Parliament okays transition government

By Faisal Darem

Yemen Observer

The Parliament approved on Wednesday Dec 28^th  the general program of the newly appointed national unity government and give it confidence.

The session of the parliament was chaired by the speaker Yahya al-Raee and attended by Prime Minister Mohammed Salem Basindwa and the government’s members. The move came after three days of the debate on the new government’s program. Addressing the parliament, Basindwa said his government’s program enjoys national consensus involving various political movements and parties in the country.

He said his government is going to lead the country at a very critical time as there are limited available potentials.

Basindwa vowed that his government would do its best to put the country back on the right track, and to ensure a modern democratic civilian state based on law and order and equal citizenship.

The MPs stressed that the government should give priority for restoring peace and security and to fully implement the GCC reconciliation deal.

The MPS also stressed that the government should restore the essential services including electricity, water and oil derivatives for the public in Sana’a and all other main cities across the country.

Parliament’s  Recommendations

1 – The emphasis on the implementation of all the provisions in the gulf initiative and the operational mechanism.

2 - Working on the implementation of the provisions in the operational mechanism of the Gulf initiative with respect to the tasks of military and security committee , in particular the contents (c, h) of article (16) of the mechanism, within no later than two weeks, and report the Parliament  with the level of implementation with a timetable for the implementation of the remaining articles in this regard.

3 - Working on the restoration of security in all provinces of the Republic, and ending all forms of armed cities, and the opening of streets and road.

4 - The rapid restoration of public services to citizens, particularly the electricity and water, and the provision of petroleum.

5 - Opening the road between Aden and Abyan, and working on the return of displaced to their areas and in particular the displaced people of Saada and Abyan provinces, and providing humanitarian assistance to them.

6 - Giving priority to the contents of the government’s program in relation to the implementation of care and attention to victims of the events of the wounded and disabled, and families of the martyrs of civilians and military personnel.

7 - The Government provides timing  matrix to the most important priorities of the overall program, including completion of the bills included in the initiative and operational mechanism.

8 - The Government is committed to provide the Parliament  with periodic reports every four months on the achievements of the program.

On  Dec 24-25 , The parliament listened to the government’s general program presented by Prime Minister Mohammed Salem Basindwa.

The government approved its general program based on the constitution, Gulf initiative and its executive mechanism in addition to the draft 4th four-year plan for socio-economic development and poverty reduction 2011 – 2015.

The program targets a set of priorities the government will focus on to tackle the challenges Yemen is facing currently.

The government will seeks to convince the brotherly and friendly states to establish a special international fund for Yemen to finance priority projects for governorates’ development.

In addition, it will set up a fund to present monthly assistances for families of killed and wounded people and to hospitalize the wounded people abroad if required.

The government will form committees to contact with youth movements all over the country to discuss and involve them in determining the country’s future.

In the political area, the government will mobilize all national efforts in order to restore political stability and security, create the suitable environment to achieve safe and peaceful transfer of power, respect human rights and carry out the youths’ legitimate demands for change. Economically, the government puts returning the affected basic services in its urgent priorities, topped by electricity and oil derivatives.

The government will seeks to convince the fraternal and friendly States to establish a special international fund for Yemen to finance priority projects for governorates’ development and contract with consulting firms to prepare the required studies and select companies to carry out them. In addition, it will set up a fund to present monthly assistances for families of killed and wounded people and to hospitalize the wounded people abroad if required. The government will form committees to contact with youth movements all over the country to discuss and involve them in determining the country’s future.

General program trends

On Dec 13^th , the cabinet approved general program trends which include setting up a policy package to maintain the State’s unity, reinstating the State’s control over all governorates and achieving a national reconciliation.

The government general program also contains forming a constitutional committee to amend the Yemeni constitution, correcting the country’s development course and combating all kinds of corruption Moreover, the program includes overcoming the repercussions of the crisis Yemen has experienced over the past months, rebuilding all damaged building, facilities and roads and carrying out a national program to care the families of the martyrs and wounded people due to the crisis.

