Since the return to Yemen of President Ali Abdullah Saleh in late September, the struggle has only intensified in spite of repeated government attempts to quell it.
“We are concerned that the violence in Sana’a and in other parts of the country has increased significantly,” said Eric Marclay, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross delegation in Yemen. (Yemen Times, Oct. 30)A field hospital in Change Square, the central focus of the protest movement in the capital city of Sana’a, estimated the death toll at 152 from Sept. 18 to Oct. 25 alone. With the assistance of the Yemen Red Crescent, the ICRC treated 1,500 injured people while collecting 50 dead bodies in the past month. (Yemen Times, Oct. 30)
“I have seen people with half a body, half a head,” said Dr. Mohammed Qubati from a mosque-turned emergency room in Sana’a. “What can we do? We cry.” (The New York Times, Oct. 22)
For the first time since the beginning of the conflict in January, Sana’a International Airport was attacked by opposition forces on Oct. 30. The airport is a strategic military target because it is the only landing strip in the city and is used by both the military and commercial airlines.
In addition to Sana’a, the most populous city located in the north, violence has flared in other regional hubs including Aden and Zinjibar in the south and Taiz in the center of the country.
In Aden, until recently considered relatively secure, government security forces have become increasing targets of attacks by opposition forces. The country’s head of counterterrorism, Maj. Ali al-Haji, was killed in a car bomb on Oct. 28.
Protest movement prevails in spite of pro-government violence
In spite of the increasing brutality of the pro-government violence, the protest movement has valiantly persevered, putting on daily demonstrations and marches throughout the country.
Starting in mid-September, protesters in Sana’a began demonstrating outside a zone protected by the Yemeni military’s First Armored Division, which has provided some protection to the protesters’ encampment near Sana’a University since last spring when pro-government forces attacked demonstrators, killing over 50 people. The massacre of innocent civilians resulted in a mass defection of hundreds of government and military officials, including the First Armored Division, led by Maj. Gen. Ali Mohsin al-Ahmar, a major rival of Saleh’s forces.
President Saleh has since used Gen. Ahmar’s armed protection of the Sana’a-based protest movement as a pretext to attack unarmed civilian demonstrators.
“How is it a peaceful march then,” said Saleh, “when behind them is the power of a rebel military, which is now an integral part of what are called demonstrators?” (The New York Times, Oct. 16)
Despite such claims, the government has focused its attacks on unarmed protesters, not Gen. Ahmar’s armed forces. At least 12 civilian demonstrators were killed by pro-government forces on Oct. 15 alone, after leaving their protected zone and marching near the Foreign Ministry.
“When the thugs start shooting at the protesters, they cannot stand idle,” said Sultan al-Radhae, a youth organizer. “The First Armored Division felt the obligation to help stop the thugs from shooting the protesters by protecting them.” (The New York Times, Oct. 16)
Women in Sana’a held a demonstration Oct. 26 in which they burned their makrama (body veils). This is a traditional Bedouin women’s protest to call for solidarity in the face of extreme repression.
Associated Press reported that the women handed out leaflets reading in part: “Here we burn our makrama in front of the world to witness the bloody massacres carried out by the tyrant Saleh.”
Saleh’s rule is further challenged by the al-Ahmar family led by billionaire telecom tycoon Hamid al-Ahmar, no relation to Gen. Ahmar. The al-Ahmars are linked to the largest tribal group in Yemen. (Read “The struggle in Yemen reignites yet again” for more on the role of tribes in the struggle in Yemen. [www.liberationnews.org/news/the-struggle-in-yemen.html])
Transfer of power appeared possible prior to Saleh’s return
Prior to Saleh’s sudden return to Yemen on Sept. 30, the governing party had signed documents agreeing with opposition forces to a transfer of power to a transitional government. However, following Saleh’s return, progress on the transfer has gone nowhere.
“It was easy for the ruling party to proceed with the political process without Saleh,” said Yassin Saeed Noman, a leader of the Joint Meetings Parties, a coalition of opposition parties. “It was easier to negotiate, but under his direct leadership, what can they do?” (The New York Times, Oct. 9)
In early October, Saleh cynically made vague promises: “I never wanted power. I will reject power in the coming days. I will give it up.” (The New York Times, Oct. 8)
Shortly after, however, rather than agreeing to a transfer of power Saleh submitted a proposal to the United Arab Emirates that would have him remain in power until elections take place at an unknown date next year.
“You know what stepping down means to him? It means surrendering to Ali Mohsin and Hamid al-Ahmar,” said a Yemeni government official, referring to his primary rivals for state power. (The New York Times, Oct. 9)
Mohammed al-Sabri, a spokesman for the opposition, said Saleh’s statements were only intended to generate headlines prior to a United Nations Security Council meeting that was planning to discuss the failed transfer of power.
“If the president was serious and is convinced that the public no longer wants him, he should do it today and not tomorrow,” Sabri said. “The Yemeni people are used to his lies. He has often promised things and never lived up to them. This is turning into a rerun for a soap opera.” (The New York Times, Oct. 8)
The United Nations Security Council on Oct. 21 called on Saleh to immediately transfer power to his deputy and end the escalating violence in exchange for immunity from prosecution for him and his family, a move that is vehemently opposed by much of the opposition. The resolution was based on a proposal made by the U.S.-backed Gulf Cooperation Council, a regional coalition of states led by Saudi Arabia.
However, unlike the direct material support from the United States, NATO and the European Union, in the form of arms and aerial bombardments for the reactionary rebels in Libya, such verbal and written statements will do little to alter the equation in Yemen, where Saleh has ruled for decades with the support of the United States and its junior partners.
Danger of U.S. military intervention
It has recently come to light that the United States is now building a secret CIA airbase at an undisclosed location in the Persian Gulf for the express purpose of carrying out increased air strikes in Yemen. Yemen, while on the Arabian Peninsula, is culturally and geographically linked to the Horn of Africa. People have historically traveled back and forth across the Red Sea on a regular basis for commerce. East Africa is also the target of imperialism’s most recent moves.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has used drones and airstrikes to kill people in Yemen under the pretext of fighting terrorism. U.S. imperialism is correctly concerned that Saleh is not strong enough to hold Yemen together and prevent it from becoming a base for anti-U.S. action. At the same time, they have so far been unable to broker a deal that allows Saleh a graceful exit, resulting in an extended political stalemate with mounting casualties.
As the protest movement in Yemen further develops, progressives and revolutionaries in the United States should bear in mind that our struggle here at home is connected to theirs.
Yemen may seem remote from our struggles here in the United States. Yemen is the poorest Arab nation, it is also in many ways one of the most “traditional” in terms of cultural norms. Nonetheless, the men and women of Yemen have the same aspirations as workers here in the United States: They want jobs, food, peace and a government that puts their needs first rather than serving the rich.
Progressives in the United States must stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Yemen who are struggling so bravely against the U.S.-backed Saleh government. One of the best things we can do is to continue and deepen our own class struggle here, in essence opening a second front. U.S. hands off Yemen!
