Press Review [Archives:2000/44/Press Review]
News and developments of the Palestinian intifada in the Palestinian occupied territories, progress of investigations into the USS Cole destroyer blast and results of the recently-rapped up Arab emergency Summit and the consequences that followed it, are still the main issues tackled in Yemeni press news items and writings this week.
Review of the main headlines front-paged in this week newspapers.
Presidents Saleh &Clinton Discuss Cooperation, Current Developments in a Phone Conversation
President Saleh: We Renew the Call for Supporting the Palestinian People
Arab Summit Resolutions Represent the Minimum Extent
Presence of U.S. Bases in Yemen, Groundless
Council of Ministers Approves Yemens 2001 Budget
Israeli Occupation Forces Pound Palestinian Cities
US Marines in Aden, Threatened
Explosion Jolts Amran City
Scientific Symposium on Water, Environment in Yemen
Cole & US Troops Leave Yemen
Two Women Committed Suicide in Taiz, a Third Disappears in Hadramout
A Rise in RVF Cases Recorded in Yemen
Cole incident: 68 Yemenis Arrested, House Search Continues
Parliament Condemns US Congress Stand Biased Towards Zionist Entity.
Excerpts from articles and analyzes published in this weeks Yemeni newspapers.
26 September weekly,
October 26, 2000
The political editor inn the newspaper has this week discussed what is being rumored about foreign military bases in Yemen, describing them as mere lies and fabrications. The editor has said that it is regrettable that some press and other media have lately published allegations on presence of US military bases in Yemen while writing about the incident that happened to the US warship Cole at Aden seaport lately. The article confirms that Yemens people have sacrificed dearly for liberation from colonialism and gaining their freedom and liberty and would not ever squander that and would not allow any one to impinge on their sovereignty. As it has always affirmed, Yemen had not been and would not be a place for any foreign military base belonging to any country whatsoever.
Ath-Thawri weekly,
organ of YSP, October 26, 2000
In one of its articles the newspaper commented on the proposed constitutional amendments in Yemen. At the beginning of the article the paper reviewed the most controversial articles to be amended particularly those related to extending the parliament term, abolishing the principle of referendum for dissolving the parliament and annexing the appointed consultative council to the elected parliament.
The article has said it is not possible to grant the authority of taking decision to the side that does not possess it as a constitutional right and integrating it with a body entertaining constitutional right guaranteed by the voter voice.
As for cancelling the principle of referendum with regard to dissolving the parliament the article says it should no be commented at because this intention expresses a desire by the authority to chop off the most important democratic right possessed by the people.
As for the mutual extension of the terms of both of the presidency and parliament, the question is very clear and represents an offense to the people and does not need much comment.
As-Sahwa
weekly,
October 26, 2000
One of the articles of the paper tackled the convening of the Arab emergency summit lately saying that following a few weeks of al-Aqsa intifada in the Palestinian occupied territories, sacrifices of the Palestinian people and outrage of the Arab nation against the Zionist entity crimes, the Arab leaders gathered in Cairo in their summit.
The article confirms that observing the Jews feelings and not to excite the American indignation were the aim many leaders were keen to maintain. They have asserted that they are with peace, do not want war, evenif it was imposed on them. The summit communiqué has avoided to anger America and has not referred to its bias and siding with killing of our children in Palestine.
Though in its minimum degree and in itself, the conference has become a necessityfor bringing closer the viewpoints and that it has achieved some positive aspects, it was not at the level of peoples aspirations and hopes. The conference has come out with with resolutions that could be summed up that the Palestinian people are oppressed, Israel an aggressor state and the international community must make it accountable for that. From the summit communiqué it could be inferred that Israel is so strong that there should be a warning against its infiltration into the Arab world. As for what our countries must do to deter the Jews, the communiqué dared not express.
An-Nass
weekly,
October 23, 2000
A leading article has discussed the question of constitutional amendments. It has said that the parties grouped in the opposition coordination council have boycotted the symposium held on constitutional amendments called for by the parliamentary committee entrusted with studying them, chaired by parliament speaker Sheikh Abdulla bin Hussein Al-Ahmer.
In its opposing stand to the amendments the opposition coordination council described the amendments project as a white coup against the republican system while some independent personalities such as Dr Mohammed Abdul Malik Al-Mutawakil described it as stabilization of the individual authority against the society. Islah party refuses the amendments but differs with others on the means.
Al-Mithaq
weekly,
organ of Peoples General Congress Party, October 23, 2000
An article on its back page by Dr Abdul Aziz Al-Maqaleh titled Where is the US Sponsor says amidst the continuous Israeli attack on the land and people in Palestine and outside it, and amidst conflicting statements on alleged peace, a big question pops up; where is the US sponsor, what is its role and stand against all that is happening? Isthat sponsors task, as some Arabs and foreigners say, confined to sponsoring the Israeli aggressions and defending its increasing ambitions?
Most of the people in the world are misled in thinking that the US holds all threads moving the events in the world,and that if wanted, to be an impartial and honest sponsor working for creating a state of stability on the earth. The past years of the alleged peace have proved that peoples and nations do not accept deceit and refuse the fait accompli whatever the circumstances and situations are. Hence the American sponsor has to reconsider its task and define a just attitude towards the ongoing struggle and to realize that the previous game has become known and it is very difficult to repeat. It should stop using the same ways based on calming down and promises unless there is a complete change in the stand. Nobody would otherwise believe anything about its keenness on world peace and stability.
