Azim Ismael: Dubious Conniver from South Africa

This blogger is not averse to spreading bad talk about anyone, whether from South Africa, Yemen, or from any place else in the world.  However, when someone has gained one's full trust and confidence and one has become satisfied that there is no harm in dealing with such a person, surely it is not in good taste, or proper business decorum that someone who has acquired such trust would all of a sudden prove to be no more than a conniving swindler. The writer of this post has, unfortunately, become a gullible victim of such abuse of trust.

 

To make a long story short, the subject person named in the title came to Yemen (staying at the plush Movenpick Hotel in Sana'a), about four months ago.  He specifically sought the assistance of this writer.  As a writer, consultant and researcher, the writer has acquired considerable knowledge on the socio-political-economic situation in Yemen and the Middle East. This knowledge was transparently reflected in the writings of the author in this blog, other blogs and the Yemen Times for several years.  The writer also engaged  in research consultancies with renowned international NGOs.  Azim Ismael called upon this writer to discuss the possibility of mutual cooperation as an ongoing provider of reports on the developments in Yemen. He stated that since South Africa did not have an embassy in Yemen, this information would be useful to the South African Government in keeping abreast of the situation in Yemen, while benefiting from some of the analysis that this writer could provide.

Azim also promised to help Yemen in taking the transitional steps to a democratic and stable government, by sharing with this author the transitional steps taken by South Africa in this regard, which was of direct interest to the author as a founding member of the Yemeni Center for Transitional Justice.

Ismael claimed to be a member/partner of a research institute (I will not disclose the name for now), with a name that is quite similar to a well established institution in the field that enjoys international recognition.

The underlying major terms of the agreement between myself and Aziz Ismael, consummated in writing:

1) Azim's institute would compensate the consultant with remuneration of so much per month as a retainer, and another amount based on material provided, with the first payment made after the first three months retroactive from the agreement date (March 10).

2) That the information provided shall not be given to any third party or government and would not jeopardize the security and sovereignty of neither South Africa or Yemen.

Azim, soon after that, reported puzzlingly that his institute did not win the "tender" for the project with the South African Government, but insisted that this would not have a bearing on our arrangement and that I should continue as agreed.

On the other hand, there were numerous suggestions sent to the author that Azim's institute would like to fund a trip for the author of this blog to visit South Africa or another convenient place to meet with Azim and obtain payments of my dues, as early as 1 1/2 months into the relationship, for services to date and discuss the satisfactory results of my work so far, as confirmed by the "experts" in his firm.  I was perpelexed why payment cannot be made by simple bank transfer.  Nevertheless, I would welcome a chance to visit South Africa, to view first hand their experience in transitional justice

 

In the meantime, I did some internet checkings to see what I could find about Azim's "bona fide" institute, as this writer had assumed.  I also looked for possible tenders by the South African Government in the field of Azim's Institute.  There was no information on the name of the institute provided by Azim, but rather on institutes with very similar names, except for minor change in word places (however, all the words being the same). I asked Azim if the links I had connected with were for his firm. He quickly sent a startlingly incomprehensible response, which disassociated him from the linked firms, but obviously showed Azim's displeasure at such inquisitiveness. Nevertheless, Azim wanted the work of this writer to continue.

Throughout the three month period, Azim kept telling the author of his continuous "business trips", to the point where the author wondered when Azim did, in fact, work in his office in Pretoria, South Africa at all for that matter.  In the last trip by Azim, he said he would be away for a month and could not be reached by email, so not to send anything until his return. This sent a strong signal to my analytical mind that Azim may indeed be involved in dubious activity, as confirmed by the impossibility of obtaining any information on Azim or his "institute" in any of the relevant professional or social contact media.

After the lapse of the month, and as I did not get any emails from Azim, I sent an email asking if our arrangement is still standing, and whether I should proceed as agreed.  He did answer, saying he has just returned from his month long trip and is spending the weekend with his family and would be back on Monday, and then send further details as to how we should continue to proceed. In the meantime, I should continue as previously done in our agreement.  I was not convinced of Azim's sincerity or credibility anymore.

When Monday came, I sent a formal claim for my dues, which have now accumulated to a considerable amount, since the three-month "probationary" period was over by now. Azim never responded to any of my emails since that day.  I realized I was now left holding the bag and, admittedly, have been deceived and betrayed.

I sent an email to Azim, asking for my dues and a closing of the relationship, without any further obligations on anyone's part. Again, there were no responses. I tried to contact the institute he had deceivingly used to associate himself with originally, but they told me they knew nothing of the guy.

I sent an email to Azim Ismael, demanding payment of my dues, or else, I would have to inform every possible relevant party that might become victims of the wily conniving Azim, whether as beneficiaries of his "services" or as possible consulting partners or subcontractors.

Since, Azim still did not respond, I have decided to revert to the internet to make sure that no other innocent people become possible victims of Azim's lies and deceptions and to suggest extreme caution when dealing with Azim.  I leave the mystery of Azim's background and possible dubious activities for the competent authorities in South Africa and elsewhere to deal with accordingly. 

All the foregoing is fully backed by the exchange of written communications between this author and Azim Ismael, since the relationship began and is herein provided without any responsibility or liability on the part of this author.  Azim is fully entitled to respond to any of the information herein provided, and to rectify any possible misrepresentations made by first of all meeting his obligations.

There are of course other steps that the author has recourse to such as presenting an official complaint to the competent authorities in South Africa, but for the sake of preventing anyone else being misled and cheated by Azim, this blog seemed to be the best and surely the most effective legitimate recourse.   

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

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.

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.