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Sunday, Oct 31, 2010 ISSue 20PrIce: yer 30

www.natIonalyemen.com NationalYemenThe Facts As They Are

Yemen, Britain and Al-Qaeda

Alarming Hunger Levels in Yemen, Report Says Terrorism and Tourism Football Season Begins:

Premier League Match Reports0604 07 09

Independent journalism, objective insight

By NY Staff The Criminal Court, presid-ed by Judge Mohsen Alwan, Chairman of the court, held a session last Monday for the trial of an alleged Al-Qaeda cell in Arhab, which includes:1. Yahya Dahhan Ali Radman2. Faraj Hadi Mas’ood Al-

Ghadra3. Qasem Ali Saleh Al-Isami4. Ali Naser Ali Al-Qutaish.

The prosecution cited the evidence gathering reports and prosecution investigations with the defendants, which men-tioned that the second defen-dant Faraj Hadi Al-Ghadra joined Al-Qaeda organization in 2008 and was the financial officer of the Arhab cell and that he traveled to Al-Jawf with the cell leader, Mohammed Al-Hanaq and the military officer of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Qasem Al-Raimi.

The defendant also met with him another time in Arhab and that he was one of those who were assigned to launch an at-tack on one of the military check points, although the op-eration was later aborted.

The defendant also per-formed surveillance and recon-naissance operations to find a location for attacking Sana’a Airport and that he won over a number of people to the Al-Qaeda wing in Arhab.

He was also supposedly in-volved in a shooting exchange with the security forces while the group was launching a re-taliatory attack after the arrest

of Hizam Mujalli.The third defendant Qasem

Ali Saleh Al-Isami was charged with joining the terrorist wing a year ago, meeting with its military officer, Qasem Al-Rai-mi, in Al-Jawf and Jum’aan Safyan, the Al-Qaeda cell lead-er in Al-Jawf.

Purportedly Qasem Al-Rai-mi gave them a lecture on the need for jihad against Yemen because “it is loyal to the apos-tates as well as the need to tar-get western embassies in Ye-men and tourists.”

The fourth defendant Ali Naser Ali Al-Qutaish was al-leged to have been influenced by the ideology of Al-Qaeda organization and joined it through Faraj Hadi Al-Ghadra, who was lecturing them on the jihad and giving them exam-ples of the youth of Arhab who undertook jihad in Afghanistan and Iraq and their heroic roles.

Al-Qutraish was assigned by the Arhab cell’s leader to conduct surveillance on the main road in Bait Marran Ar-hab when the Japanese engi-neer was abducted last year and report when military con-voys passed.

However, Al-Qutraish was apprehended during confronta-tions with the military cam-paign that was assigned to ar-rest Hizam Mujalli.

The prosecution also cited the previous charges against

Trial of Al-Qaeda Cell in ArhabBy Mohammed Al-Qiyari

Shabwah governorate tight-ened security measures, partic-ularly in Ataq city, capital of Shabwah, which had witnessed during the last few days many additional security checkpoints and the deployment of hundreds of security forces around the city a day after tribal militias were mustered in the Al-Sa’edd directorate (45 km South of Ataq) to confront elements of Al-Qaeda.

Informed sources told the National Yemen newspaper that during the last four days mili-tias were mobilized in order to confront Al-Qaeda in Shabwa.

The militias were largely mus-tered from 3000 tribesmen from the Al-Awaleq tribe, which re-sides in Al-Sa’eed directorate.

Military sources said that the movement was divided into 10 units, constituting “Al-Saha-wat” militias, the local name for the movement.

Earlier, every militiaman had been given 100 rounds of live ammunition as an initial quan-tity, as well as amounts of mon-ey for unit leaders (200,000 ri-yals per leader). The militias have also been provided with food stuffs, bottles of mineral water as well as other necessi-

ties, which had been distributed by 22 Mechanized Brigade, the regular official military unit sta-tioned in Shabwah governorate.

Another source confirmed that among the missions given to the Al-Sahawat militias, was that after their deployment in various villages, regions and mountains of Al-Sa’eed, was to perform ‘search’ and ‘intelli-gence’ operations on Al-Qaeda elements, as well as implanting adhesive beacons which would direct military aircrafts towards suspected targets – an operation often referred to as “painting.”

Last Saturday, a number of

Al-Sa’eed areas were combed by Al-Sahawat militias, in co-operation with units from the regular army under the com-mand of the Deputy-Chief of General Staff in the Republic of Yemen , Brigadier Qotn, who belongs to the tribes of Aal Sa-lem Bin Dahah, one of the strongest tribes of Al-Awaleq.

Brigadier Qotn is said to be the commander of the military campaign on Al-Sa’eed. At the point of reporting, the results of the militia campaign have yet to be known.

Shabwah: Mobilized Tribal Militias Track Al-QaedaSaleh Maqlam, NY Shabwa Correspondent

Navy Seizes Iranian Ship near Socotra By NY Staff

Yemen’s Navy seized an Ira-nian- flagged ship off the Ye-meni Island of Socotra in the Arabian Sea on Thursday after the latter illegally entered the country’s territorial waters, the Yemeni Defence Ministry said in a statement.

It added the Yemeni navy forces also arrested the ship’s crew members of 21 Iranian sailors.

“The ship was observed by the Navy’s patrol boats when it illegally entered into the Ye-meni territorial waters off the southern coasts on Thursday’s early morning,” the statement posted on the ministry’s online web site quoted an unidentified naval official as saying.

“The ship’s crew had not ap-

plied to the Yemeni authorities for permission when they crossed and fished in Yemen’s waters,” said the official, add-ing that “the crew tried to turn and flee when the navy forces besieged their ship.”

The ship was moved along with its crew to the headquar-ters of the Yemeni navy in So-cotra to take legal actions, the statement added.

Yemen, the impoverished country in the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, has stepping up its navy’s patrol boats along the Yemeni coast-line, Gulf of Aden and its wa-ters after the Somalia-based al-Qaida affiliation vowed to support their counterparts in Yemen. Photo by: Ameen Al-Ghabiri. Aspiring Yemeni photographers were showcased at the National Museum in Sana’a as part of a series of events organized by the French

Cultural Centre celebrating 40 years of French - Yemeni relations. The beautiful photos were a refreshing critique of some social issues of the day in Yemen.

Cargo planes and trucks in several U.S. cities were inspect-ed Friday after investigators found suspicious packages in at least two locations abroad, law enforcement sources said.

U.S. officials believe that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, commonly referred to as AQAP, is behind the plot.

One suspicious package, found in the United Kingdom, contained a “manipulated” ton-er cartridge but tested negative for explosive material, the source said. It led to heightened inspection of arriving cargo

flights in Newark, New Jersey, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and a UPS truck in New York.

The package had white pow-der on it as well as wires and a circuit board; someone shipped it from Sanaa, Yemen, with a fi-nal destination of unnamed syn-agogues in Chicago, Illinois. A similar package has been dis-covered in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, the source said.

The suspicious package from Yemen had wires and a circuit board, a law enforcement source said. A Yemeni diplomat in Washington said his govern-

ment has opened a full-scale in-vestigation into the incident but it was too early to speculate or reach any conclusions.

Investigators were looking for a “possible nexus to terror-ism,” a U.S. official said.

“We are taking this very seri-ously,” he added.

The US Department of Homeland Security said it “had taken a number of steps to en-hance security,” including “heightened cargo screening and additional security at air-ports.”

“Passengers should continue

to expect an unpredictable mix of security layers that include explosives trace detection, ad-vanced imaging technology, ca-nine teams and pat downs, among others,” DHS said in a statement. “As always, we re-mind the public to remain vigi-lant and report suspicious activ-ity to local law enforcement.”

Some Jewish religious lead-ers in Chicago were alerted Fri-day, said Linda Haase, spokes-woman for the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago.

Cargo Bomb Plot Originated in Yemen

Continued on Page ( 4 )

Continued on Page ( 3 )

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Gulf Twenty: Surmounting More Challenges than Intended

The Gulf 20 football tourna-ment is coming right on cue.

In spite of the a year of quar-rels, security scares, endless press statements and ceaseless stadium inspections for the tour-nament Yemen now approaches the end of its preparations to host the tournament, and the gloomy shadows of aspersions are being cast and dispersed almost rhyth-mically, like night and day.

