Abdulrahman Al-Baidhani to YT: “There is no way to achieve the six goals of the revolution but with the restoration of the highly qualified Yemenis in exile.” [Archives:2001/36/Interview]

Several official and social personalities were not opposed or defamed with their kinship, though they descended from non-Yemeni mothers, or born outside Yemen. Others also exist married to foreign non-Arab women, while they occupy ministerial positions or are senior officials.
All of this applied except for a man who descended from a Yemeni father with 100% origin confirmed by all the representatives of his tribe. He is comparable to the similar affair of thousands of Yemeni people whose fathers migrated after the year 1917 to other countries as a consequence of the political and doctrine circumstances which existed in Yemen after the Turns departure, and when life imamite state was found to rule Yemen on the basis of a doctrine. What hidden secret behind all the malice to this man alone, but none with the same circumstances?
On this account, the Yemen Times correspondent Mohamed Bin Sallam met Dr. Abdulrahman Abdo Rabbo Al-Muradi Al-Baidani, who was the Vice Chairman of the Revolution Headship Council, the Vice President, and the prime Minister of Yemen, and conducted the following interview:
Q: What is your response to the aggressive media campaign launched by official media against you? What do they aim to achieve? Who were the parties behind the curtains you reckon?
A: This is a normal exertion for the reality of intellectual bankruptcy while existed with the controlling organizations which you describe as official.
These organizations tremble when historical truth breaks out; they exerted efforts to defame the reality since they controlled the Yemeni media. It was not a comparing while suddenly emerged against me following the broadcasting of “My Testimony to the era” at the Jazeera Satellite Channel. It was in fact a national stretch of a constant direction intended to defame my history biography in front of the local public arena; in the hope the failure of those in charge of our countries foreign, internal and economic policies would be covered, and which caused economic backwardness in Yemen with social and security distress.
These organizations are harmed when these facts emerge, and which reflect the importance of the role I performed either for the call of establishing the republic in which I played a major role with preparing its success fundamentals; and in the international success which I achieved with God’s Help when I held the ranks of the Vice Chairman of the Revolution Headship Council, the Vice President, the Prime minister and the Minister of Economy and then the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Within the three months when I held these ranks, I convinced my colleagues when I managed to keep Yemen away from the cold war arena in which Yemen had no national interest whatsoever. It succeeded to incline the USA towards recognizing our Republic and assisted us to restore our seat in U.N. it also granted us economic aid, I then accomplished an agreement with Britain to surrender the right of our people in the occupied south with their self determination, and without the need to fire a single bullet from any fedayee (a fighter who risks his life recklessly), for, we were not in need of permitting any citizen to perform a feedayee act (sacrifice act) when we were able to save his blood by harvesting the corps with a peaceful political achievement.
I also was able to help establishing the Yemen Bank for Reconstruction and Development as a private sector Yemeni Share-holding company after we announced the rejection of the Egyptian socialism and the soviet communism. We further commenced establishing agricultural companies and succeeded with inclining the Yemeni immigrants to return home with their experiences in order to participate with achieving our civil renaissance which was our first and last incentive.
These were achievements which no national press on argued about with God’s help I achieved in three and half month prior to the Soviet conspiracy that used some Yemeni characters to persuade me to Egypt and to prohibit me from returning to Yemen, while Iwas leading a Yemeni delegation that visited Egypt to meet President Jamal Abdulnasser, in order to organize the Egyptian forces departure from Yemen when stability prevailed as a consequences of the break out of our friendship with the USA, and our genuine attempt to consolidate strong relations with our neighbor , the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
This Yemeni policy which I undertook its planning and execution being a political and economic expert and which I convinced my colleagues in the Revolution Headship Council and the Council of Ministers to accept induced the Soviet to plan a trap of banishment for me from the authority which aimed to extend the ground of fighting in Yemen and which was stretched by the sacrifices of Yemeni and Egyptian blood to the territory Aden and Bab Al-Mandab which controlled an international strategic site within the Cold War Arena; I aimed here to save my country from its blazing.
