Stuck Promises [Archives:1999/40/Focus]

By: Mohammed Hatem Al-Qadhi,
Managing Editor, Yemen Times
It is easy for officials in Yemen to give promises and speak loudly about development, achievements, reform, democracy, human rights and many other issues of such stuff. Our country is amongst the first countries in passing laws and decisions. Our country is one of the first countries to ratify international agreements and treaties like that of human rights, children rights, torture, freedom of the press and so on and so forth.
Unfortunately, we speak more and work little. To drive the point home, these agreements, laws and decisions do not see the light of day. The question of human rights has not got the satisfaction of the Amnesty International. As a matter of fact, the latest report issued by the Amnesty concerning human rights situation in Yemen shows a lot of violations are still taking place. Torture, a heinous and prohibited crime, is still existing in the country, though Yemen ratified the treaty to combat torture. Yemen also signed in favor of the Children Rights Treaty which generally prohibits the work of children. However, our streets are full of such helpless people who are bogged down in an endless struggle to keep their body and soul together. Children alms-seekers are found everywhere you go, particularly at streets intersections. What is more worse is that 45% of Yemeni children are out of school.
Concerning the press freedom, Yemen is one of the claimed countries that respect the press and honor the position of journalists. However, violations of the press freedom and attacks on journalists, newspapers and opinion makers are numerous and are sometimes viewed by observers as an insidious trend towards censorship of the press. What is happening right now with Al-Shora newspaper is a vivid example.
The Ministry of Interior’s procedures to prevent and stop arms-carrying in the major cities have been hailed by many people. Of course, that major has done much to limit the number of people wandering with different kinds of weapons in the streets of the major cities. The confrontations that occurred between the police and some law-breakers as a result of the application of that decision made people feel that this time it might be serious and that the government will show its muscles against law-breakers and troublemakers. We, in the press, interacted with mopping-up operation of weapons very positively and boosted it wholeheartedly. However, we were asking whether that would continue or not. Well, now it seems that the fever has gone and we will be back to our old hated practice of arms carrying because the operation is no more working. However, the decision has done much to limit the number of people carrying weapons in the main cities. Therefore, the people in charge should not reiterate and give up. Rather, they should go on till they get people believe that the government is serious in implementing its decisions.
Kidnapping is a new evil practice that has been introduced to the Yemeni society recently and most of the people do it to exercise pressure on and blackmail the government to get development projects. In the beginning the government dealt with the problem very carelessly and showed it its back to it. That made the problem get tensified and get worse and worse. Then, the government passed a law, imposing stiff measures against kidnappers. Everybody felt happy. The government was serious in implementing the law only in the case of the Abyan catastrophic fiasco which claimed the lives of three tourists. As the law dictates, the penalty of kidnappers is death. Since that time no kidnappers have been punished with the same penalty. Rather, the government always resorts to negotiations. This state of insecurity has led to the decline of the tourist drive in Yemen.
To conclude, the question is not that of talking much, issuing decisions, giving more promises, signing agreements and international accords and treaties. Rather, it is that of following up the decisions, implementation of promises and enforcement of laws. These stuck promises, agreements, decisions and laws should all see the light of application. Is there somebody listening?

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