Middle East and North Africa: Protest and repression set to continue in 2012 | Amnesty International

Middle East and North Africa: Protest and repression set to continue in 2012 | Amnesty International



Repression will continue, but the spirit of rebellion is still strong.
Press Release by Westgulf Amnesty International with the following text:

Repression and state violence is likely to continue to plague the Middle East and North Africa in 2012 unless governments in the region and international powers wake up to the scale of the changes being demanded of them, Amnesty International warned today in a new report into the dramatic events of the last year.

In the 80-page Year of Rebellion: State of Human Rights in the Middle East and North Africa, the organization describes how governments across the region were willing in 2011 to deploy extreme violence in an attempt to resist unprecedented calls for fundamental reform.

But Amnesty International said that the region’s protest movements appeared to show few signs of abandoning their ambitious goals or accepting piecemeal reforms.

“With few exceptions, governments have failed to recognize that everything has changed,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s interim Middle East and North Africa Director. “The protest movements across the region, led in many cases by young people and with women playing central roles, have proved astonishingly resilient in the face of sometimes staggering repression.”

“They have shown that they will not be fooled by reforms that make little difference to the way they are treated by the police and security forces. They want concrete changes to the way they are governed and for those responsible for past crimes to be held to account.”

“But persistent attempts by states to offer cosmetic changes, to push back against gains made by protesters or to simply brutalize their populations into submission betray the fact that for many governments, regime survival remains their aim.”

Despite great optimism in North Africa at the toppling of long-standing rulers in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, Amnesty International said that these gains had not yet been cemented by key institutional reforms to guarantee that the same kinds of abuses would not be repeated.

Egypt's military rulers, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), pledged repeatedly to deliver on the demands of the “January 25 revolution” but Amnesty International found that they had in fact been responsible for a catalogue of abuses that was in some aspects worse than under Hosni Mubarak.

The army and security forces have violently suppressed protests, resulting in at least 84 deaths between October and December 2011. Torture in detention has continued while more civilians have been tried before military courts in one year than under 30 years of Mubarak’s rule. Women appear to have been targeted for humiliating treatment to try to deter them from protesting. In December the offices of a number of Egyptian and international NGOs were raided by security forces in an apparent attempt to silence critics of the authorities.

Amnesty International said it feared that 2012 could see further attempts by the military council to restrict the ability of Egyptians to protest and freely express their views.

The uprising in Tunisia brought significant improvements in human rights, but one year on many consider that the pace of change has been too slow, with families of the victims of the uprising still awaiting justice.

Following elections in October a new coalition government was formed. Moncef Marzouki, a human rights activist and former Amnesty International prisoner of conscience, is the country’s interim president.

Amnesty International said that that in 2012 it was critical that Tunisians seized the opportunity of drafting a new constitution to ensure that it guaranteed protection of human rights and equality under the law.

In Libya, there were significant questions about the ability of the new authorities to control the armed brigades that had helped oust the pro-Gaddafi forces and prevent them from replicating the patterns of abuse learnt under the old system.

Despite the National Transitional Council calling on its supporters to avoid revenge attacks, serious abuses by anti-Gaddafi forces have rarely been condemned. In November the UN stated that an estimated 7,000 detainees were being held in makeshift centres under the control of revolutionary brigades, with no prospect of a proper judicial process.

Elsewhere, Amnesty International said that governments remained grimly determined to cling onto power, in some cases at almost any cost in human lives and dignity.

The Syrian armed forces and intelligence services have been responsible for a pattern of killings and torture amounting to crimes against humanity, in a vain attempt to terrify protesters and opponents into silence and submission. By the end of the year there were over 200 cases of reported deaths in custody, over 40 times the recent average annual figure for Syria.

In Yemen the standoff over the Presidency caused further suffering for ordinary Yemenis. More than 200 people were killed in connection with protests while hundreds more died in armed clashes. Tens of thousands were displaced by the violence, causing a humanitarian crisis.

There were hopes in Bahrain that the November publication of an independent report by international experts on protest-related abuses might mark a fresh start for the country. At the end of the year the strength of the government’s commitment to implementing the commission's wide-ranging recommendations remained to be seen.

The Saudi Arabian government announced major spending packages in 2011, in what seemed to be an attempt to prevent protests spreading to the Kingdom. Despite that – and the drafting of a repressive anti-terror law – protests continued at the end of the year, in particular in the country’s eastern region.

In Iran, whose domestic policies remained largely out of the spotlight during 2011, the government continued to stifle dissent, tightening restrictions on freedom of information and specifically targeting journalists, bloggers, independent trade unionists and political activists.

