Deadly attack on Yemeni protesters undermines reform plans | Amnesty International

Deadly attack on Yemeni protesters undermines reform plans | Amnesty International

COMMON SENSE: Why it must be Over?

Hassan Al-Haifi
Published:18-04-2011
Yemen Times

One would that think that with so many millions of Yemenis, who have gone into the streets from Sa'ada to Hadhramaut, screaming as loud as their voices could shout, LEAVE, LEAVE, the President of the Republic of Yemen would say, like Zein Al-Abidein, the dethroned former President of Tunisia, said three months ago, "I understand"; i.e., I got the message. There is nothing that could show President Ali Abdullah that there is really justification for continuing to hold on to the Presidency with most of the institutions in Government, which really matter to the people of Yemen, hardly functioning by any means.

The Central Bank of Yemen and a considerable portion of the Republican Guards and Central Security are the only elements that the President insists give him the right to carry on his already untangling stranglehold on the Yemeni people, who he has been more than lucky to be able to rule now for nearly a third of a century. There is, no doubt, considerable pride that the President might be able to feel in being able to hold the record of all the Presidents, who have ruled Yemen, since the Revolution of September 26, 1962 and October 14, 1963. There are even some achievements that the President might also consider as worth some note in history, mainly the unification of Yemen (which was partly stimulated by a rapidly changing global arrangement spurned by the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union). But, the President did take the initiative that eventually removed the border barrels at Habilayn and other border outposts as well as the unnecessary fortifications that worked to bar entry and exit of Yemenis on both sides of the former border that superficially divided the Northern Governorates and the Southern Governorates.

The unification of Yemen could not have been surpassed by any other event by which Yemen enters the 21st Century or the Third Millennium. However, after Mr. Saleh transformed the once commendable unification agreement into a private enterprise, in addition to the other maladies brought on by the regime, in both north and south, the threat of fragmentation reappeared. Regrettably speaking, the disagreeable practices of Mr. Saleh, his relatives and the other icons of the regime, in the Southern and Eastern Governorates, especially after 1994 and the breakdown of all hopes of saving the positive spirit that was evoked by the Unification Agreement did rightfully produce much discontent amongst our fellow Yemenis in the South. There have been even recent calls for "breaking the ties" of unity mainly by elements of the regime that used to manage the state of affairs in the South before unification and a considerable number of other fellow Yemenis in the South. Without a doubt, such calls are understandable, as indeed President Saleh has reneged on the unification agreement, but they certainly could never be acceptable, because the Constitution of the Republic of Yemen was put to a national referendum and the overwhelming majority of Yemenis in both the Governorates that made up the former "People's Democratic Republic of Yemen" and those that made up the former Yemen Arab Republic voted yes for termination of the fragmented status of Yemen and the beginning of a new era that conforms to the natural and historical legacy of Yemen from ancient times to our age.

Incidentally, even the British recognized that Yemen was indeed one country and allowed the Imam of Yemen before the September Revolution to keep a Viceroy in Aden and a Viceroy in Mukalla. The fact that President Saleh did not even try to solve the grievances of our southern brothers has done much to tarnish his record as the initiator of unification and all that was required is that the southern elements of the government that used to run the PDRY should not have been ignored and literally abandoned by the Government of the Republic of Yemen, in both the military side and the civil service side. There were some really outstanding military and civil service personnel that were in the Government of PDRY and they should have really been allowed to maintain their positions, which they held before the unfortunate War of 1994. Perhaps the only entity that seemed to have kept the management intact, with the personnel that came with the unification to Sana'a and the other way around to Aden that I am aware of was the Public Electricity Corporation. The credit of this goes to no other than Engineer Ahmed Hassan Al-Aini (Managing Director at the time of the Public Electricity Corporation), who indeed instilled the spirit of unity and brotherhood amongst all the staff and there was never any feeling of aloofness or detachment among the PEC staff from both north and south of the Mikeiras line even after the 1994 War.

