Hizbul-Haq (Truth Party) [Archives:1999/06/Law & Diplomacy]

Political Parties Series: #2
Starting with the issue on January 25th, 1999, the Yemen Times continues to run profile of the political parties of Yemen.
We print the information as received from the parties.
The aim is to inform the public – local and international.
Al Haq party was established in 1990, led by a group of scholars who pledged to endeavor for the sake of supporting right and crystallizing Islamic doctrines on all levels whether political, cultural, social or economical.
Ever since its creation, the party paid great attention to Islamic legislation and understanding of modern issues such as democracy, political pluralism, elections and women’s political rights. It also shared effectively in political life via the doctrine of team work and consultations and was among the important parties that called for unity and supported it.
The party voiced its stands in face of different issues and crises that erupted in the past period. For example, its stance regarding Yemen’s re-unification was loud and clear through the famous Moslem scholars’ statement. The party further approved the constitution at a time when numerous national forces were hesitant over that question along with the re-unification. The party’s leadership called on the people to take part in voting for the constitution. It remained a distinctive voice within the opposition calling for reform and criticizing mistakes in addition to supporting any positive signs in the state. The party leadership exerted its utmost efforts to solve differences that coincided with the transitory period and worked for bridging gaps between the two different parties which had an effective role until the summer 1994 war.
Al Haq party resorts to Islamic legislation toward many controversial questions. It managed to precede other Islamic trends in finding Islamic justifications for democracy, political pluralism, freedom of expression and other modern issues that are still controversial among other Islamic groups.
Amidst honorable competition, the party managed to win two seats in the 1993 general elections. It was one of the founders of the national opposition bloc which reflected opinion of the Yemeni opposition parties joining it and which later became the higher coordination council for the opposition parties. Al Haq party is one of the active members of that council, through which it held several political meetings with other parties in the opposition and in power.
The party also took part in the 1997 parliamentary elections, presenting an integrated political program that handles various problems faced by the country despite mistakes by the ruling authorities by then.
The party is still pursuing its enlightenment march under its scholarly leadership and exerts efforts in building the individual.
Al Haq Party’s Basic Doctrines
The party’s political program reflects the party goals declared since its establishment and was keen on ‘shoura’ and scholarly advice. It further represented freedom and justice values and was open to heritage and human experiments to benefit from them.
A great goal of Al Haq Party is handling the responsibility of building the modern state based on political pluralism, peaceful circulation of power, shoura, justice and freedom through civilian institutions.
The program seeks to lay down the strong and correct basis for such a goal and will struggle for its achievement with all available means.
The party works for stabilizing the republican regime and the constitution in addition to build the modern Yemeni state in accordance with the shoura principle in Islam and doctrines of the Yemeni revolution. Toward that end, the party stressed on political pluralism as the appropriate method for the peaceful circulation of power. The party further affirms the importance of separating the three powers of the state namely the legislative, executive and judicial ones. It further calls for the people’s participation in power through the direct election of governors, mayors and senior officials and expanding jurisdictions of the administrative rule. It also calls for questioning political executives on their financial resources and for revising the electoral law to achieve a more positive one, a law that really reflects the nation’s will.
The party presents a comprehensive view of education, services, health, Awqaf (endowments) and women’s role in the society in addition to tabling solutions to several social and cultural problems confronting the citizens and a number of state bodies.
Economic Doctrines
Al Haq calls for building a strong national economy that benefits from oil revenues in the agricultural sector and encourages industrial depending on available raw materials in addition to prohibiting monopoly and banks’ interest rates. It advocates market competition, removal of financial and administrative corruption and an end to unnecessary extravagance.
The party’s economic policy is based on the concept that comprehensive development can be only achieved through justice, in the absence of which no security would be guaranteed and consequently development and economic welfare would not be attained. In an Islamic society committed to Allah’s demands, economic practices are committed to ethics and market competition becomes free, active and honorable. Yemen’s economic problems are not the result of poor resources and potentials only but the consequence of absence of comprehensive development plans, mismanagement and the control of corrupt financial and administrative elements on all state bodies.
The party considers the establishment of a strong Yemeni economy is of utmost importance and necessitates the following:
1-Removing corruption and its influential centers as a basic and primary goal.
2-Studying the economic situation by specialists to lay down the correct foundation of a national economy in addition to drawing developmental plans and programs in the economic, agricultural and industrial fields.
3-Spreading spirit of team work and cooperative endeavor along with urging the society into non-consumer economy.
4-Controlling the state’s general resources and curbing expenditure.
5-Canceling absent articles from the general budget and determining expenditures of the presidency.
6-Banning monopoly and providing the opportunity for honorable competition. Prohibiting commercial activity on all state officials whether directly or indirectly along with employees of direct links to commerce, industry or agriculture.
7-Combating smuggling, confiscating smuggled articles and benefiting from their prices in fighting smuggling.
8-Organization administrations properly and correctly to cope with the modern time.
9-Encouraging investments in the industrial sector that depends on local raw materials in addition to domestic handicrafts.
10-Paying more importance to agriculture through reviving cooperative work and providing necessary potentials for its success. Encouraging investments in that sector in addition to providing modern irrigation methods and building dams. Organizing the marketing of agricultural products, terminating importing of agricultural products and supplying training and guidance programs.
11-Checking and organizing underground water uses.
12-Backing more oil, gas and minerals exploration and making use of their revenues in developmental programs.
13-Limiting humiliating foreign loans.
14-Protecting private property.
15-Protecting public property and controlling state property for the sake of public interest.
16-Establishing non-interest banks, making use of suitable experiences in that sphere in the Islamic World.
17-Limiting foreign expenditure and decreasing number of employees in the diplomatic missions.
18-Lowering state spending and extravagant privileges to its various authorities.
19-Relieving illusionary numbers in the armed forces, security and state bodies and benefiting from the army in agriculture, construction and industry.
20-Facilitating investments and work in fields of agriculture, fishing, industry, handicrafts and facilitating necessary loans.
21-Creating an attorney for public funds.
22-Erecting tourism projects in historic and beautiful areas.
23-Just distribution of wealth in accordance with Islamic Sharia.
24-Advocating a common Islamic economic market.
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