---

AL-WAHDAWI: Sanaa weekly, 28-7-98.
(People's Nasserite Unionist Organization)

Article Summary:
Going To Saudi Arabia
By Abdulqawi M. Qassem
Going to work in Saudi Arabia has become a dream for many Yemenis, especially those who used to live there before the 2nd Gulf War. Some villagers resort to selling their farm animals and wives' gold jewelry in order to pay for the visa fee of 10,000 Saudi riyals (YR 380,000) and a YR 8,000 medical examination fee.
Having enough money is no guarantee for obtaining the visa. It is a long-winded bureaucratic affair, both in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. A "reliable" Saudi sponsor must first be found. Long queues and large crowds start to form outside the Saudi Embassy very early in the morning. Some people spend a month or two going to the embassy every morning without achieving any tangible progress.

Main Headline:
1- Yemen & Saudi Arabia agree to preserve the status quo on the Dowaima Island, and adhere to the Tayif treaty of 1934.
2- The 3 dead Mother Teresa nuns are buried in the Catholic cemetery in Aden. The killer Abdullah Al-Nasheri, 21, used to be a volunteer fighter in Bosnia Herzegovina, and is believed to be mentally insane. Confessing his crime, he said the nuns want to convert the Yemeni people into Christianity.
3- A YSP activist in Ibb is threatened with death by senior government officials and security personnel.
4- Saudi Arabia deports Yemeni citizens on daily basis.

Article Summary:
Parliament Criticized
By Abdulmajid Al-Wajih
Parliament has almost completed 15 months of its 4-year term without achieving any of its goals. It has not been able to fully establish its role as a legislative body that also monitors the executive organs.
In its current state, parliament is a true reflection of the critical political situation immediately before the 1997 general elections. Parliament is not better than the other corruption-riddled state organs
Opposition parties have not been able to formulate long-term strategies. Political parties were divided in their stance towards the elections, which were conducted without taking any remedial measures to redress the political and social imbalance created by the 1994 war.

Article Summary:
Judge Assaulted
Setting a serious precedent, a sergeant assaulted a judge after stopping his car in Gheel Ba-Wazir. He also swore at the judge in the presence of the deputy commander of the police station and other people.
Receiving the judge's complaint, the prosecutor's office issued an arrest warrant for the sergeant, but the police did not act on it. The sergeant is known for extorting money from drivers passing through his checkpoint.

Main Headline:
1- Following a 5-hour visit to Sanaa, the Saudi Foreign Minister agrees with the Yemeni government that special committees should resume border demarcation activities.
2- Pending the issuance of an administrative divisions law, 2 new governorates - Amran & Dhali' - have been created by a republican decree.
3- An attempt by 4 men to kidnap a Dutch agriculture expert and his wife in Dhamar fails due to the couple's resistance. The same man was kidnapped last February, and his previous abductors are currently detained by police.
4- 156 cases of HIV positive patients were discovered in Sanaa. Most of them come from neighboring countries.

Article Summary:
Mosque Killing
By Yasser Al-Hawri
The motives behind the stabbing to death of an Egyptian mosque speaker in Sanaa are still shrouded in mystery despite the arrest of the murderer. Sheikh Mohammed Salah escaped persecution in Egypt and came to Yemen 11 years ago. He is married with 5 children.
The killer (has Egyptian, Syrian and Jordanian nationalities) visited the victim the day before the murder. He alleged that he wanted to marry a Serbian woman, and wanted Sheikh Salah to bear witness to her conversion into Islam. An appointment was made for the next day.
Despite carrying a gun, the murderer used the traditional Yemeni jambia to stab Sheikh Salah. The victim was able to shout for help while the killer tried to escape with his accomplice waiting in a car nearby. But passers-by were able to apprehend him and hand him over to the police.

Main Headline:
1- Yemen & Saudi Arabia agree to contain the crisis and activate the border demarcation committees.
2- Republican decrees are issued appointing a new member to the Consultative Council and governors to the 2 newly created governorates of Amran and Dhali'.
3- Vice President inaugurates a new plant for making and repairing gas cylinders in Sanaa.
4- The Council of Ministers endorses capital punishment for people who lead and manage abduction gangs.

