A TJR Exclusive

Demonstrations and armed conflict in Southern Yemen are heightening fears of growing instability in the impoverished nation, already battling a Shiite insurgency in the North.

On May 22, as Yemen marked the 17th anniversary of the unification of the Arab Republic (YAR, North Yemen) and the People’s Democratic Republic (PDRY, South Yemen), demonstrators throughout the South protested against the government. A large rally held in Mukalla (Hadhramout governorate) drew participants from neighboring cities. Protesters marched in Lahj, Aden and Abyan raising black flags. Marches and demonstrations are continuing.

Under the leadership of a former Southern military commander, Sa’eed Al-Shahtor, hundreds of armed former southern military personnel are blockading a main through fare between Shabwa and Abyan governorates. Security forces have been unable to regain control of the area and fighting for control of the road has been ongoing.

On June 3 thousands of demonstrators in al-Dhalie, "denounced the repeated violations and abuse practiced against citizens in the province," the opposition weekly al-Sahwa reported. Yemen's security forces opened fire over the heads of the marchers in an failed effort to disburse the crowd. On June 4th retired southern soldiers held a peaceful demonstration in Aden.

Yemen has experienced marked instability since September’s 2006 presidential election, In the northern Sa'ada province, about 60,000 soldiers have been embroiled in a raging war with about 1000 Zaidi Shiite rebels since January. Tens of thousands of civilians have fled the fighting, and many are without shelter, food, water, and medical care. In the South, tensions that have been brewing for years have begun to flare.

The 1990 unification of Yemen brought together 2 million southerners with 12 million northerners in what was supposed to be a democratic power sharing arrangement. However, since Yemen's 1994 civil war, the country is ruled by a cabal of northern military and tribal elite that deploys the terminology of "democracy" while excluding authentic participation and precluding economic and political reform. With corruption rampant, the regime has been dubbed "a kleptocracy." After the 1994 civil war, several hundred thousand Southern and Eastern military officer and soldiers were illegally discharged from the armed forces. Their pensions are at less than a sustenance level. The pensioners, sometimes called the "stay at home party", have through the years sought to address their grievances through demonstrations, sit-ins and judicial remedies. Rather uniformly, they have been denounced by the regime as "separatists." Another common official response to the pensioners grievances (and those of Southerners in general) is to wield the term "apostates" as the former PDRY was a Socialist state.

Beyond the specific treatment of the pensioners, a body of legitimate complaints have been raised by Southern residents, and rebuffed by authorities. Foremost among these is consistent, widespread and blatant land theft by northern elites , targeting both public and private properties. A substantial military presence and network of checkpoints gives Southerners the sense of occupation rather than unity. Areas of perceived discrimination include employment and educational opportunities, exclusion from effective political participation and a lack of basic services.

However the Southern protesters are expressing grievances familiar beyond the South. In recent months, unexplained prices hikes have hit basic commodities. With half of Yemenis living in poverty, higher prices translate into persistent daily hunger. President Saleh’s electoral campaign promises of economic reform and political inclusion have not materialized. Popular concern is focused on wide scale poverty, unemployment and illiteracy, the growing influence of fundamentalists, and the lack of clean water, electricity and health care.

In the context of burgeoning frustration, in recent months the regime has furthered it’s repression of free speech; opposition websites are blocked, text news services have been suspended, journalists beaten and arrested, and new newspaper licenses denied.

The protests in South Yemen and regime's response indicate that the text and intention of Yemen’s unity agreement between North and South Yemen have been breached to the detriment of Southerners. However in failing to address, consider, include or support the general population during governmental decision making, the state has also breeched the fundamental premise of “democracy” that underpins the legitimacy of the state.

Posted by: JaneNovak at 12:44 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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