Last week I went on a busi-ness trip to one of the gulf coun-tries during the visits of the Ye-meni official sports delegation headed by the Ministry of Sport and the Football Unions of gulf countries. The Yemeni delegation made it in good to cut the doubt on hosting the championship in Aden and Abyan.

Invitations handed personally to all the political leaderships and decision makers of the gulf coun-tries has perhaps been the stron-

gest end to the countless ques-tions about Yemen’s ability to host the tournament. Although thanks is also due to famous Ku-waiti Sheikh Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah who firstly called and supported Yemen to join the gulf football cup tourna-ment.

Through that, Yemen has en-joyed a positive presence in the gulf press, and indeed within the countless Yemeni expatriates around the Gulf who will be de-lighted for this opportunity not only to hold this tournament, but also to gain some impressive sports, tourism and infrastructure facilities.

Yemen and Yemenis are re-nowned for great hospitality and so the Gulf 20, which sees thou-sands of foreign visitors coming in for the event, will be a true test of character. And rising to this challenge will prove just as ful-filling in itself.

No matter if Yemen wins the tournament, it still wins from the tournament.

The success of this champion-ship will put Yemen firmly on the map of the international football association, and will bestow a rare gift for Yemen which it badly needs; international credibility. With it, it will have the chance to host future activities.

So we should all play our part to seize this opportunity for fu-ture success. Such chances rarely come twice.

Fakhri al-ArashiPublisher & Chief Editor

Continued from ( 1 ) Trial of Al-Qaeda Cell in Arhab

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Journalist Abdul-Ilah Haid-ar Shaye’ announced that he had been abducted on the day they launched missiles on Aby-an and Shabwah and in Arbaa.

“On that day they decided to arrest me and you may have noticed how, in trial, they turned all my journalistic works into charges. My com-munications with satellite channels have been turned into charges in Yemen where a suc-cessful journalist became in-dicted,” he said.

These words were quoted in a session held on Tuesday 26th October 2010, presided by Judge Ridhwan Al-Namer for the trial of Abdul-Ilah Shaye’ and Abdul-Karim Al-Shami, the two journalists of Al-Jazeera Net.

The prosecution had brought the two journalists for trial on the indictment of being in-volved in an armed gang and their promotion and spreading the news of Al-Qaeda.

In court, the prosecution ex-hibited interviews, communi-cations and news which were conducted between Abdul-Ilah Haidar with Anwar Al-Awlaqi, as well as his communications with international satellite channels.

When the court asked whether these accusations re-cited by the prosecution were true, Abdul-Ilah Haidar said, “Unfortunately, there are a group of people who made fun

of you and of your authority three times. In July 11th they forced me to disappear and stole my laptop. The second time was when forced me to disappear for 35 days and the third time was when they re-quested the judiciary authority to extend my imprisonment without conducting an investi-gation into the prior procedures whether they were legitimate and sound or not, and you ex-tended my imprisonment by 30 days,” he said.

“This is the fourth time when the term of my imprison-ment is over without extension. I demand that you, if at all pos-sible, to bring such people, who breached the authority of this judiciary, to this court and ask them about these violations and breaches. If you bring them, I will go along with this court,” he added.

“If not, I reject this trial be-cause this court did not bring those who abducted me and stole my laptop computer and I reject this trial because it did not investigate into what really happened to me,” he went on.

Abdul-Karim Al-Shami re-sponded, “I, too, reject this tri-al for the reasons mentioned by Abdul-Ilah Haidar.”

After that, the court decided to enable the prosecution to present evidence against the two defendants in the next ses-sion which will be held on 2nd November 2010.

Trial of the Two Journalists Shaye’ and Al-ShamiBy Mohammed Al-Qiyari

AFP / SANAA — Clashes between Shiite rebels and a pro-government tribe in the mountains of northern Yemen killed a tribesman and two reb-els, the tribe’s leader said on Friday.

But the Zaidi Shiite rebels, known as Huthis, denied any involvement, insisting that the clashes late on Thursday were the result of a vendetta between rival tribes.

“Armed Huthis attacked our men early yesterday evening in Nuchur, near Saada town, kill-ing one of them and wounding two,” said Fayez al-Awjari, who is also an MP for the area.

“We organised an expedi-tion and, in clashes lasting sev-eral hours, two Huthis were killed and five wounded,” Aw-jari said.

He said the fighting came just 24 hours after Qatari en-voys had visited Saada, a rebel stronghold on the Saudi border, in their latest bid to negotiate the peaceful return of govern-ment employees to offices in the province under a February peace deal with the rebels.

“Tensions are running very high and clashes could resume at any moment,” Awjari said, adding that he was keeping his tribesmen on a war footing.

However, rebel spokesman Mohammad Abdel Salam, con-tacted on the telephone, said the clashes pitted the Awjaris against a rival tribe and that re-

ports of any Huthi involvement were “totally false.”

Outbreaks of fighting have repeatedly rattled the fragile truce which the government and the rebels agreed in Febru-ary.

The rebels draw their sup-port from among followers of the Zaidi branch of Shiite Is-lam, who are in the minority in mainly Sunni Yemen but form the majority community in the north.

There have been six rounds of fighting between the rebels and government troops since the uprising first erupted in 2004. The conflict has killed thousands of people and left hundreds of thousands home-less.

The last round began with a government offensive in Au-gust 2009 and saw border clashes between the rebels and Saudi troops. It ended with February’s six-point peace plan.

The rebels complain that while they have freed govern-ment troops they captured dur-ing the fighting, hundreds of their own supporters remain in custody.

They are also demanding that the government honour pledges to spend more on de-veloping the northern provinc-es.

Faraj Hadi Mas’ood Al-Ghadra, who was tried in the case of abduction of German tourists in 1996 and was sen-tenced to 12 years in prison, but was released by presiden-tial pardon, after serving only two.

The prosecution has also presented the medical report of the defendant Faraj Al-Ghadra, which provides that he had a gunshot wound in the right arm cutting the nerve and that he

needed a surgical operation soon. The defendant however refused to receive treatment in the Police Hospital.

At the close of the hearing session, the court ordered the prosecution to bring the first defendant Yahay Dahhan Ali Radman to the next session for their defence, through evi-dence gathering reports and their responses to the prosecu-tion’s investigation next Mon-day.

Piracy Costs Yemen $150 M

By NY Staff

Three dead in north Yemen clashes: tribal chief

Despite the media black out by security and local authori-ties in the province of Sa’ada, National Yemen newspaper learned that the sports delega-tion, which was carrying youth sports teams from Sa’ada sports clubs, that was heading to Sana’a to conduct two matches with Al-Orubah team and the Sports for All Center in the directorate of Al-Wahda on 14th October was intercepted by a group of the Houthi fight-ers who refused to allow them to go to Sana’a.

Sources said that while re-

turning to the Sa’ada governor-ate the delegation was later robbed by some of the tribes-men.

Mr. Mojahed Al-Taiyeb, Chairman of the Sports for All Federation branch in Sa’ada, confirmed to the newspaper that the delegation returned the road from Sa’ada to Sana’a was closed off by unknown tribes.

However, he refused to comment on the incident of theft, saying that that the local authority in Sa’ada “required discretion.”

Tribal Militias Intercept Sa’ada Youth Sports TeamsBy NY Staff

Yemen has said that piracy attacks and armed robbery against vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden had caused US$150 million losses to the local fish sector in 2009.

In a recent report, the gov-ernment said piracy also caused losses to the safety of naviga-tion in the territorial waters of Yemen as well as losses in oth-er sectors .

The report showed that Ye-men was deeply affected by piracy and armed robbery in the Gulf of Aden despite the presence of the international naval task forces in the region, pointing out that piracy attacks have increased twice in 2009, compared with the two previ-ous years.

‘’In 2009 piracy attacks reached 47 while piracy at-tempts were 181, compared to 42 piracy attacks and 69 at-tempts in 2008, and 25 attacks and 16 piracy attempts in 2007’’, the government report showed.

Yemen has made efforts with the international commu-nity and countries in the region in combating piracy and armed robbery in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea during the last year, because of piracy posed a threat to national, regional and international security.

In its annual report on the performance, the Yemeni gov-ernment stressed 48 pirates were detained in 2009, includ-ing 30 pirates were handed over to Yemeni authorities by international naval forces in the region.

‘’The total number of pi-

rates who have been arrested by the Yemeni Coastguard forces is 12 pirates as well as 6 pirates were arrested recent-ly’’, the report numbered.

