Domestic wars are symptomatic of political imbalance [Archives:2007/1080/Opinion]
Ali Al-Sarari
Up until the moment, nobody is convinced that Sa'ada fighting has ended. However, the official media turned to behave in a way that may lead the war to break once again but in the southern governorates and its target will be the Yemeni Socialist Party.
Like their behavior in the past, the official media began using a package of ready-made accusations, which have been used in all the domestic wars Yemen went through without any change in the form or the content. The single policy exercised by the regime was the primary reason behind civil wars. This kind of policy never provided constructive solutions to the repeated issues and crises so far experienced in Yemen.
After these years of civil wars and crises, the regime has never taken serious steps to develop and improve their destructive methods. The regime preferred to use the same accusations, allegations, means and tools and demonstrated no serious efforts to alleviate sufferings of Yemeni people.
The official media began to direct charges and wage war against the Yemeni Socialist Party. In the meantime, the official media propagate the ideal of liquidating Al-Houthi followers in Sa'ada although they reached an agreement with Houthis to stop any media campaign against them, thanks to the efforts exercised by Qatari mediation to end the fighting. But, those who trigger domestic wars don't respect the agreements, and after their military campaigns failed to achieve the sought goals throughout the war that lasted for five months, they turned to achieve them via the committee mandated to supervise implementation of the agreement. In fact, the members of the committee didn't question how the army retains its status amid calls by the official media to eliminate Houthis, whom the army failed to defeat. The behavior exercised by the official media is pondered upon as a campaign of revenges and conflicts between tribesmen and volunteers backing the government troops.
The charges used for justifying the endless Sa'ada war, as well as the prospective war on YSP in the south parts of the country were combined in the same package, according to statements by Vice President Abdurabbu Mansour Hadi during his speech to local council members in Lahj governorate few days ago. Hadi noted that the republican regime, unity, and democracy are three redlines.
Unwanted wars and charges:
The Vice President, who does nothing of his job except for listing charges against the YSP and hindering the progress of discussing persistent issues in the southern governorates, doesn't deeply think about the three redlines, which, according to his belief, are excerpted from the national tenets and principles. If he imagines that protecting the republican regime is a sufficient justification to launch Sa'ada war, he should understand that the problem faced by the regime doesn't exist in Sa'ada, but it does exist in another place.
The Houthis have listed no demand except for the call for returning the royal regime. Being loyalists with the Zaidi sect, their rejection of the single-dynasty and bequeathed regime is based on the fact that they have firm ideological commitment. Their sect encourages people to revolt against the oppressive regime.
The transfer of the imamate of Beit Hamid Addin into a bequeathed regime and single-family dominance had been one of the primary reasons for the 26 September Revolution in 1962 that overthrew the imamate. So, the Vice President has to seek the risks posing threats to the republican regime, not only in Sa'ada, but also in the areas of establishing the single-dynasty regime and paving the way for bequeathing power from fathers to sons.
It is terribly wrong that the Vice President accuses protesters, who claim their legal rights in the southern governorates, of being instigators of apostasy and enemies of the national unity. YSP played the major role in establishing the national unity because it is the only party that made concessions for the sake of unity and its members in the southern governorates accepted to sacrifice everything they had for the sake of reunification.
If the Vice President has forgotten, it is our duty to remind him that a large number of protestors, who claim their legal rights, stood by him during the 1994 Civil War, which he is pleased to describe as a unity war against apostasy. Being a colleague of these protesters, he should respond to their demands and join their protest, based on the fact that claiming rights is a constitutional right ensured by the law. It is not a behavior of extortion or looting.
If this Vice President cares for exploring any risks posed to the national unity, he has to seek these risks in the arbitrary procedures and policies, which are heavily responsible for human right abuses and discrimination among Yemenis due to their tribal affiliations or birthplaces. He is required to explore the risks in the embezzlements, extortions and lootings exercised by those who claim that they scored triumph in the 1994 Civil War. Owing to this war, the south part of Yemen has turned into a ground for influential persons to dominate and loot public and personal property and exercise the illegal earning of wealth.
Anyway, the official procedures and policies applied in the southern governorates since July 7, 1994, fuel different kinds of protests, and sometimes lead to angry reactions to the unbearable oppressions. Such procedures and policies forced protesters to raise stupid slogans in Aden, as well as in the sporting stadium in Abyan governorate. However, this type of deviation shouldn't seduce the judicial individuals in this country and draw their attention away from contemplating on the situation. Additionally, congestions may originate once again in the southern governorates due to the irresponsible, non-national and non-unity procedures and policies, which damaged citizens' interests and inflamed their feelings. Nevertheless, the stupid slogans being raised during the protests reflect the states of chaotic anger.
Now, we will discuss the third redline, which the official referred to as democracy. Via this charge, the regime, which is monopolizing power and wealth, seeks a sufficient justification for waging wars everywhere and confronting any factions nationwide. For the regime, these factions are enemies of democracy and unity, and when they exercise democracy, they cross redlines designed by the regime and the ruling party. These redlines appear as if they are latitudes, which are usually affected by the excessive care for democracy and safety in exercising democracy.
When the Vice President referred to democracy as a charge, he forgot that he was at the moment violating the simplest aspects of democracy, which never allow him to use the official media to defame and libel any political opponents threatening his party's stay in power. The regime of domestic wars has its unique quality, which is the first of its kind. This quality is manifested by the regime's resorting to contradictory justifications to adapt and adjust its pretexts with the aim of waging wars. It fights with republicans under the cover of being enemies of the republican regime. It also fights with unifiers after it accuses them of apostasy and battles democrats under the pretext of damaging democracy. All these domestic wars and their consequences are symptomatic of the political imbalance.
Ali Al-Sarari is a Yemeni Journalist and a well-known politician. He is the head of the information department at the Yemeni Socialist Party.
Source: Al-Thawri Weekly.
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[archive-e:1080-v:15-y:2007-d:2007-08-27-p:opinion]
