Press Review [Archives:2002/02/Press Review]

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January 7 2002

Saut Ash-Shoura weekly, organ of Union of Yemeni People’s Forces, 30 Dec. 2001
Editor-in Chief has this week devoted his article to discussing terror of groups and terror of the state. He begins his article saying any follower of consequences of the American war on what it has termed as ”terror” realizes the extent of dangerous changes the world is seeing after the 11 September events. These changes are no less in importance than what the World War II had effected.
Despite the American justifications of this war, no one can be deceived to believe, they reflect the ugly face of the American policy of aggression which has so far resulted a large number of innocent victims and a host of variables already drawn up by the American planner even prior to the ill-fated events of Sept. 11.
The editorial maintains that the Arab and Islamic region have got the largest portion of these changeables.
It is undeniable terrorism adopted by groups has been affected as a result of the campaign and it will ultimately shrink over the coming periods but what the U.S. is in fact practicing is that of terrorism by a powerful state including even the moral terror involving in its impact many of the Arab countries whose regimes rushed to offer concessions and commitment to implement the American demands in this respect.
If terror committed by the groups, such as that which befell America and other countries before, does not go beyond the targeted region, the state terror by America involves most of the world countries and impinges dignity of the peoples whose regimes get involved in implementing the American demands.
Yemen is not isolated from these events but rather under the spotlight especially following the army campaign in Mareb and Shabwa, Dhalei and Jawf. Observers expect that these campaigns would not be in favor of Yemen’s security and stability and its national unity especially that resorting to hyperforce is not the sole option. It is to be recalled that the Yemeni government had dealt cautiously with tourists kidnappers and most of the times had used peaceful solutions.
Annas weekly, Dec. 31 2001
On terror battles, Dr Abdulhani Qassem has written that it has become very clear that the question is not restricted to defending the innocents of New York City and Washington’s institutions and haughtiness of the sole superpower. It is pertaining to implementation of a global American strategy pre-planned years before 11 September events. The strategy is embodied by:
-American hegemony over the whole world,
– The economic, political and cultural globalization in central, south and south-east Asia,
-Blockading the forces that threaten America’s interests and visions, in the forefront of which all of the Arab and Islamic forces.
The solutions for this are not so easy but it’s important to catch their beginnings. First of all any ruler should not take an individual measures merely for appeasing the American illegal desires and to quickly try to crystallize a unified Arab vision, at least within the framework of efforts adopted by countries enjoying a clear regional influence such as Egypt, Syria and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In this context there must be an enhancement of President’s Hosni Mubarak’s viewpoint that has been calling the world to define the what it terrorism within the international legitimacy of the UN General Assembly and then to take measures not exceeding boundaries of the UN charters and conventions and just human values.
Such an endeavor would not put liberation movements and resistance on the American list of terror. It also would not allow America to extend the scope of its war beyond Afghanistan. This would also bypass the American equality between violence of occupation and that of those resisting occupation.
Al-Wahdawi weekly, organ of the Nasserit People’s Unionist Organization, 1 Jan. 2002.
Columnist Abdulla Ash-Shahari says in an article that that the problem of the American people is that a few of them really realize the mistakes of their authority to appeal for it to stop their support for Zionism’s aggression on the people of Palestine, a matter which would give a guarantee to their security. It is also unfortunate that many Americans realize that fact and wish to submit it in their quest to achieve their people’s security and that of world nations. These are excluded despite their sound and realistic comprehension of what that stand of their administration does cause of dangers against their security due to their administration’s hostile tendency towards he world.
Attitude of the American authority siding with and taking part in evils of Zionism would not this time render the Palestinians to brunet ”Indians” in the heart of the Arab homeland that is indignant towards the American administration and the Arab regimes going along with it.
Al-Ayyam daily, 2 Jan. 2002.
Columnist Ali Al-Izzi says the expatriate Yemenis, especially those in the Gulf states do enjoy appreciation and respect. They deserve it because they are reflecting a good image about the people of Yemen, whereas inside we have contributed to deform Yemen’s image before foreign media which consequently hindered development and investment on part of Yemeni expatriates.
The Yemenis by nature love work and order when strict conditions and criteria regulating relations inside the society are available. Many of them have acquired experience and knowledge, administrative and financial and are talented in the fields of singing, poetry, music and press.
Yemen is a virgin land and in need of huge investments and the return of the Yemeni capital. Alas ! This would not happen as long as the state institutions are run by the mentality of the past. If we do not understand future and get ready for it, it would inevitably be very hard. Our only outlet of this dilemma is by imposing the power of the state of institutions and law and make democracy the deciding factor or element in relations of the society under the umbrella of law.
