Highlights from the Year 2000 [Archives:2001/02/Law & Diplomacy]

Imad Al-Saqqaf
Farooq Al-Kamali
Taiz Burea, Yemen Times
To start with, it is obvious that there has been relatively no development in the economic, political, and social sectors during the year 2000.
Corruption continued to devastate Yemens economy even further as the average low income man in the street struggles to make ends meet with an annual income of $260. Poverty and unemployment levels continued to increase reflecting itself on the growing number of beggars and street children. Even though this may seem a pessimist way to look at the first year of the 21st century, yet it is the unfortunate truth.
While most of the university graduates could not find jobs last year, many key positions, especially in government offices were given to unqualified people in exchange for political, economic, and tribal interests. The year 2000 witnessed the highest level of employment of unqualified individuals in many government posts.
However, what was quite disappointing in the year 2000 is the noticeable level of security instability, and the explosion of the USS Cole Military ship in Aden is the best example.
Here we will be briefly highlighting the main local events of the year 2000, which we believe have made the year 2000 such a unique year in our countrys history.
1) Sanaa Universitys Breeds a Serial Killer
The case of Sanaa Universitys Faculty of Medicine teaching assistant, Mohammad Adam who admitted to slaughtering and mutilating two female students shocked the general public and the world. Even though he was sentenced to death in November, this did not erase the ugly memories of the horrible crimes he committed and confessed to in the year 2000.
The whole issue started in mid May when Mohammad Adam Omar (Sudanese national) was accused of slaughtering 16 female students in the morgue of Sanaa Universitys Faculty of Medicine.
The issue raised a lot of anger among the Yemeni public and sparked the first huge protest in Sanaa on May 17 demanding the resignation of the dean of the Faculty of Medicine and the Universitys Rector. They also called to reveal the ones who were behind Adam, as it was believed that he was not alone when he committed his atrocities.
The state media and press tried intensively to not give this case much importance in an attempt to take away the focus on this case, but all their efforts were in vain, especially that independent and opposition newspapers ignited the issue, and turned it into the everyday topic. Eventually, during the late stages of investigation, Mohammad Adam confessed of killing two female students, namely, Hosn Atiyya and Zeyneb Aziz.
In November 20, the Bin Al-Harith Primary Court passed verdict and sentenced Adam to death in the arena of the Faculty of Medicine in front of the public. It also ordered the university to compensate the families of the victims 5 million rials each.
The case of Adam and its developments have marked one of the most outrageous events of not only the year 2000 but the whole decade. It has shown how irresponsible and ignorant the universitys administration , and how loose the security in the country was.
3) Yemen-Saudi Border Agreement Breakthrough
If there is anything that could be considered the most positive achievement in the year 2000, then without doubt, it would be the signing of the Yemeni-Saudi Land and Border Agreement.
In Jeddah, on July 22, and in the presence of Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, and H.E. Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, the Yemeni-Saudi border agreement was signed, ending more than 50 years of political dispute. The agreement was seen as the beginning of a new chapter in the relationship between the two neighbors.
Economists predicted a breakthrough in the economic cooperation between the two countries, resulting in more Saudi investment in Yemen, stronger cooperation in all fields, and decreased smuggling effects.
Practical steps to demarcate the borders started by authorizing the German company HANSA luftbit, which is the same company that demarcated the Yemeni-Omani and Saudi-Omani borders, to demarcate the Yemeni-Saudi borders.
There were some objections however, from some tribes that lived on the borderline between the two countries fearing that their land would be divided. The most aggressive tribe was Waila, whose sheikh, Bin Shaji, has more than once challenged the company and threatened retaliation in case his land would be divided.
This however, didnt alter the efforts of the two governments to meet and talk of possible future cooperation. As a matter of fact, during 11-12 December, the Yemeni-Saudi Coordination Council met in Madina, and came out with the Saudi decision to provide Yemeni with academic and health grants plus financial assistance to be used in projects to enhance our countrys economic infrastructure.
3) Constitutional Amendments
In August 23, the Peoples General Congress (PGC) and Islah parties parliamentary blocks agreed on passing a resolution that would extend the period of office for members of parliament from 4 to 6 years, and of the president from 5 to 7 years. The amendments were formally approved by the parliament on November 14 in their format.
The government had stated that the cause behind the resolution would be to enhance the political stability in the country and enabling wider participation of the public in the democratic process.
On the other hand, the opposition parties had expressed dissatisfaction with the resolution and see this move as a maneuver from the government to limit the role of the parliament and weaken the public participation in decision making.
Legal experts see that the amendments reflect a sense of political and legal instability and an attempt to get rid of what is left of democracy in the country.
