Dar al-Salam promotes peace in Yemen provinces

By Majid al-Kibsi Yemen Observer Dar al-Salam organization held a workshop in Sana’a to promote peace and cohesion in the governorates of Abyan, al-Jawf and Lahj on Sunday November 27. The workshop which was held in partnership with the European Union aims at training peace promoters to raise awareness in conflict areas. Abdul-Kareem Qasim, Professor of Islamic Philosophy in Sana’a University assured that the project was promoting public peace. “The project targets the governorates of Abyan, Lahj and al-Jawf, which suffer the highest rate of violence,” said Qasim. He added “in the project we will focus on the youth, sheikhs and the key figures within the society.” In a presentation by Dr. Qasim stressed that “violence increases in areas that have strong tribal bonding.” According to Qasim, tribal conflicts between families differ from an area to the next. In al-Jawf, conflicts mostly revolve around land borders as in Lahj and Abyan, it is more about irrigation water. He also assured that although the communities in question rejected violence they were forced to resort to it. “A dangerous notion is circulating within the international community that Yemen has over 60 million illegal arm pieces which is damaging the investment sector greatly. Truth is, these arm pieces are not carried but rather stocked,” said Qasim. He further added “Not all Yemenis carry weapons, we cannot generalize a regional trend and apply it nationally.” Ahmed Mohsen Ali Jarras, a sociological researcher from al-Jawf governorate talked about the reasons behind the conflicst. “There are some parties which have interest in increasing conflicts; some Sheikhs have shown good will in trying to stop armed confrontations while others have been promoting them as it serves their interests.” According to Jarras, some of the ancient tribal values have been eradicated, replaced by acts of banditry. “The road used to be a sacred place, a public place. Now people are being kidnapped, robbed or even killed.” During the workshop, Sheikh Abdulrahman al-Marwani announced that there were over 270 activists in the governorate of al-Jawf. Dar al-Salam organization is also intending to promote peace and understanding, especially during the presidential elections on February 2012.