Among the elements of the trap to banish me from the authority was to dump the dust upon the accomplishments which I achieved nationally in the Yemeni, Arab, and international Arena, as well as to defame my personality before the public, who knows how I set hopes and strived to achieve justice and quality between all Yemeni citizens. That was in fact the most important pillar of any urban renaissance.
When my personality emerged in Al-Jazeera channel to the youth of the Yemeni circles through the achievement which the controlling organizations you described as the official media attempted to dump them then these organizations lost their consciousness and disgraced themselves with the intellectual failure and incredible media, for the majority of readers were fair to me when they realized the facts which the failure strategy attempted to dump in the dust.
Perhaps, the incentive behind the panic of this strategy when my personality emerged at Al-Jazeera channel and the historical facts were exposed was its thinking that I was making an effort for a rank which will redirect the republic to the path of achieving its goals and which were confirmed to the majority of people that they were not achieved while our country fell down in the bottomless pit of a tightened economic hardships. Newspapers which you described in your question were applauded and attempted to convince the people that tyranny was justice, poverty was worship and compulsion was happiness.
Naturally, when professional doctors who are competent and expert emerge to tackle this crisis, then its beneficiaries of its people and affiliated newspapers to expropriate an applaud from the primitive masses while they keep them under poverty, hungry and vexation.
They illustrate to all the masses all these humiliations that they were the climax of the national achievements. They did not realize when those hungry revolt, then the sense become idle and magic reverses against the magician.
Beyond this, I have no other reason for the media campaign which the official media and the affiliated newspapers ridiculous and contracted against me. It is worth mentioning I did not refer in the broadcasting of “My Testimony to the Era” at Al-Jazeera channel to any conversation related to the suffering of my country regarding the socio-economic, security crisis and the failure to tackle any part of them.
Q: It was noted that Al-Jazeera channel did not provide you with the opportunities of a conservation about several cases, in all the eight sessions as was formally customary. Further Mr. Ahmed Mansour attempted to provoke you by converting some facts in several occasions to the favor of the foes which inspired lack of neutrality from his part. How do you evaluate this role of Al-Jazeera if our thought was right?
A: I definitely noted this during my dialogue with Mr. Ahmed Mansour when he announced in his answers that he visited Yemen and met several Yemeni persons when he knows personally that I did not need to be very smart in order to be certain that during his visits to Yemen which was intended to conduct a TV dialogue with our political leadership he only met the leadership of the controlling organizations to the Media, the head of which were newspapers which you described in your questions as the official and the affiliated newspapers. This was why Mr. Ahmed Mansour was being influenced with them by expressing their opinion.
Therefore his questions were questions of an investigator and a judge at the same time. I noted this at the first instant, but I did not wish to end the dialogue with him for (i), I had nothing to hide or to be scared of. As a matter of fact I found it an opportunities in front of millions of audience to repel against those who were behind this provocation in order to expose the facts which the Yemeni Arab and international circles welcome to know while the failure attempted to dump them after I left authority.
(ii) I considered the dialogue with Al-Jazeera channel was a challenge between a dialogist influenced by organizations which intended to deform the personality and history of Al-Baidani as well as Al-Baidani within himself who was delighted that the Yemeni, Arab and international circles know the reality of his personality, the purity of his path, and the failure of his goes.
Q: It was said you were struggling for 50 years or more to achieve a Yemeni identity, and that your reception at Al-Jazeera channel “My Testimony to the Era” was a stretch to this. What is your reply to this allegation?
A: I did not struggle absolutely for a Yemeni identity, for, I am a Yemeni who descended from a Yemeni father and a Yemeni grandfather. I held a Yemeni passport prior to the birth of all those who were behind this humorous allegation. It was an allegation which offered the Yemeni people with their ancient history, for, it was an allegation which accused me of not being a Yemeni, but rather a citizen who fell down upon Yemen from another planet.
They attempted those acts to refrain the people from their devotion with the person who wanted a renaissance for them, to tackle their crisis and whom the people experienced his knowledge, while they were failures. Naturally the village hairdresser fears from the existence of a doctor who is a university professor.
This was a realistic example which the former US President Ronald Regan said in his first debate when he challenged his competitor who endeavored efforts for his re-election, while the US economic crisis overwhelmed during his administration. President Regan then won the debate, and searched for the assistance of professional economic experts; therefore, managed to tackle the US economic crisis which was tight during the era of his predecessor.
