Silver LiningDoes Yemen’s democracy matter to Krajeski? [Archives:2005/886/Opinion]
By Mohammed Hatem al-Qadhi
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The development of democracy in Yemen has come to a standstill. This statement, made by US ambassador Thomas Krajeski, created a big fuss that was not at all necessary. The ambassador did not say anything wrong. He did not violate the sovereignty of the country as the official response alleged.
Our political regime appears hypersensitive to any criticism delivered by the US even if it is constructive. It behaved like a child who loses its temper very quickly and never likes to be criticized even if he/she does something wrong.
When Krajeski said that democracy progress has stalled, hell broke loose and the media tried to activate a public opinion against him and his country. But, when he made his initial statement about Yemen's democracy, the media happily distributed his words. Why does the media not consider this an interference in internal affairs as well? It is not his business to speak about democracy, which matters only to us.
This is the stupid logic of the people in charge who were also sensitive even to the Eftar party to which the ambassador invited journalists, and even doubted these people's loyalty towards their own country because they talked with the ambassador about democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Hey guys, wake up. The ambassador was right when he expressed concerns over the harsh attacks that journalists get. This is not only the opinion of Krajeski. Other international organizations already voiced the same concerns. It is this good scope of press freedom that invited the praise and admiration of the world and consequently attracted more support for development. When we were on the right track, the world praised us but when we regress, we are criticized. We are not perfect and are still crawling towards democracy. Therefore, I believe it is good to be alarmed so we can correct our mistakes. When we seek the appreciation of the world, we should accept its comments and criticism.
The US, as a super power and a leading democratic country should not close their eyes to violations and abuses of human rights and press freedom all over the world. The leading democratic societies have an ethical commitment towards supporting democratization worldwide, and should take care that their donations do not go to political regimes, which do not respect human rights and media freedom.
I have heard that the draft press law has been present during the Yemeni-European dialogue in Brussels last month. The question of journalists' harassment is likely to be raised during the summit of Bush and Saleh next month in the US.
Therefore, the question of human rights, media freedom and democracy are not internal issues, but issues that concern the world in this era of democracy. The political regime in Yemen should understand that attacking a journalist in Sana'a does matter to people in Canada, the US or Europe. Will the people in charge understand this?
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[archive-e:886-v:14-y:2005-d:2005-10-17-p:opinion]