Thus, it can be seen that if we are to be able to maintain the unity of the country without further raising the discontent of our southern fellow Yemenis, it goes without saying that maintaining the Presidency of Ali Saleh will never alleviate the aura of despair and hope amongst our southern brothers and sisters. Therefore, for this very important reason, the President should understand that the continuation of his Presidency brings with it the risk of forcing many of our southern brothers to seek a secession. One of course does not really see any reason yet that such a drastic step should be taken and for all intents and purposes, such irrational course would be tantamount to distorting the sovereignty of Yemen to the unholy state it was in before unification. Such a state was certainly not favorable for any Yemenis on both sides of the fictitious border that then divided them. Both sides lost many lives and much of the scarce resources of the country as each side sought to instill their version of a united Yemen. It was impossible for a Marxist agenda to be imposed on all of Yemen and the ultra conservative north also did not present a commendable formula for application on both sides of Yemen. That is why, we are today facing the risk of fragmentation and it is therefore the first task of the Post Saleh democratic Government to ensure that the issues that have bothered our southern brothers be dealt with justly, equitably and with an emphasis on restoring the dignity and pride of our southern brothers. This, along with the consequences of the Sa'ada Wars should be sufficient reasons to convince the President that it is all over for him, otherwise Yemen faces the threat of becoming fragmented beyond repair.

Amidst this depressing note, it is inspiring to see how Yemenis from every corner of Yemen have found an almost utopian era in Change Square, where no one is ever discriminated against or even recognized as being from that region or this governorate. All insist only that they are Yemenis and all have come to the Square ready to risk their lives in order to bring about a readjustment of the unhealthy course, which the long standing regime of Saleh has set the country on without regards to the interests of the Yemeni people at large. Instead the Saleh regime has focused all its efforts and directed all the resources of the country to maintaining the domination of the President's family and cronies over all aspects of Government, business and of course social affairs, while leaving the vast majority of the Yemeni people, in the North and the South with very little to look forward to if the Saleh regime is not removed once and for all. There simply is no other course left for Yemen to take.

اليوم في اليمن خاصة وخارجه: عشر استراتيجيات للتحكم بالشعوب

نعوم تشومسكي

تناقلت عدّة مواقع عالميّة في الأيّام الأخيرة قائمة أعدّها المفكّر الأمريكي نعوم تشومسكي واختزل فيها الطّرق التي تستعملها وسائل الإعلام العالميّة للسيطرة على الشّعوب عبر وسائل الإعلام في 10 استراتيجيّات أساسيّة. وبما أنّ نظريّة المؤامرة تلقى رواجا كبيرا لدى شبابنا فقد رأيت أنّه سيكون من الأنفع لي ولهم أن نطّلع على تحليل لمفكّر بوزن نعوم تشومسكي بدلا عن مشاهدة مقاطع الفيديو الطّفوليّة التي تنتشر على فايسبوك والتي بلغت من السّخافة حدّا يجعل ضررها أكثر من نفعها. لم أجد المقال باللغة العربيّة فرأيت أن أقوم بترجمته و أرجو لكم قراءة طيّبة

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ا(1)استراتيجيّة الإلهاء: هذه الاستراتيجيّة عنصر أساسي في التحكّم بالمجتمعات، وهي تتمثل في تحويل انتباه الرّأي العام عن المشاكل الهامّة والتغييرات التي تقرّرها النّخب السياسية والاقتصادية، ويتمّ ذلك عبر وابل متواصل من الإلهاءات والمعلومات التافهة. استراتيجيّة الإلهاء ضروريّة أيضا لمنع العامة من الاهتمام بالمعارف الضروريّة في ميادين مثل العلوم، الاقتصاد، علم النفس، بيولوجيا الأعصاب و علم الحواسيب. "حافظ على تشتّت اهتمامات العامة، بعيدا عن المشاكل الاجتماعية الحقيقية، واجعل هذه الاهتمامات موجهة نحو مواضيع ليست ذات أهمية حقيقيّة. اجعل الشعب منشغلا، منشغلا، منشغلا، دون أن يكون له أي وقت للتفكير، وحتى يعود للضيعة مع بقيّة الحيوانات." (مقتطف من كتاب أسلحة صامتة لحروب هادئة)

ا(2) ابتكر المشاكل ... ثم قدّم الحلول: هذه الطريقة ا(2) تسمّى أيضا "المشكل - ردّة الفعل - الحل". في الأول نبتكر مشكلا أو "موقفا" متوقــَعا لنثير ردّة فعل معيّنة من قبل الشعب، و حتى يطالب هذا الأخير بالإجراءات التي نريده أن يقبل بها. مثلا: ترك العنف الحضري يتنامى، أو تنظيم تفجيرات دامية، حتى يطالب الشعب بقوانين أمنية على حساب حرّيته، أو: ابتكار أزمة مالية حتى يتمّ تقبّل التراجع على مستوى الحقوق الاجتماعية وتردّي الخدمات العمومية كشرّ لا بدّ منه.