Amnesty International said the response of international powers and regional bodies such as the African Union, Arab League and EU to developments in 2011 had been inconsistent, and had failed to grasp the depth of the challenge to entrenched repressive rule in the region.

Human rights were espoused as a reason in favour of a military intervention in Libya, but the Security Council, stymied by Russia and China in particular, had by the end of the year only issued a weak statement condemning the violence in Syria.

And while the Arab League acted quickly to suspend Libya from membership in February and later suspended Syria and sent a team of observers, it remained quiet when Saudi Arabian troops, acting under a Gulf Cooperation Council banner, backed the Bahraini government’s efforts to crush protests.

“Support from world powers for ordinary people in the region has been typically patchy,” said Philip Luther.

“But what has been striking about the last year has been that – with some exceptions – change has largely been achieved through the efforts of local people coming onto the streets, not the influence and involvement of foreign powers.”

“The refusal of ordinary people across the region to be deterred from their struggle for dignity and justice is what gives us hope for 2012.”

Yemeni Revolutionaries Demand US Ambassador to Yemen Must Leave

By Hassan Al-Haifi
26 December 2011

A leading component of the Yemeni peaceful protesters against the regime of Ali Abdullah Saleh demand that US Ambassador to Yemen, Mr. Gerald M. Feierstein, be fired from his post and sent back home to the United States "without delay". The US Ambassador reportedly made statements that the Yemeni peaceful Revolutionaries found to be insulting to their dignity and to the millions of Yemenis that come out to support them from every Governorate. The "Convoy of Life" arrived to Sana'a after a four day march that began in Ta'ez and eventully ended up with over 100,000 who joined with the convoy as it approached Ibb, Dhamar and the hundreds of villages along the way (250 km). Among other things, the Ambassador is said to have called the protesters law breakers and violators of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Initiative, and went on to testify that the protesters were actually armed, when he never even looked at them. The Convoy of Life is a new initiative created by the peaceful protesters in Freedom Square, Ta'ez, to rejuvenate the Revolution, after the signing of the GCC Initiative in Riyadh on November 23, 2011. Before the convoy reached Sana'a, government Central Security troops and paramilitary thugs started to attack the convoy in Dar Salm (about 20 km south of Sana'a and stiffened the attack when the convoy was able to reach Sana'a and come to within 2 km of the Presidential Palace, where Ali Abdulla Saleh continues to reside although he has presumably transferred all his authority to Vice President Abdur Rabbo Hadi, as called for by the GCC Initiative. Most Yemenis believe that this transfer is not worth the paper it is written on. The Yemeni youth continue to insist that they are not a party to the GCC Initiaitive as it gives Saleh, his relatives, and cronies immunity from prosecution for human rights violations and all the billions of US dollars, they have all robbed from the Yemeni treasury, and the horrendous corruption that has characterized the Saleh regime, since it came to power in 1978. They conitnue to demand that Saleh stand trial and punishement for all his crimes. The international human rights watchdog groups have all condemned the idea of giving Saleh, his relatives and cronies immunity, which organizations like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and even the UN Commission on Human Rights, regard as a dangerous precedent, especially as such immunity is guaranteed by the international community in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2014 on Yemen issued on October 21, 2011, which endorses the GCC Initiative.

Here is the a copy of the letter to be sent to President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton:

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent – the Merciful

To:      His Excellency Barack Obama, President of the United States of America

Her Excellency, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State in the Obama Administration

Ref:  The US Ambassador to the Republic of Yemen is an Advocate for a Tyrannical Mob and must be Removed Immediately.

December 25, 2011

Dear Excellencies:

First of all, please allow us to take this opportunity, on behalf of the Yemeni people, express to both of you and the American people our sincere season's greetings and the best wishes for a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year 2012.

The Yemeni people have been carrying out an uprising against the continuation of the rule of Dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh since the beginning of 2011. As you are both fully aware, Ali Abdullah Saleh's forces, which are still commanded by his sons and nephews, still rely on a continuous excessively brutal reactive response to the growing popular demand for democratic change in Yemen, which betrays a lack of vision typical of another age – a by-gone era when suppression of human rights and restricting freedom and liberty were common practices.

Instead of respecting the legitimate rights of the Yemeni people to peacefully protest and express themselves, Saleh, his family and his hired paramilitary thugs continue to mercilessly clamp down on any peaceful protest demonstration, march or rally.  They continue unabashedly to deal with any popular uprising by randomly and indiscriminately killing unarmed Yemeni citizens with all kinds of light and heavy weapons.

