Yemen Press

Changes in Change Square (Map shows the control of Islah Party)

2011-07-03T02:25:00.000-07:00

The above map illustrates a divided Change Square with most territory now under the control of the Islah Party.

Orange lines: Campsites under the control of the Islah Party
Blue line: Campsites under the control of the Independent Youth Movement

Amira Al-Arasi

Published:30-06-2011
SANA’A, June 29 - Change Square in Sana’a, the square in front of Sana’a University which has been a center for anti-regime protests, has been witnessing a significant change recently. The number of protestors, especially those participating in 24-hour sit-ins, has decreased.

Many protestors, especially tribal ones, left to support Sheikh Sadeq Al-Ahmar in his armed conflict against the regime in late May. Others feared for their lives as they thought the conflict would extend to Change Square.

“I took my family and traveled to our village fearing a potential civil war. There are many like me and this is why our numbers have decreased,” said Saleem Allaw, a protestor from Rada’ district, located southeast of Sana’a.

Just before the attack on the president in his palace mosque on June 3rd, there would be at least 50,000 sit-in protestors, including women, in the square at any time. During peak times such as organized protests or after Friday prayers the number of protestors could exceed one million. Today there are fewer than 20,000 according to their own estimates.

“We are very much here and will not move until the regime with all its elements falls,” said Faris Al-Qadasi of the Socialist Party, a member of the Joint Meeting Parties opposition coalition. “It is just that people needed to go back to their personal businesses because the revolution has taken long.”

He added that the armed conflicts in Al-Hasaba and when the president was attacked might have scared them. “Also there are implanted elements who claim they are independent and try to spread divisions among the youth using the notion that the conflict in Al-Hasaba was personal and that their being in the square is not helpful for the revolution.”

Political divide

All protesting blocs, whether opposition parties or independent youth, admit that their revolution is still incomplete despite the president’s absence. However, many have started to question what they are doing there in terms of goals and expectations as the protests are now entering their sixth month.

Some of the independent activists who were there from the beginning when the protestors numbered no more than 500 people, the ones originally behind naming the area Change Square, have now left.

Moreover, while at times there were around 2000 women in the protest area, today their numbers have decreased to 50 women or fewer.

After the president’s speech against mixing women and men in the protests which is not accepted traditionally, many women refrained from joining the protests especially since the Islah party conservative men were also with this opinion.

“In the beginning of the revolution we felt stronger although we were just a few university students. Now we are much more but I feel we are weaker because of the practices of the political parties controlling the square,” said Afra Al-Habouri an independent female protester who had been with the revolution since the beginning. Although she insisted that she will remain in the square even if only few remain.

At the same time, however, other protestors have decided to “branch out” and create their own extension of the Change Square. The expansion includes an area of around 11,000 square meters starting from Sana’a University, the epicentre of the protests, and extending to several adjacent streets.

These independent youth realize that they would be losing significant logistical support from the parties, but have decided they will try to sustain themselves on their own. Some of the families in the area cooked for them and there were continuous donation collection programs in order to sustain the protests.

Firas Shamsan, an independent protestor in Change Square, explained this loss of support. He said that at the outset of the protests the parties worked to attract the youth in order to further strengthen their position as they gained power. “At times meal distribution was tied to your political affiliation, so if you were independent you would not get a meal,” he said.

“We [independent protestors] have been subjected to oppression and even beating by the opposition political parties, especially the Islah conservative party, even though we are all supposedly on the same team against the regime,” explained Adnan Al-Rajihi, another independent protestor. He added that while some protestors got bored and others decided the demonstrations over now that the president is gone, differences between the youth and the more experienced parties stands as the main reason for protestors leaving.

Walid Al-Ammari one of the young leaders of the Islah Party responded to these accusations that they were exaggerated through the media.

“There are rumours of donations, beating or deprivation of meals but I personally have not seen anything else,” he said. “But if there was any truth to these claims there should have been investigations and evidence, we should not waste our time on these issues. In the square we are all equal and have one demand which is toppling the regime.”

Al-Ammari denied there is any sort of divide between the protestors and that the “branching out” is only because of personal disagreements.

“The branch-out is only an extension of the square and its revolution and anyone who demands toppling the regime is a part of the revolution regardless of his or her orientation,” he said. Explaining that the people who left the square have not abandoned it but are working for the revolution on different levels now elsewhere.

He explained that many youth had to go out in order to bring fuel or cooking gas for their families now that there is a crisis in these basic needs and that Yemenis work to support their families is only another part of the revolution not abandoning it.

“Those who really abandoned the square did not believe in our revolution in the first place,” he said.

Speaking on behalf of the Escalation Committee, responsible for taking the protests to higher levels, of the independent youth, Ameen Dabwan said members felt that the youth are dissatisfied with the appeasement strategy of the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP), which is based on dialogue and agreements with the regime. “It seems that these parties [the JMP] are still part of the old regime or its remnants…I guarantee that if there were true elections, the Islah party would not win because of their behaviour in Change Square,” he said.

How it started

University protests began in January 2011 when a number of students went to the Tunisian embassy to support the Tunisian revolution. They were shouting “Congratulations Tunis, we are next.”

Then on Wednesday, February 2nd, independent youth on Facebook decided to dub the following Thursday the ‘Day of Rage’. Following what had taken place in Cairo, they wanted to hold a sit-in in Tahreer Square near the city center.

Protestors loyal to the state beat them to the square, and when the ‘Day of Rage’ protestors reached the area they found others already camping in it and displaying pictures of the president. The ‘Day of Rage’ protestors moved their location to Change Square in front of Sana’a University, which became the hub for protests against the regime.

One week after former President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt resigned from power, the opposition political parties’ coalition joined the protestors in their sit-in.

The protestors had been attacked by state security before the opposition parties joined them on Feb. 22, 2011. However, the newcomers brought food, tents, medical supplies and a real sense of organization. It was only when the opposition parties joined the protesters that the area became secured. Then, the number of protesters surged from a few thousand to tens of thousands.

* Yemen Times

Profile: Who is Ali Abdullah Saleh?

2011-06-09T03:15:00.000-07:00

Saleh has ruled Yemen for 33 years despite CIA's initial prediction he will not last more than six months [EPA]

It is unclear whether Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen's president, will try to return to his country - and to power - after leaving to receive medical treatment in Saudi Arabia. Either way, his departure is a major milestone for Yemen; Saleh, after all, is the only man to ever serve as president of the unified Republic of Yemen.

Saleh took over the presidency of North Yemen in 1978, and became president of Yemen after its two halves were united in 1990. He proved to be a wily political operator, manipulating Yemen's tribal system and fending off sustained insurrections in the north and south.

He often portrayed himself as the only man who could hold together a united Yemen. In February, in the early days of the months-long popular campaign to drive him from office, Saleh portrayed the opposition as a conspiracy to destroy the country - a theme he has struck often during his decades in power.

"There is a conspiracy against Yemen's unity and territorial integrity," he told a group of senior military officers. "We have served to preserve the republican regime with every drop of blood we have."

But his reign was also defined by charges of corruption and mismanagement: Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the world, with widespread unemployment and persistent inflation; and billions of dollars in oil revenues have been embezzled or wasted. 40 per cent of Yemen's population lives on less than $2 per day.

No negotiated exit

Saleh's failures as president fuelled months of popular protests which began in January, shortly after the ouster of Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Protesters have spent months camped in front of Sanaa University, where they erected tents and chanted for his resignation. Demonstrations also spread to several other Yemeni cities, with the southern city of Taiz emerging as an epicentre: Turnout at some rallies reached hundreds of thousands of people.

The protests were at first led by students and young people, but they eventually grew to include much of Yemen's fractious opposition. The Houthis, Shia rebels in the north who have fought a long-running war with Sanaa, endorsed the protest movement; so did the Southern Movement, the secessionist group in the south.

Several high-ranking military officers deserted Saleh after a particularly brutal crackdown on March 18, when at least 50 protesters in Sanaa were killed by snipers. General Ali Mohsen Saleh was the first to go: He ordered the troops under his command to protect protesters.

The protests also emboldened the Ahmar family, fellow members of Saleh's Hashed tribal confederation who have emerged as his chief political opponents. Hamid al-Ahmar, a prominent businessman, is seen as a possible successor to Saleh; his brother, Hussein al-Ahmar, quit the ruling party in February and publicly rebuked Saleh.

Fighting between Saleh and the Ahmar family has paralysed the capital for weeks. Fighters loyal to Saleh shelled the Ahmar compound in Sanaa and several businesses owned by the family; al-Ahmar's men have been blamed for the rocket attack against the presidential palace this week, though the government has yet to prove that allegation.

Saleh tried to negotiate his way out of the protests, offering to form a "unity government" and proposing a committee to overhaul the constitution. Opposition groups dismissed Saleh's offer as a "waste of time."

Weeks later, he went a little further, offering to step down by the end of the year and promising to hand power to a civilian government. The opposition rejected that offer, too, holding out for a more immediate resignation.

The president also tried to buy his way out of trouble, offering tens of thousands of dollars (and new cars) to groups of tribal elders. But his tribal support, which constitutes his main power base, has been eroding for weeks.

Neighbouring countries tried to broker a peaceful exit for Saleh: A proposal negotiated by the Gulf Cooperation Council would have granted Saleh immunity from prosecution in exchange for stepping down. But he refused - on three different occasions - to sign the deal.

Early years

Saleh was born in 1946 in the town of Bayt al-Ahmar, a member of the Sanhan tribe, a small member of the Hashed tribal confederation. His early career was spent in the military; he fought for the republican government in North Yemen's civil war, which pitted the Saudi-backed remnants of the monarchy against the Egyptian-sponsored republicans.

He would remain in the army until 1978, when he made a move into politics: He took power after the president was assassinated, and never relinquished the post.

Expectations for his presidency were low: An estimate from the US Central Intelligence Agency predicted that he wouldn't last six months in office. But he held on, consolidating power within the ruling General People's Congress (GPC) and buying the support of the country's fractious tribes. He was re-elected in 1982, and again in 1988.

Saleh then presided over the unification of north Yemen with the Communist south, which lost its main patron when the Soviet Union collapsed. The marriage quickly soured, though, with the south frustrated by what it saw as its economic marginalisation at the hands of the northern-dominated government.

Civil war broke out in mid-1994, and the south seceded in May of that year. Its separation would last only two months, though, before its military was crushed by the north, placing Saleh once again at the helm of a unified Yemen.

Saleh was an ally of former Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein, and his decision to back Iraq during the first Gulf War would have serious consequences for Yemen's economy: Saudi Arabia responded by expelling more than a million Yemeni workers from the kingdom, depriving countless Yemeni families of vital remittances.

After the September 11 attacks, Saleh tried to position himself as a vital ally to the United States. He made an official visit to Washington in 2007, where he met with then-president George Bush at the White House. And he allowed American drone aircraft to kill alleged al-Qaeda targets on Yemeni soil. Yemen, in return, has been the recipient of tens of millions of dollars in American aid.

