Yemen unity accomplishments [Archives:2005/852/Opinion]

Discussions are still going on between several politicians and economists on the evaluation of the Yemeni Unity. We met some of those elites, who gave their points of view on this matter, and asked all of them one question: The Yemeni Unity needs correction, as some say it needs to correct its course. Are you with the present policy or with the demand for correction?

Mohamed Abdulmalik Al-Motwakil

The question should be corrected first. The unity doesn't need correction. It is the political regime that really needs the correction. The unity is the people and the land, unified of their own accord. Ali Abdullah Saleh and Albied did no more than signing upon people's demand. However there are wrong practices: First the dispute over power led to 1994 war. The wrong practices continued both in the North and South. There is a defect in the regime itself that demands correction. There should be separation of powers, and supremacy of law, state's establishments should be neutral, besides a local governance with real authority, mounting to the extent of dismissing the commissioners and district Managers. People in the North and South don't care about the military force, the foreign policy or the parliament. They care about their daily life problems. What they complain of is the defect in the political regime that led to the corruption in administration. This led to security and economical deterioration. Our joint meeting is now seeking to issue a paper of political reform. Without political reform there won't be qualified administration

Dr. Bilqis

Are you with the existing policy, or are you with those who demand the change of the policy, that relates to unity?

Our debate today comes after 15 years of the unity. The unity has given the political situation and the women a great push. Women are now participating in parliament, the Consultants' council and others, though the representation in these establishments is not enough. As I say; could there be democracy without women's participation?

Q: Could there be democracy without women ?

A: Women are half the population in Yemen. For development to proceed Yemeni women should participate effectively, because she is the only who can express her interests properly. Women should be participating in decision making, because she is now a university teacher. There are so many qualified women who can lead this country. We demand change, now, and we demand quota procedure to be applied.

Mohamed Alsabri

We think there is an urgent need to correct the situation which has resulted in impoverishment, starvation, unemployment, corruption and a recess in development. All these factors make the reform issue a must. It should not be delayed or withdrawn. That is why in our joint meeting parties, we are going to present two papers explaining the areas of reform to be carried out and ask the people to stand on our side

We are not with the present policy, but we are not against unity. The present policy endangers national unity. It has a sort of discrimination between people in the implementation of the law. This could be unintentional by the state towards one area or another but certainly there is a mismanagement. The irresponsible polices could lead to the division of a country. The unsuccessful management of recourses could bring the down fall of an empire. The infringement of human rights could lead to public unrest and destabilize the country. The separation of the administrative, legislative and judicial powers, would lead to supremacy of law. Our economical crisis is widening, a thing that will make the political and informational practice of no use. It implies that our generation is depleting the recourses of future generations. It is all due to mismanagement, and the corruption is no more than an indication to it. If accountability and transparency prevailed in this country, economical conditions will improve . We are in need of respect of human rights and freedom of media. We are also in need of constitutional reform. The type of system is not clear now, whether we are presidential or parliamentary, we want a clear cut administration that separates between the powers. The powers are now concentrated in one hand. The present electoral system is bad. It also needs reform. It freezes the present situation. Our educational system also needs to be reformed. In its present state it won't produce a generation that is able to live in a unified community. A strong judiciary is also needed. Judiciary affects all aspects of the country, so reform of education and judiciary will be a vital matter. They will be the pillars of the future political and democratic development of this country.

Dr. Adil Al- Sharjabi, participating social studies teacher in Sana'a University.

In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with the unity. It is a procedural matter. It needs no correction. What needs checking is the regime, and the existing policies, (democracy ). In brief, when we speak about democracy nowadays some say it is the correction of democracy. We didn't reach a democratic level yet. We changed into a community run by the state, control of wealth and the jobs etc. That is why we speak of the necessity of reform in all positions. They are as follows :

1-Right of nationality for all

2-Equality is almost absent, that is why we need to activate the law. It is daily violated from a dominating force, which posses major social powers. We need structural systems, in which the one who posses the power uses it lawfully. He shouldn't use it as a personal possession. We don't need to reform unity. We are in need of social reform.
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