Yesterday, December 24 (Christmas Eve), doctors at the Field Hospital in Change Square and other hospitals in Sana'a reported that 13 protesters were ruthlessly killed and over 100 were mercilessly wounded by trigger-happy Central Security troops and paramilitary thugs under the command of Saleh's nephew, Yahya Mohammed Abdullah Saleh.  Without any reasonable warning, these mercenaries of death opened

fire at over 100,000 protesters, who have converged into the Capital, Sana'a, gathering strength as they marched (mostly on foot) over four days from to Ta'ez to Sana'a, in a convoy called the Convoy of Life.

This craving for the bloodletting of innocent peaceful protesters comes even as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) brokered the so called "transition deal", backed by your Excellency's Administration's strong support and guarantees, is presumably being carried out by the signing parties to the accord.  You should be aware that the peaceful protesting youth and their fellow Yemeni supporters, who continuously still come out by the millions, were not party to such an unprecedented feat of political engineering drawn up mainly by despotic tyrants.  Thus, the constitutional rights of Yemenis to continue to demand genuine democratic changes in the way the Yemeni people are governed after 33 years of harsh dictatorship are legitimately guaranteed by the Yemeni Constitution, international agreements and conventions and even the recently issued United Nations Security Council Resolution 2014 on Yemen issued on 21 October 2011.

At the very same time that Saleh's murderer's were carrying out their bloodbath against the convoy in Dar Salm and on the southern periphery of Sana'a, the Yemeni people were awed by shocking statements made by your Ambassador to Yemen, Mr. Gerald M. Feierstein.  The statements, which defy all principles of diplomatic protocol, actually went on to actually condemn the victims of this most recent of Saleh's heinous massacres.  Mr. Feierstein stated, among other things, without any shred of evidence that the peaceful convoy was armed and that the convoy was a violation of the GCC Initiative.  Mr. Feierstein surely knows that the majority of Yemenis, led by the peaceful youth protesters, oppose and are not in any way represented thereto by any signatory.    The major international and local press have shown the horror of this massacre and also pointed out the reaction of the Yemeni people to the inflammatory statements of the US Ambassador, as this link clearly details: Forces Loyal to Yemeni President Fire on Protesters - New York Times.
Almost from the start of his tenure in Yemen, Ambassador Feierstein has never been very cordial with his personal (we certainly would hope that they are not viewed as official US views, accepted by your Administration) disappointing declarations on Yemen and the Yemeni people, and Feierstein's mostly defensive stances with the tyrannical Saleh regime. 

On behalf of the millions of protesting Yemeni people peacefully demanding a comprehensive regime change in Yemen, the Coordinating Council of Yemeni Revolution for Change (CCYRC), we are obliged to inform Your Excellencies that the hostile statements by the US Ambassador to Yemen yesterday on the peaceful convoy and its resulting bloodbath are indeed an affront to the human dignity of our people.  Such unwelcome statements, to say the least, show a clear great disrespect for the sovereignty of Yemen, and the legitimate rights of the Yemeni people accorded by such sovereignty. 

Furthermore, CCYRC strongly detest such rude foreboding accusations against innocent unarmed protesters by the representative of the American people in Yemen, who, so far, has been far from being any reflection of American democratic principles and freedom loving values.  On the contrary, the Yemeni people have only seen your Ambassador as taking on the position of advocate and defender of Saleh's ruthless oppression of his people, almost from the start of his assignment in Yemen.

Surely, your Administration can well understand that such contemptuous statements by the Chief Diplomat of the US Embassy in Yemen, are bound to be the best fermenting grounds for increasing hostility against the US and will only benefit those who are seeking to promote an anti-US and anti-western agenda as means to promoting a menacing Jihadist culture in Yemen, which neither the Yemeni people or the American people mutually look upon with any great favor.  

Thus, CCYRC strongly demand that the US embassy and State Department issue an official apology and that Mr. Feierstein be immediately dismissed as Ambassador of the United States to Yemen and sent home without any further delay.