A questionable legacy

Saleh leaves behind a government that seems ill-equipped to handle the set of interlocking challenges confronting Yemen, including dwindling oil and water reserves and a rapidly growing population of unemployed youth.

His government is generally ranked as one of the most corrupt in the world. "A system of grand corruption has emerged over the last several decades thriving on the combination of weak state institutions and a fragmented elite structure," the US embassy in Sanaa said in a 2010 report. "Allies are rewarded and other elites pacified by grand patronage payoffs in exchange for political quiescence."

But Saleh's patronage network began to shrink as Yemen's oil reserves began to dry up. The country's oil production peaked in 2001, and has been declining ever since; some of the tribal unrest Saleh faced in recent weeks owes to his inability to "spread the wealth" as he once did.

He also failed to resolve ongoing conflicts with both the Houthis and the Southern Movement. The southerners have temporarily dropped their demand for secession - calling instead only for Saleh's ouster - but their longstanding economic grievances remain unaddressed.

* Aljazeera International

Yemen Press

Osama Bin Laden is killed!!

2011-05-04T12:28:00.000-07:00

Osama Bin Laden is killed

Yemen, KSA sign $46 mln agreement in energy

2010-12-21T00:32:00.000-08:00

SANA'A, Dec. 20 (Saba) - Yemen and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia signed here on Monday an agreement of importing wooden poles for electricity and a part of air electric grid equipment of the fifth energy project-first phase with a governmental funding worth $ 46 million.

After signing the agreement, Minister of Electricity and Energy Awadh al-Suqatry affirmed the importance of the project in creating a comprehensive development in rural areas aiming at to reduce the electricity shortfall.

The minister said that the project's first phase worth $ 120 million has been endorsed by the High Tender Board, adding that the implementation of the first phase covering seven governorates will start next year.

For his part, Executive Director of General Authority for Rural Electricity Ahmed al-Sabri expected that the other group of agreements will be signed next week, hoping that such projects will assist in increasing the electricity coverage with about 60 – 70 percent in the rural areas.

For his part, the General Director of the fifth energy project Hesham al-Abaasi said the project- with both phases - costs totally $272 million, of which $120 million for the first phase and $152 million for the second phase.

He added that the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) will contribute $ 100 million to the two phases as a commodity loan.

It is worth to mention that about 84 districts will benefit from the fifth energy project in seven governorates: Mahrah, Shabwa, Sa'ada, Jawf, Dhamar, Raymah and Taiz.

HA/AF

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President Saleh inaugurates 1st Young Inventors Exhibition

2010-12-21T00:22:00.000-08:00

ADEN, Dec. 20 (Saba) - President Ali Abdullah Saleh inaugurated Monday in Aden governorate the First Young Inventors Exhibition with a participation of 40 inventors won gold medals in international events.

Saleh made a tour in the exhibition that included paintings and models of the Youths' inventions in various scientific and technological areas.

The President saluted the Youths' creativity, affirming the State's care on the inventors in different fields.

He also urged the concerned authorities to pay more attention to inventors and to organize competitions and events to shed lights to their inventions.

FJ/AF

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Information Minister meets Ethiopian outgoing ambassador

2010-12-21T00:20:00.000-08:00

Minister of Information Hassan al-Lawzi met here on Monday with the Ethiopian outgoing ambassador to Yemen Tawfiq Abdullah.

The two officials' meeting dealt with cooperation aspects between Yemen and Ethiopia as well as means of promoting them.

They also talked about issues relating to developing the components of media agreements signed between the two sides, including the mutual cooperation between Yemen News Agency (Saba) and the Ethiopian News Agency (ENA).

The meeting reviewed the cooperation possibilities, especially after the establishment the Yemeni media attaché at Yemen Embassy in Ethiopia aiming to create more joint media activity.

The Ethiopian envoy hailed the interaction of all mass media in Yemen with developments in Ethiopia.

In return, the minister presented a vision on ways of developing media relations between Yemen and Ethiopia as well as Sana'a Forum countries.

He also noted to the need of drawing up a media agreement organizes relations in overall media means.

FJ/AF

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Al-Arhabi reveals preparations for fast-track to reach MDGs

2010-12-21T00:19:00.001-08:00

Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Abdul-Karim al-Arhabi revealed on Monday the launch of preparations for a fast-track to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.

He also disclosed about preparations for the development of a medium-term strategy for reforms extending to the end of 2015.

Opening a workshop held in Sana'a on the assessment of the MDGs' achievement by 2015, al-Arhabi pointed that the government represented by the Planning Ministry has made, in cooperation with the UNDP and other relevant authorities, a significant progress in the preparations of a fast-track to achieve the MDGs by 2015.

The fast-track is based on a set of programs and integrated interventions of priority, which would make significant impact in addressing the main difficulties that face the MDGs' achievement, al-Arhabi added.

He pointed out that the Ministry would continue to mobilize and coordinate efforts of the governmental organizations and Yemen's partners in development to develop specific programs at the level of each goal to include them in the fourth five-year plan for socioeconomic development and poverty alleviation in 2011-2015 and its general investment program in the State's budget.

In this regard, al-Arhabi confirmed the government's keenness to improve the environment that supports reaching the MDGs by 2015, noting that over the past years the government carried out a wide range of reforms. He stressed the need for an optimal use of the available resources to achieve this purpose.

At the workshop, a number of interventions were presented. The interventions focused on the nature of the achievements and difficulties related to achieving the MDGs by 2015 in the health and education sectors, as well as a presentation on the study prepared by the World Bank (WB) and the UNDP.

The Study has resulted in a number of conclusions, the most notably that the achievement of all MDGs by 2015 is an unrealistic due to the large and required increases in the governmental services and necessary finances.

BA

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India eyes Yemeni minerals

2010-12-21T00:13:00.000-08:00

Indian ambassador to Yemen Ausuf Sayeed affirmed on Monday the keenness of Indian private sector to invest in mineral exploration in Yemen, particularly iron and fertilizers.

During his meeting with Deputy Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Hisham Sharaf, the Indian diplomat hailed the cooperation level between Yemen and India, pinning hops that the future will witness a progress in the bilateral cooperation.

The deputy minister welcomed the Indian and Asian investments in Yemen.

Sharaf and Sayeed discussed a number of issues related to enhancing Yemeni-Indian investment cooperation and implementing the two countries' joint trends via encouraging investment exchange.

The two officials also talked in detail about some agreements ready to be signed between Yemen and India in different fields during the upcoming meetings of the Yemeni-Indian joint committee to be held in the first quarter of 2011.

They also dealt with possibility to conduct feasibility studies for a number of projects to be funded by the Indian government.

FJ/AF

Saleh, Qaddafi talk on joint Arab action

2010-06-07T00:44:00.000-07:00

SANA’A, June 07 (Saba)- President Ali Abdullah Saleh received on Sunday evening a phone call from Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi.

During the conversation, the two Arab leaders talked on the areas of cooperation relations between the two countries and two brotherly peoples.

They also discussed issues and developments of common interest of the two countries and the Arab nation, particularly the follow-up to the outcomes of the 21st Arab summit which held in Libya, focusing on means of activating the joint Arab action, developing its mechanisms and serving the objectives and interests of the Arab nation.

NEWS MIDDLE EAST 'US missile' used in Yemen strike

2010-06-07T00:36:00.000-07:00

The US is facing fresh questions over its role in a deadly attack in late 2009 on an alleged al-Qaeda camp in Yemen, after a rights group published what it said was new evidence of US involvement in the strike.

Photographs released by Amnesty International on Monday apparently show parts of a US cruise missile and cluster munitions gathered from the site of the strike last December in the village of al Ma'jalah in southern Yemen.

55 people, including 14 women and 21 children, died in the attack, which also killed 14 alleged al-Qaeda members.

After the attack, the Yemeni government said that it carried out the strike alone, but reports soon began to emerge that the US military had played a role in the attack on the orders of the White House.

At the time, unidentified US officials told the media that the Pentagon had provided firepower and intelligence to government of Yemen, but US involvement in the strike was never officially confirmed.

The Amnesty photographs appear to show parts of a BGM-109D Tomahawk cruise missile used to deliver a payload of deadly cluster sub-munitions.

"Amnesty International is gravely concerned by evidence that cluster munitions appear to have been used in Yemen," said Mike Lewis, the group's arms control researcher.

"Cluster munitions have indiscriminate effects and unexploded bomblets threaten lives and livelihoods for years afterwards," he said.

Legal breach

Philip Luther, deputy director of the group's Middle East and North Africa Programme, said that if proven, Washington's involvement would represent a breach of international law.

"A military strike of this kind against alleged militants without an attempt to detain them is at the very least unlawful," said Philip Luther, Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Programme.

"The fact that so many of the victims were actually women and children indicates that the attack was in fact grossly irresponsible, particularly given the likely use of cluster munitions."

The Pentagon declined to comment on the allegations when contacted by Al Jazeera.

Amnesty's allegations are also likely to cause a headache for the government of Yemen, which is reluctant to be seen to be working too closely with the US on counter-terrorism operations within its borders.

Ginny Hill, director of the Yemen Forum at Chatham House in London, said that Sanaa has tried to distance itself from US foreign policy.

"Yemeni officials tend to publicly downplay the extent of US collaboration because joint counter-terrorism operations raise uncomfortable questions about the government’s credibility, in a country where public opinion is widely hostile to US foreign policy."

Meanwhile, authorities in Yemen said on Sunday they had arrested more than 30 foreigners during a two month crackdown on alleged al-Qaeda operatives.

Those arrested included an American, a Briton and three people from France, Yemeni security sources told Al Jazeera, adding that the majority of the suspects had been studying Arabic in Sana'a.

The source said that the arrests came after "co-operation" with foreign governments, including the US.

Israel defends aid ship raid

2010-06-07T00:34:00.001-07:00

Israel has attempted to justify its deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship last week by accusing five of its passengers of being "active terror operatives linked to al-Qaeda, Hamas and other armed groups.

In a statement, Israeli authorities named five passengers it said were "known to be involved in terrorist activity".

But at least one of those named told Al Jazeera that Israel's claim was baseless.

Rejecting Israeli allegations that he was a "radical anti-Israel activist" who was travelling to Gaza to "train a [Hamas] commando unit", Ken O'Keefe, a British-American citizen, said he had never carried arms for the group.

"The only weapons I ever carried were while I was a US marine serving in the Gulf War," he said speaking from Turkey following his deportation from Israel.

"If they had a supposed terrorist in their possession, why the hell did they let me go?" O'Keefe said.

Fatima Mohammadi, another activist on board the Mavi Marmara that Israeli soldiers stormed last Monday in an attempt to stop a flotilla of aid ships from reaching Gaza, was accused of attempting to smuggle banned electronic componants into Gaza.