Q: Did you achieve the object you aimed to have from the interview you gave to Al-Jazeera channel? What responses do you anticipate at both local and Arab levels?
A: Absolutely I did not endeavor an effort at Al-Jazeera channel, which offered to receive me. This was also not the first time I appear on a TV screen. I had been interviewed by the Egyptian space channel in a program called ” I was a responsible official” which took me four long series and which referred to the same era and which include my testimony at Al-Jazeera channel. There was also a previous dialogue with the Arab Space channel “Orbit” on the occasion of publishing my book “An Islamic outlook to the Present Business/ Mutual Relations”
My counterpart at the dialogue was the Islamic intellectual professor Dr .Abdulsaboor Shaheen, Dean of the faculty of the religion fundamentals, at Alazhar university and the chairman of Al-Sharia’a control board of Faisal Islamic Bank. I thank God that after an extensive legal and economic dialogue in this debate, his eminence recognized all the contents of my book which reflected an Islamic present effort which administered the present relations.
Alazhar itself decided to distribute my book among all the colleges and institutes of Alazhar university. Prior to that I had several TV discussions ever since the TV was introduced in the Arab world, as an Arab intellectual. My testimony in the era “a presentation of my thoughts on TV. I had no goals to attempt achieving them here. However it destroyed every thing, i.e. there was no target intended by me when the Yemeni and Arab circles know the facts which were known to the few, but now available for all.
It was anticipated that those who intended to dump it, promote for its negativism were offended but at the end only the truth remains rightful. My testimony included thought and facts. Thoughts are subjected to discussions, acceptance, rejection, deletion and addition through constructive discussions intended to bring out the truth.
With all my experience and humble education, I welcome discussing my thoughts within a constructive debate, perhaps here I will find a better opinion than mine. When I will increase my knowledge for behind the knowledge of every scientific subject, there exists the superiority of God.
With regard to the incident I mentioned they were supported with documents and were not a subject of argument.
Only those who were sick, they rejected the facts which were presented to them; therefore, their ears were deaf and their eyes were blind and they were not gladdened. Nevertheless, such persons are often a minority in every backward state, but are also a minority who are ruling masters who fear to lose their false alleged truthfulness when fog dissolves, and the lost fact becomes clear before the public opinion.
I confirmed that the majority of the Yemeni people knows the truth when I received immediately upon returning to Sana’a two days ago several public calls who confirmed to me they were misled. They thanked me for exposing the truth.
At the Arab level, this testimony did not provide me with anything more, for I am an existing personality in the Arab arena, and I continuously participate in Arab intellectual symposiums and conferences.
My fourteen books spread in most of Arab and foreign libraries.
Q: The Yemeni Revolution was set up upon six goals. All the people agree none was achieved during the past forty years, the age of the Republic, therefore, what in your opinion are the reasons behind the lack of achieving even part of these six goals?
A: some of the revolution goals were achieved such as the political Yemeni unity, the emerge of democracy, although it is until now a superficial democracy or a blend of democracy and dictatorship. This was why I described it as (dictamocratic). Furthermore, the development of schools, universities, and hospitals was achieved. The problem lies within the pursuit of the competent, embracing the loyal and refraining from the experts. Thus the market of hypocrisy prospered, and corruption spread, causing the increase of political, economic, social and security crises. The Yemeni society suffered the hardness of poverty, plundering of their wealth which was smuggled abroad. Thus the middle class disappeared, the society then constituted of two classes, a class with dyspepsia which could not be satisfied or their safes did not get filled, their wealth smuggled abroad and not relieved. Another class deprived, but misled by the media. They therefore applaud during the day time and starve at night. This was not a revolution fault with its goals; but a fault of those who penetrated into it and forced themselves within a national understanding which is absent and misled.
Therefore no chance exists to achieve the six goals of the revolution unless the experts return to revive the conscience and sense and to refrain from the loyal in order to resist corruption and ignorance.
Q: Many intellectual and politicians are not optimistic for the reform in the country politically, socially and economically, in fact everything is invisible soon or late. From your point of view, how do you foresee the future (taking into consideration international and regional changes which are directed towards globalization and secularism and the free trade, etc..?
