Annas [Archives:2004/703/Press Review]

12 Jan 2004
Main headlines
– Europe cold winter enkindles fire of prices in Yemen
– In Taiz and Ibb, season of girls kidnapping
– Reconciliation efforts fail to disengage family disputes in Thamar
– American pressures prevent participation of Saudi foreign minister and Jordan's Queen from attending democracy conference in Sana'a
– Ibb: Prisoners at criminal investigations prison threaten to disclose means of torture used for the first time
Columnist Dr Faris al-Saqqaf says in his article as soon as it was announced officially that the democracy conference to start in Sana'a the active movement began in Sana'a. For the first time the conference convening seemed as a surprise for politicians in Yemen particularly that they think themselves as representing civil society organizations and formations of partisan action and imagine they are active democratically in the domain of human rights and the law.
They wonder how could that happen that a conference held in their capital and could not be knowing about it and its topics and discussions.
Whatever courses the argument takes it is a fact tat Yemen was smart enough to take the initiative for hosting the conference. It is an act very useful for the political and democratic life. Repetition of Yemen's embracing of such meetings would give Yemen a feature of democratic changes and political reform so that its announcements are altered into commitments and responsibilities.
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