Press Review [Archives:2001/17/Press Review]

Main Headlines:
-President Saleh Visits the U.S. in the Next Two Months
– Joint Communiqué Following President Saleh’s Visit to Eritrea
-President Saleh: Our Talks More than Successful, Bilateral Relations to Witness Steady Development
-Yemen-Saudi Borders Committee Holds Meeting on May 14
-Yemen to Take Part in UN Peace Keeping Forces
-In a Telephone Conversation , The President Discusses with Saudi Crown Prince Bilateral Relations and Regional, Arab, International Developments
-Cabinet Reshuffle in Iraq
-Qatar’s Energy & Industry Minister Visits Sanaa
-Zionist Occupation Forces Use Tanks to Kill the Palestinians
– Government Changes Continue, Changes in Diplomatic Posts Soon
-Extensive Authorization for American Investigators in Aden
-A new Yemeni Arms Deal With Russia
-Fears from a Killing Dose, Merchants Prepared for Raising Prices
-Popular Dissatisfaction towards Appointments of Governorates
-Expired Flour in Sanaa Markets
-Burglary Gang in Sanaa Arrested, 3 Military men Among Gangsters
-Gas Trailer Seized on Sanaa-Ma’reb Road
-Abu Hadra Storms Al-A’roush Station, Stops Oil Pumping from Mareb Oil fields for Hours.
RAY weekly, organ of Sons of Yemen League Party, April 17, 2001.
Mr Ali Al-Kathiri wrote an article on the new government in Yemen. He says that the new government should be looked at with the hope that it would successfully go ahead to achieve the heavy national tasks put on its shoulder. All those tasks are channeled towards preparation for the change and comprehensive reform. The writer maintains that they are big and complicated tasks requiring the joining of all efforts in a manner leading to overcoming all obstacles and complications, and consequently achieving the tasks pinpointed in the president’s and the prime minister’s addresses at the first meeting of the new government.
Any government formation, however efficient and serious its members are, could not realize a comprehensive change and reform, but could enrich factors and constituents preparing for change if supported with strong political will and a joining of all national efforts.
Al-Wahdawi weekly, organ of the People’s Naserite Unionist Party, April 17, 2001.
An article by Mohammed Al-Saraji says no one denies that the new government is facing many difficult tasks. The government is then concerned with strengthening the state through paying respect to the constitution, and implementation of the laws regulating the interaction of all political, economic and social activities.
On the political side the government will remain to be committed to operating democratically and to popular participation, taking into account that such orientation has developed into social visions embodied by the constitution and regulated by the laws issued by the state.
As the new government is concerned with implementing the policies of financial and administrative reform, it has to follow within the rules and bases aimed for realizing such a task. The financial and administrative reforms could not be realized unless subjugated to the best choice of the human element. This is an aim that could be attained by adoption of a system based on eligibility.
An-Nass weekly, April 16, 2001.

Mr Abdulwahab Al-Muaied published an article on what is rumored to be plans for new measures aimed at introducing a new batch of ” doses” related to raising prices of certain commodities such as diesel (the most vital one).
The article lists a number of remarks in this respect. The first one says that today’s condition of the people would not tolerate any increase on prices of any commodity. The people, without exception, are of the hope that the government will take decisions and measures to improve the living condition, not to complicate it. The third remark is that lifting subsidies or raising prices are not among the urgent priorities of the government. Its first priorities concentrate on reforming the state apparatus and ridding it of corruption. The diesel fuel is very essential for agricultural development and an increase in agricultural production. A final remark says that there are previous decisions on cutting government spending and pursuing an austerity policy that has not been implemented yet.
As-Sahwa weekly, April 19, 2001.

Mr. Ali Al-Wasiei has written an article saying that the term ternary has been repeated by speakers and writers to mean poverty, ignorance and disease. In the post-revolution era in Yemen another term substituted the former, it is the ternary of a) privatization, b) doses and c) unifying education.
The writer goes on to say that regarding privatization ” We in this country come to know many things which are taking place in the world, and we adopt them reversely. In other countries the process of privatization has been subject to certain controls in a way which all people could benefit from, not only one person or some individuals, and they have not privatized anything but the administratively unproductive institutions. As for us, we have applied privatization to successful installations yielding huge profits and sustaining thousands of families. It seems that the outward image of the regime is for serving the people, but in fact appears to be serving the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Whenever the people wanted to express their agony and misery versus the ”doses” they are suppressed. It has been repeatedly said that the middle class has disappeared and only two classes have remained; one at the top of the pyramid enjoying all privileges and a trodden one suffering from the pains of life.
One wonders about what is meant by unifying education, the writer says. The educational process is rather unified and has never been binary, unless he meant about lessons teaching the Qura’an or the Islamic Education given to students; a matter that does not constitute a defect to be ridden of.   Al-Balagh weekly, April 17, 2001.
In an article by Najmudin Al-Rifaie, he says that talking about change and fighting corruption needs much seriousness, work and aptitude.    Though the recent changes in the government resulted in appointing certain personalities, recognized by capabilities as replacing those old leaders, the success of these new faces, and success of the change process, is dependent on the extent of the authority granted to them, and the seriousness accompanying the process of change and fighting corruption.
It is of particular importance to take into consideration that most of the corruption takes refuge behind their influence and they are ready to sacrifice anything for the sake of their existence, and blocking any way to reach them.
Ash-Shumoa weekly, April 21, 2001.

The newspaper’s editorial says the close interconnection between the foreign and the internal policies of any country necessitates an accurate balance between them to guarantee their success. Although a few weeks have elapsed since the formation of the new government, it appears that there is a domination of the foreign policy. Though it is a normal and positive thing, it is feared that it would not go in a parallel line with internal policies.
It is well-known that failure of the former government was in uprooting corruption and was perhaps the major cause behind a formation of a new government. It is this issue in which we pin our hopes for significant priority, taking into consideration that with its continuation all projects would not pour into the channel of development. The matter would be more complicated if it were true that the new government is determined to effect additional killing doses through raising prices of oil and its products. This measure could be a coup de grace for the majority of the people groaning from their everyday suffering.

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