A: I share the opinion of the intellectual and the politicians being pessimistic but I consider their pessimism is if real start of reform for pessimism does not mean despair, but the feeling of the necessity to change the curriculum which they rejected and to seek its opposite which is better.This was a constructive rejection eager for the Yemen’s renaissance which would be achieved when the reasons which deprived them would be deleted and which would then enable them to achieve this renaissance. Those were what you described with your question as the intellectuals and the politicians in the brain (sense) and the conscience of the society. Perhaps it will take some time when the society’s sense and conscience awake. However this is certain, for the economic situation is increasing with decline, unemployment of graduates and labor also is increasing while the majority of the society is falling into poverty; and the corruption is becoming worse.
Therefore, I do not notice an existence of an outbreak to discuss the international and regional changes, and Globalization with its impact upon an absent Yemeni economy which is absent and surrendered.
Q: No country within the developing countries succeeded in patronizing democracy as a political method with an impact to solve its various social and cultural hereditary and perhaps other matters, some of these countries are better than us. How do you evaluate the marginal democracy the politicians talk about , will they succeed to develop it or will they fail? There are also false voices calling for decreasing the political pluralism in the country and to confine it to two or three parties only, and towards an illustration of a democracy which can be adapted to Yemeni peculiarity that is unlike western countries style. How this can be? And what is you point of view about this matter?
A: when the third world countries commenced patronizing democracy while their ruling leaderships emerged from backward and dictatorship situations, took power while retaining the stains of backwardness and dictatorship, thus their decoration which attempted to use was hampered although it was under the title of democracy. Some of these countries succeeded to grasp the changes following the circumstance they were liberated from” , their methods were then straightened e.g. India, our country did not get rid of this historical regional base, for, still some of its Imamite ideas were inherited with the Republican era. When the political Yemeni unity was announced on 22nd May 1990, the conversation about democracy and the political pluralism glittered, therefore, democracy and political pluralism were born with cesarean operation. Then the personal conflicts occurred until they suspended it in the air without any care to the reality. This they named a marginal democracy and political pluralism.
Upon my word and I believe that the existing party, now is the ruling party, because it is in power but if it is waved from the power, it will definitely become like the other parties, carrying a mane of a party but lack the ability, a party is a leadership system not imposed by the ruling authority. All cadres are elected pyramidically, from the base to the summit. It has also a national program which intends to achieve the best interests for the society to qualify as a competent party to participate in the peaceful transfer of power.
With regard to the parties created by the authority, patronage by the authority, receive its directives and obey its opposition institutions, then they are only floppy institutions, for the ruling system in any country of the third world, irrespective if they are three parties in number or one hundred parties, this hampers the renaissance of these countries for it freezes their intellectual and sense activity, but releases applaud, flatter, corruption and failure.
Q: What are the solutions you consider proper to solve these difficulties, economic, political and social crises which cause insomnia to the people and threaten the future of the generation? Do you think within the existing system, matters will improve in the near future? Will people feel security and stability or is this an anticipated crisis which will be very tough as the pessimists anticipate due to several elements, the most of important of which the gap between the classes, the spread of poverty, increasing of literacy, lack of health security, increase of social dilapidation increase of the crime rate, the visible economic destruction a priority of the feelings with the majority of its citizen for the lack of equality with citizenship, lack of justice and security administration, organized of the public wealth and resources, etc….?
A: I explained and still explain the obstacles and crisis of Yemen with my weekly articles at Al-Ayyam newspaper which I collected in one book ” the pain of Yemen”. I also prepared for priority the second chapter in this book. It will be distributed soon , but the question will its ruling system take actions for reform. My answer I have, perhaps will use the scientific method which will achieve it, national hopes which promised to exist.
Q: What are the essential fundamentals to develop the state of Yemen from your point of view?
A: To return to the six goals of the revolution and to abide BY them and to accept that the revolution was founded on the 26th September 1962 and not more than ten years later democracy, to get red of its Imamite ideas and exploit the national conversation.
Q: Last word ?
A: I hope God helps the president to tackle our problems in order to achieve our renaissance as he understood with his program, which he announced during the last presidential elections.

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