Quelle surprise de lire les titres des quotidiens européens le lendemain de "l'élection" présidentielle au Yémen : "Les Yéménites choisissent leur nouveau président."
N'y aurait-il donc que les Yéménites à avoir bien compris que cette "élection" n'a été qu'un gentil canular et que rien n'a changé au Yémen ? Car il est bien évident que les Yéménites n'ont rien choisi du tout et, eux, dans leur grande majorité, ils le savent fort bien.
C'est à Riyad qu'a été désigné le nouveau président du Yémen ; et en aucun cas dans les bureaux de vote du 21 février.
La "révolution" yéménite n'a en effet que peu à voir avec le "Printemps arabe" : la guerre des chefs couvait depuis un certain temps et la bien maigre contestation qui s'est manifestée à l'occasion des révoltes arabes, partie de l'université de Sanaa, a seulement fourni l'occasion d'intervenir aux protagonistes du théâtre politique yéménite.… Seguir leyendo »
On Monday, when the UN envoy Jamal Benomar and Abdullatif al-Zayani of the Gulf Co-operation Council flew into Yemen, they hoped for agreement on a transition plan that would see President Ali Abdullah Saleh step down after 33 years in power. Instead they found themselves in the middle of an urban battlefield, trying to negotiate an immediate ceasefire between rival elite families.
Negotiations over the timing of elections have gone back and forth between the ruling party and the opposition coalition since the spring. The beleaguered Gulf-backed transition plan still forms the basis of these negotiations, with support from the UN.… Seguir leyendo »
I went to Sana, the capital, to wander Tahrir Square. Protesters had set up a sea of tents, big and small, red and yellow, and as I entered I saw a sign: “Welcome to the square kilometer of freedom.”
Everyone I passed, women, men and children, gave the victory sign and shouted, “Get out!” They weren’t yelling at me, but at President Ali Abdullah Saleh. A few days later, he would in fact get out; on Saturday, he went to Saudi Arabia for treatment for wounds he received when his compound was attacked. But he says he’s planning to return, and despite the celebrations, the protests go on.… Seguir leyendo »
The shelling of Yemen’s presidential palace last Friday represented the end of the road for President Ali Abdullah Saleh — a decisive conclusion he had never expected, or even considered, when the youth revolt erupted four months ago.
Yemen’s tribal society, its problems with Al Qaeda, its struggle with separatist movements, and its rate of gun ownership, one of the world’s highest, should have led him to react cautiously — and to realize that the people, having taken to the streets to demand freedom and dignity, would not return home until they achieved victory.
Instead, Mr. Saleh resorted to sowing division among the Yemeni people.… Seguir leyendo »
Yemen is a fertile land with beaches that stretch for more than 1,700km. It is also a country in which more than 10 million people are threatened by starvation, where thousands spend their lives sneaking into neighbouring countries in search of better opportunities, and where children are violated in forced labour markets. In an age of extraordinary medical advances, the greatest hope of 24 million Yemenis is that their children are not crippled by polio. Man landed on the moon more than 40 years ago, but in Yemen, many still dream of travelling by car rather than donkey. In an age of Facebook and Twitter, many Yemenis simply wish they could read a letter from a loved one.… Seguir leyendo »
The revolution in Yemen began immediately after the fall of Ben Ali in Tunisia on 14 January. As I always do when arranging a demonstration I posted a message on Facebook, calling on people to celebrate the Tunisian uprising on 16 January.
The following day a group of students from Sana'a University asked me to attend a vigil in front of the Tunisian embassy. The crowd was shouting: "Heroes! We are with you in the line of fire against the evil rulers!" We were treated roughly by the security forces, and we chanted: "If, one day, a people desires to live, then destiny will answer their call," and "The night must come to an end" – the mantra of the revolutionaries in Tunisia.… Seguir leyendo »
Desde comienzos de febrero, y siguiendo los pasos de Túnez y Egipto, Yemen está pasando por un periodo de agitación política. Aunque la retirada de la escena del presidente Ali Abdalá Saleh parece inevitable a corto plazo, aún no está claro cómo influirán los acontecimientos en la distribución del poder entre las fuerzas que pugnan por él. A continuación, figuran algunas ideas generales sobre los principales actores y especulaciones sobre cómo se verán afectados por el fin de Saleh, todo ello sin perder de vista que la política es un proceso dinámico y que las pérdidas y ganancias de cada uno dependerán de su habilidad, sus recursos y su esfuerzo.… Seguir leyendo »
Ali Abdullah Saleh está acabado como presidente de Yemen. Las protestas democráticas populares que comenzaron a pequeña escala a mediados de febrero afuera de la Universidad de Sanaa se han ampliado hasta abarcar a todo el país. La continuidad y la fuerza de las manifestaciones indican claramente que los días del régimen están contados. Los líderes tribales se han unido a los manifestantes. Incluso aliados cercanos de la tribu Hashid a la que pertenece Saleh, como Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, lo han abandonado. Ahora, también su protector de muchos años, los Estados Unidos, parecen estarlo abandonando.
