Press Review - Issue 39

39 - Sept 25 thru Oct 1 2000, Vol X

Main Headlines:

Review of this week’s Yemeni newspapers front-paged main
Main Headlines:
-Large Quantities of Dangerous Chemical Material, Seized
-President’s Orders, Counterfeited
-BP Company, Unable to Repay its Debts
-Commercial Banks: Auditing on Banks Harmed Trade & Investment Movement More than 34 YSP Leading Members in Mahweet, Resign
-President, Vice-President & GPC Secretary-General Condole Shahari Decease
-Universities’ Higher Council: University Tuition Fees, Paid Once Upon Registration
-Leaders of Somali Factions Praise Yemen’s Role in Establishing Peace
-Syrian Party Delegation Visits Yemen
-Oman’s Shoura Council Visits Sana’a
-Aden: Citizens Arrests in ‘’Qud Qrou’’
-Taiz: A Court Detains a Citizen to Death
-Influential Forces Behind Tampering With Aden’s Mountains, Lands, Sea
-Armed Clashes In Shabwa
-DED Concludes its Conference, Yemen’s TV Absent
-Moscow-Baghdad Air flights Continue
-Memo to President Asks Lifting of Blockade Against Iraq
-Qatar Welcomes French Call for Lifting Sanctions on Iraq
-Dangerous Disease Kills Tens of People in Jizan, May Spread to our Country.

Excerpts of some articles published in some Yemeni local newspapers on various internal and Arab issues.

Al-Ayyam
weekly of September 20, 2000
One of its articles has tackled the theme of ‘’Opposition Parties and the Policy of Rejection’’.
The article says that no political observer, whether an Arab or a foreigner, could not understand the reason why there is not the least lingua franca between most of opposition parties in Yemen. Such a phenomenon is considered incompetence and backwardness and an uncivilizational, the writer of the article says. The problem suffered by most opposition parties in our country is that they look for shortcuts, i.e. they pursue authority and search for all ways to beg dialogue with it to realize limited and subjective goals.
The authority in our country, as I believe, would respect any objective and reasonable viewpoint presented in body by the opposition. The RAY party has proposed a vision on joining all efforts of the opposition parties regarding the constitutional amendments. All of us know that most of the opposition parties have criticized the amendments put forward by the government. So there is not any justification for not offering a unified point of view by the opposition parties.
Problems of the country could not be solved by the ruling party alone because they much bigger than what we think. Real development, comprehensive stability, reduction of corruption and achieving the balance necessitate unification of all ranks.

ATTARIQ
weekly of September 19, 2000
Al- Tareeq has dealt in one of its articles the topic of overstaffed state institutions. The article considers this phenomenon as one of the administrative ills that must be treated.
Overmanned institutions also result in bureaucracy and low productivity. Therefore it has become necessary that government administrative departments should reduce the number of their employees and that measure should be accompanied with subjecting employees to certain productive training.
Author of the articles also sees that the present stage needs to have measures taken for cutting government spending , upgrading efficiency of the state administrative apparatus. The article also calls for rendering administration of many government institutions to the private sector, that is privatization of such enterprises.

RAY
weekly, organ of Sons of Yemen League party, of September 19, 2000.
The weekly editorial is this week also devoted to the theme of constitutional amendments. The editorial says the constitutional reforms is one of the outstanding issues the Yemeni opposition has been unanimous about. This issues is now presently threatened by two sources. The first source is the authority that has changed it to merely amendments serving its aims and taking democracy into well-studied back steps, aborting a national demand embodied in the constitutional reforms. The second source of danger is represented by the those calls trying to drag the political forces into rejecting the constitutional amendments outrightly, and develop that refusal into closing all doors to any attempt to discuss the alternative. The editorial maintains that the negative rejection of amendments could only be categorized as expression of inability to offer the alternatives to the authority proposals. The editorial assumes that one step forward by offering the alternative and mustering all behind it would guarantee translation of at least part of the national dreams and restores to the opposition its self-confidence.

Al-Wahda
weekly of September 20, 2000.
The newspaper editorial has tackled the theme of the land and sea border treaty signed between Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
There is no doubt that the border treaty constitutes a prominent feature of brotherhood and kinship bonds between the two countries and peoples. The prompt steps and measures carried out for implementing articles of Jedda treaty would drive deep pillars and foundations of our peoples’ aspirations.
Within this context come meetings of the joint Yemeni-Saudi security committee that were concluded in Sana’a last Sunday, coming out with agreement on erecting crossing points facilitating the movement of people and trade exchange in addition to agreement on defining where to build buildings of customs and passports.
The achievement of the border treaty by both Yemeni and Saudi administrations, is today embodied in heading for developing the brethren and neighbourly relations into broader spheres embodied in concrete relationship of partnership.

Al-Balagh
weekly of September 19, 2000
The newspaper editorial says the ruler is the one responsible for what he has introduced in his country of aspects of progress or collapse. By his strong will, the ruler can overcome the factors of collapse whatever they are. Ruler’s neutrality is extremely not commendable for he must be biased to the good and the right and establish the state of law and order, in addition to his duty to fight injustice, evil and corruption.
The editorial reiterates its stress that the ruler must not be neutral because such an attitude is considered to be a negative stand towards his homeland and people. One cannot assume that a certain ruler does not have the strong will because such a will is the factor that brings that ruler to power.
In the republican system a ruler assumes power either by elections, as in the free countries and that means that the ruler has characteristics making his capable of making decisions, or via coups, as is the case in the third world countries. A ruler assuming power by a coup is also an indication that he possesses strong will, and courage, the elements that enable him to take the decision without neutrality and to sand by his people. We ask our rulers to be decision makers and not to adopt the attitude of a spectator against what is happening.

Al-Wahdawi
weekly, organ of PUN Organization, September 19, 2000
Al-Wahdawi editorial has said that the first year of the third millennium is about to wind up its remaining months to start a new year. As in other years the Arab countries celebrate the anniversaries of their victories they have scored during the past years. Thus emerged days such as 23 July 26 September. Amidst these anniversaries we turn our heads here and there to see how situations of the nation have developed. It is undeniable the many achievements realized in educational, health and cultural fields, but what we see also the many serious dangers that, if aggravated, would shake up the nation and her gains thoroughly and throw her down into a deep abyss.
The main aspects of these dangers are the development of the situation of the Zionist entity which has managed to have close relations with most of the Arab regimes to an extent that could not be seen among the Arab regimes themselves. The other major danger is the presence of the American Navy Force Fleets in the Arab territorial waters under full agreement of their rulers. This makes remembering the days of dignity appear dim and faint. The situation calls upon Arab intellectuals and their opinion leaders to ponder upon and study this kind of danger.
In conclusion the newspaper’s editorial wonders if it is fair to keep silent while an entire dear people are besieged and suffering all sorts of harshness just to appease America and its supporters. It also wonders whether they see the Russian initiative to break the blockade a kind of courage that should have been taken into consideration.