Failed regime leading us toward an unprecedented catastrophe [Archives:2007/1101/Opinion]

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November 8 2007

By: Ashraf Al-Reefi
The political regime is leading us toward an unprecedented catastrophe after more than one year of reelecting Mr. President via elections, which featured all the forms vote result manipulation, coupled with the exploitation of state's property and facilities in favor of the president, or the then GPC candidate. Citizens are suffering prohibitive prices, lawlessness, and sharp political congestions and crises while the ruling party has not achieved any successes as much as it makes promises in its platforms, however, the real-life situation denies these promises.

Despite voices by official media about illusionary achievements that have been allegedly reached one year after the ruler was reelected, the real-life situation tells us of insurmountable national congestions produced by the regime's wrong policies. President of the Republic had been always shouting loudly in many of his campaign rallies, “Yes to security and safety”. This slogan was understood by many judicious people as an implicit threat to voters in case they vote for the incumbent president's top rival, Faisal Bin Shamlan, presidential candidate of Joint Meeting Parties. Despite Saleh's victory, social security is currently ill and is therefore threatened by calls for defection, apostasy and sectarianism, which emerged due to the absence of an effective national platform in the standing regime.

Frankly speaking, we can say that Mr. President did not fulfill any of the promises contained in his electoral platform, and that he faced complete failure in running the country and leading it toward the 'Better Future & New Yemen'. More than one year now since the presidential elections were conducted, the southern soil is inflaming with the fire of mismanagement and people there complain of a lack of equality and justice. In addition, angry citizens took to streets in huge protests in most of Yemen's main cities, thereby alarming of the outbreak of starving people revolution, which will never stop until it exterminates corruption and corrupt officials.

The time period between September 20, 2006 and September 20, 2007 saw an immense difference in the country's situation, which terribly exacerbated. Hopes for change and ambitions for new Yemen were hovering in Yemen's airspace a head of the most recent elections, and Bin Shamlan's platform contained a lot of real promises in favor of Yemen, however, some people were of the opinion to give Saleh the last chance to improve the country's deteriorating situations.

Today, we are experiencing a miserable scene after the ruling party and President of the Republic failed to wisely manage the country's affairs. This unprecedented failure helped unemployment rates go higher and prices skyrocket while corruption seized the opportunity to spread more rampantly in government offices. It is now that we saw various statements made by some ruling party officials, putting the blame on their party's performance. Head of the ruling party's parliamentary bloc Yasser Al-Awadhi, who is also member of the party's General Committee, accused President Saleh of giving senior government posts to his relatives and being partial to his own tribe.

The General People Congress's leader, who stood by President Saleh in the most recent presidential elections, had been admitting that an invisible force other than GPC was responsible for running the country's affairs. Al-Awadhi also acknowledged that the president usually adopts wrong policies for dealing with tribesmen and distributing wealth.

What shocked us is that Secretary General of GPC Abdulqader Bajammal said in a statement to the media that “I can not say that President of the Republic is professional at politics”, even this man had been strongly backing President Saleh in last year's presidential elections to remain in power. This is the case of Mr. President one year after he was reelected. Other prominent personalities, including Sheikh Senan Abu Lohoum, criticized President Saleh for imprudently defaming his partners in the national unity when interviewed by the press.

Source: Al-Wahdawi.net
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