Mr. Abduljaleel Ghailan Ahmed “We can not talk about how can we get over the crisis in Yemen unless we acknowledge that there is a crisis” [Archives:2000/17/Interview]
April 24 2000
Q: Could you please give us a brief idea about the period of 1994 civil war?
A: One actually does not know how to begin, and what to say. The 1994 war was a catastrophe. The catastrophe could have been avoided if there were well-meaning main players in Yemen’s political arena. The previous wars in Yemen before the unity can be justified for such reasons, but to wage a war after the achievement of the most conspicuous event in the lives of the Yemeni people, is indeed the worst catastrophe. Political factors, a chain of events following the unity led to that horrible war. It disrupted the progress process in Yemen, at various levels, economic, social, and psychological.
It is dreadful that some people view southern Yemen not as part of Yemen, but of Southern Arab Region. Who is responsible for spreading these false concepts? I can say that this matter is a natural reaction of the people who struggled and sacrificed to achieve the unity. I do not mean the people in the South alone, but people in entire Yemen. Yemeni people struggled hard to achieve this historic event; the unification. In spite of the struggle that led to that historic achievement, which is a direct result of the tenacious political leaders in the South and the North, a series of disturbing events after the achievement of unity showed that there would be a war. I do not like to talk elaborately about the war because everybody knows about it.
Regarding your question what happened after the war, I can say that the unity has been achieved geographically, but not psychologically in view of the disastrous events that occurred during the war and after the war involving the Southern govern orates. I do not endorse the view that the war was launched by the North against the South. The fact is that it was caused by some forces that became addicted to power. Those forces believed that they would stand to benefit out of the event. However, the Yemeni people and the whole world know the side responsible for this war.
Some people may justify this by saying that those events were for the sake of unity, but the fact is that the unity was achieved in spite of those sacrifices. There are other means to protect unity without resorting to these practices. Political diversity made all parties in the Yemeni society consider the democratic process as the way through which they could solve the problems facing the country. So, all the Yemeni people are well aware of the cause of that war and the one who was behind it, especially after drafting the Document of Oath and Agreement presented and approved by all political forces to avoid any crisis. They suggested the Document of Oath and Agreement, but the war came overriding this document.
Q: Is the document still valid?
A: I think that the common aspects of the document are still valid. If we want to get over our problems, we have to go back to the articles of that Document. If there are things to be reconsidered in the document, it is possible to have it done. People achieved the result in the form of that Document which was a common denominator for all. It was necessary after the signing of that Document to come back to Yemen and start implementing the terms spelt out therein gradually, but instead of doing so the war erupted suddenly. The war was not waged against the forces in the Socialist Party, but against that document. Some people refer to us as non-Yemenis. This is an awful situation for the Yemeni citizens who feel that they are being treated as citizens of tenth degree. The average Yemeni feels that he is out of the society, living in rural areas, and ruled by some people according to their whims. This way of thinking caused problems to unity. If we want to get over this crisis, we have to stop these practices. It is commonly known that the victor in a war boasts of himself and derides others. That is why we hear some people make a dichotomy saying this is secessionist and this is unionist. There were some secessionists both in the South and in the North.
Since the revolutions of 26 September and 14 October, there was a trend towards renunciation with the South. Before the independence of the South, 28 seats in the state council were allocated for the South by officials in the North. The confrontations after that period were really caused by a sense of false vanity. We were happy to see the development of some positive attitudes. One of the main outcomes of the Yemeni revolution was how we can achieve unity despite all the differences. Instead of joining hands to forge unity and create a fair Yemeni state where people can find equality, and to put the proper man in the proper place, they indulged in war. If we consider the state of affairs in Yemen, we find that the intellectuals do not occupy positions in its body politics. Those who run Yemen are mostly those who are not intellectuals. This is an irony none can deny. I believe that we cannot talk about how can we get over this crisis unless we acknowledge that there is a crisis. The crisis, precipitated by the war, is still persisting up to now. The war caused unemployment. There is a deterioration in people’s living standards. Perhaps a minister, a manager, and even the small employee can do private work because the system allows them to explore different means for a living. You can guess how hard it is for the citizen who earns an average of only $ 30 or $ 50 to live. A minister’s salary is no more than $ 100. How can he afford own cars and villas? From where does he get the money? We have to ask this question because there are some people who feed on the garbage to survive. So, the central issue is, how we can get over this crisis that inevitably leads to poverty, corruption, violation of rules, burglary and other evils.
