Press Review - Issue 47

47 - Nov 20 thru Nov 26 2000, Vol X

Results of the Doha Islamic Summit, developments of investigations into Cole blast incident, constitutional amendments and protest against the bloody events and atrocities by Israeli authorities against the Palestinians in occupied Palestine are among the main topics front-paged this week’s press in Yemen. There are other important domestic and Arab topics of the main news and news reports dealt with by this week’s newspapers.

Main Headlines:

-Security Investigations into Cole Explosion Led to Names in Kuwait, Qatar
-Sana’a Witnesses Largest Woman Demonstrations Supporting Palestinian Intifada
-Yemeni Air Force Mig-21 Crashed, Five Military Killed
-Vice-president Represents Yemen to Oman’s National Day Celebrations Parliamentary Commission Concludes Studying Constitutional Amendments Proposals, Draft Committee to Prepare Final Report
-Yemeni-Chinese Relations Lauded
-Palestinian Leadership Reiterate Call For International Protection
-Open Strike in AthThawra Hospital
-13 Persons, Victims of Torrents in Maghreb Ans
-Physicians, Oil Workers Threaten of General Strike
-Assessment Seminar for NGO’s in Yemen
-2nd Congress of Islah Party, Held
-Yemen-WB Cooperation Strategy Discussed
-Journalists Stage Sit-in on Their Demands
-Active Yemeni Participation In International Tourism Exhibition in Britain
-Doha Islamic Summit, Weak Statement

Excerpts from articles published in some Yemeni newspapers this week.

Al Mithaq
weekly
organ of the GPC party, November 13, 2000
In his article commenting on the attack on the USS Cole destroyer, Dr Abdul Aziz al Maqaleh has said all forms and ways of terrorism are rejected. It is refused whether it has been committed by individuals or small states or big power. The author argues that the countries resisting terrorism have to reconsider their stands towards the just issues in the world. They have to define their stances versus those who are murdering the Palestinian children and their fathers and mothers in a daily unsightly terrorism exceeding all sorts of this crime. Until the US manages to help put an end to suffering of the Palestinian people, help them in self-determination and establishment of their independent state, only then the Arabs and the world would realise that the US verily resists terrorism and endeavours to have a world where peace and security do prevail.
It goes without saying that the damage inflicted on the destroyer Cole arouses many queries. One of the most prominent questions is about the connection between the incident and the bloody events in occupied Palestine and the US hardline and supporting stand by the US administration for whatever step taken by the Israeli entity. The US administration supports the Israeli acts even if they are aimed at killing children, women and the elderly. Such biased stand would consequently lead to certain Arab and Islamic reactions.

An-Nass
weekly
November 13, 2000.
An article by Abdul Wahab al Muaed says the 9th Islamic summit was almost to be similar to an ‘’Arab Summit’’ as regards the factor of frustration it has faced with and because it was about to be cancelled or postponed.
The faithful and serious efforts exerted in the nick of time by some Arab leaders especially by president Ali Abdulla Saleh and the positive response by Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, have salvaged the Islamic summit from failure. Its failure would have become a factor of disappointment for the Palestinians’ intifada and its martyrs and wounded because of the Zionists’crimes and barbaric campaigns.

Ath-Thawra
daily
November 17, 2000
The daily devoted its editorial on Yemeni efforts exerted to regain and strengthen Arab solidarity and reconciliation. The editorial stressed that Arab and Islamic solidarity is to be established and founded on political, social and spiritual solidarity inside the society and stabilisation of its national integrity.
Ath-Thawra editorial has further said that historical examples and present live events indicated that problems and weakness suffered by the Arab Moslem society are mainly attributed to internal conflicts within the states’ individual societies .
Bilateral disputes and conflicts, both Arab-Arab and Islamic have played significant role in instigating differences and pushing them to continuity. Within this context and in practice, president Ali Abdulla Saleh works hard towards embodiment of Arab and Islamic solidarity by exerting Yemen’s efforts and good offices to realize solidarity among Arab brethren.
Yemen’s capital Sana’a is to host nowadays meetings of Somali factions and Palestinian factions respectively in an effort to achieve reconciliation between them.
The expectations are that the brethren in Somalia would complete building bases of construction for new future to their country through dialogue and reconciliation that would terminate the last chapters of their bloody conflict.
On the other hand Sana’a is to hold a meeting grouping the brethren from Palestine that is presently experiencing the harshest period of aggression and genocide, the worst that history ever witnessed. The Palestinian issue which is facing arrogance of Zionist racism and its huge war machine, has attracted much sympathy and solidarity of the Arab and Islamic world represented by holding both the Arab and Islamic summits. The two summits have emphasised offering all forms of strengthening Al-Aqsa intifada and struggle of the Palestinian people for restoration of their inalienable rights and establishment of their independent state with Al Quds its capital.
Thus Yemen and its political leadership continue their efforts for enhancing ties of Arab and Muslim solidarity by actions not by words.

Al Ra’e Al A’am weekly
Nov. 14, 2000
In an article by Abdul Aziz As Samawi published in the weekly the author says that the memorandum of the proposed constitutional amendments has revealed the modest and poor performance of opposition parties. It has also disclosed the yawning gap between the opposition and the authority in practicing of political action. The opposition should have been in a position demanding the authority to effect constitutional reforms, limiting it domination and working for larger scale democratic practice as stipulated in the constitution. What has happened is quite the contrary. The authority has proposed making constitutional amendments and consequently placed the opposition in a critical situation of defending the present constitution. The opposition should have been able to make the authority in a defensive position, defending the present constitution.
The authority has benefited from opposition mistakes or inefficient political performance. The fact is that for the opposition the political work has changed into merely routine function performed with one monotony and with the same primitive thought with which the world used to practice opposition years ago.

Al Wahdawi
weekly, organ of the NPU Ooranization
November 14, 2000 Al Wahdawi’s editorial has devoted its subject to discussion of results of the recently concluded Islamic summit conference. The editorial stressed that the Islamic peoples had expected their rulers to raise to the level of dangers facing them. They have expected the summit to come out with a declaration of jihad, mobilisation of the nation’s potentials and energies for confronting their enemies. The Islamic nation was instead of that surprised with the usual statement of denunciation and condemnation. Even this have been targeted o only Israel and discarded any mention of those standing behind Israel, supporting and backing it up with finance and most sophisticated weapons to keep it qualitatively superior to others in the region.
The weekly editorial concludes that the stone-thrower children have proved to be the best and more well-qualified than their rulers to face the humiliation and the enemy.
They are unlike their rulers who refuse to express even their anger without getting a permission beforehand.

Al Isboa
independent
weekly, November 16, 2000
Decentralisation and local administration is the theme of an article written by Ahmed Abdurabu Alawi published in the weekly.
The form of decentralisation as it is now proposed allows the ministry of local administration and the interior ministry to have sway over institutions of other ministries. Such a state would practically lead to strong centralisation. The province governor as an administrative ruler would be granted a big portion of authorities of other ministries, and this situation in itself means concentration of power in his hands, a policy that does not help the administrative body of the state as a whole.
The series of democratic change in the country does not tolerate such an experiment, especially that complaint against the government apparatus bureaucracy and favouritism is a general one.
All previous attempts of reform made by the parliament were of no avail and all official and media calls for reform have ended in smoke.
The author concluded by calling for generalizing the form of elected institutions on the road of curbing bureaucracy and ending administrative corruption.