Published on 26 12 2011

Ta'ez Under Fire by Saleh's Forces and No End in Sight

Courtesy of New York Times Photo by Associated Press




By Hassan Al-Haifi
2 December 2011



It is not clear how long the remaining forces of the supposedly deposed President of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, will continue to indiscriminately and randomly shell the City of Ta'ez, in a frantic effort to quell the brave peaceful protest there against the diehard Saleh regime. This suppression of the people of Ta'ez (and elsewhere in Yemen) has not let up even with the signing of the GCC Initiative in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on November 24, 2011. They certainly are not leading to anything closer to reducing the aura of hell that the shelling of the city has brought on to the inhabitants of Ta'ez. Last week Human Rights Watch pointed out that 35 unarmed residents of the city were killed since the United Nations issued Security Council Resolution 2014 calling for a cessation of the use of excessive force by the Saleh regime against legitimate peaceful protests. Even after the signing of the GCC Initiative, and the entry of Yemen into the transitionary period, the bloodletting in Ta'ez has not abated. During this period, Saleh was to hand over all powers to his Vice President, and remain as a "ceremonial President" (whatever that means is not clear, and he certainly is not being ceremonial now) and then to implement the procedures for the power sharing scheme between the ruling party, the General People's Congress (GPC) with the formal opposition factions (including the Joint Meeting Parties of official opposition parties and other loose but nevertheless powerful factions) that co-signed the multi-faceted and still unclear transition deal as set out in the "mechanism for implementation" appended to the GCC Initiative. The latter was worked out by Jamal Ben Omar, UN Special Envoy sent to Yemen to get the political deal signed and implemented. Whatever the case, although there are some other political activities called for by the transition deal (such as the naming of a temporary caretaker government (comprising agreed division of ministerial portfolios between the signing parties said to come to 34 ministries!). But for the people of Ta'ez, Arhab (north of Sana'a, Nehm and other Saleh hotspots, the regime continues to see force as the only way to deal with protesters against the President, who has ruled Yemen now for 33 years.
For the last three days alone, the number of casualties have surpassed 25 fatalities, 12 of them on Thursday alone and the number of wounded has surpassed 100. The objective of the shelling of Ta'ez in this almost sadistic manner is not seen by many observers except as an obvious desire to forcefully end all protests against the regime. Others believe that the Saleh regime is pursuing to provoke anti regime protesters to take up arms against the Saleh regime and thus bring an all out war in Yemen, so that the regime can escape from meeting its commitments in the GCC Initiative and thus forfeit the need to abdicate by President Saleh altogether. The revolutionary youth of Yemen have issued an appeal to the "brokers" of the GCC Initiative and the international community to take measures to stop Saleh's continuous persecution of Yemeni protesters in general and the people of Ta'ez in particular (http://pdfcast.org/pdf/an-appeal-to-the-regional-neighbors-and-international-community). Today, the world must reconsider its position towards the Saleh regime. The latter is not even grateful to the sponsors of the GCC Initiative and its international guarantors for granting Saleh and his supporters immunity against being held accountable for all their violations of human rights and the corruption of regime officials over the last third of a century. All international human rights advocacy groups (HRW and Amnesty International among others) have rejected such stipulations as being conducive to international law and set a dangerous precedent for future efforts to deal with repressive and corrupt regimes.

The Ugly Face of the Saleh Regime

By: Hassan Al-Haifi

This is what the Saleh Regime awards the people of Ta'ez with for being so steadfast in their demands for a free Yemen, a demcratic and corrupt free government and riddance of the oppression of the Saleh Regime:

ماذا جرى فعلا في دار الرئاسة في الجمعة الماضية؟

حسن محمد الحيفي
10 يونيو 2011
بعد عودة كاتب هذه الصدور من صلاة الجمعة في الساعة 1,45 بعد الظهر، من يوم الجمعة الموافق 3 يونيو 2011، اتصلت بي ابنتي الساكنة في الجانب الآخر من مدينة صنعاء، في الجبال المطلة على شارع حده بالقرب من جامع الرحمن. وقد أفادت بشيء من الفزع عن نشوب قتال ضار في المنطقة. كما أنها لاحظت صواريخ كبيرة لم تكن قد رأتها من قبل، "تشبه الطائرات"، وهي تطير قريبة من فوق رؤوسهم. من المعروف أن الجبال في تلك المنطقة تحتوي على أنواع كثيرة من السلاح بما فيها الصورايخ. ومن الاعتقاد أن هذه الصواريخ تتبع الحرس الجمهوري.
في تلك اللحظة ركزت اهتمامي على تهدئة ابنتي من الفزع التي كانت تبديه هي وبناتها الثلاث. ووجهتها أن تنقل مع بناتها وحماتها الفاضلة إلى الـ"بدروم" الطرحة السفلى تحت سطح الأرض. وسكني هو كائن في ضاحية الروضة مسافة 12 كم شمال العاصمة، فلما قلت لابنتي أني سآتي إليهم الآن، اعترضت بشدة من كثر تبادل النيران الذي هيمن على المنطقة.
بعد ذلك بقليل بدأت تتناول وسائل الإعلام أنباء أخبار عن هجوم صاروخي على دار الرئاسة وأشيع بالخطأ أن الرئيس على عبد الله صالح توفى نتيجة للقصف الصاروخي على دار الرئاسة.
من المهم إذا النظر بإمعان إلى بعض النقاط الهامة بهذه الملابسات:
1) الوقت التي تم فيه الإطلاق للصواريخ كان تقريبا في الساعة الثانية تقريباُ، الأمر الذي يعني أنها قد تمت صلاة الجمعة في كل جوامع صنعاء وضواحيها تقريباً, وعليه، من المرجح ألا يوجد أي ناس في أي جوامع آنذاك فقد تموا الناس من أداء صلاة الجمعة، وعادوا إلى منازلهم لتناول وجبة الغداء. هذا ما يؤدي إلى الاستنتاج بأن الصاروخ الذي أصيب به الرئيس وأصحابه لم يضرب إلى المسجد الرئاسي، بل في مكان آخر انتقل إليه الرئيس وضيوفه بعد استكمال أداء الصلاة.
2) لم يذكر موضوع إصابة المسجد الرئاسي بالصاروخ إلا من بعد المغرب، حسب مشاهدات كاتب هذه السطور على التلفزيون ومن خلال الإطلاع على شبكة الإنترنت. فقصة وقوع الانفجار في المسجد لم تظهر إلا بعد ما وقع الهجوم بساعات عدة.
3) إن مشاهدة سكان المنطقة القريبة من الدار للصاروخ أو الصواريخ بالحجم الذي وصفوه يعمل على جعل الرواية بأن الانفجار تم من الداخل بعيدا من الواقع المرئي. ربما أنه بالفعل حصل انفجار من الداخل في المسجد الرئاسي، ولكن ذلك الانفجار لم يكن نفس الانفجار الذي أصيب به الرئيس وقتل بعض إفراد حراسه وضيوفه.
4) بما أنه تم استخدام مثل هذه الصواريخ الكبيرة في حجمها وانفجاراتها، فإنه ليس من المبالغة القول بأن محاولة الاغتيال بالفعل تم التخطيط لها بدقة، وترتيبها وتنفيذها ببالغ الفعالية والإحكام. وهذا ما يعني بأن عناصر في مواقع حساسة في قوات الحرس الجمهوري (التي تمتلك مثل هذه الصواريخ). ولا يستبعد أن يكون هؤلاء العناصر من أقرب الأقارب للرئيس، سواء من جيل الرئيس أو الجيل اللاحق.
5) إن ضلوع عناصر قيادية من الحرس الجمهوري يبرز من كون هذه القوات هي المنفردة بالقدرة الصاروخية لتنفيذ عملية حساسة ودقيقة على هذا النحو.
من المحتمل أنه لو تم التحقيق في الحادث بالافتراضات المحتملة الواردة هنا قد يتم الوصول إلى الضالعين في هذا الهجوم. وقد وردت قبل هذا الهجوم بـأيام قليلة جدا عن نشوب بعض الخلافات فيما بين أفراد الأسرة الحاكمة، مما أدى إلى ترك بعضهم مراكزهم والحنق إلى مسكنهم في "البلاد". ويقال أن هؤلاء من القيادات العليا في قوات الحرس الجمهوري.
ربما أن الانفجار في الجامع تم من الداخل، ولكن بعض المراقبين يرجحون أن الانفجار هذا تم لاحقا لخلق طابع "الشهادة" على الحادث وعلى ضحاياه، فيما أن الرئيس لم ينجو من الحادث، بل حتى ولو نجي. قد يكون الانفجار في الجامع، الذي لم يسمع عنه إلا بعد المغرب من يوم الحادث، شبيه بقميص يوسف الصديق عليه السلام الذي قدم لوالد النبي الفتى يعقوب عليه السلام ليؤكد قتل ابنه المحبوب من قبل الذئب، كما ادعى إخوته. من خلال الدماء الملطخة للقميص الممزق.
إن هذا المقال لا يوحي بأن الهجمة المميتة على دار الرئاسة حدث على النحو المبين أعلاه، فهناك الكثير من الغموض حول ملابسات الحادث. ولكن طالما الجهات الرسمية لم تقدم أي معلومات واضحة وشفافة حول الحادث، فمن الطبيعي أن يترك المجال للمراقبين أن يخمنوا ما يمكن الوصول إليه من خلال ما تتوفر من معطيات شحيحة جداً، مع أن حادث كهذا يجب ألا يخضع لأي تكهنات أو افتراضات. وقد تم التحري هاهنا بالرجوع إلى كل ما روي من مشاهد، وفي الأوقات الزمنية التي تمت فيها الملابسات المتعلقة بالحادث. ولا يعلم الغيب إلا الله جل جلاله

How Did All Hell Break Loose At The Presidential Palace Last Week?