Al-Ihyaa
Al-Arabi
Baath Party organ,
October 23, 2000
The newspapers editorial has said that decisions and statement of the Arab latest summit have represented a real scandal for the Arab rulers dependingambiguous vocal threatening whose aims and intentions are unspecified. It is as if they have wanted to wring the issue of the conflict out of the masses hands and fields of jihad in Palestine to return it to hotels foyers and negotiating tables in European , American and Egyptian resorts.That is why the Zionist official spokesman described the communiqué as wise, rational and practical, expressing the Zionist entitys satisfaction over results of the conference in general.
We have not been surprised by the summit statement because the speeches at the opening session represented a clear indication to this regrettable outcome. This situation puts additional struggling burdens and responsibilities on shoulders of the Arab masses forces towards what is going on in the Palestinian and Arab arenas. The pan-Arab and Islamic forces have only to reconsider their stands, join their forces to work together in the course of jihad for liberating the sanctuaries.
RAY
weekly, organ of Sons of Yemen League party, October 24, 2000
An article by the weekly says of the painful paradoxes is that while the Arab leaders have been busy discussing the Zionist danger, martyrs were falling all over the Palestinian towns and villages by Israels gunfire and rockets. And during the days of the summit the number of Palestinian casualties reached 25 deaths and more than 750 wounded to be added to the number of martyrs and wounded.Absence of active Arab response and the rulers engagement in their differences was a strong indicator of the hyper inability of taking the initiative and shifting to the decisive and responsible reaction against the Zionist obstinacy.
The speedy bloody events in Palestine and flagrant challenges of Israels war generals, and the rulers deal with them, was a dangerous indicator of the inability and confusion of the mechanism of strategic decision.
In other word the Arab rulers failed to come out with resolutions representing the minimum degree compared to demands of the Arab masses. The cause is that taking a strategic political decision for them depends on selective and sometimes personal foundations.
Al-Wahdawi weekly,
October 24, 2000
The weekly editorial has also tackled results of the Arab latest summit and linking it with the Prophet Ascension anniversary. It says the Arab leaders have failed in taking decisions expected to be taken by them. The failure became very clear with the immediate angry reaction by the masses in the Palestinian towns and their declaration of their non-confidence in them and their determination to go ahead with shouldering the responsibility for jihad.
The surprising thing is the Zionist response to resolutions of the Arab summit. The Zionists described the Arab resolutions as moderate and then decided to halting negotiations of the settlement in a move to extract more concessions from those rulers.
Ath-Thawra daily,
October 29, 2000
One of the daily articles says that 55 years have passed since the Arab League has been established. Despite its being one of the regional and international organizations it is the only one remained throughout all these years without being modernized and developed as for its system and charter.
The Yemeni latest initiative regarding the mechanism of holding the Arab summits has been the main link to place the League in its presumed pan-Arab position. With approving this initiative it becomes important to head for rehabilitating this organization to perform its role based on foundations and principles taking into consideration the nations huge human and materialistic potentials.
Ash-Shomou weekly, October 28, 2000
Ash-Shomou says in an article that we thought that when the US had spread its influence in the Mideast in place of Britain it took the pretext of supporting Israel as part of the world conflict with communism.
The US was always alleging that most of the Palestinian liberation movements were connected with the then socialist bloc. We have also understood that the US unlimited support to Israel was proceeding from its interests to secure their continuity and not to be exposed to any danger against them and the Zionist entity remains as a force used for threatening and compromise against any threat from the Soviet Union. But since the collapse of the soviet threat and he US became the sole actual pole in the Arab and Islamic region the Arabs thought at the beginning that the US policy would change and would commit itself to justice in dealing with Arab peoples and the cause of Palestine. But all that supposition proved to be wrong.The US administration, with all its political, economic and military power,became more keen on defeating the Arab and Moslem peoples.
Al-Umma
weekly,
October 26, 2000
In an article on the Palestinian Intifada says that causes of the intifada are not confined only by the desecration of al-Aqsa holy mosque by the notorious terrorist Sharon and killing children because the desecration had already happened against every grit of the Palestinian soil even before 1948. Killing and displacement have befallen even the infants on their mothers bosoms. What is certain is that the Aqsa intifada has broken out after it has become intolerable and the Palestinians became aware that camp David and Sharm el-Sheikh negotiations were reaching their final stages and that preparations were under way to announce the establishment of Palestinian small cantons on an area not exceeding 1% of the Palestinian land. They have become aware that those negotiations have ignored he refugees, the Arabs under Israeli rule since 1948 and even the Quds it has been arranged to be internationalized. The Palestinian intifada broke out after they have become convinced to resort to the principle that what has been taken by force would only be recovered by force.
Thus, under the increasing popular pressure came the Arab summit under an American blessing on condition that it would not exceed the ceiling the US has defined. Its resolutions came weak confined to financial support, denunciation and condemnation of the Zionists. The Arab summit came as disappointing and that there is no hope from the Arab political system.
Attariq
weekly,
October 24, 2000
An article commenting on the proposed constitutional amendments says that the initiative proposed by RAY party on the subject, the visions and suggestions as objective alternatives, have embodied deep-rootedness and pioneering stand of RAY. The initiative comes to meet requirements of the national necessity for constitutional amendments and deriving its importance from its givingobjective and convenient alternatives. It would have been supposed that Yemeni opposition parties support the initiative and adopt its contents with the aim of unifying their efforts and regain their position as political parties and constructive and active opposition instead of being absent from the national arena.
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