The international naval task force was established in Janu-ary 2009 by the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) to counter piracy in the Gulf of Aden.

Naval ships and assets from more than 20 nations comprise the US-led Combined Mari-time Forces.

Last Sunday, a thirteen-member group of suspected Somali pirates stood trial against a Yemeni court in Hadramout province on piracy charges.

The prosecution in Hadram-out accused the Somali sus-pects of hijacking two Yemeni ships and using them in piracy attacks against foreign vessels in the Gulf of Aden.

The 13 Somalis were arrest-ed by the Yemeni Coastguard forces on May 28, 2010.

The prosecution also said that the suspected pirates had damaged Yemen’s economy and endangered navigation safety in the Yemeni territorial and international waters.

According to economic ex-perts, the increasing piracy at-tacks against Yemeni and for-eign ships have badly affected navigation activities in the Gulf of Aden.

Piracy has been growing in the region because of the dete-riorating situations in Somalia that forced over 700,000 So-malis seeking refuge in Yemen.

Annual Economic Report Draft–2009 predicted on Sat-urday the Yemeni Gross Do-mestic Product (GDP) at con-stant prices will reach nearly 7.6 percent in 2010 due to a full operation of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

The draft report issued by the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation in-dicated that the economic growth in Yemen will witness a significant improvement in 2010.

The statistical forecasts showed that non-oil economic sectors’ contributions to the Real GDP will reach 85.4 per-cent in 2010 – 2012, while the contributions of the oil and gas sectors will drop 1.7 percent down to 14.6 percent, accord-ing to the report.

During launching the draft

report, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Min-ister of Planning and Interna-tional Cooperation Abdul-Karim al-Arhabi accented the government’s keenness on im-proving the quality of the eval-uation reports on economic developments in Yemen issued by the ministry.

He also pointed to the im-portance of the effectual reac-tion of private sector and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) with the ministry’s economic evaluation reports.

The 2009 draft report has presented an inclusive and de-tailed presentation for the fu-ture trends for Yemeni econo-my in the lights of the current and expectant changes to assist in making suitable economic policies, al-Arhabi said.

Yemeni GDP to reach 7.6 % in 2010

Sunday, Oct 31, 2010 Issue 20 www.nationalyemen.com4 National YemenREPORT

While the outgoing British Ambassador, Mr. Tim Torlot, was preparing for his ultimate meeting with the President of the Republic, HE Ali Abdullah Salah, his deputy was targeted with a rocket, narrowly missing her.

This incident has certainly cast aspersions on the ambassa-dor’s meeting with President Saleh. It was not a desirable farewell message for the British Ambassador at the end of his posting in Yemen, which was full of personal troubles and challenges.

The incident occurred less than six months after the ambas-sador’s car itself was targeted by a suicide bomber who hurled himself towards the armored car of the ambassador, although only succeeding in obliterating himself.

The ambassador escaped the assassination attempt because the suicide bomber blew him-self a few seconds before the passing of the ambassador’s car.

The deputy ambassador was ambushed in a place not all that far from that of the ambassa-dor’s; only a few hundred me-ters from the only road leading to the British Embassy, where staff use for their daily com-mute, in the Noqom area, that contains a number of Arab and Western embassies and is close to Sana’a’s top hotels.

Al-Qaeda’s targeting of the British diplomats incidentally come after the enhanced rela-tions between the two countries in combatting terror and after the previous British Prime Min-ister, Gordon Brown, vowed at the beginning of January to sup-port the Yemeni government’s efforts in fighting Al-Qaeda and contribute, with the U.S. admin-istration, to financing a special anti-terrorism unit.

In addition, the British gov-ernment is undertaking the task of supervising the fulfillment of the donors’ promises in London Conference 2006 and the Friends of Yemen group. The British government attempts to unify the international donors’ efforts to save Yemen from dan-ger of collapse, despite the Brit-ish Prime Minister’s description of Yemen as a failed state.

Al-Qaeda, as it is evident from the two operations against the British diplomats, used the daily route of the diplomats, from their homes to the British Embassy through Khawlan Street reaching Noqom area.

This meant it was an easy surveillance stake-out, and con-sequently carrying out those op-erations in the same spot, one of the most crowded areas in the capital where escaping is easy as attackers instantly melt away in the surrounding residential area where extremism is pur-ported to hive.

Al-Qaeda’s use of a rocket to carry out the targeting operation against the car of the British deputy chief in mission is con-sidered a development in the Al-Qaeda operations, which often prefers to use suicide bombers and car bombs. However, this was not the first time when such kind of weapon was used; such small arms were reported to have been used in attacks on the US embassy in Sana’a in the summer of 2008.

The British concern in terror-ism in Yemen has noticeably in-creased during the last few years. This concern is evident

from British government’s rais-ing of the economic assistance to Yemen, to the tune of $110 M.

After the attack on the British deputy ambassador, the Chief of the US Central Intelligence Agency, Jonathan Evans, said that Al- Qaeda in Yemen has be-come an increasing threat to Britain. Many suspicious terror-ist schemes, which British agen-cies recently investigated were related to Al-Qaeda activities in Yemen.

Perhaps the young Nigerian, Umar Al-Farouk Abdul-Mutal-lab, who attempted to blow up the US Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas eve, who studied mechanical engineering in the prestigious University College, London between 2005 and 2008, and lived in a home

owned by his family in the cen-ter of the British capital, could be viewed as the catalyst for all this.

This was is the third instance of a connection between Al-Qa-eda in Yemen and extremists in Britain, after the kidnapping of British tourists in Abyan in 1998.

Mutallab had supposedly met with leaders from the Al-Qaeda organization in the Arabian Pen-insula and also met with Anwar Al-Awlaqil, a now infamous ideologue.

Photos of him were broadcast on one of the US channels while he was forwarding a message from a Sada Al-Malahem pro-duction, a media outfit which affiliates to Al-Qaeda, during his presence in one of its train-ing camps in Yemen.

Targeting the car of the depu-ty chief mission prompted the British Foreign Minister, Mr.

William Hague, to say that “the attack will only strengthen Brit-ain’s determination to assist Ye-men in the challenges it faces.”

The return of the Al-Qaeda organization to carry out opera-tions in Sana’a represents an in-dication for the organization’s attempt to retaliate against the West after the pre-emptive strikes by aircrafts against its el-ements in many of Yemen’s governorates, and the arrest of a number of its elements and re-striction of the geographical space for its movement and op-eration.

The organization has launched three operations this year in the capital secretariat, despite tightened security, two of which against British diplo-mats. Two of those operations were carried out in less than a month, where the first one tar-geted officers and soldiers of the Political Security Office; and the second against the British deputy ambassador.

The assailants managed to flee after carrying out both of the last two operations.

The return of Al-Qaeda to carry out operations in the heart of the capital might be a re-sponse to the government’s claims that it had managed to paralyze Al-Qaeda from mov-ing freely and that it is truly suf-fering from the military strikes which the government had di-rected against it in recent years.

Yemeni –British relations have not been adversely affect-ed by these two incidents. On the contrary, the British offi-cials’ statements emphasize Britain’s continuation to sup-port Yemen’s efforts in its war against Al-Qaeda– contrary to what happened in 1998 after the killing of four British nationals and when the Yemeni security forces freed 16 British nationals from an kidnapping carried out by the Aden-Abyan army under the leadership of Abu Al-Hasan Al-Mihdhar, who was executed later. Back then, the British gov-ernment directed severe accusa-tions to the Yemeni government for the mistakes which lead to the death of those victims.

Another link, perhaps less advertised or reported is that ex-tremist cleric Abu Hamzah Al-Masri, who lives in Britain, dis-patched a group of British nationals, who have Asian and Arab origins, to Yemen at the end of 1998, among whom his son, Mohammed, to carry out two sabotage operations against western interests in Aden.

In addition, Abu Hamzah had also been in contact with Zain

Al-Aabideen Al-Mihdhar, lead-er of Aden-Abyan Islamic Army, which carried out the kidnapping.

The differences intensified between the two countries after Britain refusal in 2001 to deliv-er Abu Hamzah in exchange of Yemen’s delivering of five Brit-ish nationals imprisoned in

Aden after being convicted of planning to carrying out explo-sions.

In August 1999, the Yemeni judiciary sentenced eight Brit-ish nationals and two Algerians to imprisonment for periods be-tween seven months to seven years after they were found guilty of forming an armed gang for the purpose of carrying out terrorist operations in Aden. Three of the British nationals left Yemen in October 1999 af-ter serving their time.

