Press Review [Archives:2000/34/Press Review]

Commentaries, articles and editorials of Yemeni press this week have tackled various domestic and Arab issues of which we have selected excerpts of some of them.
Main Headlines:
– Judicial, Diplomatic Changes, Imminent
– President Saleh Receives Saudi Interior Minister
– On Medical Morgue Serial Murders, German Experts Offer Report in September
-Prime Minister Back Home
-Ba Jammal: Meeting in Cairo to Discuss Holding Arab Summit
-Iraq Holds Saudi Arabi, Kuwait Responsible for Continuation of Aggression, Blockade
-Venezuela President Breaks Blockade, Visits Iraq
-Physicians Union Considers Suing Interior Ministry
-Sudden Rise in Foodstuffs Prices
-Murderer Adam: They Asked me to Confess Killing Husn & Zainab, So I Did
-Consultations Continue on Amending the Constitution
– Oil Company Employee, Killed
-30 MPs Send Memorandum to Speaker on Loans and Ways of Spending Them
-Liberation Organisation Asks the Government to Begin Dialogue and Reconciliation
-Clashes on Yemeni-Saudi Borders
– The Yemeni Socialist Party: Congress on its Date, its Success a Reply to Official Media Campaign
Excerpts from articles and editorials published in some of this weeks Yemeni newspapers:
Ath-Thawri weekly, organ of Yemens Socialist Party August 17 2000.
In its editorial the newspaper has expressed its surprise and astonishment over what it has been described as the official medias unfair campaign against the Yemeni Socialist Party. The editorial says that official media have not explained the reason behind this sharp temperament that has overcome the authority without preliminaries or justifications.
Ath-Thawri editorial has further said that all the socialist partys activities over the past six years have been encountered with similar hostile propaganda. This reflects a hidden intention of some influential circles in the government to undermine the socialist party movement and paralyse its activity to create proper atmospheres to abolish its role.
Al-Ayyam independent weekly of August 16, 2000 has tackled in one of its articles the question of national reconciliation in Yemen. The article says that it appears that president Ali Abdulla Saleh is now determined to channel his concentration and focus of interest towards the countrys internal issues after he has finished demarcation of the international borders.
Author of the article proceeds from this development to call for holding the national reconciliation as a yardstick showing the seriousness of all of us in building the homeland.
The article affirms that the process of national reconciliation is not a concession on part of the present leadership to those who were defeated in 1994. It is rather construction and ascension to higher levels of the science of unity politics. It is a comprehension of the present in the nick of time.
The process of reconciliation means toleration and construction simultaneously. The two processes could not be separated from each other for this is impossible. Construction may not be achieved without toleration, and the latter represents the main buttress of construction.
The national reconciliation would rid us of something still impeding the prosperity of our unitary potentials. We shall continue calling the political leadership for reconsidering its attitude towards the national reconciliation.
Any political observer would easily find out that president Ali Abdulla Saleh is at the head of the procession anticipating a future free from all mistakes of the past and the present. A future founded on inevitability of civilizational change.
RAY weekly, organ of Sons of Yemen League Party of August 15, maintains in its editorial that the presidents convictions are being translated into respectable positive steps. The most recent of these steps is the conclusion of the border treaty with Saudi Arabia. This action has confirmed the depth of his understanding of the present era requisites and his capability of dealing with them.
RAYS editorial on the other hand regrets the fact that against the presidents stands, there is the present component of the ruling system. It is chained by individuals and power centres still being tied to past and clinging to keeping the tensioned reality in its state. They are steered by an illusion in that any change for the better with whatever mechanism, would undoubtedly be at the expense of their self interests. They would not recognise that personal interests can be realized without being in conflict with the national higher interests and without being a discount from others interests asset.
RAYs editorial affirms that is destined to play an important role in the regimes future, but this contradiction inside the government structure constitutes a massive tumbling stone on the road of this role.
