Al-Nahar [Archives:2004/734/Press Review]

29 Apr 2004
Main headlines
– A Salafi group: Secularism is infidelity, pluralism violation of loyalty
– Change of date, a condition for attending the summit
– Islah and the GPC win majority of seats of the University Teaching Staff Union
The newspaper editorial says despite the variance in stands political parties vis-a-vis the American an European projects for reform in the Middle East, the causes differ about support and opposition about those two projects, especially after the government had announced its support for the principle of reforms.
Since the government has declined from its utter rejection of the two initiatives, claiming that success of political reform projects requires that those projects are emerging from reality of the countries meant in the projects and not imposed from outside, the president's advisor and secretary-general of the GPC, Dr Abdulkareem al-Iryani has surprised all by declaring that Yemen was not meant by any project for political reform as it has preceded those call and approved work in political pluralism, freedom of press and formation of trade and professional unions since the unification of its two parts in 1990. Dr al-Irayani has further said that the political system in Yemen, based on pluralism and democracy, is no longer required to say “yes” to the American president Bush. Some circles in the opposition have considered what Iryni said as a kind of political abstention and others considered them an ahead step for refusing the convening of a national conference to discuss constitutional and legal reforms stabilizing and enhancing the effectiveness of parties and role of unions and also limiting domination of the ruling party on all potentials of the state for serving its goals and policies. Those also see in the rejection beforehand of any internal dialogue on reforms as a reflection of the state of harmony stamping the relationship between Washington and Sana'a due to its cooperation in the area of fighting terror, a matter that has made the latter safe from any pressures forcing it to create actual reforms, active organisations not dominated by government control and women taking part in making decisions especially following the sharp retreat in the political life since defeat of the YSP in the war of 1994 summer and its departure from rule by force.
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