It can be said that the Yemen –British relations have under-

gone many attempts of restora-tion after that incident. The ceil-ing of the British assistance to Yemen has been raised.

In addition, the Yemeni presi-dent and a number of Yemeni officials paid many visits to London, which resulted in Brit-ain’s hosting of the London Conference for Donors 2006 and Friends of Yemen Confer-ence 2010.

The British government also called on the international do-nors to strengthen and intensify their efforts to support econom-ic and political reforms in Ye-men, and to prevent the deterio-ration of the current situation in Yemen.

Perhaps British intelligence reports on the possibility that Al-Qaeda elements Somalia and in Yemen might execute terror-ist operations in London is one of the major reasons of the in-crease of British support to Ye-men in its war against terror-ism. Also, Britain’s growing desire to reclaim stability in the region is a motive for those moves.

With joint coordination be-tween Britain and the U.S.A in the war on terror and efforts to check the growing influence of Iran on maritime route choke-points, which poses a threat on western economic interests and a danger to their allies in the re-gion.

It is obvious that Britain and the USA are sharing tasks in supporting Yemen’s security and military capabilities. The first undertakes the training and support of the security agencies and counter terror units in the Central and National Security apparatus; while the latter un-dertakes the training, boosting and supporting of the capabili-ties of the Republican Guard, Special Forces and the Counter-Terrorism units within these bodies.

The Yemeni government gambles on Britain’s ability to urge the international donors, the most important of which are neighboring Gulf states and the European Union, to continue to support Yemen economically and politically in the security challenges it faces and its war on Al-Qaeda; and to assist the Yemeni government in getting out of the political disputes, that is largely to support the efforts of the political dialogue with the Yemeni opposition parties, the southern movement and the Huthi rebellion.

However, the British govern-ment is reliant upon the role of the Gulf States in economic as-

sistance for Yemen, which have continued, since the meeting of the Friends of Yemen in Lon-don, on giving a major priority to the Kingdom of Saudi Ara-bia, and the rest of the Gulf States’ participation in imple-menting the process of the eco-nomic support and the political reforms in Yemen.

Britain is also wagering on evaluating the efforts of the Ye-meni government in its response to British and US stipulations, and the major international monetary institutions, which call for enhancing transparency procedures and restricting fi-nancial and administrative cor-ruption.

Yemen, Britain and Al-QaedaBy Ahmed Al-Zurqah, NY Security Correspondent

In the United Kingdom, po-lice were investigating the sus-picious package at a freight dis-tribution center at East Midlands Airport, about 100 miles north of London, said airport spokes-man Russell Craig. Officials said they were not certain how the package arrived there, whether by air or land.

Authorities seemed most fo-cused on inspecting cargo planes.

Investigators examined two UPS planes that landed at Phila-delphia International Airport and another at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, said Mike Mangeot, a UPS spokesman. Authorities later gave the “all-clear” at the

airport in Newark, U.S. and U.K. officials said.

Authorities are focusing on flights coming from Yemen into the United States, according to the source.

The US Transportation and Security Administration said authorities acted “out of an abundance of caution.”

“The planes were moved to a remote location where they are being met by law enforcement officials and swept,” the admin-istration said in a statement.

UPS said it is cooperating with authorities, and its ship-ment is being removed from the aircraft.

In Philadelphia, three people aboard one plane were removed

from the aircraft and scanned with negative results, the Phila-delphia Fire Department said. The type of material that may be involved is not known, offi-cials said.

In Newark, investigators ex-amined another UPS plane, Mangeot said. Police deter-mined that there was no threat.

After having a suspicious package confiscated at its Dubai facility, Memphis-based FedEx released a statement saying that the company is cooperating with the FBI and as an addition-al safety measure has blocked all shipments coming from Ye-men.

Peter Neumann, a terrorism analyst with Kings College

New York said, “It is not a bomb bit it’s a sinister device which in my view very strongly seems to indicate that we were dealing with dummy devices.”

The National Yemen has since learned that Yemeni secu-rity agencies have forcibly closed the UPS and FedEx of-fices in Yemen.

In New York, the bomb squad responded to a report of a suspected explosive device in-side a package aboard a UPS truck, said deputy police com-missioner Paul Browne. Police later concluded that the truck at the Metro Tech Center facility contained nothing harmful

Continued from ( 1 ) Cargo Bomb Plot Originated in Yemen

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Al-Qaeda’s use of a rocket to carry out the targeting opera-tion against the car of the British deputy chief in mission is considered a de-velopment in the Al-Qaeda operations, which often prefers to use suicide bomb-ers and car bombs. However, this was not the first time when such kind of weapon was used; such small arms were reported to have been used in attacks on the US embassy in Sana’a in the summer of 2008.

perhaps less adver-tised or reported is that extremist cleric Abu Hamzah Al-Mas-ri, who lives in Britain, dispatched a group of British nationals, who have Asian and Arab origins, to Ye-men at the end of 1998, among whom his son, Moham-med, to carry out two sabotage operations against western inter-ests in Aden.

The Yemeni govern-ment gambles on Britain’s ability to urge the internation-al donors, the most important of which are neighboring Gulf states and the Euro-pean Union, to con-tinue to support Ye-men economically and politically in the security challenges it faces and its war on Al-Qaeda; and to assist the Yemeni government in get-ting out of the politi-cal disputes, that is largely to support the efforts of the politi-cal dialogue with the Yemeni opposition parties, the southern movement and the Huthi rebellion.

Sunday, Oct 31, 2010 Issue 20 www.nationalyemen.com 5National Yemen SOCIAL

A photographic exhibition, opened on the 19th October at the National Museum was an in-novative idea that brought to-gether a unique atmosphere; the majestic antiquity of the muse-um and the pulsing vibe and co-lour of innovative art.

H.E. Mr. Joseph Silva, the French Ambassador himself opened the event, which was at-tended by ministers, interna-tional officials and diplomats in addition to many art-passionate youths and a few curious tour-ists.

“This event stands as a testi-mony to the exemplar relation between Yemen and France and the will to strengthen this rap-port while trying to remove the obstacles that could endanger it,” stated Mr Khalid Tamim, President of Sana’a University.

“Clear examples of the de-velopment in the friendship are the entry of TOTAL in the eco-nomic sector as well as the visit of President Saleh to France, and the agreements of collabo-ration in the fields of medicine, economy and agriculture,” he explained.

The exhibition was the result of a workshop held by Egyptian photographer Nabil Boutrous and from which talented Yeme-ni photographers were chosen to illustrate their work of arts at the expo.

Three Participating Photographers

Ameen Al GhabriA photographer since child-

hood, Al Ghabri had the fortune of growing up in the house of an already artistically recognized father. Blessed by having “art in the genes”, as he says, he was familiar with cameras since the age of 8.

A self educated and deter-mined artist, Ameen opened Al Ghabri Studio with his brother, with the objective to highlight the talent of Yemeni profession-al photographers. In fact, Ameen Al Ghabri confided that proba-

bly one of the major challenges in his job was the diffuse under-evaluation of Yemeni photogra-phy, especially by local compa-nies who preferred to hire foreign figures instead of en-couraging local ones.

“If a picture of mine can bring an emotional reaction to an observer, then I consider a personal achievement in send-ing a message, in making the image tell a story to who sees it.” One of his themes for the exhibition was the contrast / compromise between tradition and modernity.

Ameen encourages everyone to search for his or her own tal-ents and develop it in spite of obstacles and hardships.

Eman Al Awami

Al Awami described the curi-

ous experience of being a fe-male artist in Yemen.

She routinely has episode of people questioning her motives for taking pictures. Often she has to erase the shots she took, while others hordes of children assault her – begging her… to take a picture of them!

She recalled an episode in which a mother, particularly proud of her son, convinced her to take some photos of her child. After going back with her, Al-Awami discovered that the mother’s child was in his 20s.

Unfortunately there are less encouraging occasions in which ignorant people often criticize her for her passion; still, Eman does not seem willing to let these situations get her down.

“To be a photographer you have to arm yourself with pa-tience and the commitment to fight eventual setbacks.”

She aims to really bring forth to the world the other part of Ye-men, the one represented by tra-ditional and simple faces, full of beauty and happiness.