Yemen receives march from Taiz by roses, accusations and attacks

   By Mohammed al-Kibsi & Majid al-Kibsi

  The organizing committee of the revolutionary council apologized to the youth and the demonstrators who came from Taiz marching, for the attack they launched “mistakenly” against them. A source from the Taiz youth has assured that they were assaulted by the organizing committee of the so-called “change square” when they demanded the committee to hand over the stage and reforming the committee according to a revolutionary bases not partisan bases.  Eyewitnesses assured to the al-Siyasih newspaper that the life March youth conflicted with al-Islah party youth in the change square in Sana’a when the al-Islahi partisan youth refused to give the stage of the “change square” to the youth of the March. The conflict was broke by the defected First Armed Brigade which shot fire in the air, forcing the march youth to retreat and threaten to go back to Taiz. Earlier last week, the revolutionary council and Noble peace laureate Tawakul Karman condemned the announcements of the US ambassador Gerald Feierstein that said the Life March from Taiz to Sana’a was not peaceful. The revolutionary council demanded that ambassador Feierstein most apologize while Tawakul Karman in her facebook page described the announcement as brutal. “How did he know that the march would turn violent,” she wondered. Some other youth affiliated to Houthis even demanded the US ambassador to leave Yemen.  Al-Islah party also did not like the statement. Abdullah Sa’atar, a leader in al-Islah party threatened with a (strict punishment) according to al-Mithaq newspaper. The newspaper run by GPC stated that Sa’atar threats a strict punishment If Feierstein doesn’t leave Yemen within 24 hours, which resulted in heavy security measures around the US Embassy premises.   Feierstein had said in a press conference held at the embassy on Saturday that the march of life that was approaching Sana’a aimed to erupt chaos and violence. “It seems to have the intention not to carry out a peaceful march, but to get access to Sana’a in order to generate chaos and provoke a violent response by the security forces”, US ambassador said.  “Peace is not only not to take up arms, for example , if 2000 people decided to protest to the White House in US, we do not consider it a peaceful act and will not allow this,” US ambassador added, reported al-Masdar online news website. These announcements provoked controversy and anger among the youth and opposition activists that organized the march. Jamal al-Mulaiki, a Yemeni activist and researcher described in an interview with a TV channel that the US Ambassador statement as a statement made by Abdo al-Janadi, the previous spokesperson of the government.  “We realize that the US is interfering to protect its interests in Yemen, but they must realize that there is a revolution,” said al-Mulaiki. He added that the US apology is not expected but they must realize that the “insulting interfering by the US” and that US should deal now with the Youth who will not accept such interfering.  Feierstein has become the most hated ambassador for the revolution and especially in Taiz where the US flags were burned after his statement. The demonstrators have also started an Anti-Feierstein website demanding Feierstein to apologize or to leave Yemen.  “Our life’s foot march is peaceful and licensed and the proof is that the Central Security was accompanying us” read a statement by the Anti- Feierstein website. The statement also read that the attack against the demonstrators was derived from the “immoral behavior of the ambassador”, who praised the sons of Taiz University before revolution. And after signing GCC initiative he justified the use of the Jungle law. “US Embassy was standing behind the President, therefore the departure of U.S. ambassador and the withdrawal of Yemeni ambassador from Washington is a must,” added the statement.  However, a source at the US embassy said one day before the march arrived in Sana’a, the US embassy talked to senior officials urging restraint and encouraging them to meet with the protestors and allow them to march to change square.    The statement also demanded to stop the trade, investment activities and development programs of the United States in Yemen and replace them with European and Asian. According to opposition sources over 9 demonstrators were killed when some of the demonstrators changed their route and tried to head to the Presidential complex. They clashed with the security barriers set ups to prevent them from reaching to the presidential complex in Assabein area in the south of Sana’a.  Minister of information assured that the government has assigned both Ministers of Defense and Interior to investigate the incident so that the responsible held accountable. The Minister of Interior afterward presented his resignation letter on Sunday to the Prime Minister Mohammed Basindwah who refused it and asked the Minister to think more about his decision. The Ministry of Defense refused the accusation of involving in the attack against the demonstrators and assured that the security forces led by the Ministry of Interior were in charge of securing and protecting the demonstration. The protesters affiliated to the JMP accused the so called Shabab al-Somoud affiliated to Houthi of derailing the march and of erupting chaos and violence.  Thousands of protesters who marched from Taiz south of Yemen entered Yemen’s capital Saturday after a four days march passing three Yemeni provinces.  Prior to the march the General People Congress Party (GPC) that is the ruling party called on the sponsors of the GCC peace deal to pressure on the Joint Meeting Opposition Parties JMP to respect the deal and stop provocations accusing them of sponsoring the march of life to temper the peace deal. President Saleh in his press conference held on Saturday few hours before the incidents accused Hamid al-Ahmar of financing the life march.  He also accused him of being in charge of the June 3 assassination attempt that targeted him and other high rank Yemeni officials that resulted in killing dozens including the speaker of Yemen Senate late Abdul-Aziz Abdul Ghani and wounding many others including the president himself, the former prime minister and the speaker of the parliament.  Saleh called on the opposition parties and all other parties to commit to the GCC deal as a whole matrix but not to be selective.  The president also said that he would leave Yemen to the United States not only for medical treatment as was announced by some UN officials but also for some political affairs. He said he would leave and stay abroad so as to give chance for the interim government to organize the early presidential elections. However he said he would come back to Yemen to lead his ruling party GPC when in the opposition.  The violence underlined the continuing turmoil in Yemen even after Saleh signed a GCC brokered deal that was backed by UNSC resolution last month by which he handed his powers to his vice president and committed to step down completely within 90 days.

