The Not So Happy Yemen
The Future of Yemeni Politics: Between Separation and Economic Disarray
Yemen (© Getty Images)
Published: Monday 20 July 2009 Updated: Sunday 11 October 2009
The strategic location of Yemen together with its regional importance justifies an interest in this country's hot events. Despite the relative political stability that Yemen has been able to achieve, recent events in the South have aroused fears, especially when considering all the players involved. In this country, one finds such distinct parties such as socialist, national and tribal ones, not to mention terrorist groups supported by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
The motives that lie behind the demonstrations, confrontations and strikes which the southern governorates have lately witnessed are uncertain. Analyses of such events are conflicting. It is not clear whether they involve a liberation movement longing for independence or public discontent originating in the difficult economic circumstances in Yemen.
Regional interferences are also a possibility not to be excluded in the evocation of rebellion and sectarianism in Yemen. Regarding this last aspect, this debate addresses the question of what are the liberating movements that seek separation. Another of the main issues debated here is whether a separate Yemen into North and South is a consistent solution which will put a halt to the problems of the country. The Majalla magazine examines these issues from two different perspectives of observers interested in the Yemen's political affairs.
What both views expressed here seem to agree upon is that, due to all the serious issues if faces, Yemen is moribund. At present, the country resembles the description of a woman by Abdullah Al-Baradouni, the famous Yemeni poet:
What shall I say about Sanaa, father?
She is like a beautiful woman who attracts two lovers: Tuberculosis and Scabies
She died inside "Waddah's" box without a price, but the love and chanting within her remain for ever.
Excerpt from “Abu Tammam and the Arabism of Today”
