Obama supports mocked elections in Yemen' Yemen’s presidential election has begun with only one candidate on the ballot amid the opposition’s call for the fall of the entire regime. The polls opened Tuesday, with 12 million eligible voters, and the sole candidate is Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. The election is to put an end to Yemen’s Ali Abdullah Saleh’s 33-year rule and formally transfer power to his assistant, Hadi. Press TV has interviewed Lawrence Davidson, professor of West Chester University, to shed more light on the issue.
What follows is the text of the interview: Press TV: An election with just one candidate who symbolizes the very regime the people rose up against. Davidson: Well, it is not a path to democracy, is it? So some people claim that this is a symbolic move or break with the past but it is very difficult to see in pragmatic terms how this can possibly be. Hadi is Saleh’s man and the security forces are in the hands of Saleh’s family. They have allowed themselves to continue to be fragmented.
Yemen cabinet approves President Saleh amnesty law. 8 January 2012Last updated at 23:22 Mr Saleh is to receive immunity from prosecution in return for stepping down from power Yemen's cabinet has approved a draft law which grants President Ali Abdullah Saleh immunity from prosecution as part of a Gulf-brokered transition deal. The law would give amnesty to Mr Saleh and his aides in "all government, civil and military departments" during his 33-year rule, state media said. It is still to be approved by the country's parliament.
On Friday, the UN human rights chief criticised the deal, which was signed in November amid a popular uprising. Navi Pillay said those who committed abuses during a crackdown on the civil unrest unrest must face justice, and that the deal broke international law. 'Gross violations' President Saleh has agreed to stand down in February on condition that he and his family are granted immunity from prosecution. Yemen's anti-government protests began in January 2011 amid the wave of regional uprisings. Awlaki video urges U.S. Muslims to join al Qaeda. DUBAI Wed Dec 21, 2011 2:47am IST DUBAI (Reuters) - U.S. -born al Qaeda militant Anwar al-Awlaki, killed in a CIA drone strike in September, posthumously called on U.S. Muslims to join the group in the Middle East in a video released on Tuesday. Awlaki, identified by U.S. intelligence as "chief of external operations" for al Qaeda's Yemeni branch and a Web-savvy publicist for the Islamist cause, was killed in a remote Yemeni town by missiles fired from multiple CIA drones.
"You have two choices: either hijra (emigration) or jihad (holy war)," Awlaki said in the video, which was posted on Islamist websites. "I specifically invite the youth to either fight in the West or join their brothers in the fronts of jihad: Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia. "I invite them to join us in our new front, Yemen, the base from which the great jihad of the Arabian Peninsula will begin, the base from which the greatest army of Islam will march forth," said Awlaki, a cleric of Yemeni descent, speaking in English. Iran censures brutal crackdown in Yemen. Iran slams brutal crackdown in Yemen Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast has condemned the Yemeni government's brutal crackdown on the peaceful protests in the country.
Mehmanparast criticized international organizations for their silence on violent suppression of protesters at the hand of the regime of Ali Abdullah Saleh, Mehr News Agency reported on Saturday. The Iranian official stressed that any response to the demands of the Yemeni people must meet their legitimate demands.
He added that Iran denounces any foreign meddling in Yemen and called for all the parties, groups, tribes and the elite to remain vigilant. Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands more injured in Yemen since the beginning of the uprising against the Saleh regime which resulted in his stepping down. Fighting erupts in Yemen amid protests - Middle East. Officials in Yemen say heavy fighting broke out in the Yemeni capital between security forces and army defectors despite the signing of a recent deal to transfer power.
One man from each side was killed in Friday's clashes in Sanaa, a military official said. Central security forces under the command of Ali Abdullah Saleh's nephew battled the army's First Armoured Division, led by a general who defected to the opposition in March, the official said. The protests in Sanaa and the southern city of Taiz followed Saleh's signing of a deal on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia, brokered by the six-nation Gulf Co-operation Council, transferring power in exchange for immunity from prosecution. Many protesters say the deal - under which Saleh will leave the president's office in 30 days.- falls short of their demands because many crucial positions in the government and the military are held by Saleh's family and friends. 'Crowds angry' “The protests have gone off peacefully.
