After being reviewed by the government and the consultative council, the Yemeni-Saudi border treaty was finally approved by the Parliament on Saturday, June 24. Hence it has become an official and binding document to determine the official and permanent land and marine borders between the two countries.
The actual articles of the treaty, and the official map based on it, were released officially to the press. "The treaty is a victory for the common determination and faithful desire of the two leaderships to strengthen the ties of brotherhood and cooperation." President Saleh said in the last cabinet meeting that reviewed, and approved the treaty.
According to the treaty, Yemen has regained more than 35,000 sq. kms of land. The treaty includes five major articles and four annexes signed on 12 June 2000 by Mr Abdul Qader Bajammal, deputy premier, the foreign minister for Yemen and prince Sad Al-Faisal, the foreign minister for the Saudi side.
The first article of the treaty stipulated as mandatory and legal, the Taif pact of 1934 and memorandum of understanding between the two countries of 1995. The second article defines the final and permanent dividing line of the borders between the two countries composed of two parts: The first begins at the coastal mark on the Red Sea and ends at Tha'r mountain sign. The treaty stipulated on delineating the second part in a friendly manner. It begins from Tha'r mountain at the junction point of parallel 19 north with longitude 25 east. The treaty has also defined coordinates of the sea borders. An international specialized firm will prepare detailed maps of land borders to be adopted by the two parties and be part of the treaty.
The fourth article provided the commitment to the fifth article of the Taif pact concerning the evacuation of any military position stationed at a distance less than 5 kilometers along the borderline demarcated according to the Taif Treaty. As for the borderline that starts from Tha'r mountain, it is not permissible, according to the treaty, for any of the contracting parties to mass up armed forces at distances less than 20 kilometers on both sides. Their activity is confined to running mobile patrols with ordinary weapons. Annex four comprises seven articles, regulating pasture rights, defining stationing of armed forces on both sides of the borderline and exploitation of common natural wealth along the land borderline. The first annex contained geographic coordinates of signs' positions as stipulated in the borders' reports annexed to the Taif Treaty of 1934. Annex two includes details of the land borders and annex three consists of details of sea borders between the two countries.

In a statement to Yemen Times, Bin Shaji, the Sheik of Wa'ila Yemeni tribe on the northern boundaries of Yemen near Sa'ada, expressed his anger and dismay over some of the geographical specifications of the Yemeni-Saudi border treaty. The Sheik threatened that unless the demarcation of his area goes as he wants, and as agreed upon with other neighboring tribes, he will abort any attempt to carry on the demarcation mentioned in the treaty. "We oppose the treaty in regard to the articles that describe the borders between our tribal area and other parts at the north." He said. Bin Shaji described the treaty as unjust because it leaves his tribal area on the exact border between the two countries, i.e., his tribe's land is actually placed in the 40 km restricted border zone, which means that the tribe's identity becomes neither Yemeni nor Saudi.
Interestingly, there seems to have been a 241-year-old document demarcating the borders between tribes in the area, "The experts and people who worked on the border discussions did not, and do not know about our situation and our own tribal agreements, as we have a 241-year old document demarcating borders between our tribe and Yam tribe." He claims that the tribes have already formed their borders with each other through documents that have been approved by all parts. "We agreed on these terms even before the formation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Republic of Yemen." He then concluded his statement by saying that he will not stay idle if the company supposed to start demarcation comes and tries to avoid the tribal agreements. "This should not be a political decision without any reference to us, the people concerned. We should have been involved in this issue before any decisions that may cause our tribe and people any harm. There are violations in the border agreement, as the two leaderships should not let themselves violate our tribal rules and regulations. We are the ones concerned, and we will not accept any border demarcation that does not go with our own documents, which President Saleh knows very well."

The Italian Hostages Released,
but WHAT NEXT?

Even though Alberto Alession, the Italian archeologist kidnapped 10 days ago was released, the fear of continuing kidnapping incidents still remains. The signing of the border treaty between Saudi Arabia and Yemen is seen by many analysts as holding the key towards strengthening security in Yemen.
In his speech during the cabinet meeting to discuss the treaty and approve it, the President emphasized the importance of combatting terrorism and kidnapping.
"The UK and Yemen enjoy a very strong relationship, but the travel ban by the UK can not be lifted unless tangible action by the government is taken to stabilize the country, justifying that there is no more reason for continuing the ban," a source close to the British Embassy said to Yemen Times.
"We are not demanding that the government does more than it can do, but at least show that it is in control of the situation," said Peter Ferdinand, one of the companions of the Norwegian diplomat kidnapped and killed two weeks ago. "We believe that the President is focused on having a new beginning. There is a strong determination to get Yemen out of its current conditions in terms of economy and security. He has confirmed that the main objective of the ruling party and government should be getting rid of corruption and strengthening security. Unless those two fields are taken seriously, I see little hope for Yemen's future." Dr. Mohamed Abdulmajeed Al-Qubaty told Yemen Times.

Ruling against an Editor
Disgust and anger broke out among journalists and human rights activists as Samir Al-Yusufi, Editor of Al-Thaqafiah weekly newspaper who published an article entitled "Sana'a: An Open City" was sentenced to one week's imprisonment for the so-called "blasphemous" article.
The verdict came after the editor was accused of being a communist and a pagan for releasing material against Islamic regulations and ideologies.
What is even more disgraceful is that Vice Mufti of the Republic, Hamoud Abbas Al-Mua'id issued a fatwa deciding that he should be chained by his hands and feet and imprisoned until he repents for his sins.

Al-Thawri about to close down
One of the most widely read opposition newspaper belonging to the Yemeni Socialist Party has declared that it is about to go bankrupt because of scarce finances. It has been requesting donations from its readers and YSP members for the continuation of the newspaper, but to no avail.
The newspaper said that the main reason for this impasse is that the government is still holding back the YSP's dues amounting to millions suspended after the 1994 civil war.

In an unprecedented step considered to be the first of its kind after signing the treaty, and under the auspices of President Saleh, the Consultative Council (CC) jointly with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be holding a comprehensive seminar entitled "Yemen and its Neighbors, from border conflicts to Agreement and Companionship." In the context of the historic treaty, the seminar will be focusing on the immediate steps to strengthen and maintain an everlasting brotherly and cooperative relationship with its neighboring countries. The seminar will bring together several key figures who participated in the signing of the treaty, along with experts and specialists in the field of border and political dialogue issues.
Brigadier Yahya Mohamed Al-Mutawakkil, Chairman of the Political Committee and the Seminar Preparatory Committee emphasized the importance of the seminar by saying that it, "will open new dimensions and opportunities to discuss future cooperation and companionship possibilities between Yemen and Saudi Arabia."