“I consider inspiration as rizgh(blessings). Simply walk-ing in the street, I find different aspects capturing my attention. It could be a house with a par-ticular structure or in an unusual location; an interesting pose or movement of the body; or a unique expression.”

‘Fatherhood’ was the selec-tion for her picture show.

Waeel Al Anesi

His career as a photographer started but recently in 2008 when he bought a FujiFilm camera and began to get deeper in the world of this art.

While working as a graphic designer, he felt the need to de-velop his own pictures.

He choose as main subject for his work art the ‘Mother’s Bread’, a nostalgic collection that symbolized the pleasure of childhood, the memories of Fri-day mornings and the daily hap-piness of a mother’s love.

What is special about the pic-

tures is the technique used to shoot them.

“My preferred subject are landscapes, the capture of the wild and nature in general,” ex-plains Al Anesi. “For the exhibi-tion I curiously found that the

landscape technique suited best to illustrate potential past mem-ories evocated by bread mak-ing.”

Al Anesi hopes to attend a photography seminar in New York to further his knowledge since the opportunity to profes-sionally study in this field in Ye-men is still given scarce impor-tance.

Cloe Vaniscotte, organizer of the celebration and chargee of the French Cultural Centre, in-formed the National Yemen that a series of other cultural events would follow.

“The photographic exhibi-tion will be taken to Taiz and Aden,” Mrs. Vaniscotte an-nounced, whilst explaining the importance of promoting French-Yemeni relations in oth-er governorates as well. In Aden, a ceremony in remem-brance of the late poet Rimbaud, who spent part of his life in the city, was planned.

The National Museum will also be used as the location for another exhibition on the 2nd November, this time in honor of a French female doctor, Claudie

Fayen, who acquired Yemeni nationality.

Also on Wednesday , the 3rd November, a concert entitled “Richa CUDA” would take place at the Yemeni Cultural Center at 19.00. Entrance isfree but seats are limited.

A symposium on water was held in Sana’a University, other events included conferences on Archaeology.

The photographic exhibition remains on show in the National Museum, Sana’a, till the1st No-vember. Entrance is free.

40 years of French-Yemeni Relations

Dar Al-Salam Organization Holds Islamic Peace Workshop for Tribal Sheikhs

By Jihan Anwar

By NY Staff

In order to celebrate the 40 year long friendship between France and Yemen, the last three months of the year will showcase a series of cultural activities and projects, which will help further bring France and Yemen together, and remind people of a great history as well as to inspire younger generations about future cross-cultural friendship.

The Dar Al-Salam Organiza-tion, a Yemeni peace organiza-tion with tribal and Sufi roots, held a two day workshop for tribal sheikhs in the Sheraton Hotel, Sana’a, on Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st October, enti-tled: “Islam: Countering Soci-etal Violence.”

At the same time the Dar Al-Salam Organization proudly an-nounced the official start of an 18 month project sponsored by the European Commission enti-tled “Strengthening Social Co-hesion in Conflicted Affected Areas in Yemen.”

The project will cover the governorates of Abyan, Al-Jawf and Lahej building community resilience to violence through advocacy work with community leaders and research-informed

awareness campaigns with tar-get demographic groups.

The “Islam: Countering So-cietal Violence” workshop is part of a comprehensive pro-gram of activities tackling vio-lence and extremism, and was kindly funded by the American Embassy.

Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Marwani, the head of the Dar Al-Salam Organization, inaugu-rated the conference, speaking of the relative recent phenome-na of religious extremism in Ye-men, and the necessity to con-front it and address the issue – an issue which the organiza-tion has sought to counter since its inception.

“The road is full of thorns and the path treacherous, but it is a noble cause worthy of hope

and commitment,” Sheikh Al-Marwani said.

“We would not say that these efforts will succeed in fully eliminating the complex and protracted problems found along this path, but we are step-ping in the right direction. With the help of Allah we will sur-mount all the challenges through our dedication,” he added.

The workshop brought to-gether sheikhs from five target governorates (Shabwah, Abyan, Al-Jawf, Ma’rib and Sana’a) to engage with messages of peace and tolerance grounded in Is-lam. It featured a symposium of five papers especially prepared by academics from Sana’a Uni-versity and Islamic scholars on subjects exploring Islam’s posi-tion against violence, and its

recommendations dealing with it legally, socially, intellectually and pedagogically.

The basis of the workshop considered religion as perhaps the most powerful means to pro-vide messages of peace that would resonate in Yemeni soci-ety, and sought to express this message through a culturally relevant medium; in this case through tribal sheikhs of princi-pally affected governorates were assessed to be the most relevant social platform to raise public consciousness.

After the symposium presen-tations the workshop saw lively discussion from the participat-ing tribal sheikhs, who had clearly engaged with the topics and ideas at hand.

Mr. Joseph Silva, French Ambassador to Yemen (far left) at the National Museum

“We would not say that these efforts will suc-ceed in fully eliminat-ing the complex and protracted problems found along this path, but we are stepping in the right direction. With the help of Allah we will surmount all the challenges through our dedication,” he added.

“The road is full of thorns and the path treacher-ous, but it is a noble cause worthy of hope and commitment,” Sheikh Al-Marwani said.

If a picture of mine can bring an emo-tional reaction to an observer, then I consider a personal achievement in sending a mes-sage, in making the image tell a story to who sees it.

He choose as main subject for his work art the ‘Mother’s Bread’, a nostalgic collection that sym-bolized the plea-sure of childhood, the memories of Fri-day mornings and the daily happiness of a mother’s love.

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Sunday, Oct 31, 2010 Issue 20 www.nationalyemen.com6 National YemenREPORT

Recent international reports confirmed the alarming preva-lence of food insecurity in

Yemen, as one in three Ye-menis has difficult access to suf-ficient nutrition.

The Food Policy Research Institute (FPRI), which moni-tors 122 developing countries including Middle Eastern states, released a report this October mentioning that virtually all of the Middle East was tagged as suffering “low” rates of hunger, with Syria and Morocco cited as having “moderate” rates. Ye-men, however, was the only country in the region to be listed as having an “alarming” rate.

The Washington-based orga-nization, ranked Yemen in 74th out of 85 developing countries, referring to the severe domestic challenges that affect food secu-rity, including a lack of job-cre-ation within the oil-dependent economic structure – a distorted economic model. In addition, rapidly depleting oil and water resources, and the growing pro-duction and consumption of Qat (a leafy plant consumed as a stimulant and appetite suppres-sant, whose production uses 40 percent of all available water re-sources, were principal chal-lenges.

The report also warned that if no action is taken, food security is expected to remain at ex-tremely low levels through 2020 and ‘’Yemen will remain highly vulnerable to external shocks and disasters.”

The World Food Program (WFP) in Yemen estimated that

7.2 million out of the 23 million Yemenis (31.5 percent) are face food insecurity. Within this group, 2.5 million people (11.8 percent) were found to face se-vere food insecurity.

The WFP, which carried out a nationwide comprehensive food security survey (CFSS) be-tween September 2009 and Jan-uary 2010, said that Yemeni ru-ral areas are more affected with double the share of food-inse-cure people of urban areas. That is , 37.3 percent of the rural population is food insecure compared to 17.7 percent of the urban population. In addition, 62.1 percent of rural children were ‘stunted’ compared to 45.4 percent of urban children.

The governorates of Ibb, Taiz, Hajja, Hodeidah and Am-ran host 61 percent of those deemed food-insecure and 66 percent of severely food-inse-cure people in the country, said the report.

It added that water scarcity and limited rainfall over the past few years has critically affected farming and livestock rearing, the main livelihoods for most rural people, which contributed to create this gap in food secu-rity between urban and rural ar-eas.

In additions, rural areas were characterized with far higher fertility rates compounded with a limited access to education and low household incomes.

“Total fertility is higher in ru-ral areas, where women on av-erage have more than two more children than their urban coun-

terparts; the average rural Ye-meni woman will bear almost seven children (6.7), whereas the total fertility rate in urban areas is 4.5,” the report said.

However, the report high-lighted that these recent circum-stances have substantially exac-erbated the situation and increased the proportion of ‘hungry’ Yemenis around the country

‘’Poverty has been on the rise since 2006 when food and fuel prices started to increase and the

global financial crisis - together known as the “Triple F” crisis - negatively affected the coun-try,’’ the report went on to say.