Power transfer. Yemen’s Leader Signs Deal to Yield Power. Yemeni Socialist Party - Wiki. The Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP) (الحزب الاشتراكي اليمني, Al-Hizb Al-Ishtiraki Al-Yamani) is a political party in Yemen. It was the ruling party in South Yemen before unification in 1990. Now it is an democratic socialist opposition party in the unified Yemen.[1][2] General secretaries[edit] History[edit] In Yemen, radical and progressive ideas appeared in the 1940s and 1950s with the first waves of Yemeni students abroad.
Political organizations in this Muslim country emerged and evolved to become governing parties.[4] In power, the YSP was beset by internal divisions. Surviving many upheavals and civil strife in Yemen, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the crisis of international socialism, the YSP was instrumental in achieving Yemeni unity and the establishment of multi-party democracy in the Republic of Yemen in May 1990.[6] Current situation[edit] The main strands constituting the composite ideology of the YSP are pan-Arab nationalism, Marxism, and social democratic trends.
Yemen’s Capital Rocked by Explosions. Clashes Erupt in Yemen's Capital | Middle East. Fierce clashes Saturday between Yemeni forces loyal to embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh and opposition fighters in the capital Sana'a killed at least 12 people, including five civilians. Medical officials said several loyalists of Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, a Yemeni general who broke with the government and joined the opposition, were also among the dead in fighting in the northern part of the city.
In another part of Sana'a, witnesses said security forces raided neighborhoods that are home to family members of an opposition tribal leader, Sheik Sadeq al-Ahmar. The violence came a day after the U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution condemning Yemen's crackdown on dissent. The measure called the government's use of force against protestors excessive and said "those responsible for violence, human rights violations and abuses should be held accountable.
" Mr. For the past ten months, opposition activists have been demanding an end to Mr. Clashes Erupt in Yemen's Capital. Facebook. Flash-tawakkol-karman فلاشات توكل كرمان- الثورة السلمية. Islamist cleric Anwar Awlaki 'killed in Yemen' 30 September 2011Last updated at 17:17 US officials said Anwar al-Awlaki had played a significant role in attacks on US interests US-born radical Islamist cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, a key al-Qaeda leader, has been killed in Yemen, the country's defence ministry said.
US President Barack Obama said his death was a major blow to al-Qaeda. Awlaki, of Yemeni descent, has been on the run in Yemen since December 2007. The US said that as a key figure in al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), he had played a "significant role" in plots to blow up US airliners and had sought use poison to kill US citizens. Mr Obama is said to have personally ordered his killing last year. Yemen's defence ministry statement said only that Awlaki had died in Khashef in Jawf province, about 140km (87 miles) east of the capital, Sanaa, "along with some of his companions". Local tribal leaders told the AFP news agency that Awlaki had been moving around within Yemen in recent weeks to evade capture. Analysis 'Poison plot' Yemen - Sep 22, 2011 - 09:39. محمد الربع ساخرا من قصف منزله Opposition considers using military to out President Saleh. Thousands of Yemenis take part in Friday noon prayers in the city of Ibb, on September 2.
Opposition leaders call for military action against the Saleh governmentHeavily armed tribesmen loyal to the anti-government Ahmar family have been entering SanaaMore than 2,000 pro-government heavily armed tribesmen are stationed in the outskirts of Sanaa Sanaa, Yemen (CNN) -- More than 2 million anti-government protesters gathered on Friday in Changes Squares across Yemen calling on revolutionary forces to take decisive action against President Ali Abdullah Saleh's regime and at any costs. Protests took place in 16 of Yemen's 21 provinces. Youth protesters in Sanaa chanted, "Escalation is a must for a quick ending of regime," and "Yemen will follow Libya's footsteps. " This comes as defected military general Ali Mohsen released a video statement on Tuesday threatening to use force to ensure that the Yemeni revolution succeeds.