RAY weekly, organ of Sons of Yemen League party, 1 Jan. 2002.
The newspaper’s editorial praises the decision taken by the GCC’s latest summit regarding Yemen, saying that it has been a pioneering and distinguished step taken by Kings and Emirs of the GCC concerning development of the relationship between the GCC and Yemen. The editorial adds that the GCC has developed the coordinating relationship with Yemen to the gradual mechanism which ” we hope to make Yemen occupy the seventh seat at the table of the collective work with the aim of pushing the march of prosperity and development in the region.
The editorial describes the move as a wise decision depended on a brilliant fact affirming that Yemen is an important constituent and an active figure, influenced and influencing the interactive data.
This GCC historic resolution, though less than our ambition, has nevertheless stressed the necessity of accelerating the process of qualifying ourselves with a strong infrastructure from whose base proceeds the relationship with the brethren in the peninsula and the Arab Gulf or with the international community. There should be a rehabilitation of the homeland in a manner leading to sound dealing with the age through running the inevitable change towards comprehensive reforms in all the fields that are suffering failures, especially in the political area.
Al-Ihya’a al-Arabi weekly, organ of the Arab Baath Socialist party, 1 Jan. 2002
The newspaper says in its editorial that America is leading the world to a third world war by using the events of 11 September 2001. America, along with its allies, has made of Afghanistan a ”corridor” for its third world war.
Thus Afghanistan represents for America the key for central Asia and a practical pincers in confronting China and India and imposition of its control over Pakistan. On the other hand it is a springboard for chopping at Federative Russia and an attempt to contain heritage of the former Soviet Union. It is also an act for the establishment of a foothold in the Caspian Sea region which is rich with wealths as well as infiltration into Islamic republics in Central Asia.
While in this process, America feels the importance of encircling the Arabs and the Arab homeland from all directions and this time exploiting the weapon of what it describes as fighting terror.
The aim behind that is imposition of the presence of the imperialist-Zionist alliance in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab and the Arabian Sea so that to complete the circle and chapters of the conspiracy, especially in occupied Palestine . The terrorism that America is talking about is in fact the new American-Western-Zionist colonization aimed at controlling the world of today.
Al-Wahda weekly, 2 Jan. 2002. 
Chief Editor of the newspaper says in his front page article that the unity of joint destiny had called upon the Gulf states on May 25, 1981 to group themselves into a confederation taking the name of ”Gulf Cooperation Council”. The grouping has been culminated after the availability of a host of common denominators mainly geographical, pan-Arab social harmony and similarity of political and economic systems.
If the non-inclusion of Yemen from joining the GCC was then justified objectively from the Gulf standpoint, due to the state of disunity Yemen was suffering, let alone the difference in political and economic features between Yemen and the Gulf states, now there are many conditions of similarity and harmony. The Gulf viewpoint has become believing deeply that Yemen constitutes an important strategic depth for all the region of the Arab peninsula and the Gulf. Without any exception, all of the region’s states are facing the same challenges in every walk of life. Yemen with what it entertains of human resources and potentials, added to them its national unity, would always be the firm strategic support to this alignment which badly needed under the new world reality which does not believe in fragmentation and disunity.
Al-Ra’ay Al-a’am weekly 1 Jan. 2002
An article by Mr Abdulaziz al-Samawi says that the Arab and Islamic peoples have dealt with the events of 11 September and the American stands and requests on the basis of unawareness or absence of awareness.
Here we are going to scrutinize what happened and followed those events and to associate the results with their introductions.
First, the American policy before the events of 11 September was dreaming of to attain what it has reached after those events. This can be inferred from a report referred to president Bush about the U.S. foreign policy.
Second, after 11 Sept. events and before the U.S. administration can recover from the shock and the size of the blow inflicted on the American economic, political and military aspects, it demanded the Arab and Islamic regimes and others to join it in its efforts to fight what it has termed as ” terrorism”. Thus the Arab and Islamic regimes response has constituted the beginning of legitimacy gained by America without any controls or limits and also without an accurate definition of the meaning of terrorism.
Third, because Arab and Islamic regimes do not have political consciousness or a political circumstances strategy at ordinary circumstances, their behavior and dealing with the speeding up events came to be based on unconsciousness and without being aware of them they behaved in a manner that inflicted harm to themselves and interests of those regimes.
Fourth, more astonishing is that most of the Arab and Islamic regimes have acknowledged the existence of terrorism on their territories and that they themselves have suffered from terrorism, not realizing that such statements make them targets in the campaign of fighting terror as a state, country, people and interests.
 

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