Who can protect the law? [Archives:2005/872/Opinion]

By Ismail al-Ghabri
Given the continual violations of tens of laws and regulations since the eruption of the Yemeni revolution until the present day, one would justifiably cry, “Who can protect the law?” in another country, such a question would be dismissed as “nonsense” because it is law that protects the peoples, including officials and officers, from the tyranny of the strong people in power whether civilian or military, whether gangsters or gangmembers. Such evil groups use various “weapons” such as money, drugs, gifts, etc. to defeat those with lax moral fabric. With others keeping silent, the evil doers think mistakenly that they have terrorized and subjugated all. Such gangs usually are fought by governments willingly or coaxed to do so by the taxpayers who do not find in the Public Treasury only the tax imposed on their incomes which hardly meet the needs of their families.

The markets in the country are another story. Commodities from a variety of sources come into them. The state has little to do with them in terms of specifications, quality, standards, customs, taxes, etc. The state admits to its helplessness. Any label can be accepted as there are no regulations. No law or resolution has impacted the course of destructive activities which have thoroughly paralyzed the commercial and political process and affected industry despite all efforts to the contrary. The national industry is the property of all people and, thriving, it reflects the success of other policies like defense, agriculture, education, etc. if every official keeps his commitment and pledge of integrity, honesty and loyalty, industry will expand, creating thousands of jobs and stabilizing the unemployment index at a level that can be handled over the few coming years through well-studied developmental schemes.

Violators should be punished the first time they are proved to have misbehaved. They should be subjected to interrogation and dismissal for, in Yemen, one should not expect an official or officer involved in whatever way in corruption to resign. No official has ever protested against mismanagement, or, feeling his incapability to function and undertake responsibilities to the satisfaction of his conscience, resigned to show that he is not pleased with a degraded situation, which can be reformed if there is good will and virtual authorizations.

The citizens put their confidence anew in the person of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. I hope that he has heard the grumbling whispers of the Yemeni street. All people have trusted him because he has got enough experience and long record of achievements. The citizens believe he is noble and capable and have no reason to think otherwise. We hope he would respond by acts to the pessimists and prove that the present as well as the future belong to the nation, that is, by placing the right person in the position he fits and enforcing the reward-punishment principle. The citizens will rejoice and be convinced when they see the thrones of the corrupt persons collapse under the just force of law and regulations. So far, some citizens express their apprehension and say they have seen nothing that makes them believe talk. It should always be remembered that if the state loses the confidence of the citizen, nobody would ever believe it!
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