ا(3) استراتيجيّة التدرّج: لكي يتم قبول اجراء غير مقبول، يكفي أن يتمّ تطبيقه بصفة تدريجيّة، مثل أطياف اللون الواحد (من الفاتح إلى الغامق)، على فترة تدوم 10 سنوات. وقد تم اعتماد هذه الطريقة لفرض الظروف السوسيو-اقتصاديّة الجديدة بين الثمانينات والتسعينات من القرن السابق: بطالة شاملة، هشاشة، مرونة، تعاقد خارجي ورواتب لا تضمن العيش الكريم، وهي تغييرات كانت ستؤدّي إلى ثورة لو تمّ تطبيقها دفعة واحدة

ا(4) استراتيجيّة المؤجّــَـل: وهي طريقة أخرى يتم الالتجاء إليها من أجل اكساب القرارات المكروهة القبول وحتّى يتمّ تقديمها كدواء "مؤلم ولكنّه ضروري"، ويكون ذلك بكسب موافقة الشعب في الحاضر على تطبيق شيء ما في المستقبل. قبول تضحية مستقبلية يكون دائما أسهل من قبول تضحية حينيّة. أوّلا لأن المجهود لن يتم بذله في الحين، وثانيا لأن الشعب له دائما ميل لأن يأمل بسذاجة أن "كل شيء سيكون أفضل في الغد"، وأنّه سيكون بإمكانه تفادي التّضحية المطلوبة في المستقبل. وأخيرا، يترك كلّ هذا الوقت للشعب حتى يتعوّد على فكرة التغيير ويقبلها باستسلام عندما يحين أوانها.

ا(5) مخاطبة الشعب كمجموعة أطفال صغار: تستعمل غالبية الإعلانات الموجّهة لعامّة الشعب خطابا وحججا وشخصيات ونبرة ذات طابع طفولي، وكثيرا ما تقترب من مستوى التخلّف الذهني، وكأن المشاهد طفل صغير أو معوّق ذهنيّا. كلّما حاولنا مغالطة المشاهد، كلما زاد اعتمادنا على تلك النبرة. لماذا؟ "إذا خاطبنا شخصا كما لو كان طفلا في سن الثانية عشر، فستكون لدى هذا الشخص إجابة أو ردّة فعل مجرّدة من الحسّ النقدي بنفس الدرجة التي ستكون عليها ردّة فعل أو إجابة الطفل ذي الإثني عشر عاما." (مقتطف من كتاب أسلحة صامتة لحروب)

ا(6) استثارة العاطفة بدل الفكر: استثارة العاطفة هي تقنية كلاسيكية تُستعمل لتعطيل التّحليل المنطقي

وبالتالي الحسّ النقدي للأشخاص. كما أنّ استعمال المفردات العاطفيّة يسمح بالمرور للاّوعي حتّى يتمّ زرعه بأفكار، رغبات، مخاوف، نزعات، أو سلوكيّات. (7) إبقاء الشّعب في حالة جهل وحماقة: العمل بطريقة يكون خلالها الشعب غير قادر على استيعاب التكنولوجيات والطّرق المستعملة للتحكّم به واستعباده. "يجب أن تكون نوعيّة التّعليم المقدّم للطبقات السّفلى هي النوعيّة الأفقر، بطريقة تبقى إثرها الهوّة المعرفيّة التي تعزل الطّبقات السّفلى عن العليا غير مفهومة من قبل الطّبقات السّفلى" (مقتطف من كتاب أسلحة صامتة لحروب هادئة)

ا(8) تشجيع الشّعب على استحسان الرّداءة: تشجيع الشّعب على أن يجد أنّه من "الرّائع" أن يكون غبيّا، همجيّا و جاهلا.

