Ja’ashin citizens and the endless tragedy [Archives:2008/1139/Opinion]
By: Raima Al-Shami
For the second consecutive year, the Ja'ashin citizens evacuate their homes to flee oppression, slavery and other illegal practices they are suffering under the control of the powerful Sheikh Mohammed Ahmad Mansour, who is Mr. President's Poet. The influential sheikh is proud of the government's knowledge of his practices, and likewise, Mr. President knows well about his behavior. Are Mansour's practices accepted by any tradition, legislation or religion?
Is it possible for Mr. President to accept such crimes and oppression practiced by his poet against citizens whom he promised of eliminating all the influential persons ahead of 2006 presidential elections?
For the second time, the oppressed Ja'ashin citizens came to Yemen's capital city to claim their constitutional and legal right. They want nothing more than ceasing the oppression practiced against them and incorporating their district into the State of the Republic of Yemen for being geographically located to the south of Ibb, one of the Yemeni governorates.
Monarchic state of Ja'ashin:
Imagine that after the passage of more than 40 years since the 26 September Revolution broke out and the Republican system of governance was established, the Ja'ashin district has been a feudal kingdom administered by Sheikh Mansour, who controls the district with imprisonments, oppression, heavy ransoms and citizen intimidation. Because he is backed by Mr. President, he changed the Ja'ashin citizen's living into hell, slavery and poverty, as they work hard in order to pay for the ransoms Mansour levied on them. They did so in order to escape forcible displacement, imprisonment and that their cattle and other property may be looted or confiscated, having not paid the illegally levied ransom. Simply, this is how a Ja'ashin citizen lives since the first day of his/her birth until he/she is laid in his/her final resting place.
The government, various state agencies and rule of law have not yet entered the Ja'ashin kingdom despite the passage of decades since the 26 September Revolution broke out with the intention of eliminating oppression, tyranny, poverty and illiteracy. Mr. President's poet is the state with all its various institutions, mainly as he imposes taxes on citizens, jails them and does what he wants to maintain his dominance over them. Any thing in the district, even eggs, is Mansour's exclusive property.
The human tragedy is terrible and indescribable in the Ja'ashin district where Mansour applies his own law and legislation to control the area citizens. The feudal man, who receives support from different official agencies, threatens his peasants of bad consequences if they refuse to obey his ordersand is only concerned about collecting money illegally from peasants under the guise of Zakat. He never cares about the miserable conditions of the rural area peasants who hardly provide for their families, and therefore imposes on them heavy sums of money, which they can not afford.
Private Jails:
Anyway, the Ja'ashin citizens found themselves obliged to pay such illegal ransoms at any cost. If they refuse to do so, the Sheikh Mansour's followers will forcibly confiscate their cattle and household effects, as well as raid their homes, attack innocent women and children and take them to private confinements, which the tyrannous man prepared for penniless peasants, who can not afford paying ransoms to him.
Constitution of the Republic of Yemen bans private jails and one of its articles reads that no Yemeni citizen may be jailed for more than 24 hours unless there is a prosecution order. But Mansour has four private confinements namely they are: Al-Wakra, Al-Haddah, Al-Akama and Al-Hanash, the last of which is the most notorious, according to displaced or homeless citizens who spent some days of their life in that jail. The jail's notoriety was derived from its name since it is designed in the form of a high a circular watch tower, resembling a fortress, where a snake is living inside and any inmates see it while being imprisoned. According to inmates, who suffered the jail's agony and torture, the snake moves among them, goes outside and returns to sleep in the ceiling over them.
The homeless peasants, currently existing at the Yemen Female Media Forum in Sana'a, are the second batch of victims tortured by President Saleh's poet within a year. They evacuated their homes and abandoned their farmlands to escape Mansour's oppression and tyranny, notably those who can not afford paying ransoms to the powerful sheikh in exchange for peaceful living among their women and children.
After evicting them from their homes, Mansour confiscated their livestock and other property, raided their houses and tortured their families because he is quite sure that neither the Constitution nor the government could stop his oppression. Condition of the second batch of displaced peasants is not different from that of the previous batches, which fled the area last year as a result of the harsh torture and oppression Mansour practiced against them. By destiny, the Ja'ashin citizens are doomed to live homeless or remain displaced away from their villages for an indefinite period of time because of an influential tribal leader practicing the various forms of oppression, injustice and torture against them, thanks to Mr. President's nepotism and support for his poet.
This is “the New Yemen”:
More tragic is that Mr. President did promise his people ahead of the most recent presidential elections in September 2006 that he would exterminate all the influential people and put a stop to their oppression and tyranny. However, the terrible conditions experienced by the Ja'ashin citizens and repeated for the second time within less than a year evidently clarify the policy of President Saleh who mostly relies on influential persons and allow them to practice all the forms of violence and legal violations against citizens in order to maintain his stay in power. Moreover, he seems to be encouraging them to do so and provide them with adequate protection, as well as immunity from accountability and questioning. The situation of the Ja'ashin peasants displaced for the second time within less than a year at the hands of his poet is an evident example of Saleh's irresponsible and inhuman policy.
When a state lacks law and order:
The Yemeni state seems to be absent, along with its institutions, Constitution, and laws, and doesn't show any concern over the injustice and inhuman practices exercised by influential individuals against innocent peasants. For the second time, the Ja'ashin peasants sets up their tent at the Yemeni Female Media Forum appealing to the concerned human organization to alleviate their sufferings and lift the oppression practiced by Mansour and his followers against them. They complained that the tyrannous sheikh freely fine them for committing no sin and illegally force them to pay ransoms to him under the guise of Zakat.
We are shocked at the indecency, inhumanity and irresponsibility of such influential persons who are fund of oppressing simple peasants, illegally grabbing their property and forcibly taking their money to build luxurious villas, buy large plots of land and establish trade companies. Sheikh Mansour lives in a luxurious palace in Taiz city that was constructed with funds coming from needy peasants who pay ransoms to the sheikh so that they can live in peace and escape his oppression and injustice. On our part, we appeal to Mr. President to fulfill the promises he made to his people prior to re-electing him for another presidential mandate in September 2006.
Source: Marebpress.net
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[archive-e:1139-v:18-y:2008-d:2008-03-20-p:opinion]