By Hassan Al-Haifi
Posted 110 June 2011
About half an hour after this observer came home from the Friday prayers on Friday, at around 1345 Hrs on the 3rd of June 2011, my daughter called to advise that there is heavy fighting in their area. She noted that there were rockets that were "as big as planes" flying over their heads, and that she has never seen ordnances of that size before. My daughter lives on the hills overlooking Hadda Street, overlooking the Al-Rahman Mosque. Those mountains overlooking Hadda are said to be storehouses and launch sites of large scale rockets, presumably belonging to the Republican Guards. At that moment, I concentrated on the effort to calm my daughter down and direct her and all those in her house to head for the Basement of the house, especially my three granddaughters and her faithful mother in law, who is one of the most God fearing individuals I have ever known, may God preserve her. Just then, the news immediately spread that the Presidential Palace has been hit and it was prematurely announced that President Ali Abdulla Saleh was dead. I lived on the other side of town in the Village of Rawdha about 12 km North of Sana'a, whereas the Presidential Palace compound and the Hadda area is on the other side of Sana'a due south.
It is important here to note a few points:
1) The time of the rocket launches was nearly 2:00 PM, which means that the Friday prayers would have ended in just about anywhere in Sana'a and its vicinity. Thus no one would be found in mosques except those who missed the Friday prayers. The rocket that eventually struck the President and all those killed or injured with him did not hit them at the mosque, but somewhere else.
2) There was no talk of the incident occurring at the mosque until almost after sunset, and thus it is obvious that the tale of the explosion at the mosque only materialized much later than the time of the attack.
3) The fact that such large rockets were actually observed being used on the attack seems to belie the assumption that the explosion was from within the compound of the Presidential Palace. The latter may be true of the explosion at the Presidential Palace mosque, which occurred later than the fatal explosion that rendered the President severely wounded, and a number of his guests at the compound dead and wounded.
4) Being as such highly explosive and precision guided rockets were used in the attack, it is not farfetched to believe that the attempted assassination was well planned, organized and executed. This would mean that very well placed personnel within the Republican Guards indeed executed the attempt at a very high level (since such rockets do belong to the RG). It is not also farfetched to assume that they would be family members from the Presidents most closest of kin, either at fraternal or even offspring level.
5) The assumption of the Republican Guards comes in light of the fact that they are the ones with the rocket capability of executing such a delicate operation.
If an investigation is carried out along these presumptions, it would easily lead to determination of the culprits. It should be noted that there was a lot of family infighting that led to some of the big members of the Presidential family leaving their posts and home in anger and hiding out in their local village a few days before the attack on the Presidential Palace Compound. The members involved were senior members of the Republican Guard command.
The mosque explosion was indeed an "inside job", but meant to create an aura of martyrdom to the incident, just in case His Excellency did not survive, or even more if he did survive. What we call in Arabic Yousef's shirt! [The prophet Joseph (PABUH) was said to have been eaten by wolves, and His brethren presented their father, Jacob (PBAUH) with a cloak that was drenched with blood to give weight to their story that Joseph was killed by wolves].
This article does not suggest that the fatal attack at the Presidential Palace could have only occurred this way, as all the details remain a mystery. But judging from the observations and actual timing of the attack and the other mitigating circumstances, it is not impossible to believe that they would not veer too far from the actual slate of events. "God is the Only Knower of all things unknown".

