Hassan Al-Zaidy
Yemen Times
Countries relations with the US has since the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington become bound to the volume and the kind of cooperation these countries are ready to offer in the combat against terror.
The working papers presented during the one-day seminar on 'Current Challenges Facing the Yemeni-US Relations', hosted by the Yemen Times last week, showed how Yemen is important for the United States in its worldwide anti-terrorism campaign. Yemen's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. al-Qirbi, confirmed the fact that Yemen-US present relations are heavily revolving around fighting terrorism and emphasized that such cooperation would lead in the long run to a state of economic, as well as political security. He also expressed the Yemeni public's concerns about mistakes made in the use of smart weapons that added more victims among Afghan citizens. He indicated their negative impact on the cooperation Arab and Islamic countries have been so far demonstrating towards the US. He described relations between the two countries as being based on cooperation, reason, understanding and transparency. "We appreciate the US cooperation with Yemen as a friend and a partner in facing the current challenges one of which is terrorism," he said.
US ambassador to Yemen, Edmund J. Hull, pinpointed the idea that there could not be development without security and vice versa. He said there were Yemeni victims in the September 11 attacks.
Chairman of the al-Jazeerah and al-Khaleej Studies Center, Mr. Ahmad Mohammed Abdulghani, divided the history of relations between Yemen and the US into four phases: namely, from the period 1946 to 1962; then, from the revaluation day to the time president Saleh came to power; followed by the third period which lasted until declaration of Unity; and, the last phase which has been lasting until now. The researcher stressed that, during the four phases, relations between the two countries have not experienced any serious glitch. He said that these relations underwent a new turning point in 1995, indicating what Yemen has to pay back in return of the American support of unity, democracy and economic reforms.
Fighting terrorism was also one of the major topics discussed during president Saleh's visit to the United States on April 4, 2000. America, as said a spokesman of its National Security Council, was working with Yemen on possibilities to fight terrorism in the region. "However, the USS Cole incident on October 12, 2000, confused all papers and motivated the US to exert pressure on Yemen to get as much facilities in the country as possible, disregarding the mutual interests and the negative impacts that do not serve security and stability of the region," he added.
Highlighting the regional dimensions of the Yemeni-US relations, Mohammed al-Sabri, pointed out that Yemen has suffered losses as a result of acceptance of the American demands. He said that Yemen has been asked to break off relations with Iraq, a matter that was no easy task owing to the deep ties between both countries.
On the issue of terrorism, he said that cooperation between Yemen and the US began in 1989 to limit the so-called Marxist terrorism. In the mid 1990s, cooperation channels were shifted to fight religious extremism. Yemen decided to deport more than 14 thousand Afghans. Cooperation has been enhanced by a number of agreements between the two countries to fight terror and to train Yemeni anti-terrorism police, especially after the US started to realize the huge threat such groups impose on its interests in the region.
Al-Sabri concluded by saying that relations between the two countries have since the attack on the USS Cole at Aden Seaport turned to be focusing on cleansing the roots of terrorism. And about Yemen stance towards peace, al-Sabri said the country has two contradictory positions: a strict declared official one and an implemented stance that contradicts the official one. "This is a result of the US pressure, not of the political strategies of the our country," he said.
The situation of the Yemeni community in the United States following the suicidal bombing of a number of targets in Washington and New York was the main point discussed by Muda'e Abdurabu Dayan, chairman of the al-Muhajer Research and Study Organization. He said that about 60 to 80 thousand Yemenis live in more than 20 states in the US and about 8 to 25 Yemenis were killed in the terrorist attacks on the two American cities. Hatred acts against Arabs and Muslims have caused death of about 6 Yemeni immigrants. But he insisted that "this has not affected the Yemeni-US good relations."
Editor-in-Chief of the Yemen Times, Walid Abdulaziz al-Saqqaf, lectured on what Yemen has been offering the United States in connection to cooperating in the fight against terror and on what else America is demanding. He said that the latest incidents compelled Yemen to continue cooperation with the US in arresting and interrogating people suspected of having links with Bin Laden and his organization. He added that the Yemeni government had properly done what was required to be carried out. However, he said more cooperation was still needed in the light of the current circumstances.
Abdulghani Abdulqader listed a number of obstacles on the way of exemplary Yemeni-US relations. The imbalance in the stance of America towards the conflict in Palestine or American interference in other countries are some factors that Abdulghani believed to affect relations between the two countries.
Dr. Mohammed Abdulmajid al-Qubati talked about stability and security of the region as well as the future of the Yemen-US relation. He said that, despite the straining in Yemen-US relations caused by the USS Cole attack, the latest incidents in Washington and New York showed that Yemen was ready to offer any help in combating terrorism.

