Letters to the Editor [Archives:2000/30/Letters to the Editor]

Are the Authorities Aware of this?
Screaming of mothers, wives, children and relatives have elevated in Aden, after their loved fathers or brothers were arrested by the political police, for no reason.
They say that arresting people in Aden has become a daily practice for some officials to extract money from the relatives to release their sons.
Others say it has become a constant source of revenue for the police beside their monthly salaries.
This news has spread out of Yemen and everybody is talking about it.
Are the authorities aware of this? Why aren’t they investigating into these case and bringing those who are accused to trial.
Can we hear an answer? A. Makloob, Canada
[email protected]
How to reform a harassed media
Media is, basically, one of the most important tools that brings change in a society. It is also a means of revealing and then abolishing the corruption inside that society. It plays a key role in promoting peoples’ awareness, as well as helping to expose ambiguous truths. Furthermore, it leads to prosperity. Therefore, it is essential to have faithful men. Moreover, it should have brave men to express and disclose facts without fear of the consequences, Since media is a honorable instrument, it should be respected by all of us. Hence, the press is part and parcel of media. Governments should respect media and offer it all facilities that would enable it to achieve and play its role in society. The mission of press needs patience and continuous contacts with news sources to keep pace with events. Harassing and threatening journalists, even though has become normal practice, is uncivilized conduct to put pressure on the press by some of high-ranking officials in charge of the country’s affairs. Journalism needs enhancement and support instead of harassment and threats. The law of press must be accurately implemented in favor of the freedom of press and not the contrary. Even though the breakers of the law of the press should be punished, we hear a lot of prominent journalists who have been harassed and imprisoned for nothing but revealing the truth. This is not the sound way of dealing with the press, as even the law of the press doesn’t permit this. If corrupt officials keep on doing such abusive action against the press, it would never develop and prosper.
I believe that there is nobody who can deny the affective role of the press in helping correct the conditions of the country. Being educated and civilized, we ought to ask ourselves why those men are threatened so often. We must think wisely about this issue. Journalists do sacrifice their lives for the sake of country and people. Hasn’t time come for them to be appreciated? Abdu Maresh Al-Sharaabi
Level 3, Eng. Dept. Education,
Taiz University
Dear Abdu Maresh,
I would like to inform you that we did not receive your letters otherwise they would have been published. I do thank you for your continuous insistence on having your message delivered. Please keep on sending more letters in the future. The Editor
The Wasteland
I would like to say that we are living in a country as if we are living in a wasteland, where there is no hope, no optimism, but is rather full of disappointment. Despite the richness of our country in many natural resources such as oil, gas and mineral resources, and despite its potential in tourism, sea wealth and natural beauty, it still suffers from abuse of these resources and not taking advantage of those potentials. Why? The answer is simply because of the corruption network depleting al these sources. The corruption exists because of the absence of administration and lack of law enforcement. We deplore the sense of irresponsibility of the government, which has made us all disappointed.
Statistics show that most of the people in our country are immersed in the state of poverty. In my opinion we are living in an inanimate land, where for people’s miseries there is no listening ear. There is a proverb saying, “None are so deaf as those who will not hear.” I see this proverb applicable in its exact meaning to our current government.
There are reports leaking from the ruling party confirming that the current government of Dr. Abdulkareem Al-Eryani will go ahead in raising the price of oil products such as gas, diesel, kerosene, etc.. However, I think that all of these economic reforms are only an illusory reforms, because we haven’t find any improvements since the start of the reforms several years ago. There has been no improvement in deficit, but on the contrary, corruption reached peak levels, leading to more poverty, depriving our country of any development whatsoever. The only victims of such reforms were the poor people.
Our motherland is in dire need for help to cure its wounds from this corruption cancer before it is too late, but who could help it? Who could relieve its pain? Most of our country’s brotherly countries are disobedient and faithless. Some of them collapsed due to weakness, others are rapacious and materialistic, and many of them are afraid to admit that it needs help, and instead wear black glasses and pretend not seeing the country’s miseries. I say to all of them, “None are so blind as those who will not see.”
As long as we continue this way, we must be prepared to handle the consequences of our failure and deplorable behavior. We need to collaborate if we want a better future.
Finally, we will still live with an optimism that our life may in some way or another get better, especially after we signed the border agreement with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. President Ali Abdullah Saleh confirmed that he will go strong in combating corruption, and rule the country in a strict manner with a hand of iron, especially when dealing with those corrupt officials. It is the government’s duty now to deal with issues of development more seriously with considerable commitment. There are no justifications or excuses for the government to use in the days ahead in managing its internal affairs. This is also one reason to be optimistic once again. Fuad Kassim Al-Zeheary,
Ibb

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