The report indicates that Ye-men has already confronted a number of challenges that nega-tively impact on the popula-tion’s overall well-being, in-cluding complex political crises in several parts of the country, recurrent droughts and floods and the increased influx of refu-gees from the Horn of Africa and Internally Displaced Per-

sons in the north.The report calls to what it

named medium to long-term in-terventions, which includes ex-pansion of food availability at household and community lev-els in rural areas through local agriculture, by addressing the declining productivity growth of cereals, horticultural crops and livestock, by providing ac-cess to improved, economically viable water management and irrigation techniques and by im-proving storage and conserva-

tion facilities, and the establish-ment of a food security monitoring system, including nutrition surveillance and mar-ket price monitoring system.

The report also emphasized on the short-term response op-tions like providing emergency food-based safety nets for the poorest and most food-insecure households in rural and urban areas, complementing the So-cial Welfare Fund’s cash trans-fer system and other existing safety nets.

Alarming Hunger Levels in Yemen, Report SaysBy Amel Ariqi

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Sunday, Oct 31, 2010 Issue 20 www.nationalyemen.com 7National Yemen REPORT

Travel advice against Yemen in response to media reportage of many attacks against foreign interests, be they diplomatic or oil, has dried up the previously sizeable revenues from the tour-ism industry which the country used to enjoy.

On this subject, we had an in-terview with Mr. Aref Al-Mas’oodi, a Director of the In-ternational Company for Tourism.

Q: What is your prognosis as to why tourists are no longer coming to Yemen?

A: The main reason is the threat to Al-Qaeda. This is a ma-jor cause which has forced for-eign companies to stop sending groups of tourists to Yemen – Everyone is afraid.

However there are other rea-sons. For one, tourism promo-tion is ineffectual. The Ministry of Tourism should lower fees for tourists in the light of the current situation to prevent the tourism industry grinding to a standstill.

By comparing Yemen with Egypt, the difference is huge. If any tourist incident occurs in Egypt, the following day tour-ists will flow into Egypt where the authorities are able to main-tain security. Tourism promo-tion is usually then synchro-nized to make up for the shortfall of guests;, great fee re-ductions are made by Egyptian airliners, tourist resorts, hotels, restaurants and transportation.

This subsequently encourag-es tourism agencies to send tourists due to cheap prices. However, in Yemen tourist groups are protected by two armed police cars, which is em-barrassingly excessive and un-dermines efforts to create the right atmosphere for tourism to flourish.

Q: Which regions do tourist most like to visit?

A: From our experience as one of the pioneering travel companies here, we see that the favourite tourism spots are: Old Sana’a (which we call “the open museum”), Shibam Kawaban, Manakhah, Wadi Daw’an, Hadramout Shibam, Hadramout Tarim, Ibb, Al-Mahweet, and Socotra, which is highly re-quested by tourists.

Q: In light of the current

situation, which are the most dangerous regions for tourists?

A: The most dangerous re-gions are currently closed, such as Marib, Sa’ada and Shaharah; although currently we dispatch tourist groups with security es-cort to Hadramout and Aden.

Q: Why didn’t you shift tourism to the other provinces which are more secure?

A: We have actually made programs for tourists to visit Sana’a, Shibam Kawkaban, Mahweet, Hajjah, Hodeida, Taiz, Ibb, Aden and Hadramout. These are the regions where we usually organize tours to.

Q: How many tourists that should have visited Yemen?

A: It is hard to give you a number. However, I can give an approximate number. The year 2010 should have had the most tourist attraction where the number of tourists could have been very high. In 2004, Sana’a was the Arab “Capital of Tour-ism and saw a massive influx of tourists from the rest of the Arab world, as well as from further abroad, such as Asia.

The number of tourists should have exceeded a million tourists in 2010; but in the light of the current situation, tourism has suffered a crisis, not just this year but also since last year due to closure of some regions to which we can’t dispatch tour-ists. Namely, these regions are Marib, Shaharah, most regions of Hajjah province which is close to Sa’ada province be-cause of the war in Sa’ada.

The more places are closed, the lesser the demand. Most tourists wish to visit archeologi-cal sites in Shaharah of Hajjah, Sa’ada, Amran-Marib in Wadi Hadramout. When most of these regions are closed, and when there is a crisis or Al-Qaeda acts, the tourist demand dimin-ishes. Only a few tourists, whom we might call “adventur-ers”, come to Yemen. Yet, there are some regions which are per-manently secure.

Q: What role do you have as a tourist company in attracting tourists?

A: We participate in interna-tional tourist exhibitions and whenever we take part in any fairs and exhibitions, we repre-sent Yemen in general and our company in particular. We pro-

mote tourism in Yemen which is a country with tourist potential and secure one.

However, it is difficult to talk of security. What happens is the opposite. For example, I was a participant in the Milano Exhi-bition 2009 and on the third day after our agents held interviews with companies, an explosion took place in Marib. Our credi-bility suffers because of an un-stable security situation and un-even media reportage. Nonetheless, we have to be hon-est with the agencies we are

dealing with.However, the local and inter-

national press blows things out of proportion. Contrary to reali-ty, a simple firework or an acci-dental event can be exaggerated and considered as a terrorist act or an act related to Al-Qaeda. The media outlets, especially written ones, are supposed to be more objective.

Q: What are the most at-tracting tourist regions?

A: Socotra Island is a top-notch tourist destination, whose terrain varies between plains, mountains, desert, valleys, riv-ers, and white coasts. Much of the florae and faunae do not ex-ist elsewhere in the world.

There are tourist programs we conduct for diving in more than one place in the island which is an incredibly popular area for diving. These days there is great tourist activity in the island.

Q: What would you say to businessmen about Socotra Is-land?

A: I would advise all busi-nessmen in the country, and abroad, and even Yemeni expa-triates, especially in Saudi Ara-bia and Gulf States to seize the opportunity and investment in Socotra Island, a virgin island, and the State will support them. The General Investment Au-thority is accepting investment proposals in the island at the moment.

Q: Do Arab tourists frequent the island?

A: Of course there are Arab tourists, but generally they don’t come as part of a group, they generally travel with their fami-lies, or as individuals. We ar-range tourist programs for them, exactly as we do for western tourists and we meet all requests with special prices and promo-tional programs in more than one place.

Q: Why have you not yet succeeded in attracting tourists from East Asian countries in-stead of Western ones?

A: This is possible and a great opportunity. The Ministry of Tourism and the Tourism Promotion Council must have an efficient and active role. They must seek opportunities in the whole world, east, west, north and south and they must promote Yemen as a country for tourism with great and promis-ing potential.

Q: If the situation gets set-tled, what future will tourism have?

A: If the situation in Yemen gets settled we will be able to attract between one million to

three million tourists in case of stability, security, tourist pro-motion, and proper tourist in-vestment.

Q: How do you view Yemen through the tourists’ eyes?

A: the first time tourists ar-rive to Yemen, they form a shel-tered impression about Yemen. After they have finished their tour and program, we ask them about their impression and the hassles they have been through in Yemen. They surprise us when they talk about their great positive impression and say they simply did not expect Ye-men to be a tourist friendly and safe country with people hold-ing fast to their culture, heritage and identity. After they visit the place, tourists refute the claims they read in media outlets.

When they go back to their countries they give a positive image about the country and this is a form of indirect promo-tion, where they talk with their relatives and friends about ev-erything they saw and they too affirm that their media exagger-ate things.

With the photos they have taken with their cameras, they show the archeological and his-torical places, the diversity of customs and traditions, food, costumes. People who see those pictures are resultantly encour-aged to visit. Many of the tour-ists who came to Yemen said that the reason they visited Ye-men was their friends who had previously came on a tour here.

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‘‘... From our experience as one of the pioneer-ing travel companies here, we see that the favourite tourism spots are: Old Sana’a (which we call “the open mu-seum”), Shibam Kawa-ban, Manakhah, Wadi Daw’an, Hadramout Shibam, Hadramout Tarim, Ibb, Al-Mahweet, and Socotra, which is highly requested by tourists.

When they go back to their countries they give a positive image about the country and this is a form of indirect promotion, where they talk with their relatives and friends about everything they saw and they too affirm that their media exaggerate things.

