AL-SHOURAH: Sanaa weekly, 4-10-98. [Archives:1998/41/Press Review]

archive
October 12 1998

(Federation of Popular Forces)  Main Headline:
1- A number of MPs call for a vote of no-confidence in the government. Several ministers have refused to be questioned by parliament to answer accusations of corruption alleged in a report issued by the Central Organization of Control and Audit.
2- Corruption and subversive bomb explosions are slowing down work in the Aden Free Zone, said a number of Arab and foreign would-be investors.
3- Oil and Gas Conference has not achieved its expected goals.
4- Canadian Oxy is currently negotiating concessions in four new blocks in Hadhramaut and Al-Mahara.

4- Ministry of Fisheries declares that parasites found in some fish caught in Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea are not harmful to humans. Associated with the crustacean season, these parasites die at 55c or when frozen at 17c.
5- Interior Ministry registers foreigners working in Yemen, following allegations of the involvement of holders of Yemeni passports in terrorist acts.

Article Summary:
Human Rights Violations at Jibla Prison
The Jibla prison is 6m x 6m and houses 65 prisoners, rising sometimes to more than 70. Inmates suffer from scabies, malaria, typhoid and various types of skin disease. With no daylight going through, the place is dank and smelly.
Some of the prisoners have been there for more than a year for cases that take one day to resolve. One prisoner lost YR 100,000 by way of bribes in land dispute with one of his relatives.

SEPTEMBER: Sanaa weekly, 8-10-98.
(Yemeni Armed Forces)
Main Headline:
1- Yemen emphasizes its solidarity with Syria, whose security is part of the national Arab security. This was expressed in two ‘phone calls made by President Ali Abdullah Saleh to President Assad of Syria.
2- Projects worth more than YR 12 billion have been recently inaugurated or for which a foundation stone was laid.
3- General Commander of US Marines stationed in the Indian Ocean visits Yemen.
4- Council of Ministers discusses a draft law to re-organize the Radio and Television Establishment.
5- Sheikh Abdullah Al-Ahmer is re-elected as leader of the Islah Party.
6- Executed by the Chinese Road and Bridge Company, work on the Friendship Fly-over is to start next January.
7- Development Fund in Hodeida receives $2,535,926.
8- Minister of Insurance and Social Affairs: “Social security is provided to 200,000 cases, and there will 150,000 more next year.

Article Summary:
A Trickster with a Ph.D.
Al-Murtadhah Zaid Al-Mohatwari claims to be a fighter against corruption and the corrupt. Some “fanatical” newspapers have portrayed him as a hero and victim. Investigations have revealed that he is a great conman with a Ph.D. degree. Through falsification, Al-Mohatwari has acquired the rank of major at the Interior Ministry. He still receives a salary from the said ministry. In addition, he holds the rank of first lieutenant in the army, which he joined in 1974.
Upon claiming to have received a masters degree, he joined the Republican Guards in 1994. He still receives a monthly salary from there.
Al-Mohatwari has turned the Badr Scholastic Center into a den of intolerance and extremism, poisoning the minds of impressionable young men.

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