Weekly News Update 21 February 2013

Samuel Aranda/New York Times/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/19/world/middleeast/yemen-hailed-as-a-model-struggles-for-stability.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Highlights:
Yemen, Hailed as Model, Struggles for Stability
New York Times — 18 February 2013
“I have never felt the anxiety I feel now,” said Sami Ghalib, a political analyst and former newspaper editor. “There was always geographical conflict, but now it is turning ideological. There are assassinations taking place everywhere. And at the helm, we have a leader who behaves like Saleh but doesn’t even have his political skills.” Unlike his predecessor, Mr. Hadi is a virtual recluse who rarely speaks in public and has failed to offer a clear vision for addressing any of the crises afflicting the country. His fierce praise for the American drone-strike program, which is unpopular here, has further eroded his small base of public support. He is widely said to fear for his life and has appointed many family members and old allies to security positions. In a paradox, Mr. Hadi is a southerner and was chosen in part on the premise that this would help him to placate the secessionists. Instead, he is widely hated in the south, in part because he is seen as a pillar of the northern political system after serving for 18 years as Mr. Saleh’s deputy.

Saleh ‘albatross’ hangs over Yemen dialogue
Democracy Digest — 14 February 2013
The fly in the ointment is former President Saleh who continues to hold court with supporters and issue pronouncements through the media outlets controlled by his son, Ali Ahmed.  While not overtly disruptive, his presence is a provocation that, over time, could threaten to derail the fragile political truce currently holding sway.

Youths are changing Yemen’s political landscape
Daily Star — 13 February 2013
Murad, an artist, joined with other young artists to raise awareness around the issue of forced disappearances, which have been occurring in Yemen since the 1970s. Over a 20-week period, they drew the faces of almost 70 missing persons on the walls of Sanaa, Ibb and Taiz as part of a voluntary initiative using art as a peaceful tool in order to send a strong message regarding a topic that has remained hidden in Yemen for decades. In this way, Murad and his friends were able to help the families of the disappeared raise their voices, grieve openly and present their cases to the public. These youths are forward thinking, creative, passionate, self-motivated, result-oriented, fast learners and have the energy and time to participate in new ventures. Youth are the real asset of Yemen today, and the real builders of Yemen’s tomorrow.

Weekly News Update 24 January 2013

Amira al-Sharif/UNHCR/http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97292/Challenges-abound-as-aid-reaches-Yemen-s-south

Highlights:
Challenges abound as aid reaches Yemen’s south
IRIN — 21 January 2013
So far, popular committees have not posed obstacles to the delivery of humanitarian aid, according to Singhal, but the lack of clear security has been a deterrent to larger aid operations. During his visit, Ould Cheikh Ahmed called for a stronger police presence in Abyan. The aid operation is still mainly dependent on national staff, with international staff limited to day trips into Abyan when security conditions allow. Many agencies still do not have offices inside the most affected parts of Abyan, commuting back and forth from Aden or safer parts of Abyan – though some agencies are looking to change that in the near future. The government now has more of an army presence in the area, but has not invested sufficiently in creating law-and-order structures, like prisons, courts, and police, observers say.

Drone strikes in Yemen escalating, officials report
Los Angeles Times — 23 January 2013
A U.S. drone strike targeting militants on motorbikes killed five in central Yemen on Wednesday, a senior Yemeni official said. It was the fourth strike in five days, marking what the official called a significant escalation in the U.S.-Yemeni campaign against that country’s Al Qaeda affiliate. The U.S. carried out 42 targeted drone missile strikes in Yemen last year and 10 the previous year, according to the Long War Journal website that tracks strikes through the news media. “The campaign has intensified,” the Yemeni official said, adding that the government has been repositioning troops targeting Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Why political parties are holding back names of representatives
Yemen Times — 24 January 2013
The reason is they want to take more than their share. They are trying to push for their supporters to join the dialogue via the seats for independents. Considering the influx of applications and the chaotic way our committee is operating, it is likely that this happens. This is why I am concerned. Political parties are trying their best to stall and maneuver so that they earn more representation. I will try my best to not allow the semi-independents to get through me, but our committee has unfortunately passed decisions regardless of my objections. Thus, I am not sure how effective our scrutinizing role will be.