The year 2010 should have had the most tourist at-traction where the number of tourists could have been very high. In 2004, Sana’a was the Arab “Capital of Tourism and saw a massive influx of tourists from the rest of the Arab world,

Terrorism and TourismBy Mohammed Al-Qiyari

Aden - Abyan beach

Central Security Forces watch over key areas in Yemen

Sunday, Oct 31, 2010 Issue 20 www.nationalyemen.com8 National YemenBUSINESS

The Ministry of Trade & In-dustry (MTI) last week launched an unprecedented comprehen-sive industrial survey which is to be carried out in cooperation with the Central Statistical Or-ganization (CSO) during the pe-riod from 25th October to 24th December.

Mr. Abdul-Ilah Shaiban, Deputy Minister of Trade & In-dustry and Vice-Chairman of the Technical Committee for the survey, said that the next stage of survey will include field vis-its to all the targeted 52,721 in-dustrial establishments.

The survey will be conducted by over 600 male and female re-searchers from the 14th Novem-ber and who will be in all prov-

inces surveying and gathering all data about major, minor, me-dium and conventional indus-trial establishments with their various legal structures and kinds, whether private or public sector; ranging from explora-tion companies to construction materials of any form that falls under the rubric “industry.”

Mr. Shaiban pointed out that the works that have been con-ducted during the last two years were preparatory office actions, as well as a preliminary experi-ment for assessing the suitabili-ty of surveying forms and ana-lysing the difficulties and variables which took place after the 2004 survey of industrial warehouses was conducted.

Shaiban said that this is the second comprehensive industri-al survey for industrial estab-lishments in the republic and that “its importance lies in de-veloping an industrial database, which will serve the planning process and strategic policies for developing the industrial sector.”

The Ministry of Trade & In-dustry is counting on the survey to provide data related to indus-trial establishments that would help in drawing development policies and courses, as well as providing basic information for various policies and programs, utilizing the data in analyzing projects and achieving positive integration between develop-

ment plans and their implemen-tation.

The survey will also provide an up-to-date and comprehen-sive database on the industrial

sector, number and type of em-ployees and the production costs, which will allow the gov-ernment to determine the contri-bution of the industrial sector to

gross domestic product (GDP), its impact on the national in-come and the horizons of devel-oping it.

Ministry of Trade, Industry Initiates National Industry SurveyBy NY Staff

In a statement and report of the final accounts auditing for the 2009 fiscal year, the Central Organization for Control & Au-diting warned the government from continuing to overreach the safe limits of budget deficit for the coming years.

The report showed that the state’s general budget for 2009 resulted in a deficit of 509 bil-lion YR – a deficit of 8.35% of the Gross Domestic Product, thus exceeding the rate permis-sible for safe limits, which is estimated to be at 3%.

The report warned the gov-ernment against continuing of hospitability expenditure, office requirements and student group exchanges, which together amounted to nearly 100 billion riyals, an increase estimated at 19 billion riyals from last year.

In relation to spending on human development sectors, the report pointed out that the health sector, despite the actual functions of this sector, which reached 80.7 billion riyals, were accountably weak in control-ling and supervising govern-mental health units or health-care and medical establishments affiliated to the private sector.

The report criticized the weak policy adopted by the Ministry of Health in the bad distribution of health staff to health facilities and the drop out of professional qualified staff in addition to the lack of supervi-sion, follow-up and evaluation of process of providing health and medical services as well as the serious phenomenon of drug trafficking in light of the com-petent authorities’ role in fight-ing this phenomenon.

The report said that a lot of health facilities have started to deteriorate, while many other facilities lack significant and basic medical equipment and appliances.

In education the report criti-cized the decline in the level of efficiency in executing invest-ment programs for and not making use of the budget allo-cated, where the ministry achieved a surplus in the final statement of the budget of 28 billion YR.

The report said that educa-tion is witnessing huge weak-nesses due to the lacking capac-ity of school management that has resulted in the low educa-tional levels of the school prin-

cipals because of the random selection which violates the rules of appointment.

This has then been reflected by the high rates of failure and ‘drop out’, as well as the de-cline of the students’ level of education and the weak rela-tionship between school curric-ulum and the requirements of social development and the la-bor market.

The report pointed out that a large percentage of teachers of basic and secondary schools are not adequately qualified, where the number of teachers who only hold high school certifi-cates represent 60% of the total number of teachers.

In relation to the technical and vocational and technical education, the report stressed that teaching staff do not have the qualifications necessary for occupying the teaching posi-tions, nor do they hold suffi-cient experience and skills in the areas and positions they hold, which resulted in weak-ness of technical education out-puts for emerging labor mar-kets.

Central Audit Warns Government from Overreaching State Budget DeficitBy Faoud al-Kadi

‘‘In education the report criticized the decline in the level of efficiency in executing invest-ment programs for and not making use of the budget allo-cated, where the ministry achieved a surplus in the fi-nal statement of the budget of 28 billion YR.

Dr. Rashid Saleh Ba Rabba’, Member of the Shura Council and Former Minister of Oil & Minerals, said that 2011-2015 will witness the end of two sig-nificant product sharing agree-ments for ‘producing’ hydro-carbon blocks which are currently held in partnership between the state and Canadi-an Nexen in the Al-Masilah Block, Total, in the East Shab-wah Block and Dove in the East Sar Block in the govern-ment of Hadramout.

Ba Rabba’ said these blocks are considered to be “the key blocks, as production in them constitutes a majority of over-all oil production in Yemen.” Oil is produced in both blocks from sedimentary rocks and foundation rock layers.

He stressed the need to ac-celerate the finalization of a specific schedule and selection of a good team that will occupy the highest administrative po-sitions for these companies, as part of the ‘Yemenization’ standards.

Ba Rabba’ pointed out that the oil sector faced several challenges, and outlined them as: the lack of a clear national strategy for promotion; lack of schedules for approval of prod-uct sharing agreements; defi-ciency of managing petroleum operations; non-developed in-stitutional management of var-ious petroleum activities; dual-ity of authorities; lack of coordination between the vari-ous bodies for implementation of the agreements issued by a special law; deficiency of mak-ing decisions at the right time, deficiency of following up im-plementation due to weak in-

stitutional performance; fear of casting aspersions on the deci-sion-maker intentions; lack of research data available; and development and building of the technical and institutional cadre and capabilities in order to keep up with and monitoring operations.

Ba Rabba’ said that Yemen is one of the regions attracting geo-petroleum investment, as it lies near rich oil fields of pet-rol and in the vicinity of some of the biggest oil reserves in the world, as well as its geo-graphic location overlooking both the Red Sea and the Ara-bian Sea.

Geologically speaking, Ye-men is considered among the more promising oil regions, whose sedimentary basins con-tain a complete petroleum sys-tem, in addition to flexibility and moderateness in partner-ship agreements of production.

On oil and gas exploration and production, Ba Rabba’ said that the area of the Republic of Yemen is divided into explora-tion and production blocks, there being 12 production blocks with a total area esti-mated at around 22,000 km2. There are 37 exploration blocks at current, with an area estimated at 200,000 km2.

In addition, there is one block currently awaiting ap-proval, and a further 50 open blocks whose size ranges from just 731 km2 to approximately 400,000 km2.

As of December 2009, it was recorded that over 2000 wells had been dug; 474 for oil exploration and almost 1600 for production.

Over 174,000 km2 of 3-D seismic surveys have been conducted recently to support investment.

Ba Rabba’ pointed out that the number of production blocks have reached 12 blocks so far, on which ten companies operate: nine foreign and one national.

Oil production started in Ye-men in 1986 from Marib-Al-Jawf block, where the annual production back then reached 2,650,000 oil barrels.

Former Oil Minister Outlines Change in Future Oil IndustryBy Faoud al-Kadi

Dr. Rashid Saleh Ba Rabba’,

Sunday, Oct 31, 2010 Issue 20 www.nationalyemen.com 9National Yemen YOUTH / SPORTS

National YemenNATIONAL YEMEN VACANCY NOTICE

Role JUNIOR NEWS / NEWS ANALYSIS JOURNALISTS

Number of va-cancies

Two

Application deadline

7 November 2010

Start date Immediate

Starting salary $450 USD monthly salary + benefits

Work pattern Full-time (40 hour weeks) / irregular shifts (journalists will be required to travel)

Description The NATIONAL YEMEN (NY) newspaper requires two staff journalists to cover ‘breaking news’ and ‘news analysis’ articles. Journalists must be prepared to travel frequently, and at short notice, to provide coverage around Yemen.

Our news journalists will be required to write approximately 1000 words of ‘news’ articles, and 2000 words of ‘news analysis’ articles each week on pre-agreed topics, meeting appropriate deadlines.