4) Rift Valley Fever Devastation
After the spread of the fatal Rift Valley Fever disease -transmitted from animals carrying the disease- in the south of Saudi Arabia, it was announced on August 18 that the disease had started spreading in Tihama. It took a while for the Yemeni government to realize the great threat of the disease and hence action was taken a little bit late after more than 50 people -unofficial number was much higher- were officially reported to have died from the disease, while hundreds were reported with possible infection. It was the first time ever that such a disease was reported to enter the Republic of Yemen. Despite the governments actions to limit the effects of the disease throughout the Tihama region by spraying certain pesticides and chemicals on infected swamps, its actions fell short from getting rid of the disease. After tremendous preventive steps of forbidding the transport of animals from or to the infected region, and after spreading awareness of buying infected meat, the threat was over, and no more infections were reported.
5) USS Cole Destroyer Blast
On 12 October, the USS Cold Destroyer, which was about to anchor at one of the slots of the Aden Free Zone, was blasted resulting in the killing of 17 US marines and injuring 39.
This development caused strong reaction from the US government, who sent tens of FBI investigators and caused a lot of concern about US citizens in Yemen. The Yemeni government on its behalf launched an aggressive campaign of arrests in Aden. Most of the arrested were thought to belong to Islamic fundamentalist groups.
Yemeni governmental sources had provided conflicting reports, some stating that the blast was an accident, later ones claiming that it was planned -but not carried out- by a Yemeni, Mohammad Omar Al-Harazi, who fled to Afghanistan after the blast, while the latest report suggest the involvement of certain individuals from other neighboring countries.
In 29 October, the destroyer was carried to the US by a Norwegian ship carrier.
6) Explosion in the Embassy of the UK
On Friday October 13, just one day after the USS Cole incident an explosion rocked the British embassy in Sanaa causing substantial damage inside the embassy building and shattering windowpanes adjacent school building.
An official source stated that the blast was due to explosion of electricity generator, but yet, just like in the case of the USS Cole incident, the report was premature, as it was found later that the bomb was a planned terrorist attack. Even though there were no casualties because of the attack, it is still unknown who planned and carried out the attack. This incident had caused some dismay by the British government, which was said to have been planning to lift the travel ban to Yemen.
Other outrageous incidents in 2000
– A Russian wife was murdered in May by her husband in a Sanaa courtroom in front of the judge and all the attendees.
– On August 29, an armed confrontation took place inside Sanaa International Airport between a tribal sheikh and policemen resulting in a delay of the certain flight.
– In April, 4 people died of hunger -some reports say suffocation- in a private jail of one of Sharq Citys powerful sheikhs in the province of Dhamar. The sheikh had put them into his small totally isolated and closed container (used as his private jail) for many days with no food and water. This has caused an outrage throughout the country reminding us of the continuos human right violations sometimes never reported and never heard of.
Celebrations in 2000
One of the greatest celebrations of all time took place in the morning of May 22 marking the first decade of a unified Yemen. A cleaning and construction campaign costing billions of Yemeni rials made Sanaa City appear to be a clean city for the first time in years. The Seventy-arena in Sanaa witnessed one of its most spectacular celebration displays ever in front of 50 delegations and several Arab heads of states including Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, President Botafliqah of Algeria, President Bashir of Sudan.
The interesting point about the celebration is that it proved that if there is a political will, everything is possible, as not many people expected preparations -that started late- to be complete in such a short period of time.
Kidnapping Incidents in 2000
The year 2000, like 1998 and 1999, was not free from kidnapping incidents. As a matter of fact. Here is a briefing of the main kidnapping incidents of the year:
– Yemen started the year with the interesting and professionally carried out kidnapping incident of Kenneth White, a US expert who worked with Halliburton, a contracting company with Yemen Hunt Oil Co.. The incident took place in the early morning of Wednesday January 27, but the hostage was not released until the 10th of February, spending almost two weeks in the hideouts of the kidnappers.
– Just two months later, on March 1st, the bizarre kidnapping of the Polish ambassador to Yemen took place inside the capital city. The kidnappers, tribesmen from Al-Yamanyatain in Khawlan demanded the governments release of their Sheikh Army Colonel Khalid Mohammed Al-Giyari who had been arrested by political security men at the Sanaa airport. The ambassador was 5 days later released, and had interesting story of his experience as a hostage (see issue 10/2000).
– June 10 marked one of the ugliest kidnapping incidents in the history of Yemen as it marked the killing of Norwegian Gudbrand Stuve, 44, the former second secretary of the Norwegian Embassy in Lusaka, Zambia as he was in Yemen as part of a tourist tour along with his wife and son. Gudbrand was with his son when he was kidnapped by tribesmen from Mareb and was accidentally killed in crossfire between the chasing police and kidnappers.