Weekly News Update 6 December 2012

Mohamed Huwais/AFP/via Al-Shorfa/http://al-shorfa.com/en_GB/articles/meii/features/2012/12/03/feature-02

Highlights:
Conflict in Yemen: Abyan’s Darkest Hour
Amnesty International — 4 December 2012
This report, based mainly on a fact-finding visit to Yemen in June-July 2012, documents violations committed by Ansar Al-Shari’a when cities and towns in Abyan were under their control and during the subsequent armed conflict. These violations included recklessly exposing civilians to harm during attacks; killing captured soldiers; abducting civilians, some of whom have never been seen again; and obstructing medical treatment for wounded people. The report also shows how government forces used disproportionate force during the conflict. Amnesty international is calling on the Yemeni authorities to hold to account those responsible for all these abuses and to ensure that the victims receive full redress.

A long road ahead for Yemeni women
Open Democracy — 3 December 2012
Hence, appointing three female ministers was considered “appropriate” representation for some, and even hailed as a success by others. The important technical committee, set up by President Hadi to define the scope of the upcoming National Dialogue, included individuals with high caliber and street credibility, but women initially represented only 20 per cent. Then in September 2012, President Hadi issued another decree adding six new male members to the technical committee, which shifted the gender balance even further and decreased the percentage of women to 16 percent. Given these negative indicators, women are naturally frustrated about their marginalization and worry about the upcoming national dialogue. To alleviate some of these fears the technical committee recently published a detailed document on the Rules and procedures of the six-month National Dialogue conference which emphasizes that women will be present in all committees.

Yemen’s Democratic Revolution, One Year Later
The Atlantic — 29 November 2012
The infighting, combined with weak leadership on the part of the president and prime minister, has led paralysis. The top-tier posts in the ministries were selected based on what or who they represented, not based on any technocratic skill or knowledge, further compounding their inability to get anything done. Most are looking to advance their parties’ interests, thwart gains by their opponents, or cover up any wrongdoing during Saleh’s reign. Given the immense challenges that Yemen faces in social, humanitarian, and economic spheres, it can hardly afford this level of incompetency and inefficiency. More dynamic leadership from President Hadi and Prime Minister Mohammed Basindwa is desperately needed.

Weekly News Update 25 October 2012

AFP via Al-Arabiya/http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/10/24/245716.html

Highlights
Al Qaeda goes underground in Yemen against U.S.-driven crackdown
Reuters — 23 October 2012
A U.S.-backed military onslaught may have driven Islamist militants from towns in Yemen they seized last year, but many have regrouped into “sleeper cells” threatening anew the areas they vacated, security officials and analysts say. The resilience of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), despite increased U.S. drone strikes to eliminate militants, is worrying for top oil exporter Saudi Arabia next door and the security of major shipping lanes in the seas off Yemen.

Yemen takes tough sell message to U.S. businesses
Reuters — 19 October 2012
It has to be one of the toughest jobs around – trying to sell U.S. businesses on the investment potential of one of the poorest nations on Earth, a country battered by Islamist militants who bomb, assassinate and kidnap. Yet it is a job U.S. Ambassador to Yemen Gerald Feierstein is taking on by leading a delegation of 10 Yemeni businessmen on a 10-day, five-city tour of the United States. The executives come from the construction, pharmaceuticals, medical and technology industries. However, much of the discussion focused on developing clean water, a precious commodity in the dry Arabian peninsula landscape, as well as renewable energy such as wind and solar power. “Yemen needs power to grow the economy,” said Wael Zokari, chief executive officer of Griffin International, the technology arm of conglomerate Griffin Group. “The technology we need comes from the United States,” he said. Yemen produces less than half the electricity it needs now, let alone for the infrastructure it wants to build to grow an economy that contracted 10.5 percent in 2011 to under $29 billion.

Can southern separatists break up Yemen?
Open Democracy — 23 October 2012
The National Dialogue will set the bases for a new political structure and Constitution for Yemen.  Non-participation by any one party is likely to strongly and negatively affect not only its own future but that of the country as a whole. Given their past record, the current political ‘leaders’ of the southern separatist movement should at least show some modesty and behave in a manner suggesting that they have concerns other than their own self-promotion.  But they seem to live in a world of their own and are likely to come down with a major bump when they find that the population at large is very much against them and that other southerners do participate in the Dialogue and, indeed, these may be more representative of public opinion in the South.