ا(9) تعويض التمرّد بالإحساس بالذنب: جعل الفرد يظنّ أنّه المسؤول الوحيد عن تعاسته، وأن سبب مسؤوليّته تلك هو نقص في ذكائه وقدراته أو مجهوداته. وهكذا، عوض أن يثور على النّظام الاقتصادي، يقوم بامتهان نفسه ويحس بالذنب، وهو ما يولّد دولة اكتئابيه يكون أحد آثارها الانغلاق وتعطيل التحرّك. ودون تحرّك لا وجود للثورة!

ا(10) معرفة الأفراد أكثر ممّا يعرفون أنفسهم: خلال الخمسين سنة الماضية، حفرت التطوّرات العلميّة المذهلة هوّة لا تزال تتّسع بين المعارف العامّة وتلك التي تحتكرها وتستعملها النّخب الحاكمة. فبفضل علوم الأحياء، بيولوجيا الأعصاب وعلم النّفس التّطبيقي، توصّل "النّظام" إلى معرفة متقدّمة للكائن البشري، على الصّعيدين الفيزيائي والنّفسي. أصبح هذا "النّظام" قادرا على معرفة الفرد المتوسّط أكثر ممّا يعرف نفسه، وهذا يعني أنّ النظام - في أغلب الحالات - يملك سلطة على الأفراد أكثر من تلك التي يملكونها على أنفسهم.

(Avram Noam Chomsky) أفرام نعوم تشومسكي الميلاد 7 ديسمبر 1928 (العمر 82)، فيلادلفيا،الاسم بنسلفانيا المدرسة/التقليد الفلسفي اللسانيات، الفلسفة التحليلية الحقبة فلسفة القرن العشرين / الحادي والعشرين الإقليم الفلسفة الغربية الاهتمامات الرئيسية اللسانيات، علم النفس، فلسفة اللغة، فلسفة العقل، السياسة، الأخلاق

Is the End of the Yemeni Political Crisis Over?

Throughout the evening I followed the local, regional and international media for any reports of shootings in Yemen against the peaceful protesters against President of Everything that moves, speaks or talks, dead or alive substances, etc. To my delight there were no incidents of the security apparatus commanded by his sons and nephews or hired thugs unleashing their deadly weapons on the peaceful youth and protesters against the tyranny of the long-standing regime mainly dominated by his close of kin and fellow tribesmen. It appears that this could be a sign that the President has accepted the Gulf Cooperation Council formula to settle the Yemeni political crisis: 1) Ali Saleh to abdicate all his authorities to his Vice President Abdu Rabbu Hadi 2) A caretaker government to be formed to manage affairs pending elections and the redrawing of Yemen's Constitution. This leads one to suggest that either the wily Saleh may be palnning for something desperate or that Saleh and his cronies are packing to leave the country.

Amnesty International Praises Yemeni Women Participating in Revolt

April 1, 2011 During recent Yemen protests, an increasing number of women have been taking part in recent protests in different cities including Sana’a, Ta’izz and Aden, and Amnesty International voices its support of women’s increased visibility in Yemen and women’s right to join in the calls for government reform. But Amnesty International remains concerned that many Yemeni women are treated as second-class citizens in law and tribal custom, including forced marriages, unequal protection under the law, and gender-targeted threats to their safety and security. Moreover, women in Yemen remain inadequately protected against domestic and other violence. Amnesty International calls for an end to discriminatory laws and violence against women in Yemen, and stands with the women in Yemen for full and equal access to their human rights. During this time of government protest, we especially highlight the need for women to have equal access to participate fully in government. Women should have full and equal rights and access to participation in Yemeni government and cultural life, and we call on the Yemen government to ensure women are represented equally and are granted equal protection under the law. Amnesty International continues to call on the Yemeni government to protect civilian protestors and ensure that the right to peaceful protest and freedom of assembly is protected for the men and women of Yemen. Sincerely, Tarah Demant, Women’s Human Rights Group, Amnesty International, USA Alireza Azizi, Yemen Country Specialist, Amnesty International, USA