Press Review [Archives:2001/28/Press Review]

Main Headlines:
Journalists Brought Prosecution in Aden,
Thirteen Islamists Arrested in Aden & Abyan,
Yemen Concludes Investigations into USS Cole Blast, Case Ready to Go to Court,
British Embassy Blast, Libyan Embassy in Sana’a Denies any Relationship with the Second Defendant,
Bajammal: Elections Law Amendments Establish for many Democratic Rules, 
US Consulate in Sana’a Reopened on Sunday,
Erecting Yemeni-Saudi Border Markings in Few Days,
US Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Arrives in Sanaa Monday,
Arab Parliamentarians to Discuss in Sanaa Supporting the Palestinian Intifada,
Message from President Saleh to Iranian President
Yemeni Syrian Joint Committee to Convene on July 14,
America Uses Children Dead Bodies in its Nuclear Experiments,
Dialogue on Elections Law Amendments, Suspended.
Excerpts from articles published in some of local newspapers this week.
RAY weekly , organ of the Sons of Yemen League Party, 3 July 2001
RAY editorial concentrates this week on the security situation in the country saying there are tens of men falling dead and blood is shed frequently . It is not very important who is the killed or who is the one killed for both of them are sons of this country. We do not have enough time to waste in argument about complications of each incident because during that time more victims may fall. The bloody disasters and their consequences such as the loss of security and stability in addition to freezing the movement of development have been confined geographically to certain places. The vision of the situation has become very clear and that situation is no longer easy to solve by merely military and security settlement. Also it is no longer right to treat each condition in a way separated from the general context of disasters. The areas of Khawlan, Dhalie, Abyan and Mareb have become characterized by tension and loss of confidence among various sides.
It is unavoidable to have a national, scientific and sincere stand to study the situation accurately and in a manner dealing with sons of these areas by using a language away from incrimination and accusation. A language that listens to what these people submit and rectifies what the unstudied treatments have produced. The treatment should establish the sovereignty of law as the only master and then the state has the right to hit with an iron fist anyone breaking the law.
Al-Jamaheer weekly, organ of the Arab Baath Socialist Party, Syrian organization, 1 July 2001.
An article by Anwar Al-Maleeki says uprooting and encircling the phenomenon of corruption is the major challenge the government in our country is facing. It has to give it a special attention before embarking on beginning any measure under the banner of reform because this phenomenon undermines all other efforts in financial and administrative development and reform. The government should work to contain the phenomenon of corruption and enable the society to enhance its potentials to fight this phenomenon. The most difficult elements of the equation in the process of reform lie in the extent of sincerity of all in developing a civil society capable of playing a major role in formulating its system and environment.
In its program approved by the parliament last month, the government has courageously admitted the spread of corruption, but the program did not define the clear approach in combating corruption and did not clarify a certain understanding of the causes that led to the spread of this phenomenon. The serious and correct start for combating and uprooting all kinds of corruption is in obtaining an obvious commitment by the political leaders and influential personalities for fighting the bigger corruption first through implementation of the law of quittance so that the government would be able to terminate corruption in society.   Al-Balagh weekly, 3 July 2001.   In his article on the front page of the weekly Najmudin Al-Rifaie says despite the elapse of many months since the first elections of local councils after the reunification of Yemen, they could not reveal their entity in the same rhetoric the media has created around them. It is supposed that the councils are a true beginning for the people to exercise their right to rule themselves but all that has disappeared the moment these councils have been put to the touchstone of actual work as they became facing endless kinds of difficulties and obstacles that paralyzed their activeness.
Local councils members are now complaining of hindrances chaining action of the councils, threatening to nip the experiment in the bud. The experiment of local councils are in need of truthfulness of granting them the authorities entrusted to them in the law of local councils and they are at the same time in need of respecting and protecting them against interference of the influential.
The media tumult that accompanied this experiment should have made it inevitable for the ruling authority to bring to success the local councils and establish a new stage of action based on acts not just words.
26 September weekly, organ of Yemen Armed Forces, 5 July 2001.
The weekly editorial this week is devoted to discussing the so called ” smart sanctions” on Iraq. The editorial applauds the UN Security council for not approving the imposition of the American-British draft resolution dubbed as the ” smart sanctions” which is actually aimed at more tightening the grip around the Iraqi people neck and continuation of the blockade and starvation policy pursued for more than ten years. The editorial praised the attitude taken by Russia and other countries towards the draft resolution, describing it as that of dumb sanctions because it lacked perceiving of all variables singled out by continuation of imposing the unjustifiable blockade. The newspaper says that the blockade has reached an unreasonable and unacceptable extent, ethically, humanly and legally, in addition to its being a violation of human rights of children, the elderly and women. The editorial confirms that continuity of the sanctions is an attempt by America and Britain to enfeeble Iraq, destroy it and isolate it from its regional surroundings. It has been long clear that the blockade’s goal is not make Iraq abide by UN resolutions but keeping it in a state of weakness and exhaustion and incapability of effective action to serve issues of its nation.
Collapse of the American-British sanctions project in such a way has many indications, the more important of which is that the world vehemently rejects the injustice imposed on Iraq and does not see justification for continuing the blockade. It is a logic in harmony with facts of the reality that are not perceivable by who have not considered the suffering of an entire people fatigued as a result of the blockade.
Al-Wahdawi weekly, organ of the Nasserite People’s Unionist Organization, 3 July 2001.
The newspaper’s editorial is devoted to discussing the proposed project of amending the elections law. The editorial says it is eye-catching for the clarifying memorandum on amending the elections law to contain a justification meant for showing keenness on ridding the electoral mechanism from shortcomings. The amended formulae come opposite to constitutional guarantee.
The required neutrality of the higher committee has been torpedoed as its formation has been entrusted to a list to be nominated by the president of the republic, half of its members to be chosen by the parliament. The president is at the same time leader of the ruling party and thus his nominations would necessarily be in line with the policy of the ruling party, which means one party has the authority of determining the fate of future elections. Consequently the impartiality targeted in the constitution is no more there. Thus we have found out what instigates cautions in this draft on amendments scheduled to be passed in the near future.
 
ATTARIQ weekly, 3 July 2001.   Mr Abdulrahman Khabarah has written an article on privatization confirming that there is no other way for creating a healthy situation for the Yemeni economy but by the overall deliberate treatment. Partial remedies would only increase the bad situations.The unified state of Yemen has inherited both public and mixed sectors possessing around 154 industrial establishments and installations. Some have completely stopped, some halted partially, some of them suffer from small debts whereas others suffer from budget deficit.
If privatization will be the alternative, the aim of it is to create more efficient productive institutions depending on modernity and advanced technology. Private sector establishments have proved to be more capable and far from failures and corruption. They are characterized by highly transparent financial administration compared to their public sector counterparts.
On the other hand it is due to the comprehensive shortcoming of economy in Yemen, more than 40 private sector institutions and installations suffer from idleness because of incapability of competing smuggled and imported consumer goods. The question is how can we deal with privatization while part of the private sector is bankrupt and some are chained with debts to local banks?

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