Annas [Archives:2003/695/Press Review]

15 Dec. 2003.
Main headlines
– Gang kills a citizen in Bu'dan
– Yemen and Saudi tribes end long-standing dispute
– A number of people killed in a fight over pieces of land in the capital
– In Shara'b: A girl kept in prison cell for one year
– Number of crimes in Mahweet increases

Columnist Khalid al-Hamadi says with the approach of countdown for holding the general conference of Yemeni Journalists Syndicate scheduled on 8 December, visions, ideas and maybe political confrontations began to escalate regarding demands and gains the journalists are looking forward to getting in addition to form of the coming syndicate.
What has doubled these political confrontations is the standoff between the syndicate and its members because of the draft law that the government has approved lately and referred to parliament to be discussed in prelude to endorse it. The journalists outright objection to the law managed to foil it and forced the government to withdraw the draft law from the parliament.
Despite the immediate response of the syndicate to its members demands, however the draft law has aroused a host of queries and resentment by others, describing it as a government draft law.
There is always a big question mark put before the syndicate leadership and it would remain repeated with every syndicate session, i.e. what do the journalists want from their syndicate? I think that among the tasks of any syndicate leadership is to comprehend this question deeply and think of it always in order to try to achieve at least part of it. In this case any journalists electoral session would not end up to the same condition when it has begun its period, as is the case of the present syndicate.
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