Isn’t it time to honor the Yemeni people for their resistance throughout the years? A Century of Oppression [Archives:2001/09/Law & Diplomacy]

Yemenis have experienced over a century three different regimes, the most important of which were the Turkish regime, the Imamate which coincided with colonization in the South and finally the republican regime. How can we assess these stages? How can we account for Yemenis submission to forms of suppression during some of these stages? How about the future and how can the new generation look towards it? Can we say that the current political leadership is the most suitable to rule in the future? What about the current democratic process being adopted as a developing political trend? How do politicians and decision makers view the state of affairs of the country and the people in the future?
Mr. Kadri Ahmad Haider answered some of the above questions saying “Some of these questions go back to the historical background and some are related to the present time and the future. As for the first part of the question, the Turks invaded Yemen two times. The second invasion lasted until 1918, preceded by the Ra’aan agreement in 1911 which left the Northern tribal areas under the control of Imam Mohammed al-Mansoor, extending his rule to the al-Shafiah Southern areas.
As a matter of fact, Yemenis did not submit to similar oppression over the last one hundred years. Rather they resisted any such attempt and struggled hard to protect their honor. They were involved in military and political conflicts and wars against the Turkish invaders. Besides, the complex geographical location of the tribally-armed northern areas helped to support the struggle against the Turks during the two invasions. Many Turks were killed during the Yemenis struggle for freedom, to the extent that Yemen was labeled the graveyard of the Turks. The defeat of the feudal, military Othmani Empire in the First World War forced the Turks to leave Yemen. Whatever remained from the Turkish invasion by way of buildings, palaces, and government administrative units was taken over by the Imamate.
We can safely say that the Othmani Empire attempted to destroy all the progress and development achieved while invading Egypt and the al-Sham countries. It also attempted to impede development in these countries. However, in Yemen there was nothing to destroy since the reign of the Imamate was the worst ever. During the reign of the Imamate, lasting from the end of the third century Hejira to the 1960s, there were no steps taken to help move the country forward. Conflicts either between tribes or among themselves were witnessed throughout this period. Social and political unrest and instability dominated the whole atmosphere during this time. It was indeed a levying authority, an authority that tried to ostracize Yemen from the outside world under the pretext of protecting the sovereignty of the state. It was a country characterized by rampant poverty, ignorance and illiteracy in its worst form, except for a few years of the al-Sulaihin, Rasoliah, Ziadiah and Tahriah reign.
Due to their oppressive and backward polices, many important areas of Yemen including Aseer, Najran and Jaizan were given away. Besides, the British colonialists invaded the southern part of Yemen. However, the people in the southern part of the country did their utmost to resist this colonization until the attainment of independence. There were also some political forces fighting against the Imamate in the north and these forces began rendering religious advice and consultation. Finding that this stance had no impact on the tyrant ruler, they tried to overthrow his kingdom through coups in 1948 and 1955. However, these two coups were unsuccessful.
After the 1948 coup failed, many revolutionaries were executed, others imprisoned and still others fled to Aden and other countries. When the republican regime came into being after the 26 September revolution in 1962, some regional forces opposed it, supported by tribal forces, leading to war. Due to these wars the course of development was obstructed and political conflicts over the republican regime diluted the supreme values of the revolution until its social and revolutionary fervor faded away. Then, the movement of November 5 1967 was a major political step, leading to the 23/24 August 1968 uprising, after the reconciliation between the monarchical forces and Saudi Arabia in March 1970. In fact, the revolution suffered from many setbacks throughout all these regimes, especially during the last two decades of military coups.
There is another cause of depression and despair on the part of the people after the restructuring of the social and political base of the regime. We should never lose sight of the 1994 war which cost the country a lot of blood, as well as enormous financial expenditure, estimated at $ 11 billion. Today there are thousands of graduates in the streets, due to the government’s callous attitude towards providing them with job opportunities. Moreover, there is a marked weakening in the foundation of the country which has not yet been completed.
The current political regime is just a reflection of this sad plight. Its continuation is unlikely to lead to any political relief or any change in the current scenario in which corruption has turned out to be an organized, complex vice, impossible to control. The current political regime, in my opinion, is not one that can lead the state through the enormous crises that it faces and is not qualified enough to lead Yemen into the third millennium, as there are growing attempts to restrict the democratic process which, in course of time, will turn out to be mere decor to satisfy some foreign sources and to reflect a rosy picture of a real misery. It is clear that republican regimes can change into something like monarchies. Sons of leaders are now in charge of most of the high posts, holding key administrative and economic positions in the authority. They have already, of course, paved the way for this situation through controlling economic and commercial affairs, destroying all the traditional merchants and traders in this field.
The current political regime is in need of a critical analysis. Besides, our rulers should be aware of the extent to which the situation in the country has deteriorated and be ready to launch concerted efforts to conduct comprehensive reforms and changes.
All the proposals of the opposition parties or politicians, either in their programs or in their political studies revealed through the press, have no effect. Many of them comment on this by saying that their proposals are not responded to favorably. On the contrary they are misunderstood and are viewed against a regime which has been stripped of its republican content and where nothing remains except the name. We witness nowadays a clear move in the reverse direction, counter to the principles and objectives of the events of 26 September and 14 October.
To conclude, I would like refer to the ‘submission’ of the Yemenis which, while it was not seen during the period of Turkish occupation, can be seen now. However, I feel that it is the calm before the inevitable storm.

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