Yemen Times learned from reliable tribal sources that around 500 men suspected of being active members of Islamic fundamentalist movements have been arrested by security forces during the last week. The suspected arrested activists were mainly residents of the cities of Taiz, Aden and the capital Sana'a.
According to the sources, most of those arrested were Arab-Afghans who came back from Afghanistan.
On another level, a declaration was sent to a number of newspapers, including Yemen Times, from a number of tribal sheikhs from the eastern governorates of Yemen, namely Mareb, Jowf, and Shabwa governorates, where there are many tribes such as Obaidah, Dahm, Bin AL-Harith, Jahm, and other tribes.
The declaration called for boycotting American goods and opposition to the US-led war against Afghanistan. The sheikhs asked the Yemeni government not support the USA in its current war and requested the public to support Afghans in every possible way against the new "crusade war."
The declaration requested that the government should not arrest any more activists, condemned the arrest campaigns currently taking place in various Yemeni cities and threatened US interests in the country.
In their declaration, the sheikhs requested the support of other tribes in the country, asking them to stand by them in implementing the points of the declaration, especially as the sheikhs felt that the US approach to the eastern governorates is suspicious and may be aimed at demeaning opposition to US strategies in areas such as Amran, in which a massive protest took place a few weeks ago.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh has officially announced that he will visit the USA on November 27.
Official sources said Saleh Bush meeting in the White House on November 27 will focus mainly on cooperation between Yemen and the USA in fighting terrorism. Political observers believe the timing of the visit, which was first announced by the USA, during the holy month of Ramadhan at a time the USA strikes on Afghanistan continue will put Saleh, who wanted to make the visit after Ramadhan, in a difficult situation. Observers view the visit as a positive indication of good cooperation on terrorism. Reliable sources told Yemen Times that the Yemeni authorities control security shortcomings mainly in the tribal areas, which the government cannot put under control. The sources said the USA agreed to qualify the special task forces and to train their personnel. The US also pledged to help establish the marine patrol forces to prevent the flow of outlaws and terrorists into the country. Again, the US also will undertake development projects in remote tribal areas, roots of kidnappings and lawlessness. This American tendency has been spelled out by the visit of the US Ambassador, Edmund J. Hull to the governorate of Amran, a tribal area which staged massive demonstrations last month to protest the US strikes against Afghanistan. He also stressed the strong link between security and development in a seminar hosted by Yemen Times last week. Observers believe the USA is to increase its aid to Yemen as a reward for its cooperation with the US to curb terrorism. Saleh's last visit to the White House was in January 1999.

Sheikh Abdulamjeed al-Zindani, Chairman of the Islah Shora Council and Director of Eman University, stressed the importance of referring an agreement of Yemen-US cooperation in fighting terrorism to the Parliament and the Shora Council. In last Friday prayers, al-Zindani said that no Yemeni, including the President himself, will allow the hand-over of Yemeni citizens to foreign countries. Abdulamjeed al-Zindani stated that the Parliament had earlier warned against excessive cooperation with the US against Arab and Islamic countries.
Al-Zindani also pointed out the prohibition of any kind of military or intelligence cooperation with the United States or any other countries in their war against so-called terrorism. "Yemeni officials and people have safeguarded the sovereignty of their country and called for raising money for the Afghan people," Zindani added. Political observers considered these statements by Zindani as reactions to the US proposal for which a committee has been established in order to study and respond to it.

The Yemeni opposition parties condemned the government's decision to take part in the WTOFourth Ministerial Meeting, which will conclude today in Doha with the participation of Israel. The opposition described Yemen's participation as a political hypocrisy that undermines the Palestinian issue and contradicts the government's statements calling for boycotting all forms of contact with Israel, which is committing atrocities against the Palestinian people. The sources said the participation is a betrayal of the Intifadah and treason to the primary concern of Arabs. Mr. Hatem Abu Hatem, head of the Committee Against Normalization with Israel, expressed surprise at the government's decision to take part in the meeting while it was openly calling for mobilization for jihad and providing the Intifadah with weapons. He called for disclosing the dual policy of the government which seeks to establish secret contacts with Israel.
Minister of Industry and Trade, Abdulrahman Othman, head of the Yemeni delegation to meeting, said Yemen's participation aims to show the steps Yemen has taken so far to join the WTO. Official sources said that previously, Yemen wouldn't take part in the meeting if it was attended by Israel, but it seems pressure was put upon the government to attend the event. The European Union is providing Yemen with both financial and technical assistance to help it join the WTO.

The general election draft law provoked severe disagreement among the different members of Parliament, particularly between the General People's Congress (GPC) and Islah.
The Parliament witnessed a war of words between members of the different political parties as a result of stark differences over some articles of the law pertaining to the identity card.
Some observers admitted that Tuesday's session is a prelude to the new political crisis between Islah and the GPC as well as the other opposition parties.
The Islah Party insists on the necessity of amending some articles related to identity card, while this is opposed by the GPC.

Official sources said the Yemeni embassy in Berlin received a letter containing a white powder thought to contain the anthrax virus. The sources added the powder has not affected any of the embassy personnel and that it was first sent to the former embassy office in Bonn, and then to the new premises in Berlin. The sender of the letter is not yet known.
The Yemeni embassy is the fourth Arab embassy that has received such a message, as Saudi, Lebanese, and Kuwaiti embassies in Berlin have received similar messages. Two persons in the Saudi embassy Berlin were infected by the anthrax virus.
This is the 5th time that Yemenis have received a message suspected of containing anthrax. Three were sent to embassy in Brussels. Official results of the medical examinations have not yet been released.

Official sources denied last week news reports about termination of visa access at Yemeni airports to people visiting Yemen. The sources said that visas are still issued at the airport for people coming to Yemen and that this system, which was meant to attract more tourists, is still valid. However, those arriving are subjected to intensive investigation of their passports in order to prevent any terrorist suspects from entering the country. The airport police are closely monitoring the those arriving in Yemen and scrutinizing their passports and other documents by the computer. This computer network will later be used in all airports and main access routes to the country.
Since the terrorist attacks in the USA on September 11, the Yemeni government tightened its security measures and arrested some Arab Afghans and any people suspected of having links with Osama bin Laden.
It also suspended the issuance of visas to Arab and Muslim students studying at Yemeni universities, mainly Al-Iman University.