Assessing Revolution Objectives and Achievements [Archives:2000/41/Reportage]

Yemen Times continues to publish the opinion of intellectuals on the Yemeni revolution and its ups and downs. We have asked people the following three questions:
1- In your opinion, what has September revolution failed to achieve after 38 years and what are the main obstacles behind that?
2- When do you think the revolutionary force and glory of the 26 September revolution was over?
3- What are the major achievements of 14 October revolution since its eruption until the declaration of unity in 1990, and what are its failures?

Mohammed M. al-Makaleh
Writer & political analyst
The revolution in itself is a positive national event that was inevitable to happen either in 1962, or some time later, regardless of the limitations and negative consequences of 26 September and the short experience of patriots who waged it. It was so due to some important factors the first of which was the difficult political, economic, social and cultural conditions Yemen was going through. The second factor was the conflict within the family and their political disparity at that time, especially after the death of Imam Ahmad Hamid al-Din due to serious injuries in an attempted assassination in Hodeidah. He used to be the last Imam ruler who was a tyrant and despotic. Upon his death, his son al-Badr ascended the throne amidst ruling family conflicts. The political elite and other sections of the society were also divided on whether he was qualified for power or not. The third factor for the outbreak of 26 September revolution was the political and media mobilization of July 1952 revolution in Egypt and the social and political awareness created by the late Jamal Abdul Nasser among the Arab people. He turned out to be a national hero who worked to liberate Arab countries from western colonization, particularly the British.
On the other hand, the Yemeni revolution, or any other political or social event in Yemen, should not be assessed independent of the conditions we are now passing through. Rather, it should be evaluated on the basis of the conditions of the time when it broke out. It should also be evaluated through the cultural and social background which led to the revolution. This can be done through specialized historians whose job is to record historical events as they are. Then they are to analyze them in an objective and scientific vision. Unfortunately, we lack such characteristics enjoyed by historians, for all that has been written so far is nothing but mere partial political vantage points, belonging to those who blow up facts while talking about themselves and their roles in the revolution. They exaggerate the negative consequences of the pre-revolution era to the extent of fabricating lies in various aspects. They are actually ignorant and unaware of the damage that befalls the revolution by their biased attitudes.
There are lots of achievements as well as failures of the revolution. The limitation of the revolution lay in the course of the revolution and its outcome. This should not at all be mistaken with the importance and high value of the revolution itself. An illustration that summarizes its pros and cons is the theoretical Republican rule of the country. It appears that the revolution marked the end of monarchy and the establishment of the republican rule in which the ruler obtains his legitimacy from the people. However, the problem of the Yemeni revolution is that from the very beginning power was controlled by soldiers. Yemen was not ruled by a civil authority after the revolution except for a short period when the Judge Iryani was in power. So soldiers were all the time in power through use of force.
The great revolutionary force and glory of 26 September was over when civil war erupted and some local monarchic-republic and republic-republic forces sought foreign parties assistance to get rid of their enemies. It was also over when power was assumed by some groups who had nothing to do with the revolution. It was also over when these parties came to claim that they were the triggering force behind the revolution, republican regime and unity. By claiming this they greatly damaged the supreme value of the revolution. It has also become difficult to criticize their wrong policies for they allegedly claim that this is a criticism against the revolution, republican regime and unity. So many started looking at issues of great national importance through their negative vision of their rulers.
The major achievements of October 14 of 1963 revolution was in getting rid of the colonization. If there is a legitimacy for violence and armed struggle in Yemen, it should be the struggle against the British colonization. Other civil wars are not legitimate whatever reasons may be presented.
Of the achievements of the regime in the then South of Yemen after the independence in 1967, I think that they were found in the combination of more than 23 political bodies in the form of sheikdoms and sultanates in one Republic named PDRY. Another achievement was when civil militias of small tribal identity were obliterated. That was an important factor to destroy the British project which aimed at creating a new political identity for the then Southern part of Yemen that used to be known as the Arabian South. The national front and YSP through their strong belief in the Yemeni unity could assert the Yemeni identity which later facilitated the establishment of the unity. So if the British project had not been destroyed by the party, it would have become almost impossible to establish the unity.
Another achievement was the independence in taking national decisions and refusal of foreign interference in Yemens internal affairs. This was effective until the declaration of the unity after which Yemen was a stage for regional and international intervention. The case of the united Yemen after the unity was like that of the then YAR.
The other achievement was embodied in securing security, stability, justice and full equity among the people. The basic needs were also provided at affordable prices. There were also turning points in the field of education, adult education in the Southern governorates. A special attention was also paid to health.
However, the failures of the regime in the South were also too many, most important of which was the monopoly of opinion and laying a siege against political opponents. Trade was monopolized by the government. Finally, factors of conflicts and violence were also quite prevalent within the ruling party.

