Officials from the Republic of Yemen and the State of Eritrea have been holding talks over the last few weeks regarding the maritime boundary between the two neighboring countries. This is the second phase in sorting out their border dispute. With the direct talks, the officials are side-stepping the lawyers and the court of arbitration in London. The court handed down its verdict on the first phase of the dispute last year. It decided that Yemen had total sovereignty over the Hunaish archipelago and other islands in the Southern Red Sea. The second phase has to do with the maritime boundaries. According to Yemen Times sources, the talks are proceeding in a very cordial atmosphere, reflecting the rising level of confidence between the leaders of the two countries. In fact, the two sides, while using the International Maritime Law as the benchmark for their positions and claims, have been able to entertain certain considerations from each side in their talks. A final deal is expected to result from the talks within a few weeks. By going ahead with bilateral talks, the two countries have saved the enormous costs of lawyers' fees and the court's deliberations and proceedings. 

On this issue, an official at the Foreign Ministry spoke to the Yemen Times: "The Eritrean Arbitration committee had forward an appeal to the International Court of Arbitration, and as the Yemeni Government, we did the same. We are currently engaged in preparation to respond to the Eritrean appeal, which will be presented to the court later on." 

When asked if there were any committees trying to reach an out of court settlement after negotiators agreed on all issues except for two disputed Islands, he said "We have passed the stage of negotiations on major Island issues. Now we are working on maritime boundaries lining. I hope we can succeed in this. There are two phases regarding this issue. The first phase is sovereignty over the Islands, which we have already legalized and passed. The second phase is the maritime boundaries lining issue. Within phase two we are working on two different lines. One is through the court, and the other is the amicable solution." 

"We both have submitted an appeal to the court on the 9th of April. Now both sides are preparing their responses to each others' appeals. In July, the trail procedures will start. The final judgment is expected to be passed in October." he added.

 

It seems that no single day passes in our country without hearing of an atrocity or murder committed by uniformed gunmen against citizens. How did lawlessness reach a level, where murder incidents happen so frequently?

The latest such incident happened in Aden. It was a horrifying murder by some gunmen, against an ordinary civilian, who was only defending his property. For doing that, he had to take a 12.7 mm gunfire shot in his body. The misery does not end here. It is saddening to know that the young man's life could have been saved if he had not been left bleeding for almost one hour while his home was being destroy. It is horrifying, but true.

The act of murder took place in Aden, Hujaif mountain, the victim, Abdul Salam, was only 23 year-old.
A police force in Aden surrounded the house of Al Murshidi and destroyed it. Nobody acknowledged the identity of the attackers.
The owner of the house, Sheik Abdul Qadir Ahmed Salim Al Murshidi, 35 years-old, from Yafee, has recently returned to Yemen. He has lived with his family in the house since 1990. The last time his home was destroyed by was around 4 months ago. Abdul Qadir claims that this land was given to him by Ali Mohsin Al Ahmer and that he has all documents that prove his right to the land.

The family was surprised to see their house surrounded by police cars with 50 soldiers. Abdul Qadir's brother, Abdul Salam, fled to the mountain and shouted: "kill us but don't take our property". A soldier fired in the air to frighten Abdul Salam and force him to climb down, but he did not. Then a group of policemen climbed the mountain and confronted Abdul Salam with their machine guns. They shot him with a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun which is a weapon usually used for shooting tanks and other military targets. He fell on the ground without shooting or fighting back. Not only did the armed men leave the victim on the ground bleeding, but they also didn't allow his own brothers to save him, and instead took them to jail.

The house was destroyed once before around 4 months ago and rebuilt, and now the house has been destroyed again, but this time with one of its occupants.
The whole area is confused, the Al Murshidi family has documents of ownership of their land from Ali Muhsin Al Ahmar, and nobody knows the source of the attackers. People around have lived in this area for 20-30 years, and nobody claims ownership of these lands.
Recently, Ali Mohsin Al Ahmar formed a committee to investigate the facts; another committee was formed by the Yemeni Immigrants in Saudi Arabia and the United States for the same purpose. Yafee people said that if the government does not submit the murderers, they would get revenge for this murder by themselves.

Radhwan Al Saqqaf
Yemen Times
Aden

 

On Monday, April 19th, the Canadian International Development Agency, the foreign aid branch of the Canadian Foreign Ministry, is holding a one-day information session on Yemen in Ottawa. It is expected to be kicked off by Dr. Norman Cook, Director of the Priorities and Special Needs Department of CIDA. His assistant, Fateema Amin, who was responsible for the arrangements, explained that they are interested in providing more information on Yemen's twin transformation - political democratization and economic reforms, and the needs that arise as a result.

The participants in the session are officials from the Foreign Ministry, CIDA, businessmen, and representatives of the NGO movement and the media. A briefing was given on the on-going Canadian aid to Yemen, which totals US $1.1 million for 1999. Most of this money is earmarked for the demining effort, although some allocations are made to support human rights and NGO activities in Yemen. Dr. Robinson and a group of MDs, who have been visiting Yemen to offer short-term training and specialized medical treatment, will also brief the audience. They will be showing slide pictures of the country.

The keynote speaker, Prof. Abdulaziz Al-Saqqaf, Chairman of the Human Rights, Liberties and NGO Committee of the Consultative Council, gave a presentation on the progress made in the transformation process. "Although a lot of ¼progress has been made, the process has not reached the stage of being irreversible. That is why it is important to continue to positively engage in the process," he said. He explained that Yemen has met all the priorities that Canada has announced for qualifying for a meaningful level of assistance.