The Empty Quarter

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UPDATED & CONFIRMED: Mareb Press runs a story quoting Russian press, which says that Yemen has proposed a deal with Russia to write off the 1.2 billion debt it owes in exchange for a new 4 billion dollar military modernization contract….

President Ali Abdullah Saleh has urged leaders of the political parties to hold a dialogue over the upcoming elections in the interest of the country. The call comes in his capacity as a president for all Yemeni people and within his leadership interest to deal with all issues concerned by the nation through dialogue…

A good article by the National discusses the current negotiations on the draft press law in Yemen. Its a primer in Yemeni politics. Press freedom has slowly declined since I was involved five years ago…actually, it has quickly declined…

Apparently, President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s meeting with tribal leaders in al-Jawf didn’t go as planned. A number of important sheikhs boycotted, the Mareb Press reports. As always, tribal politics seem to be at play…

Here’s a recent analysis by Jane Novak from over at Armies of Liberation. I have no qualms with much of the underlying information within the analysis; however, as often happens with analyses, we have disagreements on interpretation…

Apparently these two, who are apparently related to President Saleh, are the son and nephew of senior military commander. Military intelligence and national security began investigating them after it was discovered that the vehicle involved in the Bombing of the U.S. embassy in Sana’a was linked to them, and it is alleged that they partially financed an al-Qaeda cell.

Osama bin Laden’s bodyguard Fawzi al-Wajih tells al-Quds al-Arabi about his now famous escape in Yemen through a tunnel to a nearby mosque. He tells the paper that following the escape he took refuge from Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh before he turned himself in.

Apparently News Yemen has obtained a document from the Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula which sheds light on the relationship between President Ali Abdullah Saleh and Jihadist in the country, especially those engaged in the civil war of 1994.

So it was a high-level request. Interesting that the embassy confirmed Muellers demands for al Badawi (a Yemeni, and therefore unlikely to be handed over) and not ElBaneh, who holds an American citizenship and would presumably be easier to get…of course, I suppose Jaber would have to be locked up first before he could be [...]

Recently Hamid al Ahmar was asked for his opinion on the former exiled leaders Ali Nasser Mohammad, Ali Salem al Bayth and Haider abu Baker al Attas:
“A good thing happened from tolerance and reconciliation in the southern governorates, and I salute President Ali Nasser Mohammad and the Brother Professor Ali Salem al Bayth for [...]

As anyone who follows Yemen knows, Yemen’s political scene experienced an earthquake December 29th with the death of the Sheikh of Sheikhs Abdullah ib Hussayn al Ahmar. By now this is old news and details have been covered widely elsewhere. The significance of the event, however, necessitates that I put my own two cents in.
Al Ahmar’s [...]

 
So the first terrorist cell has been found guilty…at least 32 of the 36…the other four were acquitted for insufficient evidence. Unlike the “2nd terrorists cell,” the one with al Khaiwani, this one was at least accused of committing some sort of real crime - the attempted attacks on oil facilities in Safer (Marib) and Dabba port [...]

At the same time as Jamal al Badawi is cutting a sweet deal to get out of jail, and al Khaiwani and a number of other journalists are being rung up on “terrorism” charges - Fran Townsend pays a visit to the Republic to deliver president Bush’s message “lauding” Yemen’s success in combating terrorism….and in [...]

The President gave a speech to the military in which he said that the ”noise and storms” caused by the southern opposition is being conducted by “instigators and conspirators…” “…receiving instructions from outside the country.” He added that the government monitors money transfers and the sources. 
He says that the current situation reminds him of the times leading [...]

Two articles below. The first from official news agency SABA quotes a speech President Ali Abdullah Saleh gave in Aden today. The regime has always thought of opposition demonstrations as a nuisance - a requirement for the “democracy” label they so covet. While the President says anyone can ask to hold a peaceful protest, he says that to get approval demonstrators will have to have [...]

Human rights group demanding official inquiry. President Saleh blames demonstration organizers for the deaths.
YOHR condemns violating right to life by riot police
14/10/2007
SANA’A, NewsYemenThe Yemen Observatory for Human Rights has strongly condemned “the violation of people’s right to life by some riot police who blindly achieve orders of the authority”.The Yemeni rights watch said it [...]

 
 
I linked to this article in the previous post, but I think it’s important enough to deserve its own. I actually read this yesterday, but then when I went to post it I couldn’t find it…I hate that. Anyway, this article is about the best I could find discussing all the reasons for the recent [...]