NASA discovers new island in Red Sea off Yemen coast

By Mohammed al-Kibsi

NASA announced on Friday that a new island has appeared off the west coast of Yemen following a volcanic eruption.

The U.S. space agency's Earth Observatory posted satellite photos showing a plume of white smoke rising from the ocean near the Zubair archipelago located 30 nautical miles off Yemen coast  in the Red Sea on December 23.

"The image from December 2011 shows an apparent island where there had previously been an unbroken water surface," it said.

"A thick plume ascends from the island, dark near the bottom and light near the top, perhaps a mixture of volcanic ash and water vapor."

A volcanic activity erupted in Saba Island one of Zubair Group, a collection of small islands off the west coast of Yemen on December 23, 2011.

The volcanic activity created what looked like a new island appeared in the region. Running in a roughly northwest-southeast line, the islands poke above the sea surface, rising from a shield volcano. This region is part of the Red Sea Rift where the African and Arabian tectonic plates pull apart and new ocean crust regularly forms.

New islands are created by undersea volcanoes every few years, but many are not strong enough to withstand the wind and waves of the open sea, volcanologist Rick Wunderman told CNN on Thursday.

He added, however, that the volcanic material in the Red Sea tends to be more durable.

Military newspaper staff demand reforms

By Majid al-Kibsi

Yemen Observer

The Ministry of Defense is holding negotiation to determine the future of the Military Moral Guidance Department which follows under the Minister of Defense after the officers and staff of the Department refused the resolution of the Minster which put the Deputy Chief of Staff an interim manager of the department.

Official Source from the department denied what happens in their department as a rebellion; he assured that it is demands to remove Ali al-Shater from the authority of the Department that issues the mouthpiece of the Military the 26 September newspaper.

“What has been published in some media is not true,” said the source to the 26 September newspaper.

“Al-Shater did not enter the Department on Monday, he didn’t give a speech and the fabricated information about arresting 73 demonstrator who turned out according to the news to follow the Muslim Brotherhood,” said the source.

The source also denied arresting any officer for receiving a YR 4 millions bribe from Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, Commander of the First Armed Brigade.

The source also added “Regarding the demands of removing the name of the Brigadier Ali al-Shater  as the Editor-in-Chief of the 26 September newspaper, Minister of Defense, Mohammed Nasser Ahmed gave his directions to leave the name as it is until the issue is solved.”

According to the source, what happened in the Department of Moral Guidance is not a rebellion, but an expression of the officers and soldiers refusal to injustice, oppression and corruption they suffered for long time under the management of Ali al-Shater, and his removing is the only demand.

