Yemen (Continuación)

MundoOriente Próximo

Yemen's popular youth revolution faced a unique set of circumstances among the contemporary revolutions of the Arab spring: a despotic regime; armed tribes; and an al-Qaida presence under the official auspices of the regime. But faced with all this, the youth insisted on achieving a comprehensive transformation by peaceful means. And millions of Yemenis responded to this invitation, descending on protest squares across the country.

The challenge of inviting the tribes of Yemen to join in with a revolution that was peaceful was significant; they represent a major segment of the population; and weapons are a part of their makeup. So when they began to pitch their tents in the squares, stripped of all weapons, it was a surprise and an indication of the desire by all Yemenis to move towards a modern democratic state.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo,

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 »

MundoOriente Próximo,

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 »

MundoOriente Próximo

For the first time in its exceedingly long history, Yemen now threatens the outside world. It does so in two principal ways.

First, even before the current political upheaval began there on Jan. 15, violence out of Yemen already impinged on Westerners. As President Ali Abdullah Saleh's weak government controlled only a small part of the country, violence had emerged both near to Yemen, such as attacks on American and French ships, and distant from it, like Anwar al-Awlaki's incitement to terrorism in Texas, Michigan and New York. With Mr. Saleh's apparent abdication on June 4, when he traveled to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment, the central government's writ will further diminish, leading to yet more attacks being planned inside Yemen for execution outside the country.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo

Since the beginning of Yemen's popular uprising in February, President Ali Abdullah Saleh has been putting into practice his skilful art of "dancing on the heads of snakes".

On the domestic front, he first offered the protesters a number of concessions, but then withdrew them again. He then applied police and military repression as well as exploiting the deep fissures in Yemeni society. For the regional and international audience, Saleh waved his two warning cards: al-Qaida and civil war.

Strategically located at the intersection of the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, and being perceived as the homeland of the most dangerous branch of al-Qaida, Yemen is indeed of vital interest to regional and international security.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo,

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 »

MundoOriente Próximo,

"Security forces in civilian clothes have threatened me with the jambiyya, not just during demonstrations, but everywhere I go," the protest leader and journalist Tawakkol Karman told me, describing the traditional dagger that Yemeni men wear strapped to their waists.

In the past, any mention of Yemen's women in the news media has usually been about two issues, neither of them positive. The first is that they are more likely than most women in the Middle East to die in childbirth, and the second that they are among the least empowered women in the world.

The second assumption has recently been shattered by the uprisings in Yemen.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente PróximoInternacionalTerrorismo Internacional,

Tema: No hay que exagerar la realidad del terrorismo yihadista en Yemen, ni tampoco minimizarla, para entender por qué al-Qaeda en la Península Arábiga, con un minoritario pero significativo apoyo popular entre los yemeníes, se estaría beneficiando de la situación por la que atraviesa el país.

Resumen: Al-Qaeda en la Península Arábiga (AQPA) ha pasado de recomponerse y desarrollar una notable campaña de atentados en Yemen a implicarse en actividades terroristas fuera del país. El modo en que evolucione la pugna política de Yemen, cuyo desenlace no se prevé a corto y medio plazo estable o carente de una intensa conflictividad manifiesta, no es indiferente para AQPA.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo

To Yemenis, violence in the streets and threats of state collapse are nothing new. Despite reports portraying the protests in Yemen as something of a revolution, democratic change has little possibility of success. President Ali Abdullah Saleh is essentially a figurehead; whether he stays or goes, the regime of technocrats and thugs he represents is unlikely to fold under pressure.

Since Mr. Saleh came to power in North Yemen in a 1978 coup, his regime has selectively used state violence to maintain its hold, often working through militias and other loyalists, including radical Sunni Muslims sympathetic to Al Qaeda. Predictably, the violence has come at great cost to a country struggling with high unemployment and widespread poverty.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo,

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 »

MundoOriente Próximo,

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 »

MundoOriente Próximo,

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 »

MundoOriente Próximo,

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 »

MundoOriente Próximo,

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 »

MundoOriente Próximo,

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 »

MundoOriente Próximo,

"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 »

MundoOriente Próximo,

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 »

MundoOriente Próximo

It occurs to me as I listen to the shouts of the young protesters in the streets here that they could use most of the chants of the Egyptian protesters verbatim — save for the ones about Suzanne Mubarak, the former first lady of Egypt. This is because the mere mention of any of the four wives of our president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, would be a shameful violation of a tribal taboo.

The state-controlled news media continue to assert that Yemen is neither Tunisia nor Egypt. But the president and his minions have been watching their backs since the success of the Egyptian revolution, as most of the revolutionary movements in Yemen have been influenced by earlier Egyptian events.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo,

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 »

MundoAméricaMundoOriente PróximoInternacionalTerrorismo Internacional, , ,

Several recent attempted terrorist attacks – including the discovery late last month of printer cartridges packed with explosives on board two cargo planes bound for and, as now revealed, targeted at the United States – have put the spotlight on Yemen, the country from which the plot originated and where the suspected bomb-maker is believed to be hiding.

In addition to this most recent plot, the failed attempt to destroy a Northwest Airlines flight over Detroit in December 2009, and the failed attempt to detonate a car bomb in Times Square in March 2010, have some connection to the impoverished land at the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula.…  Seguir leyendo »