One of the leading articles of Sahwa weekly of August 17 2000 is devoted to discussing the Palestinian cause. The article stressed that since 1948 war, the Palestinian cause has been experiencing tragic phases. In 1948 a state for the Jews has become a reality after it was merely ideas and wishes haunting the minds of the Zionists. In 1967 the Arabs sustained the worst defeat in their modern history when Israel could occupy the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Golan Heights and the desert Sinai. The Arab main concern since then has been restoration of the territories that Israel occupied in 1967 war, and to concede that the rest of Palestine is a right to the Jews.
The article goes saying that the way the Arabs have followed was neither right nor peaceful. The political solution has not led to a result. Abandonment of resistance option in the course of looking for secure peace has weakened the cause and the Palestinians power.
The weapon of resistance is a pressuring card that can serve the Palestinian negotiator who is attending conferences while being armless. He no longer has anything or any concessions to offer, save to frankly announce that he has no right to dignified life, nor to the land or to Al-Quds. The reason is that he has already paid all contents of the bill.
Al-Mithaq weekly, organ of Peoples General Congress party of August 14.
An article published in this edition has discussed the question of the elapse of ten years since the 2nd Gulf war. The article expounded on the oppressive policy the west has imposed on the people of Iraq and managed to give legitimacy to the iniquitous blockade. The article calls on the Arab nation and her leaders to benefit from those ten years lessons and realize the outrageous results of the western designs. The article also urges the Arab leaders to discover the conspiracy and sense the danger of weakness and to realize that all the Arabs are exposed to foreign hostility. They have to realize that the game of interests has made Iraq one of the first targets of the west. Other Arab countries could not avoid that same fate unless they unite their ranks and restore their solidarity.
Under a title of Democracys Predicament Shoura weekly, organ of Peoples Forces Union of July 13 2000, published an article tackling the impasse of democracy in the region and in the country in particular.
Of the problems facing democracy is the nature of rule characterising Arab regimes. For in addition to autocratic rule, Arab republics are controlled by despotic military ruling systems. Thus the nature of Arab ruling systems, whether monarchic or republican, blocks the way before the peaceful transfer of power. To change the rulers there is only the option of coups, violence and power. Against this, Arab opposition parties deal with democracy in an immature double standard.
In the name of democracy, these parties oppose authority and endeavour to topple it, but internally they refuse or rather abstain from practicing it with their members.
As in our country, ignorance, poverty and tribal fanaticism are problems added to the above ones which impede development of democracy. This means the dominating force and control of the ruling party over the state resources and media and using all that to deprive the citizen of his dignity and self-respect. Such regimes think that the good citizen is he who is obedient and applauding the rule.
Al-Wahdawi weekly of August 15 2000 published an article on the continued sanctions imposed on Iraq and its linkage with the U.S. elections.
After the elapse of a decade on the 2nd Gulf crisis the world, the whole world,shouted in one voice Lift the blockade against the people of Iraq. All voices have sounded in harmony and been unanimous on refusing the humiliating of an entire people. Such voices have this time been issued from inside the countries whose rulers had led the aggression and imposed the unjust blockade; the U.S., Britain, and France. Throughout the whole globe nobody has lagged behind this stance and called for maintaining the aggression and blockade against Iraq but a few some rulers, the article says.
Amidst the U.S. presidential and parliamentary elections campaign there are voices condemning the blockade and calling for lifting it. The fear is that this rejection may extend further, whether inside or outside the U.S. Such development would form an extreme embarrassment for the present or coming US administration. U.S. administration finds in the issues of Iraq and Palestine the only themes for appeasing world Zionism. Since the outbreak of the Gulf war up till now,Iraq has become the arena where every U.S. outgoing or coming president shows certain heroic feats to be registered in the bloody colonialist history of the west.
Iraq has implemented the UN resolutions despite their severity and dishonesty, signed an unjust border agreement and accordingly has given up half of its sea port Um Qasr, and above all lost more than a million and a half of its people as victims of starvation, illness and air bombardment.

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