Article Summary:
Over-staffing in Public Sector
By Ahmed Abdurabu Alawi
Administration is a talent that can be polished with practice. A successful manager is the one who motivates his/her subordinates to do their best. Mistakes are accumulating in the state's general performance like rust on a neglected metal. It is hard to enter the 21st century with a mentality reminiscent of the 19th century. Yet, one of the virtues of this government is that it acknowledges its errors.
To rectify these mistakes, the reform must start at the administration as it is the "maestro" that conducts the "symphony" of work and production. Free-market economy must go hand in hand with administrative, financial and judicial reform. One of the problems that need to be tackled first is over-staffing and disguised unemployment.
Corruption, nepotism, irregularities and misappropriation of funds must be strongly combated. Neglect, bureaucracy and dereliction of duty are still rife in public sector organs. People still suffer when they have to deal directly with such bodies.

Main Headline:
1- Great relief is expressed at the outcome of the Saudi Foreign Minister's visit to Yemen.
2- Head of the Islah Economic Department: "Relying on local credit to cover budgetary deficit has raised inflation and devalued the national currency.
3- A Port Authority meeting discusses abolishing the monopoly of some of the ports' services and activities.
4- Employees of the Sam Navigation Co. threaten to go on strike in protest over not receiving their wages for last few months. They used to be in a state-owned company.

Article Summary:
Drug Addiction
Sadeq A. Al-Amery
Addiction to the sedative medicine "Diazepam" is becoming quite widespread in Ibb. This drug is prescribed to relief anxiety, tension, epilepsy and as a child anesthetic during surgery. Young people got introduced to this drug through pharmaceutical sales agents, who are usually quite young themselves.
In the absence of a regulatory law, Diazepam is obtained by falsified prescriptions or through drug-pushers at higher prices. The majority of the addicts are aged between 18 and 25. Increasing demand has led to the absence of this drug from many pharmacies and it being peddled by drug-pushers.
According to the Yemeni penal law, punishment for trafficking in, or selling, drug ranges from a 15-month imprisonment to death. But reality is a different matter altogether. The law is seldom inforced.

Main Headline:
1- The President: "Discussing my standing in the next presidential elections is a premature talk."
2- A bomb exploded at the home of the chief of the Abyan appeal court. The house sustained some damage, but no casualties were reported.
3- 18 prisoners from the Thabet clan suspected of the murder of a young man go on a hunger strike at Al-Qatan Prison. The have been detained for more than a year.
4- Flashfloods cause extensive damage to property and kill several people in a number of governorates.

Article Summary:
Yemeni-Saudi Agreement
By: Dr. Mohammed Ali Al-Saqqaf
The procès-verbal agreement signed by Yemen and Saudi Arabia on 28 July has helped to ease some of the tension between the two countries. But, why was it not called an outright agreement. Does the term procès-verbal imply that there was another actual, undeclared agreement?
The two sides agreed to preserve the status quo at the Dowaima Island - now partially occupied by Saudi forces - without specifying a deadline such as when a final settlement as to the sovereignty over the island is reached. This means that they have already agreed to share Dowaima.
The other serious matter is that the "agreement" has only dealt with Red Sea islands without touching upon any of the Yemeni land positions taken over by Saudi forces. Agreeing to demarcate the sea border lines one month after the meeting of the military committee to demarcate the land border on 4 August could mean that the latter issue is already settled, the sea border is delineated as an extension of the land border.

Article Summary:
War... the Only Solution! (editorial)
There seems to be no other solution for the Yemeni-Saudi border dispute but to go to war. Yemen has honestly and continuously made many brotherly gestures and many compromises to Saudi Arabia. But the greed of our "Big Sister" knows no bounds.
The encroachment on Yemeni territory is not something new. Large chunks of land were taken over by the Saudis during the war between the republicans and royalists in the mid-1960s.
The Saudi rulers did their "best" to undermine the unification of Yemen in 1990. Also in the same year, they kicked out one million Yemeni migrant workers and confiscated their property. The Yemeni government stood silent. They were involved in behind the scenes efforts in the secession conspiracy of 1994.
Declare general mobilization and open military training camps for volunteers. Arm 4 million fighters and send them to purge the Yemeni land.