– Also in June, an Italian archaeologist along with four Yemenis were kidnapped by a tribe from Mareb. They were released within days.
– Al-Zayidi tribe of Mareb kidnapped the Swedish Engineer Anders Salenius, 69 on November 14, and after a restless chase by military forces was released on November 30.
2000: a tough year for the free press
A special report by the Yemeni Journalist Syndicate indicated that there were around 20 cases of oppression against the freedom of the press in 2000:
– There was a noticeable increase in the number of lawsuits against independent and opposition newspapers including Al-Thawri, Al-Wahdawi, Al-Haq, Al-Umma, Al-Ayyam, and Al-Shoura which was closed down on September 19, but was released again in August.
– Al-Thaqafiah magazines chief editor was prosecuted as he was seen guilty of publishing an old article by the late writer Mohammad Abdulwai entitled Sanaa: an Open City, which was seen as conflicting with Islamic morals. However, the Ministry of Information bravely stood by the editor and followed up his case until he was released.
NGOs in 2000
The Non Governmental Organization (NGO) movement intensified in the year 2000 resulting in an increasing number of activities carried out by hard working NGOs such as the Taiz-based Human Rights Information and Training Center (HRITC) and the Sanaa-based Activists. Several NGOs and welfare associations competed to provide free services to the public, especially during the month of Ramadan. However, most NGOs expressed their disappointment at the currently debated NGO law, which is expected to create obstacles for the NGOs and would require the prior authorization of the government before any loan or assistance is given to them by donors.
Archaeological Discoveries in 2000
After 12 years of continuous work on removing sand and cleaning the site of the Kingdom of Sheba in Mareb, the site was formally opened on the 18th of November as part of a great celebration on this occasion. The most spectacular section of the site is the place called Temple of the God Moon, which is considered to be among the wonders of the world and a great tourist destination attracting thousands of tourists every year.
On another level, several archaeological discoveries were made in various parts of the country including Hugarriyah, Lahj, Shabwa, Ibb, and Hadramout. All of the discoveries were made by archaeological groups from Europe and the USA.
Local/International Football Tournaments in 2000
Ahli Sanaa was able to win the Supreme League tournament cup for the year 99/2000. Taliah of Taiz surprised all by achieving the second position in the tournament.
On the Arab and international level, the year was a total disappointment as all our teams were defeated in almost all of their matches. Ahli Sanaa was defeated by Ahli of Bahrain 5/1 in both the first and second leg matches. Ahli Sanaa was also defeated by Al-Hilal of Sudan 3/0 in the Arab Championship Tournament. Wahda of Sanaa was defeated by Hitteen of Syria 3/0 in the first leg and 5/1 in the Arab Cup Championships tournament.
The only win that any of our teams had during last year was that of the Yemeni youth football team that defeated Kyrgyzstan team 4/1 while being defeated by the Saudi, UAE, and Uzbekistan youth football teams.
Yemen and the World in 2000
– Yemen tried several times to convince Arab states of the need to have an Arab Summit to discuss the Middle East Crisis and to enhance relationships between Arab states, however the proposal was turned down indirectly most of the time.
– Thousands of Yemenis poured to the streets on October 2 protesting the atrocities against Palestinians by Israeli forces and supporting the second Palestinian Intifada that started on the 28th of September. Donations by businessmen and Yemeni citizens were made to support Palestinians in their struggle.
– There have been calls by the Islah party to boycott the products of the USA for its supportive role to Israel.
– In a courageous move, Yemen broke the sanctions against Iraq by sending a plane full of food and medicine to Baghdad in an unprecedented move. Yemen was the second country to send goods to Iraq after Jordan.
– The Yemeni President played a significant role in ending the internal conflict between the Somali political groups. Yemen strongly supported the elected Somali President Abdi Qasim Salad Hassan. President Saleh agreed to train 500 Somali Soldiers form the basis of a formal Somali Army.
– President Saleh started a historic visit at the end of March to Canada, the USA, Italy, France, and Germany in an effort to enhance bilateral relation with them and attract investment. President Saleh also paid a historic visit to Iran in which he met with President Khatemi of Iran on the 27th of April.
In conclusion, the year 2000 was full of negative events as well as positive achievements. Even though the countrys economic standing has not improved, Yemen has succeeded in making significant strong political achievements in the international arena in the form of stronger relationships with its neighbors and the world. It is expected, however, that the leadership will concentrate its efforts from this year onwards in enhancing the Yemeni economy in the hope of raising the standard of living of the Yemenis who have entered the year 2001 carrying with them the same economic burdens of the year 2000.

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