Press Review [Archives:2001/36/Press Review]

Despite the many local themes dealt with by Yemeni press this weak the majority of them devoted many articles to discuss the raging events in the occupied Arab Palestinian territories and the crimes perpetrated daily by Sharon’s terrorist government on the Palestinian people. Those articles and commentaries express the Arab masses’ anger and dissatisfaction over their ruling regimes lukewarm stands.
Here is a review of excerpts from articles published in some Yemeni newspapers.
RAY Weekly, organ of Sons of Yemen League party, 28 August 2001
In its editorial the newspaper says that when crises threatening the nation do increase, the national forces should raise the degree of their keenness on collective action based on objective dialogue characterized by transparency and seriousness.
The ordeal that befell the people as a result of raising the diesel fuel and the consequent suffering of citizens from it must be a pivotal issue around which all efforts should be focused to be treated. Efforts have to be channeled towards a scientific and accurate diagnosis of the economic crisis and a mechanism for its tackling it must be set up. There should be an expansion of dialogue premises to include issues more close to the people such as their living issues and not to restrict our concern to the issue of amending the elections law.
The authority has fled the field of facing the current economic dilemma and thrown all of its consequences on the people, some of opposition forces have likewise followed the same behavior by fleeing the arena of encountering the economic dilemma and closing windows of dialogue with the government at this crucial moment. Lining up with the citizen and his interest should be by following a positive opposition through offering practical alternatives to authority policies and measures, the editorial concluded.
Saut Ash-Shoura weekly, 26 August 2001

Mr Mahboub Ali, chairman of Yemeni Journalists Syndicate published an article on suing a number of newspapers saying that it is regrettable that a number of newspapers are still subject to trial before courts without taking final decisions despite the passage of more than two years on bringing them to court. Most of the cases under court consideration are related to the freedom of opinion and expression the constitution has guaranteed and the law that regulates the work of press. Cases of a number of journalists from more than one newspaper are still pending at courts for issues of opinion and publication.
Mr Mahboub Ali stresses that continuation in trying newspapers on issues related to expression and publication without providing ample guarantees for journalists and newspapers to offer their defense is a dangerous matter threatening future of the freedom of press. Yemeni Journalists Syndicate has statistics disclosing the number of journalists cases under trial for more than one year and a half with charges ranging between one to four at one time. This situation causes frustration to development of press and to creation of developed press mirroring the principle of freedom of press as being the main gate for public freedoms in the Republic of Yemen.
Al-Wahdawi weekly, organ of the Nasserite Unionist Party, 28 August 2001
Mr Ahmed Al-Faqih says in an article that in the ongoing dialogue between the government of the People’s General Congress Party and opposition parties the prime minister has hinted that the parties do not represent all the people and that there is no mediator between the government and the individual.
What the prime minister as a politician waves and what he exercises as a statesman completely contradicts concepts of parliamentary democracy and drags them back to the 19th century the idea of the free individual doctrine had prevailed. The free individual doctrine had come under much criticism the main of which is that its lack of scientific bases and inability to protect individuals rights and its contradiction with the logic of parliamentary democracy.
The prime minister’s concept that the opposition would not represent the people is faced with the supposition that the People’s General Congress, as a government and party, does not represent all the people. It is an axiom to presume hat the ruling government of majority represents part of the people and the opposition parties do represent other parts of the people. These concepts remain to be relative ones.
As-Sahwa weekly, 30 August 2001

