 percent in the first three months of 2009 compared to the same 2008 period, the central bank said.

Gross Domestic Product grew about 4.4 percent in 2008, up from 4.2 percent in 2007. The World Bank called this disappointing, given high world oil prices in the first nine months. GDP is slated to grow 7.7 percent this year because of the one-off impact of the start of liquefied natural gas (LNG) production. LNG exports are due to begin in August. About 10 percent of GDP is tied up in energy subsidies.

Inflation is expected to decline below 10 percent this year after jumping to 19 percent last year from 8 percent in 2007.

About 35 percent of Yemen's 23 million people live in poverty. The population is set to double by 2035. The poor were hard hit by a 60 percent spike in world food prices in 2007-8.

The global financial crisis could slow inflows of foreign aid, investment and remittances. The World Bank says medium-term prospects beyond 2009 are poor due to declining oil output.

* Source: World Bank, Yemen Economic Update, Spring 2009



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