North versus the south
Jane Novak describes the Yemeni intifada.
Yemen is facing instability unseen since its 1994 civil war. A war with Shiite rebels in the northern Sa’ada province left over 50,000 internal refugees. The rebellion ended in June but threatens to re-ignite as neither side has fully implemented the cease-fire conditions. ...
Unrest in southern Yemen has its roots in northern hegemony following the 1990 unification of North and South Yemen. The Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP), which formerly ruled the south, was marginalized following Yemen's 1994 civil war. Dr. Aidroos Naser al Naqeeb, head of the YSP’s Parliamentary block, said, “The YSP Central Committee indicated that the South was treated as the spoils of war including land, people, companies and wealth. The YSP also noted the violence against the current protesters reflects the type of politics which has dominated after the outcome of the war.”
A lurid description of the kind of corruption found in Yemen was featured in the Middle East Times.
Corruption has become so rife in Yemen that it is not just causing widespread popular discontent but also impeding economic development in one of the world's poorest countries, experts say.
Graft permeates every level of society, from the modest baksheesh (tip) handed to soldiers standing guard at ministries and who cannot otherwise make ends meet, to kickbacks on contracts and the "surcharge" that every importer must pay.
"Corruption is becoming an economy in itself in Yemen," said one independent analyst who asked not to be named.
posted by wretchardthecat at 1/02/2008 02:46:00 PM
6 Comments:
0 comments.
Nobody cares.
And why should we?
Nahncee: Who cared about Afghanistan in the 1990s?
Although I am rather fond of Richard Fernandez’s use of elliptical prose, his elliptical literary style may leave some readers confused.
There is an ambient level of violence within Muslim tribal societies that has nothing to do with the actions of outsiders. Such factions may claim to be reacting against outside influence, but they are really doing no such thing. Instead, they act upon their basic impulses of envy and plunder, using religious verse to promote their cause. When Richard Fernandez referred to a “Yemeni intifada”, he is showing how no particular Israeli, European, or American action causes an intifada. Instead, an intifada is an expression of violence against some resented neighbor in the vicinity; an enemy will always be found for someone who truly desires to be violent.
Yemeni society is not under American occupation, yet the local officials are still corrupt. Yemeni society is not under Israeli occupation, yet local Arabs still feel frustration. South Yemen is no longer a British colony, yet the yoke of northern Yemenis is now as hated as the British ever had been. There are some conditions in the world for which no rational person could hold the West responsible, yet demagogues like Kucinich and Paul would argue that western intervention creates the problems of the Middle East.
It is difficult for some people to comprehend how the hatred people from certain societies feel against us has nothing whatsoever to do with anything we do. Their hatred isn’t about us; it’s about them. What happens in Yemen matters, for it shows the ambient level of violence within a Muslim tribal society when there is little or no intervention from outsiders. This can be compared and contrasted to the level of violence on the frontiers of Islam.
Take a look at a map of the Indian Ocean including the Red Sea, the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden, and the Somali Peninsula.
Just east of the Somali Peninsula you will see a group of islands at about 14 degrees N, 54 degrees W.
The Island Socatra stands astride the Arabian Sea approaches to the Red Sea --- at the eastern end of the path traveled by all shipping that passes through the Suez Canal. It is a possession of Yemen, and has a centuries-long Islamic culture, despite serving as a coaling station for the British Navy in the 19th century.
The Island has some good anchorage, and is certainly large enough for substantial air bases.
If my memory serves, Wretchard wrote an article sometime about 2004 describing that region as one of the real choke points of world shipping. The potential vulnerability to piracy was the theme of his post then, and events have certainly shone the predictive value of his insight.
Combine the volatility of the culture with the crucial geography, and you have all the elements of an area to watch.
Bab el Mandeb, the Gulf of Suez, the Straights of Hormuz, and the straights of Malacca, Sundok and Lambok are strategic locations of incredible importance to international commerce. Blowing an ultra large crude carrier (320,000+ deadweight tons) in one of these (Suez max is >200,000 deadweight) chokepoints could put a month-long tourniquet on something approaching, say, 35% of world sea transport.
Yemen controls Bab el Mandeb.
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