In his inaugural speech concerning the parliament and the Shoura Council's new five-year plan (2001-2005), President Saleh said on Saturday that kidnapping should be considered as one form of terrorism. In his statement, he openly accused all kidnappers of terrorism, something that Yemen has been suffering from for many years. Addressing the problematic situation of kidnapping in Yemen, President Saleh said that the kidnapper of the Chinese citizen, Mawein Dong, wanted to pressure the government to increase his military rank. He was apparently frustrated because he had served for a long time as an escort to one of the sheikhs. 
"We condemn terrorism in all its forms.. We ourselves have suffered greatly from terrorism throughout the last few years. The USS Cole incident, the Abyan kidnapping incident of December 1998, as well as others, have caused great damage to our national economy," he said. 
President Saleh welcomed the statements of the American president, George Bush, in which he expressed his approval of the independent state of Palestine. He also called upon the international community to bring Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to the International Tribunal for prosecution concerning crimes against humanity, crimes he continues to commit. "Sharon is definitely more dangerous than the former Serbian leader, President Milosevic," he said. 
He also said he was not demanding that the public give up their weapons. He said he was not against carrying weapons, but rather affirmed the importance of "regulating the carrying of weapons."
Finally, the President said the government should realize the needs of the public instead of focusing only on certain interests. He also stated that the legislative authorities should have a common vision concerning uniform law enforcement; they should be the first to abide by these laws and not the first to break them.

Mr. Edmund J. Hull, the new American Ambassador to Yemen, held a town meeting for American citizens at the US Embassy on October 3rd. The meeting was attended by 120 American citizens, most being Yemeni-Americans. The intention of the meeting was to introduce the ambassador to the American community as well as to discuss the security situation in light of the September 11th terrorist attacks in the US. 
According to a press release by the embassy, the ambassador said that in the war against terrorism, Yemen is a partner and not a target of possible strikes by the US military. 
The release also said that Ambassador Hull urges American citizens to be cautious and to exercise good personal security, while expressing his gratitude to the Yemeni government for doing its utmost to protect Americans in Yemen. The American citizens agreed with the ambassador that the September 11 attacks in the US, and the attack against the USS Cole in Aden last October, hurt both the USA and Yemen. The American citizens expressed their condolences with families of the victims in New York and Washington, and expressed their support for the US and its leadership in the international effort to eradicate terrorism. 
Ambassador Hull presented his credentials to president Ali Abdullah Saleh last Monday. Prior to joining his new post as ambassador to Yemen, Ambassador Hull was acting as the coordinator of Counter-Terrorism Department for the US Department of State. 
The Central Bank of Yemen, in its cooperation with the international effort, informed all banks working in Yemen to closely scrutinize their accounts. The objective is to find possible bank accounts belonging to associations or persons with connection to Usama Bin Laden, America's prime suspect in the attack. On the condition of anonymity, banking sources told YT that the investigations carried out so far have not been fruitful, but also confirming that the process of scrutinizing bank accounts will continue. They said this procedure was one of the demands the US Administration requested Yemen to fulfill in its cooperation with the world wide fight against terrorism. 
On a similar note, last Tuesday, the Yemeni Cabinet endorsed three international treaties relating to countering the financial supply of plastic explosives and nuclear materials. The cabinet authorized the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to sign the treaties after they were ratified by the Parliament and the Council. 
At the same time, it is expected that the Yemeni religious scholars will reach a final statement concerning Yemen's position towards the anti-terrorism coalition. However, there are still disagreements concerning some of the content of the statement due to political taboos.

Ten people were killed and 32 others injured last week in armed clashes between the tribes of Al-Jeda'an and Jahm in Marib, 200 km. south to Sana'a. A tribal source told Yemen Times that the clashes broke out because of a dispute between the two tribes over a border piece of land. The source added that various sorts of weapons had been used in the confrontations leading to the congestion of all main roads to Marib. These clashes came after several months of a cease fire agreement between the sheikhs of the two tribes. 
Last week six people were killed and 16 injured in similar clashes between the tribes of Kuhlan and Migtah in the governorate of Hajjah. The clashed also erupted because of a dispute over a piece of land. Such disputes, which erupt every now and then in tribal areas of Yemen, hinder the lives of communities as they can last up to three or four decades. 
The authorities have been unable to bring such headaches under control. Usually military force in the area does not stop warring tribes. The Shura Council formed a committee to address this problem, but so far, it has not done anything substantial. 
At the same time, the two sides authorized al-Sheikh Naser al-Hayal, from the Jahm tribe, bin Kherfan from al-Jeda'an, and Ali Abduh Rabuh, to settle the dispute. An armistice has been signed for six months between the two sides.

The Yemeni government said it would go to court to settle its problem with the university teaching staff. The staff have been on strike for over two weeks, demanding a rise in their salaries. 
The university's supreme council held a meeting last Thursday, deciding that the academic year should start October, 6. It also urged all teachers to start teaching and stop striking, indicating that only working people would receive their salaries. 
An official source said that political and partisan motivations stood behind the strike. It also said the strike forced students to join private universities. They also pointed out that if the strike continues, the university will still manage to operate. PM Abdul Qader Bajammal said last week that he could replace the administrative employees at the universities by those returning from the Gulf countries. The statement provoked anger by many university employees, requesting that the PM apologize, threatening to file a case against him in court. 
The organization of teaching staff sent a message to President Saleh, asking for an appointment to discuss their problem with the government. The time for the meeting has not yet been fixed, but Yemen Times learned that the organization has already selected names of those who will meet the President. 
In addition, in a letter to the students, the teaching staff disclosed that they are being pressured not to speak out concerning the deterioration of university education. The syndicate held the government responsible for stalling the organization's efforts to reform higher education as well as preventing thousands of secondary school graduates from joining universities. The letter suggested that the government meet the demands of the rise in population by building new technical institutes around the country. 
The university teaching organization condemned the government's attempt to tarnish their image and belittle their role in society.

Mr. Hamdoun Kalalah, a Yemenia pilot receiving his higher education in Texas, US, said in an email to the Yemen Times that news of his arrest published in issue No. 39 of the Yemen Times on September 24, 2001 was not true. "It was just a questioning matter like everybody in flight school," he said. He added that the US government had been nice to all people of different races, including Muslims. 
On another level, it was reported that Tariq Farooq Aman, the Canadian of Yemeni origin who was murdered more than a week ago was not killed as a consequence of a hatred attack. Reports from the investigation bureaus in Canada said that the fight erupted in a normal dispute and was not based on hate because of the September 11 attacks against the USA.