The officers demanded the immediate discharge of Ali al-Shater, the chairman of the Department and all his assistants and present them to trial in a press release.

“The whole authority staff and officers demands discharging Ali al-Shater and his pawns and present them to a fair trial to get what they deserve, so that everyone gets his rights back, including the public money that was stolen,” said the release.

The release addressed the Vice President, Head of the Military and Security committee and the reconciliation government that holding the Deputy Chief of Staff and other five officers in charge of the Department doesn’t implement their will of removing corruption, injustice and the oppression practiced by al-Shater by using his military position in committing offenses according to the release.

Minister of defense assigned the Deputy Chief of Staff to handle the tasks of the Moral Guidance Authority manager after the employees demonstrated to stop him from work.

The Minister of Defense in the reconciliation government, Mohammed Nasser Ahmed allocated the Deputy Head of Staff Ali Mohammed Salah to run the Moral Guidance authority, and other five officers to handle the tasks of the 26 September newspaper that belong to the Ministry of Defense.

This move came after hundreds of officers and personnel who work in the Military Moral Guidance started a strike demanding to fire the Manager of the Authority and his deputy and assigning qualified people instead.

The officers refused on Monday morning to negotiate with the Deputy Chief of Staff demanding only to remove Ali al-Shater who they accused of corruption.

It seems that the institutional protests are contagious; Yemen TV channel head who was appointed back recently when the Minister of Information was assigned had to leave his office along with several executives after some employees of the channel had fists fight with the Production Manager.

The angry employees demanded that Hussein Basleem, who returned from the demonstration in the change square, should be fired after he and his deputy took an exclusion policy against employees, and some corruption cases his deputy was involved in, according to sources from the TV staff.

Ibrahim al-Hamdi, Monitoring Technician in Yemen Channel assured that these are natural results of the youth demonstrations. “It is a good thing which removes the corruption from the public institutions, and it is resulted from the extended time of the revolution.”

Al-Hamdi also added that there many corruption issues in the channel where many corrupted personnel group up against clean people, and that this issue is in every public institution. 

According to other sources, the employees demonstrated in front of the TV Corporation building demanding the corrupt to be relieved from the financial administration.

In al-Houdiedah Governorate, the demonstration also demanded the replacing of the managers in some public institutions according to Newsyemen.

The demonstrations in al- Houdiedah continued for over four days in the Traffic Department, Electricity Company, Naval Academy and the Oil Company, where the employees are demanding the resignation of the managers and holding them accountable for financial corruption accusations.

In Sana’a, also the employees of Political Security stopped last Wednesday the Political Security Head of Finance from entering to the building and demanded that he should be sacked.

The rescue police blocked Taiz Street last Thursday demanding the sack of their head al-Qasi. The same case also happened in the Traffic Authority

Yemen anti corruption authority refers officials across nation to prosecution

By Shuaib M. al-Mosawa

Yemen Observer

Supreme National Authority to Combat Corruption (SNACC) referred officials to prosecution over corruption cases. SNACC referred officials of Bani Hushaish district to prosecution over charges of stealing YR 23 million, Saba News Agency reported.

In the capital Sana’a, SNACC suspended some officials working in a hospital from their duties over corruption cases, based on an investigation into a case in Assabeen Hospital.

In Bajel of Al-Houdeidah province, official in the Labor Office were referred to the prosecution over charges of abusing positions held by those officials and also hindering smoothly procedure of work. In regards to the oil shortage, SNACC ordered the Oil Ministry to launch an investigation into hijacking oil carriers, which Yemen has witnessed such hijack since the outbreak of the crisis that started last February.

In a similar context, SNACC warned against an increase of oil prices in Taiz province, in which SNACC pointed that owners of oil stations have added an amount of money to the usual tariff of oil prices.

SNACC, led by Ahmed Muhammed Al-Anesi, has welcomed the interim government’s program in regards to combating corruption. The government program, adopted September 19, agreed on activation of anti-corruption system and embodiment the principles of transparency and accountability, and equal opportunities, in addition to the introduction of efficiency standards, and the realization of the oversight role of the official and popular actor on performance, as well as applying the principle of reward and punishment.