YT Celebrates [Archives:2000/10/Reportage]

The Minister of Culture, Mr. Abdul Malik Mansour, lauded the efforts of the founder of the Yemen Times, late Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Saqqaf. He said that the Yemen Times was the valued reference point for the people in the world seeking information on Yemen as well as for Yemeni immigrants and English speakers inside Yemen. 
” The Yemen Times has sustained itself as a wise messenger that reflects the truth without political bias or narrow-mindedness. It may have sometimes, or even often, angered the government, however it warms the hearts of advocates of democracy,” said Minister of Culture. He further expressed the hope to see the Yemen Times a daily paper.
Diplomats, officials and media men had expressed their hope to see the Yemen Times continue as it has always been an uncompromising champion of the truth.
On this occasion, the winner of the first prize of the 3rd millennium competition, Salim Mohammed Salim, was handed before the attendants a check for YRs 1,000,000 while other winners were requested to receive their prizes from Yemen Times bureau. Following this, sponsors were given away certificates of merit and gratitude for sponsoring the 3rd Millennium Competition.

After that a documentary film was screened on Yemen Times and its development since its inception. Guests were then kindly invited to enjoy a delicious supper.
Yemeni newspapers congratulated their sister Yemen Times on this occasion and reported the event prominently. Many congratulatory letters have also been received felicitating the staff and management of the paper for their excellent work.
Therefore, the Yemen Times editor and staff thank all the people who attended the ceremony and all companies that sponsored the event. We also thank all the people who sent their letters of congratulations to the Yemen Times and its editor.
 
  Impression About YT In the late sixties, a long time ago, before I joined the Diplomatic Service, I was the Deputy Editor-in-chief of the Baghdad Observer, an English Daily that is still being published in Iraq. So I feel that there is a spiritual link between myself and the Yemen Times. This feeling makes it very interesting and tempting to participate in the tenth founding anniversary of this newspaper. When I arrived in Yemen, one of the first publications I read was the Yemen Times. I found it a comprehensive newspaper with a vast coverage of international and domestic affairs. So it was a good source of information for me about Yemen as a new comer.
What gave the Yemen Times its weight in the field of Journalism, is that it was run by the very prominent figure the late Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Saqqaf whom I did not know personally, but got full knowledge of his great influence over the political, cultural and social life in Yemen.
In this occasion, I am confident that the heirs of the newspaper are very capable of issuing a daily that can compete successfully in an environment where the right to information and the access to it is considered a basic right for people.
My sincere congratulations to the colleagues in the Yemen Times in their 10th anniversary, with hopes for more success and progress.
Taha Yassin Al-Basri
Ambassador of the Republic of Iraq  
  Yemen Times Maintains its Founder’s Mission
By: Jalal Al-Shara’abi
Yemen Times
Whenever there is a festive occasion related to the Yemen Times weekly newspaper, attention is quickly and normally drawn to the late professor Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Saqqaf the celebrity journalist of Yemen in the 20th century. He was an ardent and perseverant advocate of human rights, democracy and freedom of expression. The more we recall of his memory, the more we feel to be close to him and loyal to the mission he had devoted his life for.
The 10th founding anniversary of Yemen Times was marked on February 27, 2000 amid a distinguished festivity permeated with speeches praising the newspaper and the leading stature it occupies in journalism in Yemen.
What is an eye-catching matter about this memorable event, the newspaper’s anniversary, is the remembrance of that great pillar of journalism in Yemen, who has established this magnificent press institution and wrung out its legitimacy out of the claws of monsters that are opposed to democracy and freedom of expression intent on muffling any voice that does not extol the ruler day and night.
Yemen Times pursues fully independent policy, whether in its performance of press profession or in its financial affairs. It is fully biased to the ordinary people’ concerns and questions, mirrored objectively on its pages, unlike the official media which are dependent on funding of the state and reflect its policies or the partisan organs that idolize the stances and leaders of the political parties they represent.
Amidst all this, the Yemen Times has emerged to establish a new school in journalism in this country, siding with the right and dealing with current events and issues in an objective pursuit. Also one of the most remarkable things about it is that its founder the late Al-Saqqaf has rendered it into Yemen’s message abroad, playing a role quite remarkable in portraying Yemen’s reality in a manner exceeding that played by the country’s embassies. This fact has been expressed by the celebrity journalist the late Abdul Habib Salem Mukbil. Thus the newspaper has acquired a forward position making it closer to the institutions devoted to defending press and expression freedom, therefore it has become too difficult to implement any warrant on trying or suspending it.
Though Dr. Al-Saqqaf has poignantly departed us for good, he is now quite contented about the press establishment he has left behind and his major concern is manifested in his worry about the conditions of the ordinary people under the consistent threat by the well-to-do and the deprivation they are suffering.
Yemen Times is nowadays celebrating its 10th birthday at a time its journalist team are entertaining much optimism and hope in the success of their message of satisfying their readers by tracing up the sources of corruption and its godfathers.
Some people thought that the paper would perish by the absence of its founder, but what happened has proved outrightly the contrary. The days and months that followed that tragic event proved that Dr Al-Saqqaf has left behind him very loyal students competent of carrying on his message. The paper is today confirming the words its founder had uttered just a few hours before his death,” The Yemen Times is not a trumpeter for the authority nor an instrument in the hands of the opposition, its actual objective is to convey the true news, deep analysis and report that disclose the defects of the corrupt and their strongholds.” Any reader of the paper on the Internet can notice the increasing number of its readers, besides that its distribution has reached 100%, a matter to be proud of.
Although we consider the profession of press in Yemen is in its ABC stage of development and the authority still sees it as an enemy and it is still coming under acts of trials and facing campaigns of arrests and suppression carried out against journalists of the country, but it is also true that the Yemeni press has to exert redoubled efforts to squeeze its right to the freedom of expression. It is not easy to make for a charismatic personality like Dr. Al-Saqqaf, but it is certain that many newspapers would follow suit of his experiment embodied by the Yemen Times present approach. We are confident as well that the organizations in defense of press freedom would assess these efforts of ours and would be helping us in case we are subjected to authority harassment or censorship.
The entire staff of the paper pledge to their readers to intensify their efforts for the paper’s ever development towards the better and the fulfillment of its message.
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