She told Al Jazeera through a spokesperson that she refused to dignify the accusation with a response.

The allegations come as part of an Israeli PR offensive seeking to counter a wave of condemnation over the raid, which left nine pro-Palestinian activists dead and dozens wounded.

'Lack of evidence'

Israel has continued to reject calls for an international inquiry into the attack, instead insisting that it should investigate the events surrounding the deaths of the activists itself.

Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said earlier on Sunday that "dozens of thugs" from what he called "an extremist, terrorism-supporting" organisation had boarded the flotilla and readied themselves for the arrival of the naval commandos.

"This group boarded separately in a different city, organised separately, equipped itself separately and went on deck under different procedures," he said.

"The clear intent of this hostile group was to initiate a violent clash with (Israeli) soldiers," he said.

Ayman Mohyeldin, Al Jazeera's correspondent reporting from Jerusalem, however, said all cargo and passengers on board last week's convoy were required to pass through customs and port security whether they boarded in Greece, Ireland or Turkey.

"Israel has yet to provide evidence that any attack on its soldiers was in fact pre-planned - something denied by all those travelling on board the ship," he said.

Jamal el-Shayyal, Al Jazeera's correspondent who was on board the Mavi Marmara from the beginning of its voyage, said no such group joined the ship after it had left port.

"Not less than 24 hours before Israel attacked I was granted access to all areas of the ship to see whether there were any unwanted people or weapons on board," he said.

"There was nothing of this sort on the boat… The only way for someone to get on board without being screened would be if an aircraft dropped them on board, and the only one that did this was an Israeli military one, and it ended up killing people."

EU proposal

Farouq Burney, who represented Qatar on board the Mavi Marmara, also cast doubt on Netanyahu's claims.

"Most of the people who boarded the ship in international waters were renowned figures, like European MPs, a former US ambassador and a few people from the Free Gaza Movement," he said, referring to one of the flotilla's principal organisers.

"There is no way these people could be branded as terrorists."

Meanwhile, France's foreign minister said on Sunday that the European Union is willing to check cargo on board ships heading to the Gaza Strip if Israel ends its blockade of the territory.

"We can check the cargo of ships heading toward Gaza- we can do it, we
want to do it, we would gladly do it,'' Bernard Kouchner said, after a meeting with British foreign minister William Hague.

He said that the EU has had monitors deployed at Gaza's Rafah crossing with Egypt in the past and could do so again. France and Britain have both called for an immediate end to the blockade of Gaza and an international investigation into the raid on the Mavi Mamara.

Two men with links to terror group arrested at New York airport

2010-06-07T00:11:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK, June 6 (Saba) -- Two men in New Jersey of the United States reportedly with ties to an al-Qaida-linked terror group were arrested late Saturday night as they prepared to leave at New York's JFK International Airport, according to Xinhua.

New York TV channel NY1 said Sunday that the two men, who were under the surveillance of New York Police Department (NYPD), were taken into custody when they prepared to board separate flights to Egypt.

"I can only confirm that two arrests were made Saturday night at JFK airport as part of an ongoing investigation," NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne was quoted as saying.

The two men were reportedly linked to a Somalia-based terror group called al-Shabaad, which has ties with al-Qaida and operates in the southern region of the African country.

Educational delegation flies to Djibouti

2010-05-08T03:31:00.000-07:00

SANA'A, May 8 ( Saba)- An educational delegation led by Education Minister Abdul-Salam al-Jawfi headed on Friday to Djibouti for a few-day official visit .

Speaking to Saba upon departure, al-Jawif said that the delegation will discuss with Djiboutian officials the bilateral cooperation within the implementation of the cooperation agreement signed between the two countries three years ago.

Moreover, the two countries will discuss the future mechanism for implementing the whole cooperation program, he said.

On the visit, the delegation will familiarize with the conditions of the Yemeni community in Djibouti and the Yemeni school to find how the Ministry of Education can support students at it, he added.

Yemen foreign currency reserves decrease in first quarter of 2010

2010-05-08T03:10:00.001-07:00

SANA'A, May 08 (Saba) – Yemen's reserves of foreign currency decreased in the first quarter of 2010 to YR 6.2 billion compared with YR 7.5 billion during the same period last year, a report by the Yemen Central Bank has noted.

The report also said that the bank's budget increased during the same period to almost YR 2 trillion compared with YR 1.7 trillion last year.

The net external assets witnessed a slight increase reaching YR 1.8 trillion, the report added.

Yemen, kingdom discuss agricultural, cultural cooperation

2010-05-08T03:05:00.000-07:00

SAYOON, May 08 ( Saba) - A meeting has been held in Sayoon city, Hadramout, that brought together Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation Mansour al-Hawshabi ,Minster of Culture Mohammad al- Maflahi and Governor of Hadrmout Salim al- Khanbashi and Saudi ambassador to Yemen Ali bin Mohammed al- Hamdan.

It focused on cooperation between Yemen and Saudi Arabia in the fields of agriculture and culture and means to boost cooperation in all areas.

Moreover, the meeting praised the deep-rooted ties and cooperation level between the two neighbors.

Yemen to use LGMIS to disburse funds from donors

2010-04-05T21:10:00.002-07:00

The Ministry of Finance has approved an electronic disbursement system that will be dedicated to disburse funds from loans and grants allocated by international donors.

The new system, fully developed by a Yemeni team, is called Loans and Grants Management Information System (LGMIS).

Yemen suffers the lack of capacity to absorb donors’ fund allocated for development projects in the London Donor Conference held in 2006 and other commitments in the following years.

According to the Central Bank of Yemen, the Yemeni authorities have addressed concerns raised by international donors over the slow disbursement of international aid by creating an electronic database for aid disbursement.

‘’Donors always complain about this issue and the USAID’s Enhancing Government Effectiveness (EGE) Project in Yemen, carries the solution represented by LGMIS, which is introduced by Management Systems International (MSI), a Washington-based consultancy firm’’, the CBY said in a press release.

The Ministry of Finance expects the system to be rolled out by the end of April.

The new system will link financing received by the Ministry of Finance to the central bank which will then distribute the funds to the intended recipients.

Initially rolled out for projects in the education and agriculture and health fields, it is estimated that the electronic transfers will reduce processing time to between five and eight days from an average of 35 days under the current manual transfer process.

The new process will also enhance record keeping for auditing purposes.

Endemic corruption has plagued Yemen's attempts to attract international aid and investment, needed urgently to diversify its economy away from dependence on dwindling oil revenue.

As international donors have met recently to discuss boosting aid to the impoverished nation, they have frequently raised concern over Yemen's capacity to absorb higher aid flows.

During a recent Friends of Yemen meeting donors raised concerns over why much of the US$5.7 billion pledged during a 2006 London donor conference has not been spent.

Although creating an electronic trail for aid payments will help improve the capacity of Yemeni authorities to stamp out corruption, a leap forward should not be expected in the near term as the political will to do so is still largely lacking.

Egyptian FM applauds Yemeni initiative of Arab union

2010-04-05T21:10:00.001-07:00

The Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit praised here on Monday the Yemeni initiative to activate the Arab joint action via establishing Arab Union.

During an interview with a TV program on the Egyptian first channel, Aboul Gheit affirmed that Yemen's project for establishing the union, which replaces the Arab League can only be established if all Arab states have a strong political desire.

Although the Yemeni project is completely good, but it has to be studied by experts and not only by foreign ministers, he said.

The Egyptian minister made clear that a five-member committee of five Arab leaders was formed to study the alterations in the system of Arab joint action in order to establish this union.

We need a long-time for preparation, during which Arab peoples have to accept the idea, the minister said.

Giving an example of the unfortunate events of the Egypt and Algeria football match, he said that Arab peoples wince, when they meet face to face.

President receives US Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence

2010-03-22T23:59:00.000-07:00

President Ali Abdullah Saleh received on Monday the US Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence James R. Clapper along with the accompanying delegation, currently on an official mission to Yemen.

During the meeting, the discussion addressed bilateral relations and joint cooperation spheres topped by security and training counterterrorism forces and coastguards.

They also talked about situations in the African Horn, specially the Somali situations, and anti-piracy efforts.

President Saleh noted the on-going cooperation between Yemen and America either in the developmental field or training and information exchange for the interest of the Yemeni and American peoples.

For his part, Clapper hailed this improving kind of cooperation, pointing out to the exerted efforts of Yemen in counterterrorism in light of its recent preemptive strikes against Al-Qaeda elements.

He asserted keenness of the United States to promote ties and joint cooperation with Yemen in various areas.

Yemen calls int'l community to assist in refugee problems

2010-03-22T23:57:00.000-07:00

Yemeni official called Monday the international community on taking responsibility for standing by Yemen to face the refuge problems.

During a meeting held in the Interior Ministry to discuss the annual report of International organizations for 2009, Undersecretary of Interior Ministry Abdul-Rahman al-Barawi confirmed that Yemen with its limited potentials can not sustain the burden of this issue alone, especially as the Somali refugees in the country reach over one million.

The meeting reviewed the annual reports of Danish Council of Refugees, Italian INTERSOS organization in addition to a third report presented by UN High Commissioner for Refugees on the impacts of the mixed migration in Yemen.

Riyadh meeting assessed development issues in Yemen: FM says

2010-03-22T23:55:00.000-07:00

Riyadh meeting assessed the technical aspects of development issues in Yemen, Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi said on Monday.

During an interview with the Saudi al-Madina newspaper, al-Qirbi said that Riyadh meeting was a preparatory step for the Yemen friends meeting.

Yemen has got great support for development in London Donor conference in 2006, but unfortunately the financial pledges have not implemented on the ground except approximately 10 percent, al-Qirbi said.

Consequently, Riyadh meeting was an attempt to evaluate reasons caused the slowness in the implementation to how to tackle that to speed up the previous commitments and to avail from in the fourth five-year plan (2011-2015), he said.

All the ideas and the fourth five-year plan that would cost much will be submitted to Yemen friends meeting to evaluate the situation.

President receives Chinese friendship prize

2010-03-21T13:54:00.001-07:00

President Ali Abdullah Saleh received on Sunday the friendship prize granted to him by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.

The prize was awarded to president Saleh in appreciation for his role in reinforcing friendship relations between the Yemeni and Chinese peoples as well as for the progressing Yemeni and Chinese friendship and cooperation ties.

President Saleh denies US military presence in Yemen

2010-03-21T13:53:00.000-07:00

President Ali Abdullah Saleh has said that there is no US presence on Yemeni soil or waters and no bilateral security agreement on such US presence in the country.

‘’There is Yemeni-US security cooperation in combating terrorism and counterterrorism training’’, said President Saleh in an interview with pan-Arab Al Arabiya Satellite News Channel.

"Some media reports are unfounded and there is no any US presence on the land of Yemen and there is no any treaty or agreement allowing US presence on our territory", Saleh confirmed.