Columnist Zaid bin Ali Ash-Shami says in his article published in this issue of the weekly that the conflict with the Israeli enemy has shifted into a new phase and reached to a state where there is no security on the entire Palestinian land. The Israeli army has embarked on battles with heavy weapons, including armored vehicles and sophisticated warplanes. It has no longer suffices itself to physically liquidating Palestinian mujahideen and activists, but developed that to reoccupation of Palestinian towns in an attempt to have a sway over them. Nevertheless,that does not and would not weaken determination of the Palestinian people.
As the jews have made the Palestinian people lose stability in their homeland, the very defenseless and unarmed people have, with their steadfastness, sacrifices and uprising, deprived the Israelis security and hope of living in peace on the Palestinian land. Sharon and his government have failed in their promises of ending the uprising in a 100-day time. Many settlements have been deserted and migration and tourist trips to the occupied territories have stopped.
An official Arab reaction is rather inevitable and the Arab regimes have to be ashamed of themselves for dereliction for not carrying out their duties of backing up the Palestinian people. The first Arab reaction was the meeting of Arab information ministers and their working out of a plan for encountering the events. Though an effort of this kind is a necessary step but it falls short of the level of the event.
As for Arab foreign ministers they have held a meeting that we wish they had not done it. They have in fact aggravated the state of frustration of their nation because they have not come out with frank political stand and have not raised to the level of what is befalling their brethren in Palestine. They have emphasized their incompetence of adopting any a resolution on political boycotting of Israel and have not voiced an obvious stance versus the American bias and siding with Israel. All their pretexts are but justifications of their official weakness. In the Arab defense ministers there is no hope of their meeting because they do not think of confrontation. The Arab interior ministers hold successive meetings and what preoccupies them is the terrorizing and intimidating whoever thinks of fighting against the zionist entity. The tragedy does not lie in the jews’ aggression and arrogance but in the weakness of the Arabs and Moslems.
Al-Ihya’a Al-Arabi weekly organ of the Arab Baath Socialist party (Iraq organization) 28 August 2001
An editorial written by Dr Qassem Sallam queries about what has been left in the hands of those regimes running after normalization following all everyday crimes perpetrated by the zionist entity against the Palestinian people. The writer also wonders about what those rulers of settlement and pillars of the American game and conspirators on the Palestinian uprising and the blockaded people of Iraq, do wait? The U.S.-made missiles are dropped on headquarters of the Palestinian resistance movement and revolution aimed at intimidating the people and enhancing the loyalty of those regimes’ to normalization and surrender to the Americans and zionists.
As for the Arab strugglers they no doubt consider those criminal acts against the Palestinians and Iraq are but an expression of the failure of the American-Zionist policy and failure of normalization regimes in taming Arab masses and passing the game of settlement.
These are crimes perpetrated every day under the nose of the United Nations and the international community without being moved and caring a straw in the face of the. Those crimes could not move the conscience of those who shed false tears on human rights and chanting with songs of freedom, human rights and equality among nations. After all that is seen and experienced, is there any naive person inside the Arab homeland who believes that America really wants the ” peace of the courageous” and that it is not an accomplice in the crimes of collective annihilation in Palestine and the camp of Saber and Shatila?
Al-Mithaq weekly organ of the People’s General Congress Party, 27 August 2001
In its editorial the newspaper says that the Israeli haughtiness and the atrocious practices of Sharon terrorist government and its absolute enmity towards peace, would not only undermine the peace process in the Mideast but is rather an endeavor for extermination of an entire people under the nose of the whole world. It is a political terrorism founded on intimidating and degrading others and killing them under groundless justifications. This situation,the editorial confirms, necessitates that the Arab and Moslem nation must stand up to it determinedly. They have to encounter this policy of collective extermination of an entire people.
The Yemeni clear stand towards the cause of the Palestinian people is based on a comprehensive impetus and vision derived from calling up the nationalist and religious and humanitarian duty. The Yemeni stand calls with some hope for the Arab regimes to raise above secondary issues and firmly stand with a sense of responsibility and live conscience to fulfill their responsibilities. They should form a unified Arab political attitude targeting the search for the minimum level of common Arab stand against escalation of Sharon’s government.
Al-Jamaheer weekly organ of the Arab Baath Socialist party (Syrian organization)26 August 2001
The newspaper’s editor-in-chief has written an article saying the American waving of using the veto against any resolution by the UN Security council in favor of what is called an international protection of the Palestinians, confirms again the American absolute siding with the Zionist entity and an abortion of the Arab betting on the American option of peace. It indicates a disregard of the Arab decision despite the U.S. interests in the region. Hence the Arab leaderships are after all this entitled and forced to look for other options. Peace with the zionist enemy in line with all norms of peace is an illusion that could not be realized and pushes forward the options of war. It is an alternative dictated by necessities of self-defense, dignity and honor. Some of the leaders may think that the war option can lead to destruction of infrastructure that some would think as product of the false peace. The fact that leaps over reality is that these infrastructures are largely governed with the policy of constraints imposed by America on the region so that to be rotating within the American economic orbit. The Arab strategic choice must stem from their own interest and their interest is dependent on estimating the volume of dangers threatening them.

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