اللقاء المشترك يفشل الثورة ضد النظام

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

حسن محمد الحيفي

لقد قام شباب اليمن من الجنوب والشمال والشرق والغرب من هذا البلد بإعلان إرادة الشعب اليمني الشرعية بالإسقاط الفوري غير المشروط وغير المقيد لولاية علي عبد الله صالح كرئيس للجمهورية اليمنية والإنهاء الفوري غير المشروط لنظام الحكم الفاسد المستبد الذي يسمح له ولزمرته بالعبث بموارد البلاد وتكريس كل جهود الدولة نحو خدمة المصالح الضيقة للقياديين التابعين لهذا النظام. كان ذلك منذ أكثر من ثلاثة أشهر ونصف، وبعد سقوط المئات من القتلى وعشرات الآلاف من الجرحى والتعطيل شبه الكامل لكل الأنشطة السياسية، الاقتصادية والاجتماعية. وقد وصلت الثورة إلى التمكن من تأكيد حتمية الإنهاء لحكم علي عبد الله صالح، وفي أسرع وقت ممكن، بلا حاجة لأي موافقة منه، ولا من زمرته الفاسدة، ولا تنظيمه الشمولي، ولا من أحزاب اللقاء المشترك على انفراد أو مجتمعين، ولا من مجلس التعاون الخليجي – على انفراد أعضائه أو مجتمعين، ولا من السيد باراك أوباما، وإدارته في البيت الأبيض، ولا الاتحاد الأوروبي بأعضائه – على انفراد أو مجتمعين، ولا من أي جماعة أو مجموعة سياسية كانت أو اجتماعية، أو اقتصادية، أو ثقافية. فهذا هو مطلب شعبي جماهيري مشروع ومعمد بدماء الشهداء ومعاناة الشعب اليمني من الحكم المتسلط على كل مقدرات الأمة لأكثر من ثلث قرن من الزمن. أيها الثوار الأحرار، أيها الشعب اليمني: هذه الثورة لها أهدافها النبيلة المتمثلة أولاً بالتخلص الفوري من حكم علي عبد الله صالح وكل مقومات الدولة التي تعمل على إبقاءه على العرش، سواء كان ذلك بالأساليب الصورية للشرعية المرتكزة على توجيه مؤسسات الدولة ومواردها بدون وجه حق لضمانة ذلك، أو بالتضليل والتشويه للحقائق، عبر وسائل الإعلام التابعة للدولة وعن طريق شراء الولاء والإذعان لنظامه بالمال العام، والتصريح لاستغلالها لخدمة المصالح الآنية الضيقة لأقطاب النظام ورموزه، المنخرطة معظمها في قمع المواطنين وسلب حقوقهم المشروعة سياسياً، اقتصاديا واجتماعياً.
لنسأل أنفسنا ماذا يؤخر تحقيق أهداف الثورة المجمع عليها كل فئات، وشرائح وتنظيمات وأحزاب، ومنظمات وجمعيات شريفة من هذا الشعب اليمني الأبي، في الريف والحضر، وملتف حولها الكثير، بل ألأغلبية من قادة البلاد السياسيين، والعسكريين، والدينين، والقبليين؟ نحن ندرك جيدا ما هناك من مساعي تبذل لمحاولة وجود مسوغ قانوني إقليمي لتثبيت نظام علي عبد الله صالح وإفشال الثورة، ولا يسع إلا أن نقول هذه المساعي للأسف الشديد لا تعمل على تحقيق أي هدف من أهداف هذه الثورة، ويجب الوقوف أمامها ومنعها من الوصول إلى حيز التنفيذ. الأمر بكل بساطة يعود إلى اللقاء المشترك من أحزاب المعارضة. وللأسف ألشديد أن نقول أن اللقاء المشترك في الواقع أصبح هو السبب الرئيسي لبقاء علي عبد الله صالح في دار الرئاسة، دون سواه. ذلك بكل بساطة يعود إلى ما سمح لنفسه اللقاء المشترك ليدخل كطرف رئيسي في هذه المناورة المشبوهة من دول الجوار، وبالتالي، جعلت بقاء على عبد الله صالح ضروري حتى يوافق على صيغة مناسبة له من هذه المبادرة الخليجية السخيفة، والتي تعمل على تمرير الوقت ليس إلا حتى يتمكن على صالح من القضاء على الثورة بأساليبه القمعية المعتادة.
من الواضح جدا أن اللقاء المشترك ومشاركته في هذه اللعبة الخطيرة على الثورة أصبح العائق الكبير أمام نجاح الثورة، لأنه يعطي لعلي صالح الحق للبقاء في دار الرئاسة حتى يتم الوصول إلى الصيغة المناسبة للمبادرة، والتي من الغفول أن نتوقع الوصول إلى ذلك، فعلي صالح باق طالما يتم الأخذ والرد السخيف حول هذه المبادرة وشروطها المتنوعة والمتغيرة من صيغة إلى صيغة، على نحو يجعله في واقع الأمر من المستحيل الوصول إلى الصيغة التي ترضي الرئيس. هذا معناه أن الثورة تركت المسعى الرئيسي للثورة المتمثل بإنهاء أي شأن لعلي صالح في مجريات الأحداث ما بعد انطلاق الثورة، فالشعب اليمني لم يعد يعترف بأي حقوق لعلي صالح كرئيس للجمهورية، ويجب أن يكون اللقاء المشترك أيضا غير معترف بأي حق لعلي صالح بتاتا في تقرير مصيره كرئيس لليمن، فلا داعي أن ننتظر لموافقته على أي صيغة من أي مبادرة لا تتمشى وتحقيق رغبة الشعب اليمني في التخلص الفوري من علي صالح وزمرته، ولا يجب أن يحسب اللقاء المشترك أنه مخول أو موفد أو موكل للخوض في أي حوار أو مفاوضات نيابة عن الشعب اليمني الثائر ولا بد من إعلان قادة الشباب الثوار علناٌ بأن الثورة ليست معنية بأي حوار يتم إجراءه مع اللقاء المشترك كممثل للثورة. وبالتالي يجب أن ينصح اللقاء المشترك عدم تنصيب نفسه كمتحدث عن الثورة أو ممثل لها، ويجب التحذير للقاء المشترك بأن استمرار انجرا ره في هذه المناورة والمحاولة لكبح الثورة بأساليب سياسية لا تستند إلى أي مراجع قانونية دولية، إقليمية أو وطنية. فبالتالي على المجلس ألتنسيقي لثورة الشباب أن يعلن صراحة بضرورة التوقف عن الدخول في أي مفاوضات مع أي طرف في أي شأن لا يعمل على التنحي الفوري لعلي صالح ومغادرته أو إلقاء القبض عليه لمواجهة التهم التي ستعلن في حقه، لما قام به من جرائم أثناء فترة توليه رئاسة الجمهورية. أما اللقاء المشترك فيصبح حليفا لعلي صالح طالما يشارك في هذه اللعبة التي تحاول إفشال الثورة، وبالتالي يجب أن يتخلى اللقاء المشترك عن لعب أي دور تفاوضي أو للتوقيع أو أي عمل آخر متعلق بأي مبادرة سخيفة تحاول تغيير مسار الثورة وإبقاء الرئيس يلعب بكل الأطراف التي تشارك في هذه اللعبة المفضوحة. والله الموفق.