Mohammed Abdul Malik Al-Mutawakle
Assessing the objectives of any revolution cannot be fair or objective unless we compare those objectives to the achievements it has made. Thus, we must compare the six objectives of the 26 September Revolution to what has been fulfilled.
The first objective: Breaking from dictatorship and colonization and their hardships and establishing a fair republican regime and removing differences and privileges among the social classes.
The Imamate reign and colonization have gone. However, the question that needs investigation is, Is dictatorship over? And is the tyrannical mentality, the dictatorial culture and monopoly of power over? And has the revolution succeeded in establishing a just republican regime?
The just republican regime is that regime which achieves the sovereignty of law, equality of citizenship there people have the right to choose their rulers, depose them and hold them accountable for wrongdoings. That is to say, it is the peaceful transfer of power. And finally, after about 40 years, were the differences and privileges among social classes abolished or they have increased and expanded among those who own everything and those who own nothing? These are questions that may need a scientific study and a referendum of ordinary people.
The second objective: Building a strong national army.
The National Army means an army for the country not for the rulers. It is to defend the country and it consists of all its sons and it is led by capable and proficient characters regardless of their origins or regions or whether they are close relatives of the rulers or not. It should be able to defend the country. Could this army defend the archipelago of Yemen or its land borders from violations during the last 40 years? This is a question that needs a scientific study and a simple investigation among the Armed Forces. Likewise, we can apply the same assessment on the rest of the objectives.

Hatem Abu Hatem
Chairman of the National Committee on Resisting Normalization
The September 26 revolution is the greatest event the Yemenis have ever registered in history. It has crystallized decades of struggle against the tyrant reactionary regime of the Imam and the British colonization. It had been preceded by many revolutionary uprisings in which hundreds of patriots scarified their invaluable lives for freedom and a better future. The Yemeni revolution adopted the objectives of the Arab revolution led by the leader Jamal Abdulnasser. Egypt was then suffering from an imperialist blockade and the Yemeni revolution had represented the event. The revolution had faced an imperialist and reactionary reverses when the Yemenis had offered great sacrifices supported by Egyptian forces whose blood of fighters of the two sisterly countries was mixed. Egyptians were not involved only in military activities, but in many development spheres as well. Egypts hands were wide open welcoming Yemeni students who after that came back home to enlighten their country.
In 1967, the image of the newly born revolution was tarnished when a group of backward people controlled the country until the corrective movement of June 13 led by patriot Ibraheem Al-Hamdi which set the republic on the right track. During the regime of Al-Hamdi cooperative movement, democratic society and equality were achieved as republican goals. There was no room for corruption and favoritism. Military forces represented the whole country putting and end to the monopoly of certain families or districts. It was, in fact, as Abdullah Al-Baraddouni described it the golden era of the revolution.
Following the death of President Ibraheem Al-Hamdi in October 11, 1977, the track was diverted again. The corrupt were again at the top. As a result, the state seemed to overlook security, justice, equality and services. Education became a matter of trade and greatest part of foreign aid went for imaginary projects. Dollars exchange rate zoomed against local currency from 45 and to 163. Chaos, tribal blood revenges, highway robbery had prospered posing a serious threat to development. One wonders how a country should claim to be respectable while thousands of its people receive salaries from other countries and claim to be democratic while it adopts the policy of say whatever you want and I will do whatever I want. The recent decision of the constitutional amendments has been a crystal clear example of this.
The unification of Yemen on May 22 1990 was the greatest event that has even been achieved after the September and October revolutions.
As it has been mentioned before that the apostate movement on November 5, 1967 which was an extension of the Arab setback in June of the same year. The spirit of the Revolution was revived on June 13, 1974 but this attempt was again nipped in the bud on October 11 1977. Today the state has ignored the revolutions goals and busied itself with formal celebrations.
The revolution in the South on October 14, 1963 broke out after President Jamal Abdulnasser announced in Taiz that the old Britain must depart from the southern territories of Yemen. Yemeni as well as Arab Revolutionaries joined hands to make the colonizers leave for good. After many sacrifices, triumph was achieved on November 30, 1967 with the departure of the last colonizer. The nine provinces were united and a progressive system was adopted. However, there had been many negative pictures such as separation, dictatorship and bloody conflicts.
In order to restore the spirit of the revolution certain priorities should be achieved. These include equality, justice, establishing institutions of the country, enforcing laws, separation of the powers, fighting corruption, strengthening democracy, respecting the constitution, peaceful transfer of power, adoption of comprehensive development programs, providing education and health services for all people, activating powers of auditing and control centers, providing people with a chance to participate in decision-making, limiting tribal and military authorities, etc.

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