Press Review [Archives:2001/20/Press Review]

Concerning domestic affairs in Yemen, this week has seen some major developments and issues which captured the main news stories of local newspapers. Bajammal’s new government has obtained a vote of confidence by the parliament regarding its program but was boycotted by the parliamentary Speaker and strongly opposed by the opposition parties. Particularly, Islah with regard to the project of unifying the education systems, meaning the abolishment of the scholastic institutes. The other prominent event is the plenary joint meeting of the cabinet, the PGC ‘s blocs at the parliament, the Shoura Council and its leadership chaired by president Ali Abdulla Saleh. The other outstanding event is the GPC’s meetings of its second ordinary session presided over by president Ali Abdulla Saleh, leader of the GPC party.
Some newspapers have published a controversial news item on a kind of belts flooding Yemeni markets which were detected earlier in Iraq, Syria and Jordan. The news claims that Israel is behind production and marketing of the beltbuckles which are fitted with magnetic pieces treated with uranium and consequently cause infertility and cancers. Front pages of this week’s local newspapers also carry various domestic, Arab and world news items which we will review below in this edition of Press Scanner.

Main Headlines:

-Vice-President Visits Qatar
-Kuwaiti Ambassador to Yemen: Kuwait to Fund Establishment of Society Faculty in Socotra
-Yemeni Fighter Plane Crashed in Aden
-Students Union Demands Opening Corruption Files at Sanaa University
-Yemeni Market Flooded with Expired Foodstuffs
-Dispute over Religious Institutes, GPC Waves of Ousting Sheikh Al-Ahmer
-Sons of Yemen League Party Proposes Solutions for Education Dispute
-Israeli-made Trousers Belts in Yemen Cause Infertility Among Men
-Preparations For Founding Press Correspondents League
-Three Killed in Renewal of Fighting between Kabs and Nahd
-Parliament Speaker Al-Ahmer Boycotts Parliament Session in Protest to Government Program
-The Poor Query about Fate of Oil Revenues
-Abolishing Institutes Harms Educational Process
-Canadian Archaeological Team in Thamoud Soon
-Council of Ministers Decides Merging Religious Institutes Budget with Education Ministry
-Iraq offers new 5 million euros in Support for Palestinian Intifada
-Syrian President Visits Oman, Discusses Joint Cooperation & Developments in the Region
-Four Palestinian Killed, 27 Wounded, 10 Houses Destroyed in Israeli Attacks
-Jordanian Monarch Confirms Necessity of Lifting Sanctions on Iraq
-Sudan, Uganda Agree on Normalization of Relations.

RAY weekly, organ of Sons of Yemen League party May 8, 2001.

The weekly has devoted its editorial to dealing with the new formation of the Shoura Council saying its composition is lacking of any political, social, geographic and economic balance. It has even become incompatible with the objective of having a Shoura Council. Its composition does represent a strengthening of a fait accompli at all levels. It does not form any reflection of reform, change or development, even be it a gradual one.
The aim behind the establishment of the Shoura Council has always been for creating an element of balance and stabilization of the unity. It should be accomplished by direct elections of nominees possessing qualitative conditions, expertise and science. The president could appoint 11 members enjoying the same characteristics of balance, expertise and science. As for authorities,they have to be more extensive and more significant, not as an alternative of the parliament but rather complementary. If the council’s authorities are confined to consultation and giving opinions, it would be merely a duplication of the former consultative council. In this case, the new council would be a gathering of those losing their ministerial posts and former ambassadors and governors, and added to them a number of political personalities.

As-Sahwa weekly May 10, 2001.
Under the heading ” Undeclared War” writer Ali Wasie As-Shami published an article saying that America alleges its keenness on human rights and issues an annual report on what it considers as violations of human rights taking place in various parts of the world.
The author asserts that if a state has declared a war against its people America would certainly declare war against that state but under one condition, and that is the targeted people are not Muslims. In that case the situation would be different. He brings about evidence by mentioning the war the Jews in occupied Palestine are launching against the defenseless Palestinian people. He wonders if shelling the Palestinians with heavy artillery, tanks, warplanes and missiles is not termed as a war. What is a war then?
Mr Al-Wasie says the United States is biased towards the Jews to an extent that it does not care about its reputation and does not give any weight to world feelings. It shows a limitless support for the aggressor and condemns the party coming under aggression. Even when the UN Security council demands condemnation of atrocities committed by the Jews, just a condemnation, the American veto stands with sheer impudence against passing it. Also, the American veto is used to foil a resolution on sending an international force for providing protection to the defenseless Palestinians against the Israeli aggression.
The article maintains that there is a war of aggression waged in Palestine using the most ferocious ways by an enemy possessing a huge store of rancor and hatred against humanity as a whole. The world thinks that the Jews enmity is targeted only against the Muslims, but it is here mistaken. Future will disclose this reality and proves how the Jews are enemies of the entire world.

An-Nass weekly, May 7, 2001.
The newspaper’s editorial is tackling the controversial issue of unifying education in Yemen. The editorial says ” we in Yemen are heading for a real disaster” because of the state educational system and also due to the political extortion that made the issue of education part of the political game.
The disaster we are talking about obliges us to think we are in dire need of introducing more religious educational curricula instead of abolishing them. It is related to the large-scale dissemination of sectarian education which began to grow in three dangerous schools:
-The hardliner Salafia school with all its branches, mainly concentrated in certain areas and is widening its scope in dependence on encouragement from the authority and backing of Gulf sides.
– The Sofi schools which has recently strengthened following the failure of the Socialist party in some southern governorates.
-The Shiite schools and their affiliate scholastic centres that have exceeded teaching of Zaidi doctrine to the Ja’afari and the Ithna- Ashari. This school is supported and financed by Islamic Iran.
Followers of these religious sects are increasing and each of them carries one concept, i.e. monopolizing the understanding of Islam according to and in line with the ideology they have been taught.

Ath-Thawra daily, May 13, 2001.
The daily editorial said that the Zionists stepped up aggression and acts of violence, collective killings and destruction against the defenseless Palestinian children, women and the elderly. This gives a clear indicator that the notoriously terrorist power used in Israel has been a declaration of war and an introduction for escalating the conflict in the region. It is apparently aimed at completely torpedoing all that had been reached in the context of the peace process.
The course of events and expansion of the scope of the barbaric atrocities perpetrated by the occupation army, armed with most sophisticated weapons of mass destruction, this indicator. The Arabs and Moslems have over fifty years failed to draw up a strategy for their conflict with the Israeli entity that usurps their land and desecrates their sacred Islamic places. They have all neglected such a strategy leaving circumstances and developments to manage their stands. Such a situation has granted Israel an opportunity to carry out many of its hostile schemings.
As Arabs we are first of all demand for support and the backing up of our Palestinian people and their legitimate struggle by serious stands through political, moral and material support. This must be done in a consolidating way to ensure their steadfastness against the Zionist arrogance and the overall war launched on them by the forces of occupation in Palestine.

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