Saleh, que ha estado en el poder desde 1978, sabe que su tiempo ha terminado.… Seguir leyendo »
When Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh ordered his military on March 18 to fire on peaceful protesters calling for his resignation, he sealed his fate. A wave of military, government, and diplomatic defections, led by his long-time ally First Armored Brigade Commander General Ali Muhsin al-Ahmar, rocked his regime.
But, although al-Ahmar announced that he was appalled by the use of force and vowed to defend the constitution, his decision was anything but altruistic. The disgruntled general, who has long-standing ties to the type of jihadists that the United States is battling in Yemen, merely sought to settle a score with the president’s family.… Seguir leyendo »
Late Thursday night, amid rumors that he was about to resign after almost 33 years in power, a defiant President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen went on national television to criticize demonstrators and declare a general amnesty for soldiers who had gone over to the opposition. His brief remarks were the latest act in a week of tense political drama in which scores of protesters in the capital were killed and Mr. Saleh’s most important military ally defected.
The protests in Yemen have been building since Feb. 11, when Hosni Mubarak stepped down in Egypt. What started small has now grown into a mass movement uniting, at least temporarily, the varied interests of Yemen’s fractured opposition around the single demand that President Saleh leave office.… Seguir leyendo »
Tema: La era de Saleh ha estado marcada por una corrupción desbocada, la personalización del Estado, la distorsión de la cultura, la fragmentación social y el rentismo. A ojos de muchos yemeníes, el presidente Saleh es hoy parte del problema, no de la solución.
Resumen: Hay quienes sostienen que la caída del régimen autocrático del presidente Ali Abdullah Saleh no está ausente de riesgos. El argumento esbozado es el siguiente: dada la ubicación marcadamente estratégica del país y el hecho de que se enfrenta a una rebelión en el norte, un movimiento secesionista en el sur y una amenaza creciente de al-Qaeda, la salida de Saleh contribuiría a agravar más, si cabe, los problemas de Yemen y la amenaza que estos representan para la estabilidad nacional, regional e internacional.… Seguir leyendo »
"My daughters and I are safe. What happened is a massacre, a real massacre," Arwa Othman, the Yemeni writer and activist, told me.
I called her on Friday after hearing of gunmen firing on a protest rally in Yemen's capital, Sana'a, killing tens of protesters. The voices of ambulance sirens were clear and loud. They stood in stark contrast to the joyful and hopeful atmosphere of the sit-in camp three weeks ago, when Othman and I participated in a women's rally.
Othman, who is in her forties, was drawn to the Yemeni youth movement just like other members of Yemeni urban civil society.… Seguir leyendo »
Parece que el tren de las revueltas populares sigue su marcha y los impactos de Túnez y Egipto empiezan a tener efecto en toda la región. En el caso de Yemen, a pesar de muchas similitudes con la situación en los casos anteriores como la corrupción, la tiranía y el rechazo popular, sobre todo entre los jóvenes, la diferencia es que se enfrenta con dos opciones: un cambio real por medios pacíficos o la guerra civil.
El presidente yemení, Alí Abdulá Saleh, en un intento de adelantarse a lo que le pueda pasar, ha anunciado una series de medidas como no presentarse a un nuevo mandato y que su hijo no va a heredar el sillón, así como una serie de reformas constitucionales en un intento de hacer concesiones a las demandas de la calle y de la oposición, pero estas promesas, debido a la falta de confianza en el presidente y su régimen, se antojan increíbles y parecen más una maniobra de Saleh, que juega sus cartas para prolongar la agonía y mantenerse en el poder.… Seguir leyendo »
On and off for the past few weeks, thousands of youths draped in pink scarves and ribbons have been out protesting in Yemen’s capital, Sana, making it look as if that country is next in line after Tunisia and perhaps Egypt for regime change. But conditions in Yemen for ousting another elderly strongman and his big, greedy family after decades of misrule are not proving as favorable as one might expect.
Indeed, Ali Abdullah Saleh — a former army officer who has been president since 1978, when his predecessor was assassinated by means of an exploding suitcase — is proving less of a klutz than his Egyptian counterpart, Hosni Mubarak.… Seguir leyendo »
Utilizamos cookies para el correcto funcionamiento de la página web y analíticas para estadísticas.ACEPTARPolítica de privacidad