Abduh Moqbil Al-Sabri
Yemen Times
Under the auspices of the President of the Republic, Ali Abdullah Saleh, and under the motto of "Intifada is a Vain Glory in a Time of Brokenness," the Charitable Islamic Society for Supporting Al-Aqsa held its annual festival on November 6, 2001 in the Cultural Center of Sana'a. The festival was attended by the Honorary President of the Society, the Speaker of the Parliament, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Al-Hussein Al-Ahmar, the Palestinian Ambassador, Yahya Rabah, Abdulmajeed Al-Zandani, and large audiences.
The Palestinian Ambassador, Yahya Rabah, delivered a speech focusing on the endless support of the society. He said that some people tried to join the society to the so-called provocation and partisanship at the expense of the Palestinian people. He spoke highly of the exerted efforts played by the Society and its financial capacity to support the Palestinian people. He stressed out that the assistance indeed reaches the whole Palestine. Yemen is one of the first countries to assist the Palestinians in the occupied territories thanks to the collective and cooperative work played by the Yemenis.
Then, the Secretary General of the Society, Ali Moqbil, highly praised the heroic actions performed daily by the Palestinians against the Israeli occupant.
He called upon all unions, peoples' organizations and people in the Arab world to support the Palestinians and its national authority headed by the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Peoples' committees should be established in all Arab countries to collect donations that will ensure Intifada's continuation against the Zionist occupation. The blessing Al-Aqsa has been the symbol of Muslims for hundreds of years when it was won after Al-Yarmook Battle. Muslims scattered around and then reunited to restore and liberate Al-Aqsa from armies led by Herakl. Muslims could therefore rescue the Blessing Mosque from colonizers and invaders. Salah Al-Deen was able to reunite the Islam nation and formed a unified army to restore Bait Al-Maqdes. Only the Al-Aqsa issue unites the Arab leaders from Amman to Cairo, via Doha, under the same roof to defend their lands against the occupants. He added that this critical issue has revived the memories of Arabs and reminded them of their brothers in Palestine. It tells them that there are aggressors who terrorize its inhabitants and who usurp their rights day and night. Only the Palestinian issue is of interest for the Arabic channels and men of letters as a way to awake their memories and write about this tangled issue. He added, "The Palestinian issue and the Intifada bring into life the Arab solidarity which was on the brink of ruin and danger. The Cairo Summit has come out with a wise decision to stop normalization with Israeli."
The Palestinians have fought hard and sacrificed their souls, only to see many of them killed on the broad daylight. In addition, Palestine is now a land of injured people, killed infants, partial and total handicap, devastation of houses, and other uncountable infringements committed against the defenseless and powerless Palestinians. As retaliation against this courageous population, the occupant uses all different kinds of weapons, including light ammunitions, plastic bullets, tear bombs, and other heavy equipment.
He went on saying that all donations reach the Palestinians. "Your donations reach all the Palestinian cities. The Security Officer in the Embassy and a representative from Gaza has visited us and have assured us of the safe arrival of the donations for a total of USD 155 million collected in 2000 an USD 170 million in 2001. The president has provided us with a series of comprehensive papers which comprises documents, video tapes and photos proving that the donations indeed reached the Palestinians," he confirmed.
The Chairman of the Society insisted that the donations to the Palestinian people will continue and that the Yemeni government will do its best to assist the Intifada.
The Honorary President of the Society, Sheikh Abdullah bin Al-Hussein Al-Ahmar, has given so far YR 1 million. The Iranian Ambassador and Abduh Al-Majeed each donated YR 100,000. Other benefactors offered what they could to assist their brothers in Palestine.
At the end of the festival, the Honorary President of the Society, Sheikh Abdullah bin Al-Hussein Al-Ahmar, delivered a speech focusing on the atrocities and aggressions committed against the Palestinians. He indicated that Israelis have been seeking to stop all-out assistance to Palestinians under the pretext of assistance to terrorists.
He replied, "We don't know what is terrorism, whether those who usurp their rights on the lands, or those who kill innocents."
He stressed on that only by Intifada and Jihad the legal right of the Palestinians could be restored.

