Japanese Ambassador to Yemen, Mr. Akira Hoshi, left Sanaa on January 14th on a 2-week consultations visit to Tokyo. The main item on his agenda is the forthcoming official visit of President Ali Abdullah Saleh to Japan.
Plans for the trip had started a year ago, but have recently intensified. "Both the Yemeni and Japanese sides are keenly interested in making the trip a success. I think this visit will be watershed in the bilateral relations," said Abdul-Rahman Al-Hothi, Yemen's Ambassador in Japan. Both ambassadors have been preparing details of possible meetings and protocols to be signed during the visit.

The high point of the trip is a lunch to be hosted by His Majesty the Emperor of Japan and a dinner to be hosted by the Prime Minister.
According to Yemen Times information, the Japanese side is still waiting for the Yemeni authorities to pin down the exact dates of the visit, although a general time-frame of mid-March, 1999 has been agreed upon for the four-day visit.

Another details of the trip that Yemen has yet to determine is the composition of the delegation that will accompany the president. Yemen Times learned that there will be an official delegation of twelve persons. But the total number of the entourage to accompany the Yemeni head of the state is estimated to be excess of 65 persons.
The official delegation is expected to include 3 ministers - foreign affairs, planning and development, and industry; 2 deputy ministers - health and trade; 4 members of parliament/Consultative Council, in addition to the secretary-general of the President's Office.
The entourage accompanying the president, which will not participate in the official talks, is going to be made up of four blocks.

There are about 15 businessmen representing companies with links to Japan. Then there are nine to ten representatives of the Yemeni media. In addition, there are the protocol and governmental support staff. Finally, there are the presidential security and airplane staff.
Japan is one of the 3 top aid partners of the Republic of Yemen, along with the Federal Republic of Germany and the Netherlands. Its annual aid allocations to Yemen hovers around US$ 30 million, depending on the exchange rate between the yen and the dollar.
Japanese assistance to Yemen is focussed on 3 sectors - health, education/training, and infrastructure. In addition, there is a substantial on-going annual aid relief program.

Finally, Japan has steadily expanded its financing of small-scale grass-roots level projects in Yemen. This is administered by the embassy in Sanaa and is implemented in cooperation with local Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).
Political cooperation and understanding between the 2 countries has also been growing. Japan continues to give full support to Yemen's democratic transformation. "We follow very closely this positive change in your country, and we admire the progress made so far," said Ambassador Hoshi.
On its part, Yemen supports Japan's drive towards acquiring a permanent seat at the Security Council of the UN.

Abdulaziz Al-Saqqaf,
Chief Editor, Yemen Times

 

On the eve of Eid Al-Fitr Al-Mubarak, an important Islamic holiday, President Ali Abdullah Saleh addressed the Yemeni nation reminding of the virtues of patience, hope and standing together. He asked the people to strengthen and equip themselves with those qualities, stressing that "success was inevitable in our journey of democratization and development".

The Yemeni leader also touched on a number of internal difficulties, notably terrorism and kidnapping that have reently troubled the country. "These activities are alien to the nature of our society and our values. We must shun them and fight against them," he said.
The President also explained that "improving economic prospects are going to follow the reform package that is being implemented". He added that the new budget of the government calls for major investments in services and infrastructure 1999.

 

The Abyan Primary Court started on Wednesday 13/1/99 the trial of Zein Al Abideen Ali Abu Bakr Al Mehdhar (known as Abul Hassan), Ahmad Mohammed Atef and Saeed Mohammed Atef on charges of kidnapping and killing foreign tourists.
The trial, in Zanzibar, Abyan governorate, was attended by more than 200 persons - mostly journalists, lawyers and others.

The defendants were also charged with undertaking sabotage operations in Yemen, under an organization called the Aden and Abyan Islamic Army.
Confronted with the charges, Abul Hassan laughed and ridiculed the court. He addressed the reporters saying, "We are launching Jihad (holy war) for the sake of Allah. Do you call that sabotage?"

He then started a long speech on Islamic religion. The judge tried to interrupt, but Abul Hassan insisted on finishing his lecture. He emphasized that he kidnapped the foreign tourists to pressure their governments to stop hurting Muslims in Iraq and the Sudan and to block U.S. and UK efforts to impose their hegemony on the whole world and to end their bid to humiliate Muslims.

He confessed that he was the leader of the operation and that he was aided by ten members of the Aden and Abyan Islamic Army.
Regarding the charge of acquiring weapons and telecommunication equipment, Abul Hassan retorted, "Yes. We are Mujahideen and will continue calling for Jihad against the government" which he said was atheist.

He refused to answer the attorney's question or to cooperate with him, saying the he does not recognize him and preferred the questions to be directed by the judge. He also said that he does not recognize the court because it is not committed to Islamic law.
Abul Hassan asserted that the 21st century will witness a battle between the cross and the crescent and that the latter will prevail.
Asked about his army, he said that his army was the first to fight the socialists in the 1994 war and that it backed the state.
He refused being described along with his army as a gang, saying they were Mujahideen organized within that concept.

He acknowledged he had ordered the kidnapping of tourists and that among his conditions for their release was lifting the siege on Iraq. He also confessed using five of the tourists as human shields when the Yemeni forces advanced against them.
He also confessed firing against the security forces.
Asked how the four tourists were killed, he said that after Osama- one of his colleagues - was seriously wounded, he started firing indiscriminately against the tourists and the advancing forces.

He added that he had ordered his men to kill all the hostages in the event they were attacked.
On how they had planned to use the explosives, Abul-Hassan insisted that his army did not intend to kill innocent people. "We do not target civilians, but rather government interests. We want to free the people of Yemen from this regime, not to kill innocent people," he said.

The second defendant Ahmad Mohammed Atef said that he does not know anything about this incident, adding that he received a telephone call saying that his brother was arrested. "I went to look for him, but was dragged into the case."
He said that he was a member of the Islamic Army during the 1994 war but that he left it thereafter.

The third defendant, Saeed Mohammed Atef, 18, said that Abul Hassan had taken him from his village and that he found himself in the middle of the battle.
Abul Hassan interrupted saying, "He had to listen to me because I am the Amir (leader) of the group and he had to obey me."
The court adjourned its sitting until after Eid Al Fitr as Abul Hassan, accused the judge of having a pre-determined verdict. The defendants were kept under strict security measures, fearing that their other elements would attempt to free them.
The attorney listed charges against 14 defendants, out of whom only 3 were present. The rest will be tried in absentia.

Ridhwan Saqqaf + Yusuf Sherif, Yemen Times, Aden.