On the Yemeni unity, Saleh said: "I will tell you something. I am not worried about our unity. The Yemeni unity is there to stay. Any major project is certain to run into some difficulties. What worries me is the disruptions obstructing development. There is a separatist culture. There is an unhealthy culture being promoted by elements that lost their power-related interests after the inception of unity".

Asked if the war in Saada is over, the President said: "We can say that the war has come to an end. It did not stop and there is no truce. It just ended. Al-Houthi announced full commitment to the six points and the relevant implementation mechanism. Thanks to this announcement, the war has come to an end"

The text of this interview.

[Al Arabiya TV] President Saleh, we will begin with Saada. The Yemeni Army triumphed over Al-Houthi. Has the war come to en end or has it only stopped? Are you observing a truce?

[President Saleh] We can say that the war is over. It has not only stopped; we are not observing a truce. You can consider the war as over if Al-Houthi fully adheres to the six conditions. He has clearly declared that he is adhering to the six points and the mechanism to implement these points. With this declaration we consider the war at an end. There are positive signs. He has declared commitment to them and has started to remove mines from both the primary roads and the secondary roads. He has opened roads and removed his fortified positions on the roadside. He has started to evacuate the administrative units, and you can say he has already carried out 60 per cent of the evacuation.

[Al Arabiya TV] What does the term administrative units mean?

[President Saleh] The administrative units are the local authority centres and security positions. He has started to evacuate them and hand them over to the local authorities and police.

[Al Arabiya TV] Did he occupy a large area?

[President Saleh] He had occupied about nine districts. He has evacuated more than 60 per cent of them. Indeed, the rest have also been evacuated but he is waiting for the police to come and take over control of the buildings. These are the positive indications. He has evacuated the centres of the districts, reopened the roads, removed the mines, and ended his occupation of roadside positions. He has delivered a number of the detainees that he has. He delivered about 175 persons whom he considered to be detainees. We consider these positive indications. This proves good intentions that there will be no returning to a new war, because in the previous wars he was not serious. He was manoeuvring in the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth wars. This is the sixth war. We consider these to be positive signs. I consider the war to be at an end.

[Al Arabiya TV] How are the committees working?

[President Saleh] The work of the national committees that supervise the implementation is good, on both sides. There are positive elements among the Houthist representatives and they are cooperating satisfactorily. The committees that were composed by the state, the Parliament and the Shura Council, are doing well. The same applies to the committees composed of the local authorities. These are working in accordance with the drawn up mechanism that had been approved.

[Al Arabiya TV] But we are aware that you had presented the six conditions previously and he took too much time, yet he failed to accept them, and thus the war went on. How do you explain his acceptance of these conditions later and his declaration that he was adhering to them?

[President Saleh] We say let us dress the wounds of the war. If he is committed, well and good. Of course, we can say that the severe harm that was inflicted on him and his losses as a result of the war will not be restored. Even though the state lost in terms of equipment, personnel, and security resources, it is expected to compensate its losses. The lost soldier would be replaced; the damaged vehicle would be replaced. He would not be able to replace his losses.

[Al Arabiya TV] But are you certain that he will not exploit this period of peace to boost his capabilities and restore his strength?

[President Saleh] We can say that he resorted to tactics during the previous five wars but we took precautions. We hope he will not resume the war and that this will be the last war. Any opposition member or anyone who rebels against legitimacy cannot topple the political system by working from cliffs and mountain tops. Those willing to take part in political action should get involved in the political process. However, this is not a political action but an act of sabotage. Therefore we consider the war to be over and we have to dress the wounds of war. Al-Houthi must be fully committed to the six points and the implementation mechanism. Initial indications are positive. We encourage the promotion of positive developments.

[Al Arabiya TV] We heard from a Saudi security official that the deployment of the Yemeni army along the Saudi side of the border has not been completed, especially in the Al-Malahiz area. When will the deployment be completed?

[President Saleh] The army is moving along four sides. It is not only the Army but basically security forces.

[Al Arabiya TV] Border forces?

[President Saleh] Security forces and border forces were deployed three days ago in Al-Malahiz, Shida, Razih and Ghamar. The entry of the forces to Ghamar will take place tomorrow. As for the border strip in the Al-Dukhan Mountain and the mountains where Al-Houthi is stationed, these are Saudi territories. These are Saudi territories but there are Yemeni heights with the same names opposite them. The Yemeni Army will be deployed there. It is now in military camps along the border. The police and the army on the border with the Kingdom will take one week or 10 days to take positions at the centres of the districts pending the completion of opening the roads and ensuring the removal of mines in order to move the vehicles about.

[Al Arabiya TV] Will this be sufficient to control the border with Saudi Arabia?

[President Saleh] Certainly the forces are sufficient to control security, prevent any infiltration, and deal with any security problems between Yemen and the Kingdom.

[Al Arabiya TV] Obviously, we in Saudi Arabia intend to leave a distance of 10 km between the two sides along the border. These are new measures. Do you have any comment to make on this?

[President Saleh] It is difficult for us to leave 10 km on the Yemeni side because there are people, houses, and farms. We cannot displace citizens who have been living for hundreds and thousands of years in these valleys and on these heights. These are mountainous regions, farms, and valleys. It would be difficult for us to move them to distant areas because they have behind them mountainous heights and not a desert where we can distribute to them land. It would be very difficult for us to displace our citizens. But it is our duty to use the local police and the Army, which is attached to the border guards, to ensure the safety of the border strip between the Kingdom and Yemen.

[Al Arabiya TV] But Saudi Arabia is free to do what it wants on its own territory.

[President Saleh] Yes, we do not object to that. There is a treaty between us and Saudi Arabia, leaving 20 km by both sides for grazing purposes. I do not believe that evacuating people would disturb the border treaty between us and them because the treaty ensured the rights of grazing and movements to adjacent areas.

[Al Arabiya TV] But if there are no Saudi Arabians in such an area, certainly a Yemeni will not be able to enter this demilitarized zone.

[President Saleh] Nobody will enter for trade. He will enter for grazing and this is very simple; it does not constitute a problem.

[Al Arabiya TV] Do you believe that Al-Houthi entered the Saudi territory to address his internal crisis or do you believe that he was under external pressure to cross the border?

[President Saleh] You can say that both are correct. There are internal problems but external reasons are not ruled out. Indeed I believe that the external reasons constitute from 80 to 90 per cent, and the aim was settling scores with Saudi Arabia by states in the region; preoccupying Saudi Arabia. The intention was to send a message to Saudi Arabia using these Houthist elements. This is because we have no problem with Al-Houthi. He does not pose a problem. Al-Houthi has imbibed external ideology. Let us say that he adopts the Shiite Twelver doctrine. He is a Zaydi. We in Yemen are Zaydis and Shafiis; we have no problem. The Twelver doctrine is new in Saada and among the Houthists. We are not against the Twelvers doctrine , the Shiite Denomination anywhere. We believe in denominational multiplicity but we refuse the imposition of these denominations on our country or adopting them. This is categorically rejected because for thousands of years in Yemen we have been Shafi'is and Zaydis and there are no problems between the Shafi'is and the Zaydis. This is a new denomination in Yemen. Its price is paid. The price is sending a certain message to the Saudi neighbour. This is clear. I am being very clear and I mean the Saudi neighbour. What has he got to gain from Yemen? For the past 48 years since the revolution, Yemen has been amid what we might call storms - the return of the Imamate after the 1962 September revolution, and the seven years of war and other problems between the two parts of Yemen. We have no problem. But this is a message.

[Al Arabiya TV] Talking of denominations, you said in 2005, at a consultation meeting with the Yemeni Clerics Association, that the state would exercise full supervision of the educational centres. What happened to this plan?

[President Saleh] We have several categories: The Ministry of Education, the science institutes, and the rest of the institutes. The science institutes joined the Education Ministry; they no longer exist. There will be no dual education.

[Al Arabiya TV] What about the curricula?

[President Saleh] The same curricula; namely, the Education Ministry curricula. The other private institutes that Al-Houthi established in the form of elementary schools to teach the Koran to children, the Shiite schools in mosques, the religious lessons between the sunset prayers and the evening prayers, or between the noon prayers and the afternoon prayers, are new phenomena. You cannot say that he supervises them because he goes to the mosque and sits with the clerics and says: I am just reciting the Koran. At the same time, they created the summer centres. These summer centres created problems for us in Saada. They attracted boys - fifth grades and sixth grades. All those who fought along the Al-Houthi ranks and who turned into Houthists have no education beyond intermediate school. No secondary schooling and no college education. Therefore, he attracted them on this basis at an early age while they are still simple-minded so that he could implant this culture in their minds, the Twelver doctrine culture, the culture of the teachings of the so-called Hussein Al-Houthi, ideas that the Yemenis had not known at all. Thus these boys imbibed these teachings and they fought alongside Hussein.

[Al Arabiya TV] We want you to name these countries. You mentioned in a previous answer; you alluded, to states that support the Houthists, whether by arms, money.

[President Saleh] There are states, and there are individuals in certain states. You can say persons in certain states. Such states might not know anything about this but contributions are collected in most states in the region.

[Al Arabiya TV] You informed the states concerned?

[President Saleh] The states concerned know about this and they are monitoring and following these developments.

[Al Arabiya TV] Do we in Saudi Arabia have such individuals?

[President Saleh] Yes.

[Al Arabiya TV] Can we know the names of the other states?

[President Saleh] Of course, any state that has sympathy with the Houthists in the name of the Twelver doctrine; in the name of the Shiite. Any Shiite in the region would sympathize with them and collect contributions to support them. States in the region that want to send messages, and persons who sympathize with the Houthists to establish a new denomination in Yemen, apart from the Zaydi and Shafiia denominations, subject to certain political considerations. Yemen is composed of Zaydis and Shafiias and we have no problem.

[Al Arabiya TV] We asked you if we in Saudi Arabia have such people and you said yes. In Saudi Arabia we have the families of Hamid-al-Din and Al-Wazir. They are Zaydis. Is it reasonable that they, or some of them, should back the Houthists?

[President Saleh] Yes, these are dreaming of the restoration of the rule of the Imamate.

[Al Arabiya TV] Can you confirm that some of the Hamid-al-Din family members support the Houthists? Have you informed the officials?

[President Saleh] Yes, yes, yes, and we have documents to prove their contacts with the Houthists, their support for the Houthists, and their collecting contributions to restore the Imamate. They always dream of this. They will not despair of the restoration of the Imamate. They do not believe that the revolution has been entrenched for the past 48 years; they believe that they have a divine right. Al-Houthi is a tool for those who are in Saudi Arabia or elsewhere.

[Al Arabiya TV] Are these supporters present in other Gulf countries?

[President Saleh] In Saudi Arabia, London, the United States, and other regions, not only in Saudi Arabia.

[Al Arabiya TV] What is the response of the Saudi government?

