SILVER LININGOn the edge of a precipice [Archives:2008/1144/Opinion]

Dr. Mohammed Al-Qadhi
The violet riots that swept through the southern provinces of Dhaleh and Lahj last week is an indication of the seriousness of the situation Yemen is going through.

For over a year, protests were staged to attract the authorities' attention to the serious problems people are plagued with. The regime did not move to genuinely address them. Rather, it used painkillers and appeased the loyalty of prominent and influential people in the south through public posts, or even creaming their hands with around 32 billion Yemeni riyals as well as 4,000 cars. Billions of riyals were spent which could have been channeled to development projects. All these tactics which have been successful in the north could not hit the nail on the head in the south, for there seems to be a general consensus on change.

Under pressure of the irrepressible protests of the pensioners, which gained support all across the country, the regime set up a fact-finding committee to report the situation in the south, including the plunder of big chunks of land by influential tribal and military figures. The report was delivered to the president and Saleh Basurah, higher education minister and head of the committee, was vibrant in describing the shortcomings and the core of the headache as well as prescribing solutions. He said that the president has to choose either to give up a small number of corrupt crooks or the country at large.

Unfortunately, we have seen no recommendation of the committee implemented. Not even a single corrupt official was held accountable.

The protests sweeping the south for several months attest to the repression and injustice Yemeni people are going through. It is all about economic hardships that are pushing people to the extreme. They are totally fed up and frustrated and want change as their demands for an address to their problems has produced no echo. This, of course, does not justify violent riots which really serve the interests of the people in power, as they give them reason for cracking down on protests by force.

It seems the regime is losing its nerve and tends to use force to crack down on such rampant protests. Why pound the college of education in Lahj and round up university professors? Why arrest political activists? Such an unruly swoop of arrests and violent response on the part of the government gives a political dimension to such protests. People are against violent acts; however, excessive use of force on the part of the government will not address the problem but incite more hatred.

The on-off insurgency situation in Sa'ada seems cloudy as the Qatar-brokered ceasefire agreement between the government and the rebels seems likely to collapse. Reports coming from the scene show a sophisticated situation, and that the two sides are geared to start a war.

These challenges facing the tribally-backed regime have pushed Saleh not to forward concrete actions, but revamp cracks in his tribal coalitions with Al-Ahmar family. Suddenly, the president was able to normalize his relationship with the sons of Al-Ahmar, extending a gas tender to Hamid, appointing another as vice speaker of Parliament and another as deputy minister of sports and youth. Hussein, who set up the tribal National Solidarity Council to irritate the regime, has been seen on TV with the president in some events.

This attests to Saleh's allegations that these vocal and critical “boys”” want their share of the cake and nothing more. Yes