Yaser M. Al-Mayasi
Yemen Times
Due to the revolution, Yemen has made great progress in the field of education the country continues to steadily advance in this area. However, scientific research is still in a fledgling state due to the lack of sufficient resources required for conducting research, as well as the general weakness of the scientific and applied fields in the educational process. These obstacles greatly burden research in Yemen. In fact, the lack of support from the government has bred disappointment among Yemeni researchers. This situation requires an immediate remedy.
In a bid to know more about the obstacles hindering scientific research in Yemen, Yaser al-Mayasi of Yemen Times interviewed some people involved in scientific research:

Mohammed Abdulrahman
al-Zumar, Professor of Genetics of Plant & Pathology
I admit that the problems pertaining to scientific research principally lie within the political will and not the procedures, as Yemen doesn't have clear polices regarding scientific research. Thus, we are living in a miserable scientific condition that requires earnest remedies instead of inattention. For example, in 1970 most of the attention on research was directed towards the agricultural sector, but the result of this research was nothing. Therefore, the government has to adopt clear policies regarding scientific research and its role in formulating the strategic orientation of the state. All people think that scientific research is instrumental in the decision-making process, but how does the government view scientific research? Is it a primary or a secondary concern?
Regarding universities, Sana'a University is now 32 years old. If one examined the balance sheet of the university, he will find no chapter allocated for scientific research. Surely, any university worldwide that has existed for 10 years should have the basic infrastructure for scientific research and higher education. Consequently, the decision-makers have to render care to scientific research and make it high on their agenda.

Saeed Abdullah Unqud, Professor at Aden University, Faculty of Agriculture

I believe that the lack of financial resources is the principal obstruction to the progress of scientific research in Yemen. Unfortunately, in Yemen we are always complaining about the lack of funds for financing scientific research. Thus, we call on the government to attach importance to this major issue by allocating sufficient funds for scientific research. Moreover, the funds should be allocated to scientific research and not to particular departments at universities. On the other hand, scientific research should be closely related to the development process, as it is impossible to achieve progress without scientific research. Some of the major obstacles hindering the progress of scientific research are the lack of clear policies and strategies. This is clearly the case in Sana'a and Aden Universities, as the two universities conduct the same research. Therefore this issue should be seriously tackled so as to avoid redundancy and the wasting of resources. In my opinion, it will only be possible to have a strong foundation for scientific research if we can find solutions to these problems.
Samira Abdu Ali, TV and cinema director

Admittedly, the obstacles facing research in our country are so many and they become more complex when the researcher conducts his research at his own expense. Regarding my case as a TV director, mostly there are no references pertaining to my specialization. This is a problem for me in addition to the other obstacles, the most important being the lack of funds.

Dr. Shawqi Mohammed Nassir, Faculty of Science, Department of Geology, Taiz University

I believe that scientific research and higher education are totally nonexistent, as obstacles are so many. This is not the case of Yemen only, but it is applicable to all the Arab world and most of the Third World countries. This obviously is ascribable to the lack of clear policies with regard to scientific research and higher education in general. An issue of major concern pertaining to scientific research is the importance of linking research with developmental and economic aspects, with the view of making research a fruitful process and not a mere academic process. In many cases, most of the funds allocated for research goes for petty cash; the least amount of money goes to the research process itself. Now, the government has to review its policies concerning scientific research in ways that serve the economy of the country. Moreover, scientific research has to cover all sciences, including social sciences and the humanities. Many people complain about the lack of funds allocated for scientific research - frankly speaking, all universities have budgets for scientific research and this has been allocated by the government, but the problem lies in how to use these funds.

Mohammed Ali Matash, Aden University
Undoubtedly, Yemen has made great progress in the field of education and scientific research, especially within the last three decades, and I think that the re-unification of the country has played a pivotal role in this regard. Regarding the difficulties impeding the progress of scientific research in Yemen, I think that the nonexistence of a well-prepared and complete database is one of the major contributing factors obstructing the progress of scientific research in Yemen. Moreover, the red tape in all government departments is another burden slowing the scientific research in our country. Evidently, the lack of modern specialized references at universities' libraries and the unavailability of translated reference books are amongst the headaches Yemeni researchers face when beginning their research.
In conclusion, the obstacles blocking the advancement of scientific research in Yemen breed disappointment among all creative people in Yemen. Likewise, allocating a fixed budget for scientific research should be among the priorities of the government if it is earnestly seeking to build the proper foundation for future scientific research. The financial support for scientific research is the key obstacle preventing researchers from going ahead with their work. Thus, the government must tackle this issue efficiently through providing universities with sufficient funds for research. Similarly, coordination among the different entities involved in scientific research has to be strengthened in ways that save resources and enhance capabilities. And finally, the removal of the obstacles impeding scientific research needs a strong political will, rather than the formulation of pointless policies.