President accuses opposition regarding Sa’adaand opposition party gets invadedSaleh: Foreign forces behind Sa’ada clashes [Archives:2005/842/Front Page]
SANA'A, May 14- HE President Ali Abdullah Saleh met on Saturday with some ministers, MPs and Shura Council members, and in the meeting the government disclosed documents of the conspiracy carried out by al-Houthi who received external support with the aim to coup against the regime.
President Saleh blamed al-Haq and the Popular Forces Unionist parties for inciting conflicts and battles in Sa'ada that started in 2004 up until 2005 with the intention to coup against the republican regime.
He accused the two parties of forming militias and armed military wings. That was confirmed by documents and publications predicting a revolution against the republican regime. He stated that Hussein al-Houthi and his father are not a threat but there are conspiracies plotted from outside the country.
The President stressed that he issued an amnesty after Marran events in which cleric Hussein al-Houthi was killed and that he delivered YR 2 million to the sons of Hussein al-Houthi when they came to stay in Sana'a after the death of their father. He approved delivering YR 200 thousand on a monthly basis to around one hundred of al-Houthi family members.
He called on religious scholars (Ulema) to go to prisons to persuade al-Houthi followers to be good citizens so as to be released upon pledges from their sheikhs. He denied suspension of salaries of teachers working in Sa'ada. However some of them were transferred to different parts of Yemen, which is a one unified country. He emphasized that necessary procedures were taken in Sa'ada to maintain the national unity.
Dr. Rashad al-Alilmi Minister of Interior indicated that the “Faithful Youth”, affiliated to slain Hussein al-Houthi, is an armed organization whose cells were formed in 1984 with the aim to promote the regime of imamate and devastate the achievements of September 26 Revolution.
According to the Minister of Interior, the “Faithful Youth” took a number of steps to implement their plans through infiltration into government institutions and the ruling People's General Congress Party and that battles that erupted in Marran and al-Rizmat left 525 deaths and 2780 wounded. The death tolls and injuries included military and security troops, volunteers who backed the government and innocent civilians.
The Minister underscored that after exterminating past and recent rebellions in Sa'ada, insurgents still have a plan to draw battles to the provincial capital of Sa'ada and then to Sana'a to shake national security.
He confirmed the security apparatuses disclosed a coup plan prepared by al-Houthi with the malicious intention to show his entire dominance over government facilities in the capital.
Dr. al-Alimi mentioned that large quantities of machine guns and explosives were seized along with elements who carried out assassination attempts against some political figures and military and security commanders, in addition to demolishing service institutions and facilities. Those elements, who formed 7 terrorist cells, hurled a number of grenades in different places of the capital leaving 26 injured.
The report reviewed by the Cabinet showed that the direct and indirect economic losses exceeded YR 52 billion and that Sa'ada events defamed the reputation of Yemen in the eyes of regional and international investors.
The report reviewed the efforts exerted by the government to eradicate rebellion in Marran. It rehabilitated 22 schools in Haidan and built ten other schools in Marran, in addition to the rehabilitation of electricity, telecommunication and other public service facilities.
According to the report, 532 is the number of houses affected by the operations while there are many other houses that are still uncounted for which the government had to pay YR 510 million in compensation to civilians.
It is worth mentioning that on the same day of the report premises of the Popular Forces Unionist party in the capital city was overtaken by the security guard and around 50 people of his tribe. They even took head of Shoura council Mr. Rashad Salim as a hostage. Such an act is a direct display of the rule of power over civil means of a democratic state and requires immediate response from the state to ensure its control over the country. Simultaneously it hinders Yemen's reputation more than ever before an d raises questions regarding multi-political party system. The two political parties mentioned are not of the strongest in the political arena and relating their work to Sa'ada conflict raises more questions than answers.
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