[President Saleh] Saudi Arabia is against these practices and has taken effective measures.

[Al Arabiya TV] Back to the Saudi-Yemeni border control. Apart from what you have mentioned that the army is there and there is a buffer zone, 20-km wide, is there any other mechanisms or other steps to reassure us about preventing smuggling and other illegal practices?

[President Saleh] We are in contact with the brothers in the kingdom to have joint patrols and to bring in modern surveillance equipment along the entire border. The border between Yemen and the kingdom extends more than 2,000 km. The discussion is about two tracks along the border: one on the Yemeni side for the Yemeni patrols, and another track on the Saudi side for the Saudi patrols. These tracks are joint patrols. There are towers with cameras fixed on them that keep watch between one tower and the next, a distance of more than 1 km. They are monitoring all movements day and night along the entire border. We are discussing this project with several companies and this project will be carried out to reduce the smuggling of drugs, arms, and explosives. This project is being discussed between the Yemeni and Saudi authorities.

[Al Arabiya TV] But there is a third track, which is the semi-organized arms trade here in Yemen. Some of the Yemeni officials are active in this. It is said that when the Somali wants to shop for arms he comes to Yemen. Al-Qaeda came to Yemen to purchase arms when it wanted arms to use in Saudi Arabia. This is an organized trade.

[President Saleh] Somali arms are flooding the Yemeni market. After the dissolution of the Mohammad Siad Barre-led Somali state, it left behind an arsenal because it was within the Warsaw Pact. It had an arsenal of light and medium weapons. When the state was dissolved, the Somali tribes took over these weapons or looted them.

[Al Arabiya TV] What about the arms that arrive from the Yemeni Army depots?

[President Saleh] I will be talking about this. These arms are smuggled through the sea and the smugglers deliver them to arms dealers. The state buys them. Some of them are smuggled to the Kingdom and they have been seized by the Saudis on the border with Saudi Arabia. Arms were also seized by the Yemeni Army on the border with Saudi Arabia. There is mutual cooperation. There is no basis of the truth for the notion that arms are smuggled from the Yemeni arms depots. However, you can say that a soldier, two soldiers, or 10 soldiers might take them and run away. For instance after the 1994 war, quantities of arms and ammunition were stolen and they fell into the hands of the tribes...

[Al Arabiya TV] But sympathy with the Houthists by some Yemeni Army personnel does not exist?

[President Saleh] No, no.

[Al Arabiya TV] Or the involvement of certain officials in this trade?

[President Saleh] No, no. In the past some of the arms merchants were licensed to import arms for the Yemeni government. The arms merchants later on used this as a game. We then issued a decree that the state would be the sole importer of arms...

[Al Arabiya TV] This decree was issued a few months ago.

[President Saleh] No, much earlier; four or five years ago, but we used to receive smuggled arms from China or from other regions, from states that joined the EU, which were known previously as the Warsaw Pact. These arms arrived by the sea and we were surprised to see them at the harbours. We had to impound them.

[Al Arabiya TV] Let us move on to the issue of relations with the United States. The Western press said that the US Government forces spoke of doubling the number of the Yemeni military forces and stepping up drone attacks.

[President Saleh] This is absolutely baseless. There is no US presence either on the Yemeni land or on Yemeni waters. We have no treaty or agreement on US presence. There is US-Yemeni cooperation in fighting terrorism.

[Al Arabiya TV] Training?

[President Saleh] Also in the field of training on combating terrorism. There are only a few dozens. The US mission in Yemen does not exceed 40 or 50 persons.

[Al Arabiya TV] Information exchanges also?

[President Saleh] Information exchanges in the field of combating terrorism.

[Al Arabiya TV] How do you describe the US-Yemeni relationship in light of these developments?

[President Saleh] In the field of counterterrorism relations and information exchanges are positive. There is excellent cooperation. The training of anti-terrorism forces and special units is positive.

[Al Arabiya TV] What about the Houthists?

[President Saleh] They do not interfere in the Houthists issue, even though the slogan that the Al-Houthi raises is: Death to the United States and Israel. The Americans do not pay any attention to it.

[Al Arabiya TV] Concerning domestic conditions, Your Excellency, you said in an interview with Al-Hayat newspaper that dialogue with the extremists has realized benefits by 60 per cent. What does this mean?

[President Saleh] It truly realized positive results - 50 or 60 per cent of them became moderate - but we discovered that those who left prison and those with whom we held dialogue and whom we thought had taken the straight path were the ones who blew themselves up and were killed. The latest has been one named Al-Anbari; he was killed two or three days ago. They had been in jail. They are of the elements that declared repentance.

[Al Arabiya TV] What about Al-Qaeda, the dialogue with Al-Qaeda?

[President Saleh] These are Al-Qaeda. These belong to the Al-Qaeda Organization.

[Al Arabiya TV] This should make you lose confidence in the dialogue plan.

[President Saleh] You can say that we lost trust in certain individuals. Some other individuals were corrected. The 60 per cent ratio is good. Some of the ones that we no longer trust were blown up in Marib and Hadramout.

[Al Arabiya TV] Do you not think that it is risky to hold dialogue with these and trust them once again?

[President Saleh] We should not despair. We will continue the dialogue. Let us correct 20 or 40 per cent. The rest will remain incorrigible. Why should we leave them in a corner?

[Al Arabiya TV] But one from the incorrigible 50 per cent might blew himself up in a Sana’a market?

[President Saleh] They might blow themselves up among us.

[Al Arabiya TV] Yes, they might blow us up.

[President Saleh] They might blow us up, destroying our establishments, our interests, but our security forces have developed a distinguished skill to hit them before they do that sometimes.

[Al Arabiya TV]You are called the father of Yemeni Unity. Does the unrest in the southern governorates cause you concern about unity?

[President Saleh] I will tell you something. I am not worried about our unity. The Yemeni unity is there to stay. Any major project is certain to run into some difficulties. Am I worried about unity? No, I am not. What make me feel worried are the disruptions that obstruct development. There is a separatist culture. There is an unhealthy culture being promoted by elements that lost their power and interests after the inception of unity. These elements agreed to this unity but they bounced back against unity.

[Al Arabiya TV] What motivates them?

[President Saleh] They are motivated by interests.

[Al Arabiya TV] Nothing external?

[President Saleh] No, for instance in 1994 the conditions in the region were extraordinary - the Gulf war and such things. It was an extraordinary situation but now there are no external forces to activate them with the exception of the money that they amassed from the Gulf war from the 1994 war, from the southern region state's possessions that they had nationalized before the unity on 22 May. They looted the treasury and they took the monies of state institutions in the south and they transferred the money outside the country and deposited them in banks abroad. They are now using the money to carry out their activities.

[Al Arabiya TV] But are you not worried by the fact that the southern movement is coinciding with the Houthist movement?

[President Saleh] We faced the southern movement and we faced the Houthists and we confronted the southern movement and we confronted the Houthists. This is because we have a project. Our project is a sound one. For instance, the Houthist project failed, why? It was because they carried up arms against the state and violated the law. The southern mobility movement - and I would not call it mobility movement; I would correct its name by calling it secessionist movement - was carried out by renegade secessionist forces. This also has failed. It will fail regardless of the coverage by certain media and satellite channels. These media inflame the situation more than it is already inflamed in reality.

To give you an example. Some 50 or a 100 protesters come out to demonstrate but some satellite channels go to their archives and dig out a two or three years old demonstration of 2,000 or 3,000 and say that this protest was staged a week ago or today. Regrettably, certain satellite channels in the region have lost their credibility because they do not adhere to the principle of professionalism. They should be professional.

[Al Arabiya TV] But what is your plan to tackle this problem as you have tackled the Houthist problem?

[President Saleh] Our plan is as follows. Those who represent the sons of the southern governorates are leading state officials. They are in parliament, in the Shura Council, in the Executive Authority, and in local governments. These are the representatives of the south. Apart from these, all others are rejected. We will not accept them as representatives of the south or as speakers in the name of the south.

[Al Arabiya TV] Then with whom are you seeking dialogue? You wanted dialogue. With whom do you want to talk?

[President Saleh] With whom will we hold dialogue? If there is a dialogue with the unionist elements and they have legitimate demands, we will hold dialogue with them. But we will not hold dialogue with secessionist and renegade elements. Let this be very clear. We will not hold talks with secessionist elements but we will hold dialogue with elements who demonstrate understating, who have certain grievances about certain issues. We will hold dialogue with them and we will reach understanding with them. This has to be done through the representatives of the local authorities in the southern governorates.

[Al Arabiya TV] You mean through political channels.

[Al Arabiya TV] Two days ago, you said that reaching the presidency will be done through the ballot boxes.

[President Saleh] Yes.

[Al Arabiya TV] Then why should the unity or secession not be through the ballot boxes? While coming to the Presidential palace, I saw a huge slogan: Unity or death. I would call this a difficult choice.

[President Saleh] It was a slogan that was raised at certain circumstances in the war during the summer of 1994. It was necessary to urge the people and speak in their language: unity or death.

[Al Arabiya TV] But the slogan continues to be displayed in Sana’a. I have seen it a short while ago.

[President Saleh] They forgot it. The municipality is responsible.

[President Saleh] The separatists forgot it. It is raised sort of retroactively, but the unity is firm.

[Al Arabiya TV] What about a referendum on unity?

[President Saleh] Dear brother. A referendum on unity was held. This happened in 1991. There was a direct referendum and the Yemeni people in the southern part of the homeland said: Yes to unity. Then there was another referendum through parliamentary elections in 2003. The Yemeni people voted for unity in the 2007 elections. The Yemeni people voted for it in the latest parliamentary and presidential elections, as well as in the local elections. All these are referendums. Those who lost power, those who are now raising the slogan of secession, lost power and left voluntarily. We did not force them to leave. They left voluntarily and took with them the price of the chaste blood that was shed in the war during the summer of 1994. They ran away. Now they are raising slogans. They had an arsenal of weapons, aircraft, and missiles. But our political and unionist project, the project of the Yemeni people, says: Yes to unity; no to secession. Unity triumphed. Now they are raising the slogan of secession once again...

[Al Arabiya TV] But just before the time runs out, there are two questions. The first question is about the donors states. Saudi Arabia offered 1 billion [currency not mentioned] and the others made promises. What happened to these donations?

[President Saleh] Saudi Arabia offered $ 1 billion, Kuwait offered $ 200 million, Qatar $ 500 million, the Emirates more than $ 500 million. London offered $ 500 million but the Emirates offered more than $ 1 billion in direct payment for various purposes. The UAE met more than its obligations at the London Conference.

[Al Arabiya TV] This means that only the Arabs paid; the foreigners did not.

[President Saleh] No foreigner would contribute. No one.

[Al Arabiya TV] Could it be that they objected to corruption?

[President Saleh] They did not say. Only the World Bank and the IMF were participating in the project. The others were not.