Wise Words of A Yemeni Statesman to the President and Protesters

By Hassan Al-Haifi
16 May 2011

As a follow up to the Breaking News report on the assault on Tarek Mohsin Al-Aini (http://yemencommonsense.blogspot.com/2011/05/son-of-former-prime-minister-mohsin-al.html), in addition to Tarek's active role as a protesting youth in Tagheer Square, tent and following of other youth protesters, it can be easily seen why the following could have also been a strong reason for the unjustified assault on Tarek Al-Aini (and his wife):

An open Letter by H. E. Mohsin Al-Aini, former Prime Minister of Yemen (Yemen Arab Republic – prior to unification of Yemen) several times, Foreign Minister and Ambassador of Yemen to FDR (Germany), the United States etc., directed to the current President of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh dd. 5 April 2011 (Source Almasdar Online (http://www.almasdaronline.com/index.php?page=news&article-section=1&news_id=18239):
"I (hereby) implore President Ali Abdullah Saleh to abdicate immediately, and without any restrictions or conditions. How can the President rest comfortably for even one night in the Presdiential Palace, with scores of Yemeni people who have fell as martyrs and hundreds as injured respectively?
On more than one occasion, the President has expressed his willingness to abdicate and his desire to give up (the Presidency), so what is it then that prevents him from achieving his desire and the realization of the people's wish?
Your Excellency, abdicate, not just for the thousands of "youth for a change" in the different squares of protest. Or for the parties of the Joint Meeting Parties Coalition, but even also for the hundreds of thousands of Yemenis who have come to Sana'a to support you and stand by your side. They all – supporters and protesters – deserve to be spared the conflict, bloodshed and the entry into a civil war. And for what reason?
Yemen is more dear than all (Official) positions, tenacity and self-pride.
Does not the President care for the unity of Yemen … and the Yemeni people, and for Yemen's stability, security and development.
The persistence of the President to continue threatens the unity of Yemen … and exposes to conditions that do no honor to anyone.
So let us elevate ourselves, and prove once again our patriotism … our love for Yemen and we will indeed never be sorry."
Mr. Al-Aini, in the same open letter, then turns to the protesting factions:
"As for you, the Youth of Change, the parties of the JMP, Brigadier General Ali Mohsin and his comrades in the military, the brothers of the Southern Movement, the political arena of the South, and the North, and the Sheiks and tribes of Yemen, have you agreed on the leadership for the transitional phase? (A leadership) that will insure security and peace in an atmosphere of reconciliation, cooperation, tolerance and brotherhood?
Do you a (clear) picture of the New Yemen you aspire to build? On its relations with neighboring states and the world around us?
Have you opened up to all the national power factions and trends, so as not to exclude anyone … whether they are Zeidi or Shaf'ei, Hashemite or Qahatani, and military or tribal.
May God be with you and with Yemen.
Mohsin Al-Aini"