Journalists will be required to attend two weekly staff meetings at NY HQ, and also to complete our journalism training packages.

Eligibility We are looking for young, reliable, articulate, reasonably experienced journalists.

Journalists will be expected to be punctual and to meet both our deadlines and our standards. Failure to meet either our deadlines or our high professional standards may result in instant dismissal.

Advanced English language competency is required. Journalists will be expected to be competent computer users.

Incentives In time we will offer an improved salary, commensurate with the journalists’ compe-tency and professional development.

This job is also an excellent opportunity to begin a promising career, and will provide excellent professional training. It also may lead to international coverage of a journal-ist’s work.

Apply Applicants should send a covering email, their CV, including all contact details, and also a sample of their written work. The written sample should be 800 words long, in a ‘news analysis’ style, on a subject of their choice.

Selection Applicants will be contacted within three days, if they have been successful. The ap-plicant will be expected to attend an assessment day and interview within one week, and will be expected to write a further article, of our choice.

Selected applicants will work for one month on a non-paid probation status after be-ing selected. If the trainee journalist meets our deadlines and reaches our standards over the probationary period, they will be fully welcomed to a permanent position with us, with full pay.

Football Season Begins: Premier League Match Reports

Draw Between Al-Saqr and Sha’ab Ibb in the Green Governorate

The Sha’ab Ibb Team man-aged to snatch a goal from the away Al-Saqr Team, in the 22 May Stadium.

The goal was in the opening moments of the first half of the match scored by the profes-sional player Ambuyu, encour-aging the Al-Saqr players to end the match with a goal that fustrated the home team, which the away team maintained until the referee’s half-time whistle.

In the second round the Sha’ab Ibb players felt their risky situation all too well, with some stern words from their coach during the half time break.

Feeling the crunch they looked for a chance for a draw with Al-Saqr when Al-Sha’ab player Al-Hajiri Ayman scored the equalizer, saving his team from a first loss of the season, and gaining a point in their credit.

Al-Hilal vs Hassan: 3-1

In Hodeida, ‘Al-Hilal’ man-aged to win against Hassan from Abyan with three goals to one.

The match saw some stern efforts from Hasan Abyan to score the first goal causing some defensive tactics from the home team Al-Hilal Hodeidah, and some serious caution with-

in the defence box. Hassan kept its nets clean,

while its player Abood Mabrook finally succeeded in securing the first goal, before the end of the first half.

In the second round Al-Hilal upped their game further, capi-talizing on the sending off of some Hasan players, and man-aged to score three further goals by Saleh Al-Shihri, Moham-med Al-Sallat and Borahn Qa-sem.

With this result Al-Hilal gained a clear victory at the start of the season.

Al-Tilal (Aden) 4- Sha’ab Sana’a 1 in Hoqat Stadium, Aden

The players of the Al-Tilal succeeded in exploiting the weak level of the Al-Sha’ab players and won the most im-portant points of the match.

Al-Tilal striker Almi Antana Aul scored a hat-trick (three goals), while his colleague Hussein Ghazi scored the fourth, to make the goal scored by Ali Al-Ba’dani of Al-Sha’ab team utterly useless.

Al-Tilal team sent a strong-toned message to the rest of the teams, putting three points on the scoreboard.

Ittihad Ibb Crushes Wahdat Sana’a

In the Capital Sana’a, on the Al-Sha’ab Stadium, the players

of Ittihad Ibb succeeded in re-turning with three points, at the expense of Wahdat Sana’a, the host. Samir Mohammed, a player of Ittihad Ibb team scored the first goal. Fadhl Al-Aroomi scored the second goal. In the second round, the perfor-mance of Al-Wahda players has improved and they managed to defend their goal and their player Isam Al-Kodri scored a goal, but the time was not enough and the match ended with Ittihad Ibb winning by three points.

Football: ‘Shabab’ Al-Baidha Defeat ‘Al-Rasheed’

Shabab Al-Baidha won their first match of the tournament with a positive result, which was cheered with the roaring fans at their stadium.

Shabab Al-Baidha, the local team to Al-Baidha, managed to secure an important win over the away team Al-Rasheed Al-Halimi.

The Al-Rasheed players were not an easy hunt and played well, losing only to a single goal in the first round from a penalty shot driven home by Ahmed Amwas.

The Al-Shabab players kept their ‘clean sheet’ during the second round meaning that player Amwas hadgiven his team with the first three points of the tournament.

By Abdul-Karim MufadhalExclusive

By Fuad Qasim

Yemeni Comes Second in Taw Luah Kung Fu World Championship

Port Mokha Exports to Morocco, USA

A group of young people in the Yemeni program “Injaz”, organized by the “Injaz Al-Ar-ab” Organization in various countries as a competition that is intended for polishing up the talents of Arab youth and devel-oping their skills in the business areas will be travelling to Mo-rocco to hone up their business skills.

The first participants who won first place in each partici-pating ‘Injaz’ country will pro-ceed to the final stage held late October in Morocco.

After intense competitions held between the youth of our

country, which lasted for nearly three months, “Port Mocca” team composed of five young men won the nomination for participating in the final stage in Morocco.

Before traveling last Friday, Port Mocca had attended a training program run by Mr. Fares Al-Sanabani, Member of the Yemen Injaz Organization, where they were given practical lessons in how to supervise a company in all aspects.

In a statement from Rian Fares Al-Sanabani, leader of the Port Mocca Company and one of the team members, stressed

that their selection of “Coffee” is attributed to its historical val-ue in Yemen, and the famed quality of Yemeni coffee.

“It’s distinctive from the rest of the types of coffee in the world. Besides, Yemeni coffee is required in world markets yet has no exporters,” he said.

He added that they have initi-ated distribution of coffee to companies available in Yemen and that there is communication with traders in California, USA, who want to purchase quantities of Yemeni coffee.

He pointed out that the goal is not just to promote Yemeni

coffee, but also to encourage growing this lucrative crop and replace the dominance of Qat in Yemen’s agriculture and soci-ety.

His colleague, Abdullah Al-Samawi, Production Manager in the company, said “coffee beans have been carefully se-lected and transported to the factory for roasting. However, the difficulty we encountered is in packing the product. Resul-tantly, we have packed coffee using traditional methods, and labeled in Yemen.”

The Yemeni Wrestling and Body Building Federation launches on Tuesday 2nd No-vember in Hodeida the 5th Republic Wrestling Tourna-ment for the champions of the provinces clubs for juniors, in weight categories 50 kg – 58 kg – 63 kg. The planned free wrestling competitions for the category 69 kg have been canceled due to the lack of ju-nior players this year in that weight category.

Hodeidah: Junior Wrestling Tournament Begins

By Abdul-Karim Mufadhal

Exclusive

Our national team for Kung Fu won second place in the 4th Taw Luah Kung Fu World Championships, hosted in Xi’an city in central China be-tween 16th to 21st October, in which 84 states participated.

Despite the participation of our team with only three play-ers, they managed to snatch six medals, out of which three sil-ver and three bronze, which ac-cumulatively enabled them to win second place.

Yemeni competitor Yousof Al-Khodhari won a silver in the Taiji Sword competition and a bronze in the Taiee style.

The pair Sultan Al-Yamani and Saddam Al-Rahoomi won

two silver medals in the hand-to-hand sparring, and also win-ning two bronze medals. One bronze was won by Al-Rahoo-mi for his performance in Hawk style, and another for Al-Yamani in the Chain style.

Therefore, the three players of Kung Fu secured an impres-sive world achievement, add-ing to Yemeni Kung Fu achievements in Arab and Asian markets, enabling them to enter the international star-dom in the sport.

Captain Nabil Al-Jaefi con-firmed to National Yemen newspaper that our national team prepared well for the tournament through an internal camp of more than three months with the aim of ensur-ing a solid performance in the tough competitions.

“Due to the high prices and the high living conditions in China, the number of the team players was reduced to only three players. We have been confident of entering a strong team and, Thanks to God, they have achieved what they were required, at which 82 other states, each with more than ten players, failed to achieve,” he said.

Sunday, Oct 31, 2010 Issue 20 www.nationalyemen.com10 National YemenADVERTISEMENTS

Sunday, Oct 31, 2010 Issue 20 www.nationalyemen.com 11National Yemen ADVERTISEMENTS

Sunday, Oct 31, 2010 Issue 20 www.nationalyemen.com12 National Yemen

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