[Al Arabiya TV] But the donors would certainly raise the issue of the government performance and fighting corruption. I asked a Yemeni youth: What should I ask the president? He replied: Ask the president about the corruption and about those around the president who should...

[President Saleh] Who should account for what they did.

[Al Arabiya TV] Who should face accountability? This is a question by a Yemeni youth.

[President Saleh] Very well. There is no place in the world where you do not see slogans raised about corruption. This is in vogue now. In all countries of the world - from the United States down to the smallest nation in the world - you hear charges of corruption. All right. We have created a committee for fighting corruption and a number of cases were referred to courts concerned with public funds. The anticorruption commission is responsible for fighting corruption and prosecuting the corrupt.

[Al Arabiya TV] But Mr. President, Commissions do not do anything. I have heard a joke by one of the Yemeni brothers in which he says: There is a commission to combat the practice of chewing qat but when this commission meets it chews qat.

[President Saleh] That is right, that is right. First of all, judging by the available reports, the anticorruption commission realized excellent results in the field of combating corruption.

[Al Arabiya TV] Was any senior official brought to account publicly?

[President Saleh] I believe they do not catch major corrupt officials. They usually catch minor corrupt officials. This happens in the whole world. They have not caught any major corrupt officials.

[Al Arabiya TV] time is up, but one question remains. A few months ago you said: I will not stand for the presidential post and I will not accept any nominations.

[President Saleh] When was that?

[Al Arabiya TV] A few months ago.

[President Saleh] Did I say that?

[Al Arabiya TV] You said in an interview with Al-Hayat newspaper that you would not stand for president nor would you accept any nomination. Is your stand still valid?

[President Saleh] First of all, I have a specific constitutional term. It is over and I will adhere by the valid constitution now. It is only a presidential term. I will complete what is left of it and I will not stand for another term. Again I say: I will not stand once again.

[Al Arabiya TV] Thank you, Your Excellency, for your patience and frankness. God willing, we will hold with you another interview in the future.

Yemenizing African refugees through election cards

2010-03-21T13:52:00.000-07:00

Election fraud has been negatively reflected in Yemen's security as hundreds of African refugees, mostly Somalis are roaming around the country with Yemeni IDs or election cards.

They exist near restaurants and in front of car parks offering their services for only YR 300. They communicate in costal languages Yemenis do not understand. When they talk to Yemenis, they use Yemeni dialects; Taizi, Sana'ani and Tehami. The listener would not doubt their Yemeni identities. However they have Yemeni IDs, Yemeni family names, but after investigation you find out they are African refugees who get a suitable living opportunity in Yemen.

Yemeni with Somali dialect

An African refugee is tiring himself to speak in a Yemeni dialect. Another one works in sheikh's farm belongs to Yemeni tribe who got the Yemeni nationality after getting the ID card. There are hundreds African refugees who got the IDs illegally. Getting Yemeni IDs is the dream of all the refugees because they want to be treated as original Yemenis, especially after mastering the Sana'ani dialect.

An Ethiopian refugee said that he is collecting $500 to gain the Yemeni ID to overcome the roadblocks and have a cell phone number. As Yemenis fear any impact of buying phone numbers for Somalis, it is difficult for them to mobile lines.

Some refugees could get the IDs because their own sheikh gathers with a member of the parliament every Friday. "We were also behind this member win for the 2003 parliamentary election in Yemen," they claimed.

Election Card grants nationality

An Interior Ministry official who refused to mention his name said that the main reason for Africans to get Yemen IDs, is the electoral cards they got as a result of the competition among the political parties.
"These people are attracted and then get their names belonged to known Yemeni families or tribes. Based on this, they got the ID easily," he said.

He affirmed that the law stipulates that electoral card is one of the important documents civil affairs authority depends on besides other certificates to grant IDs.

When a Somali refugee who could not speak purely Arabic and insists that he is from Hjjah province, came to al-Thawra police station in the Capital Sana'a for ID, he was requested by the police station to present his documents. He was ready with his electoral card, neighborhoods' supervisor recommendation and ID copies of two witnesses as identification documents to get his Yemeni ID.

As the concerned policeman wanted to stop the process of granting him the ID, his co-worker rejected that saying there is no excuse to stop or delay it because he has all the required documents and it’s the election committee's responsibility.

Police officers affirm that refugees can get IDs by giving bribes to concerned officials. These bribes are ranging from USD 500-1000.
"Thousands of African refugees could obtain Yemeni IDs by bribing the brokers who have relations with civil affairs investigations and who in their turn allow the procedures to pass through," said a police station's officer.

Many Africans had been arrested after finding out that they got IDs illegally, a policeman affirmed, but he did not mention the number, the place of their detention and the number of issues; whether they were referred to justice or not.

An election committee chief in Hajjah province got surprised when he discovered that the number of the registered people in the electoral district is twice the population number.
If each electoral card would bring ID card, the identification card fraud size would be too big in Yemen. So the Supreme Commission for Election and Referendum is responsible to manage this fault.
In case of applying a law to grant electoral cards only to those who have IDs and not the opposite ,that would deprive a huge number of rural residences of voting to their candidates since most of them do not have IDs or any other identification documents, the committee officials clarified.

Revenge escape and dual employment

Not only election is the reason for forging the Yemeni ID nor do Africans want to have it illegally, but also Yemenis who keen on having more than one governmental job to get more than one salary a month. Some others fear tribal revenge and others escape their family names because they are related to this hated professions.

Criminals, terrorists and drug traffickers are also eager to have IDs or passports with false data to mislead security authorities. For instance a man from Sana'a and his sons got new IDs from Dhale' province with unreal family names after murdering two people.

Yemeni migrants abroad are mostly seeking to play with personal data while traveling abroad.

"Corrupt officers and managers help these people to travel to European or American countries under forged names to ensure residencies," said an official in civil status authority.

Forging goes beyond the IDs to the death certificate, for example a girl wanted to obtain a death certificate for her mother who still alive and works in a school to be appointed as a successor. Some people forge the family cards by increasing the names of the family members to attain the social insurance.

Inefficient treatment

Although the amendments of the manual ID card to the electronic one took place, gaps are still there and a lot can change the data in cooperation with the officials who are responsible to insert the data, Civil Status Authority officials affirmed.
According to them, Interior Ministry's fees for the IDs increased through buying modern computers which aim at joining civilians with electronic information system which is hard to pass through.

"The aim of linking Yemeni citizens with information technology system to ensure getting duplicated data of names, ages, places of birth, jobs, family data has not been achieved," said this official.

He said that there are three complementary contracts that cost the Interior Ministry millions of Yemeni Rials and the last contract brought non erased information cards.

In recent years, while giving the local council's more powers to perform their duties including employment some of them intended to change people's personal data of those who came from other provinces as they are from the original, IDs information as what happened in Jawf, where some people got scholarships whereas they are from other provinces.

Meanwhile, civil status departments have been opened in every province in Yemen including governorate centers and the districts related to them. These administrations duty is to record the civilians' affairs such as (marriage, divorce, birth, death) and other urgent incidents as issuing ID cards and family documents according to law.

In recent Haj season and after the Endowment Ministry announced to ban pilgrims over 70 years of Haj as a precaution measure of being infected with H1N1. Some pilgrims changed their IDs and passports data, especially their dates of birth, an Interior official said.

Data system has failed in Yemen because "each governmental authority has different information of the same person," he added, explaining all the governmental authorities to be tied to one developed data system that at least includes the personal and the occupational data.

Yemen's law has dealt with this issue as to jail those who have more than one ID for no less than 6 months or paying YR 50 thousand as a fine. The law stipulates on three years imprisonment and a fine of YR 100,000 for those presented forged documents to the authorities to facilitate gaining getting the ID or changing any information."

Civil Status Authority in the Interior Ministry is the body in charge of issuing IDs, Family Documents, Birth & Death Certificates and other documents for Yemenis and non Yemenis.
The authority head Abu-Baker al-Amodi said that depending on the electoral card as identification document is a violation which the issuing centers take responsibility. The Authority would issue a generalization to explain the confusion of this procedure in the issuing centers, al-Amodi added.

The authority's legislation affairs director general Abdulaziz al-Sa'afani said that the identification documents approved the Ministry to gain the ID card is to bring the original birth certificate, family card, witnesses ID copies besides the blood test sheet and two photos of the applicant, the neighborhood supervisor recommendation.
He also pointed out that it's too difficult to forge an electronic ID except if the procedures will be done for one person and taken the finger print of another one. A number of these cases have been discovered and handled.

Electoral card would be demanded just because it’s the official wide speared document in Yemen, particularly in the countryside where, many people do not have birth certificates or family cards.

Legislation Affairs

The General Manager of Legal Affairs in the Ministry of Legal Affairs Abdullah Barakat said that item number 22 of the civil status's law does not include the electoral card as one of the identification documents that one could gain the ID or the passport through.

People should firstly have IDs and through them they could obtain electoral cards and not the opposite, he added. Nevertheless electoral cards considered identifying documents to receive remittances from exchange offices or any other facilities.

Law never contain all details and that leads each ministry to have their own instructions and regulations which decided by the minister to organize the work, as they contact directly with applicants and that may violate the law without intention.

" There are instructions applied ( by concerned bodies) as taking the electoral card as one prove besides two eyewitnesses, especially after getting witnesses has become very easy for some monies. Some of them present perjuries for only YR 1000," affirmed Barakat.

The law drafts are changeable and can be amended to fulfill the applicants' needs. The amendments also differ from a minister to another, said General Manager of By-Law Legislation in the ministry Mohammad al-Zorka.

In the electoral card case, Interior Ministry should estimate the damage volume and change the law draft in a way that serves the public interest.
Officials in Legislation Ministry affirmed that not having an ID is a disaster.

There is money …there is card

ID charge, which is specified by YR 965, is not enough for some civil affairs branch officials as they force civilians to pay YR 3000-10000 for each applicant.
Some people say that official documents could be obtained easily illegally through bribes and mediators.

Electronic IDs reduced fraud

Some people say that employees in the electronic issuing authority got YR 20 illegally to check each ID data so the cost would reach to YR 1300 in the main center and YR1500 in the branches.

The authority that was visited by a group from the Investigative Department receives and checks information from 28 issuing center in the Republic. If they discovered a 90% similarity in fingerprints, pictures or any other data, they cease the ID.

One of the samples is a civilian who has two IDs one from Dhale' province and the other from Lahj with different data but almost same pictures so he was arrested and investigated as he admitted that he wanted the other to have a work visa to a gulf country.

The general manager of Planning and Survey in the Civil Affairs Authority, Yahya al- Sosowa affirmed that the manual ID card cease reduced the fraud phenomenon pointing that the total number of the issued electronic IDs for Yemenis last year reached to 400.000 cards.

endesk@sabanews.net
mahmoudassamiee@gmail.com

No US official initiative for dialogue between GPC, opposition

2010-03-21T13:50:00.000-07:00

Yemen denied on Sunday that USA has presented an official initiative for dialogue between General People Congress (GPC) and the opposition parties.

Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi told the Saba-run Alsyasiah daily that initiative has been presented by the American Democracy Institute (ADI) two weeks ago not by the American administration as reported by some media outlets.

He asserted that the GPC has already called for holding dialogue several times since 2009 but, unfortunately, Joint Meeting Parties have not responded.

Yemen will back Malaysian investment: PM says

2010-03-17T06:07:00.002-07:00

Prime Minister Ali Mujawar asserted on Wednesday that the Malaysian investment is to be supported and cared by the government.

Mujawar said, during the opening of the Malaysian-Yemeni Festival 2010 in Sana'a, that the festival is a fruit of Yemen-Malaysian economic cooperation.

Yemen follows up carefully the great success Malaysia has made in the various areas, particularly in economy and knowledge, the Premier said pinning hopes that the festival would assist Yemen to benefit from the Malaysian great experiences.

"It is an opportunity to avail from the Malaysian experience to strengthen the Yemeni development strategy and enhance Yemeni products' competitiveness in the foreign markets" Mujawar said.

The government intends, via this festival, to encourage the two countries' investors to exchange experiences and revive old Yemeni-Malaysian commercial ties, he said.

The government's attention focuses currently on realizing the economic and social development and creating a competitive investment environment through carrying out the administrative, financial and economic reform program the government has adopted since 1995.

He made reference to the partnership between the government and the private sector, saying that the government has enhanced this partnership in the recent years to enable the private sector to play an efficient role in the development process and in areas of infrastructure, agriculture, fishing, oils, minerals and all service sectors.

Mujawar said that Yemen has many qualitative investment opportunities either in the Aden Free Zone or in other promising sectors, calling the Malaysian investors on availing from the merits and advantages for foreign and Arab investments in the Yemeni Investment Law.

He reiterated the Yemen's desire for more economic and investment partnership between Yemen and Malaysia, the PM said.

The Malaysian-Yemeni Festival was inaugurated in Sana'a Expo Center with participation of over 100 Malaysian firms.

According to 2008 statistic, the investments between Yemen and Malaysia raised from $ 47.7 million in 1990 to $ 401.8 million in 2008.

Japan supports Education and Health Projects in Yemen

2010-03-17T06:07:00.001-07:00

Japan has decided to extend two grants amounting to YR 41.46 million for two education and health projects in Aden and Mahweet.

''Japan has decided to extend a grant amounting to YR 20.98 million for the project of “Improving Environment of Home Economics Education at Al-Qadesiya School for Girls in Aden province”, and another grant amounting to YR 20.48 million for the project of “Constructing a Health Centre in Bani Sa’ad District in Mahweet province", the Japanese Embassy said on Wednesday.

In a press release, the embassy made it cleared that the two grants were under the scheme called “Grant Assistance for Grass-roots Human Security Projects” which aims at supporting small-scale community-based projects in basic human needs fields, such as primary health care, basic education and drinking water supply in the developing countries.

The first grant is to the General Education Office in Aden to build two classrooms and provide cooking and sewing training equipments targeting 640 girls studying in grades 7-9 at Al-Qadesiya School in order to help them acquire home economic skills.

The second grant is to the Mahweet Health Office to upgrade the current health unit by constructing a new health centre in order to improve its services. Up 3,250 residents in 34 villages in Bani Sa’ad will have its benefits.

Mr. Mitsunori Namba, ambassador of Japan to Yemen signed the agreements of the two grants with Ms. Ibtisam Salih Ali, Girls Education Manager at Aden Education Office and Dr. Ameen Mohammed Hubaish, the Director of the Mahweet Health Office.

During this Japanese fiscal year (April 1, 2009 - March 31, 2010) Japan funded 18 projects so far including these two in Yemen, amounting to about USD 1.5 million under the above mentioned Japanese scheme.

In the last Japanese fiscal year, Japan funded 16 projects in Yemen under the same scheme with a total amount of more than USD 1.2 million.

Yemen, Saudi Arabia sign security MEMO

2010-03-17T06:06:00.001-07:00

Yemen and Saudi Arabia have signed on the sidelines of the 27th round of the Arab Interior Ministers Council, a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the two countries in the security field .

The memo calls for cooperation on facing natural and industrial hazards as well as cooperation in the field of training and exchanging civil defense experts.

The memo was signed by Interior Minister Mutahar al-Masri and Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz.

The two sides also discussed the bilateral relationship especially in counterterrorism area.

Moreover, al-Masri has separately met with Bahrain's Interior Minister Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa and Sudanese Interior Minister Ibrahim Mohamed Hamed.

The meetings discussed aspects of cooperation between Yemen and each country.

Prince Sultan: Yemen & KSA security undivided

2010-03-17T06:05:00.000-07:00

RIYADH, March 16 (Saba)- Saudi Crown Prince, Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense and Aviation Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud affirmed on Tuesday that the Yemeni and Saudi relations are deeply rooted and no-one can cause them harm as security of Yemen is part and parcel of security of the Kingdom.

This came in Prince Sultan inspection visit to Saudi armed forces stationed at the Saudi southern borders with Yemen as reported by Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

"We feel sorry for what happened in our southern borders and we did not wish for it to occur because we share commonalities and we have the same destiny with Yemen," he said.

He referred to the Yemeni-Saudi Coordination Council which works to direct the two countries' wise leaderships to support development, security and stability.

We, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud wish Yemen and its people progress and prosperity, he hoped.

Sultan said that joint work with Yemen will continue for the sake of interest of the two countries' peoples.

Al-Qaeda leaders killed in south Yemen identified

2010-03-16T03:33:00.000-07:00

The two leaders of Al-Qaeda killed in an airstrike in southern Yemen two days ago have been identified as Jamil Al-Anbari and Samir Al-Sayari.

Al-Anbari was the leader of Al-Qaeda in Abyan, police director in the province Abdul Razaq al-Marwani said on Tuesday.

Al-Marwani also revealed that a third suspect was killed in the operation and identified as Ahmed al-Zarba after the bodies of the three were examined.

The three were killed on Sunday night while planning to attack vital facilities.

The fresh raid took place in Modia district in the province of Abyan where the first successful terror operation took place last year.

In 2009, other terror operations were carried out in the south and north in which scores of al-Qaeda suspects were killed, wounded and arrested.

They were hailed regionally and internationally as a model.

Al-Houthis delay implementation of ceasefire: Security body

2010-03-16T03:27:00.000-07:00

An official security body has accused the al-Houthi elements of delaying the implementation of the six points of a ceasefire deal between government troops and the rebels in northern Yemen.

‘’In light of follow-up reports and field operations of the one-month old national committees overseeing the implementation of the six points in Saada province and Harf Sufyan of Amran province, the al-Houthis are still putting obstacles in front of the committees in order to discharge their duties properly’’, the Supreme Security Committee said on Tuesday.

Saada had suffered from a sporadic six-year war between the government troops and al-Houthi rebels since 2004. The last round of the war was erupted in August 2009.

On February 12th, a ceasefire deal was announced by President Ali Abdullah Saleh following the acceptance of Abdul-Malik al-Houthi of the government's six points.

The ceasefire deal contains:

- Al-Houthi commitment to ceasefire, eliminating landmines and leaving positions and hideouts.
- Rebel withdrawal from all districts of Saada and stopping interference in the local government's duties.
- Returning looted military and public equipment and properties of Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
- Releasing Yemeni and Saudi captives.
- Obeying the law and constitution.
- Pledging not to attack Saudi lands.

The security committee explained that the Saada committees are still ranging in the implementation of the first point because of the Houthis.

‘’The al-Houthis are refusing to deliver landmines which have been removed in some areas to the government in order to be destructed. Also, the al-Houthis returned again to some sites after leaving, established new checkpoints and committed numerous violations and attacks on citizens and some public and private installations’’, the committee confirmed.

The committee called on the al-Houthis to commit fully to the six points and not to obstruct the national supervisory committees for bringing peace, stability and development to Saada and Harf Sufyan.

The security body also asked the Houthis to enable displaced people to come back to their homes and their villages in the war-infected areas in Saada and Harf Sufyan.

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that about 250,000 Yemenis have been displaced by the protracted conflict in Saada.

UNHCR said that there is an urgent need to address the dangers posed by landmines and unexploded ordnance, as people begin to return to their areas of origin in Saada, making reference to the Interior Ministry reports that showed that since the ceasefire was announced at least five people have been killed and 20 injured as a result of contact with such explosive devices. Most of these were children.

Al-Arhabi: Yemen established infrastructure to access WTO

2010-03-16T03:25:00.000-07:00

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Abdul-Karim al-Arhabi affirmed on Monday that Yemen has achieved the required infrastructure in accordance with legislations of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in preparation for accession into the Organization.

He also affirmed the importance of granting Yemen special merits as it is one of the least developing countries, noting a set of reforms adapted to the WTO legislations referred to the Parliament for ratification.

The minister considered that such steps will contribute to reinforcing and improving investment environment in Yemen as well as promoting Yemen joining to the WTO.

Yemen has reached advanced stage to join WTO: Minister

2010-03-16T03:18:00.000-07:00

Minister of Industry and Trade Yahya al-Mutawakil affirmed on Monday that Yemen has reached an advanced stage in the completion of requirements of accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

At a meeting of the National Committee for negotiation with the WTO, attended by Head of the working team on Yemen accession to the WTO and Head of Joining Department at the WTO, al-Mutawakil noted the strategic dimension of Yemen joining to the WTO.

He confirmed Yemen's keenness to benefit from the privileges and facilities granted by the organization for the least developed countries.

Meanwhile ,al-Mutawakil stressed on the importance of availing, during this stage, from the clear international support to accelerate the accession of Yemen to the WTO, especially as the negotiations gaps have become limited in a small scale.

For his part, Head of the working team on Yemen accession to the WTO renewed his keenness on Yemen joining to the WTO in the near future.

In this regard, he pointed to the attention of many countries to the accession of Yemen to the organization, which was clearly evident at the 7th meeting of the working team on Yemen accession to the WTO, held last January in Geneva.

He considered Yemen's accession an important indication of the compatibility of its legislations with the 153 WTO member countries, a matter which would contribute to attracting investments and enhancing the confidence of investors in Yemen trade system.

The National Committee members presented, during the meeting, a number of inquiries and observations on the accession, and the technical assistance provided to Yemen as one of the least developed countries, 7in addition to the transitional period, which Yemen will get after the accession.

PM: Yemeni woman has exceeded time of marginalization

2010-03-14T12:19:00.000-07:00

Prime Minister Ali Mujawar stressed on Sunday that the Yemeni woman today, under the patronage of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, has exceeded the time of marginalization and closed doors.