Some people may say that the Socialist party was involved in such nefarious activities before the unity, but all these events were also happening in the Northern part of Yemen in a way more frequent than those in the Southern part. After achieving the unity, we hoped to adopt the best and healthiest features of the two systems, but unfortunately, but that did not take place. This matter accelerated the secessionist tendencies among the people. The whole Yemeni society is not secessionist at all. It is only a political or an ideological conflict and/or the rumors spreading among the people in the South who describe them as atheists. They said that they must become Muslims first and then they will be united with them.
This crisis can end through committed officials who are there in Sana’a. The decision is in their hands to deliver Yemen out of this crisis. To achieve that, they have to apply law and order and give people their rights. If they do this, people will feel that there is equality and stability in the country. They will believe that there are common interests. All of us agree that the first four-years after the unification of Yemen were the golden years because they opened the door to prosperity in Yemen. That door was that of democracy, political plurality, and development. People could talk freely about the wrong doings of the government and officials.
Q: Do you think that democracy is still prevalent in Yemen now?
A: Well, this reminds me of some rulers who said let people and the press say whatever they want, but I will do whatever I want. Democracy in the underdeveloped countries is not yet mature, but it is growing up. It grows and develops by some political leaderships who themselves believe in democracy. So, Yemen is in need of such political leadership that believes in democracy, not taking it as merely a catchword. It is an awful situation to conduct the polls, and ask supervisors from foreign countries to come and oversee the process of voting. What kind of democracy are they talking about? The real democracy that Yemen witnessed relates to the post-unification period up to the year 1994. I can prove this by saying that the balance of the two forces in that period was the main ingredient of democracy. Despite the mistakes which occurred during that period, people enjoyed their rights freely. The important thing is the acceptance of the results the polls.
The crisis of Yemen did not end by the victory of one side over the other; crisis still exists there. If the officials want to get over this crisis, they must confess that there is a crisis.
Q: During the war of 1994 you were the ambassador of Yemen to Cairo. Why had you been sacked? Why haven’t you come back to Yemen?
A: It is known that I had a role to play in the war which cannot be defaced or defiled. I struggled for a real unity. When I was at the embassy, I was against this war; I was and am in favor of unity. Those who know me, know my position. We will struggle for a real unity today and tomorrow. Regarding your question, I do not know how I was removed. I was just told about it by the Egyptian officials, not by one of my country in civilized and polite way. Then I understood the message and left my job at the embassy.
I did not come back to Yemen. How can you come back to a country where you are accused of being a secessionist. How could I come back when I was removed from my position? How can I come back when my son’s scholarship is canceled. They did this because they wanted to force me back to Yemen and approve that war, but I refused to be a partner in bloodshed. I believe that the unity of Yemen can not be a reality in this way. Unity does not mean geographical unity, but psychological unity. I found that there are some people who say that there is the Arab South in Yemen. The British colonialism was calling South Yemen as the Arab South. Now, they are saying like that.
Q: What are the guarantees you want so that you can come back to Yemen?
A: Well, everyone has of course the right to decide whether to come back to Yemen or not. The one who controls authority is seriously the one who can take this decision of giving amnesty. When I think of coming back to Yemen, I must be given assurances. Many of my colleagues came back to Yemen, but they came back to streets. They are prisoners inside their own houses. They are without jobs, and without salaries. When I was at the embassy, my salary was stopped three months before the outbreak of the war, but I did not know what the reasons were.
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