This came in his speech at the launch of the 2nd sports and cultural-social festival of women, organized by the Public Administration of Women at the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

"The Yemeni woman today is flying in wide spaces of creativity and uniqueness and honorable presence and reaping the rights allowed to her by the state in the various areas of life and exerting her full potentials to serve her society" Mujawar said.

"The President put the Yemeni woman among his most important priorities and gave her all attention in terms of human value that she represents, as a partner of life and her expected role in building herself first and then serving her environment and society in order to be a model depended on to achieve the aspiration of development and the cultural advancement of our country", Mujawar said.

He noted that the organization of this women festival which comes amid atmospheres filled of confidence and hope and looking forward to a bright future where women could achieve a lot of their ambitions and aspirations.

Mujawar added "It is not strange for the Yemeni girl to hold such creative and humanitarian demonstrations in its annual festival which its revenues are allocated for the favor of the cancer victims, as she is the compassionate mother, the benevolent sister, the generous wife and the daughter, who loves her family and society.

Above all this and that she has become an ideal official, a virtuous educator , a creative, a preserving worker and a good citizen, who is struggling silently to get her rights and is committed to perform her duties without negligence and that is a feature of the Yemeni woman in all the time and when, he pointed out.

"The Yemeni woman finds herself closer to response to the call of duty and the initiative to present effective human touches with pure emotion that are free of any interests to make such this carnival ,despite its importance in the auspices of the talented and creative, an opportunity to devote the charitable and humanitarian work." Mujawar indicated.

Concluding his speech, the premier commended the efforts of the ministry and the organizers of this creative demonstration and humanitarian initiative.

IEF to prepare free camp for blind people in Yemen

2010-03-14T12:18:00.001-07:00

The International Eye Foundation (IEF) is getting ready to establish 24th free eye camp to combat blindness in Salakhana Hospital, Hodeidah governorate on March 30 – April 16.

In a statement to Saba, IEF General Manager Mohammed al-Basery said the camp would be funded by Sobal Charitable Institution to conduct 800 surgeries to treat cataract, medical testing for 9,000 cases and also distribute free treatments and glasses to 3,000 cases.

Al-Basery affirmed the preparations for establishing the camp have been made in coordination with Public Health and Population office and Salakhana Hospital in Hodeidah governorate, which would provide services to many patients who can not afford the costs of surgical operations.

The International Eye Foundation (IEF) is founded in 1961. It aims to prevent blindness and restore vision in the developing world.
Over four decades, the foundation has helped millions of people in more than 60 developing nations.

Yemen, ICRC discuss IDPs situation in Saada

2010-03-14T12:05:00.000-07:00

Yemen and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) discussed on Sunday the situation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Saada province and Harf Sufian distract.

Interior Minister Mutahar al-Masri and head of ICRC delegation Jean- Nicolas Marti discussed the facilities the ministry offers to enable the ICRC carrying out their humanitarian activities.

Al-Masri appreciated the committee's efforts and humanitarian assistance for the IDPs, confirming the ministry's adherence to provide all the facilities for the committee to be able to carry out its duties perfectly.

For his part, Marti praised the efforts provided by the Interior Ministry to ICRC implement its humanitarian tasks in the country.

HR minister praises WRS recommendations

2010-03-12T11:44:00.001-08:00

SANA'A, March 12 (Saba)- Minister of Human Rights Huda al-Ban hailed on Friday recommendations of Women Rights Summit (WRS) which ended its activities recently in the Turkish capital, Ankara, describing it as "distinguished."

Upon arrival after participating in the WRS, she pointed out that the recommendations affirmed the distinguished role of women in the society and the importance of collaborating efforts to provide suitable environments to discuss women issues in a free and transparent way without any restraints.

The summit also aimed at unifying concepts and understandings as well as implementing special plans and strategies related to women, she added.

Official source: broadcasting equipments of Al Jazeera and Al Arabia unauthorized

2010-03-12T11:43:00.000-08:00

SANA'A, March 12 (Saba) - An official source in Ministry of Information has said that the satellite broadcasting equipments (SNG) of Al Jazeera and Al Arabia satellite channels were not authorized by the ministry.

The source told Saba that the two devices have not been confiscated but they would be returned where they came from.

The directors of Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabia offices know and understand this legal matter and they were requested to cooperate with the concerned authorities in the ministry to implement the law, the source added.

He pointed out that these two devices were reserved legally after the meeting, which included Director General of Information Department and Director General of Public Relations at the ministry and the directors of Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabic offices.

He denied any arbitrary or offensive practices accompanied the reservation process, unlike what has been promoted by Al-Jazeera.

The source welcomed any broadcasting devices of any satellite channel entered into the country legally and to be used to convey the real media message, and not to raise chaos and amplify the events in order to harm the public tranquility of the nation as it has recently happened on Al-Jazeera channel, which broadcasted pictures from the archives claiming that they were new pictures, a matter that reflects a travesty of reality and encourages the subversive and separatist elements targeting Yemen's security ,unity and social fabric.

Yemen holds US 'al-Qaeda member'

2010-03-11T23:07:00.001-08:00

Yemini authorities have arrested a US citizen suspected of being an al-Qaeda operative who allegedly killed a guard while trying to break out of a hospital.

Officials have described Sharif Mobley, a 26-year-old who was raised in the US town of Buena in New Jersey, as Somali-American.

Mobley killed a guard and shot another over the weekend during an attempt to escape from the Republican Hospital in Sa'na, the Yemeni capital, where he was receiving treatment while in police custody.

He was caught after a chase.

He was originally arrested in part of a sweep against al-Qaeda and was charged with being a member of the group, other officials said.

'No terrorist'

Rich Wolf, a US Federal Buerau of Investigation (FBI) spokesman, said that the agency was looking into the case.

Charles Mobley, the suspect's father, said on Friday morning: "I can tell you this: He's no terrorist."

His mother told local media that she spoke to her son in January when he was in Yemen and that the FBI had previously visited her home.

Other people have commented that Mobley showed strong religious views in high school.

Roman Castro, who went to school with Mobley and subsequently did a tour with the US Army in Iraq, said when he last saw him about four years ago, Mobley yelled: "Get the hell away from me, you Muslim killer!"

Mobley moved to Yeman about two years ago to study Arabic and Islam, a former neighbour said.

He had previously been a member of his school wrestling team and was a karate black-belt.

New Chile president vows to rebuild

2010-03-11T22:59:00.000-08:00

Chile's newly sworn-in president has vowed to help rebuild the earthquake-devastated country.

"We are going, all together, to rebuild Chile, stone by stone, brick by brick, and we aren't just going to build it - we are going to build it back better than before," Sebastian Pinera said on Thursday, hours after strong aftershocks rocked his inauguration ceremony.

Addressing the nation from the balcony of Santiago's presidential palace late on Thursday, Pinera urged citizens to join him in the rebuilding effort following last month's devastating 8.8-magnitude earthquake.

"We are, all together, going to make a huge leap forward, towards the future, and towards progress."

Chile's first elected right-wing president in 52 years won office promising to improve the economy, but says he will now be the "reconstruction president", urging citizens to "dry our tears and put our hands to work".

And leading by example, he met late into the night with his ministers after the day's ceremonies and touring of quake-hit regions, vowing to introduce his first proposals on relief and reconstruction to congress on Friday morning.

Aftershocks

Moments before Pinera was sworn in on Thursday, three strong aftershocks hit the country, the strongest of which was 6.9 in magnitude, nearly matching the 7.0-magnitude quake that devastated Haiti on January 12.

In fact, the country was hit by more than a dozen significant aftershocks - three over magnitude-6 and six above magnitude-5 – on Thursday, demonstrating the challenges that face Pinera.

The inauguration ceremony went ahead despite some visiting dignitaries looking nervous, but lasted just 30 minutes.

The 60-year-old president and his ministers quickly took their oaths, and the audience of 2,000 headed for the exits and the hills, joining an evacuation called out of concern that the aftershocks would set off another tsunami.

The navy issued a tsunami alert along the coast and sirens sounded in Constitucion, one of the strongest-hit areas in the February 27 quake, while police ordered people away from beaches. The alert was later lifted.

Pinera left his guests soon after the inauguration to see for himself some of the areas most affected by the earthquake.

He flew to the inland city of Rancagua, which suffered additional damage during a strong aftershock on Thursday morning.

Lucia Newman, Al Jazeera's Latin America editor, said Pinera ordered troops in Rancagua to ensure there would be no repeat of scenes of looting that were seen in the city of Concepcion following the original earthquake.

Pinera said there were no reports of more deaths after Thursday's aftershocks, but the critical north-south highway suffered more damage in Rancagua, and violent waves hit at least two towns along the central coast, Pichilemu and Bucalemu, according to Rodrigo Hinzpeter, the new interior minister.

'Tragedy inspires'

Returning to Santiago after his tour of the quake-hit areas, Pinera said: "Lots of people are still missing and I saw people in anguish today, as well as people with hope, who asked us not to abandon the search for those still missing.

"Hundreds of thousands of Chileans have seen the earthquake or the tsunami destroy their dreams and livelihoods … everyone in Chile shares their distress and their loss."

Still he sounded an optimistic note, saying "tragedy and adversity, instead of getting us down, will fortify us".

"Tragedy and adversity never put down those who are strong, instead, it inspires them, allows them to confront their challenges, and allows them to find their destiny, their mission and their future," he said.

"For those who are suffering today … we will make the best possible efforts."

Thursday's handover of power from popular centre-leftist Michelle Bachelet was celebrated with relative austerity out of respect for those still mourning the dead.

Officials have identified 497 dead from the February 27 quake and tsunami, after revising down an earlier death toll of 802, which mistakenly included lists of the missing.

The fifth-strongest quake since 1900 also destroyed or heavily damaged at least 500,000 homes and broke apart highways and hospitals.

President Saleh visits Central Security camp

2010-03-11T15:35:00.001-08:00

SANA’A, March 11 (Saba)- President Ali Abdullah Saleh paid Thursday a visit to the Central Security camp, where he was briefed on the conduct of training and rehabilitation of forces which will be transferred to Saada to maintain security and stability in the districts of the province.

Addressing the Central Security forces, President Saleh praised officers and soldiers who will go to Saada in order to maintain security in the districts and secure the way for the return of people displaced by the war of insurgency led by al-Houthis in the province, northern Yemen.

‘’We hope the latest military confrontation is the last war in the province of Saada, and security and stability return to this province for boosting development process and rebuilding what the previous six war caused loses in developmental, cultural, educational and socially’’, he said.

‘’We are responsible for our citizens, whether they were in the side of the army or who were outlaws’’.

The President urged the officers and soldiers and heads of districts in Saada to deal with the return of displaced well.

‘’The governor and senior security and military officials are responsible for all the citizens, who fought with the government or who were deluded’’.

He pointed out that military and security were the protector of the homeland, the unity, freedom and democracy.