Yemen Protesters Threaten Students In South: UNICEF

by Mohammed Ghobari

Sana'a- Mar 8, 2011- Anti-government demonstrators in south Yemen are threatening to burn down schools if teachers and students do not join their protests in the port city of Aden, the U.N. children's fund UNICEF said Tuesday.

Daily protests have swept Yemen for over a month, as tens of thousands of demonstrators demand the end of President Ali Abdullah Saleh's three-decade rule over the impoverished Arabian Peninsula state.

"Yesterday's confirmed reports ... tell of a number of schools in al-Mansoura and al-Mualla (districts in Aden) being attacked by demonstrators," UNICEF said in a statement.

"Reportedly, children and teachers were threatened and told if they would not leave the schools and join the protest, they (the schools) would be burned down. Gun shots were heard in the area."

UNICEF communications officer Mohammed Al Asaadi, who is based in Sanaa, told Reuters he knew of two schools being threatened and said many children in Aden were now being kept at home by their parents.

"Some schools were already closed down because parents did not want their kids to go to school in anticipation of violence or attacks on schools," he said, speaking by phone.

The reported threats on schools were the first of their kind since unrest hit Yemen in January, with protesters galvanized by successful uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.

But schools have been targeted in previous disturbances in Yemen. Last May, UNICEF reported that gunmen had seized schools in north Yemen despite an uneasy truce between Shi'ite Muslim rebels and the government.

Saleh, a U.S. ally in the fight against al Qaeda's Yemen-based wing, was struggling to maintain stability even before the latest protests broke out. He has been trying to sustain a ceasefire with northern rebels while also seeking to curb a secessionist rebellion in the south.

In Aden, once the capital of an independent southern state, several children have been wounded and killed in this year's troubles, Asaadi said. In all, an estimated 27 people have died across Yemen in the protests.

"UNICEF is concerned about the safety of these children and their access to basic rights such as education and health services," he said.

First Anti-Government Protester Killed in Ibb

By Fatik Al-Rodaini

Ibb- Mar 8, 2011- At least one anti-government protester died on Tuesday in Ibb province after being attacked by pro-government protesters during fighting between the two sides two days ago.

Omer Abdul Rahman, 12, was attacked by pro-government protesters while he was participating in anti-government protests with his father. Pro-government protester fired live bullets on Omer's back, and he was taken to the hospital on Monday evening, and died there the next morning.

Yemeni Women’s presence in protests vital for diversity

Sana'a- Mar 8, 2011- Yemeni women have shown strong involvement in politics by participating in ongoing public marches and demonstrations currently underway across the country.

This political participation reflects their attitude about the country’s issues. Women are both supportive and critical of President Ali Abdullah Saleh; some admire him, others want him to simply leave office.

The country ruling party, the General People’s Congress (GPC), has organized women’s festivals and rallies in support of President Saleh.

This included a rally last Thursday in Sana’a which was attended by thousands of women lifting banners that read, “No to violence and chaos”.

At this rally, women also emphasized a desire that the opposition coalition, Joint Meeting Parties (JMP), to return to a national dialogue to end the current dead-lock.

These women want democracy via elections. They have also asked the JMP to withdraw from widespread protests. Pro- and anti-government demonstrations with women's participation has been a crucial factor in showing conflicting political forces and voices in Yemeni society.

Women have previously shown their different views on women's political participation and there has widely been agreement on the importance of their political and societal role.

Shatha al-Harazi, a Yemeni female journalist and activist, said that women's participation in demonstrations was «very effective». “Their participation is still low but it is increasing every day. It is a concrete development that the Yemeni women get out and participate in such protests and express their opinions,” said al-Harazi.

«Most of the women protestors are participating because they have some problems with the government. There are fears from their family and social obstacles that prevent women from participating in the demonstrations though,” she added. Noha Gamal, an employee who lives in Aden, said that the role of women was no different from men participating in protests.

“We have the right to express our opinions. The participation of women in the beginning of these demonstrations was low and there were only activists and journalists. After that the number of women at protests began to increase. I think that women are starting to become more aware of the big role they can play,” said Gamal. She said that she and her friends used the website Facebook to meet and express their opinions.

She said that this was a way to make contact with other women who also want to participate in protests. “I met with some friends on Facebook and then we met at some protests,” she said. Salma al-Masa’abi, manager of the education office in al-Saba’een district in Sana'a, said that she didn't want to participate in street protests though.

“The role of Yemeni women is not to participate in such anti-government protests. They must demand the security and stability of Yemen and not the destruction of our country,” said al-Masa’abi. “We don’t want the chaos and war in Yemen. I called all Yemeni women and mothers to advise their sons and families to return to dialogue and to stop imitating the revolutions of Tunisia and Egypt.”

Source: Yemen Observer

Yemen Shias continue anti-govt. rally

Sana'a- Mar 8, 2011- Tens of thousands of the Shia Muslims based in the northern Yemen have repeated their protests against the government, braving prospects of government-ordered bloodshed.

The demonstrators took to the streets of several cities including Sa'ada, the capital city of a northern province of the same name, where the faith group is concentrated.

The minority, which has recently joined nationwide anti-government demonstrations, has for long complained about efforts by the Yemeni leadership and neighboring Saudi Arabia to socially, economically, and religiously marginalize the community.

The Shias have been subjected to numerous Sana'a-authorized armed offensives -- many carried out by Saudi forces and some reportedly by the United States.

The protesters on Monday voiced solidarity with the outraged public, who have been demanding the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh's regime since January.

Saleh has already been in office for 33 years, with several opposition members arguing that his long-promised reforms have not materialized.

The country's opposition and religious figures have envisioned a roadmap for the ruler's departure before the end of this year.

The head of state has, however, said he would stay in power until the end of his term in 2013.

Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds more have been injured in Sana'a's crackdown on anti-regime protests.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Houthi leader said that two protesters were killed and nine others were wounded during armed attacks by the government forces on the Shias' rallies on Friday.

Source: press TV

INTERVIEW-Yemen wants $6 bln aid to counter unrest -formin

* Yemen to ask donors for up to $6 bln - foreign minister

* Blames unrest on poverty, says Gulf states support Saleh

* Yemen to present five-year development plan this month

By Mahmoud Habboush

ABU DHABI- Mar 8, 2011- Yemen's foreign minister urged foreign donors to inject up to $6 billion into state coffers over the next five years to help meet the demands of anti-government protesters.

Tens of thousands of protesters are camped out in major Yemeni cities, demanding President Ali Abdullah Saleh step down. Their tone has hardened by the day.

"What we need is really development and economic growth because the present political crisis is really as a result of the economic situation in Yemen," Abubakr al-Qirbi told Reuters after meeting Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) foreign ministers late on Monday in Abu Dhabi.

Yemeni protesters have expressed frustration with corruption and soaring unemployment in Yemen, at the base of the Arabian Peninsula, where 40 percent of its 23 million people live on $2 a day or less and a third face chronic hunger.

Qirbi said Yemen would present a five-year development plan later this month to the Friends of Yemen, a group of donor nations that includes European and Gulf Arab allies as well as the United States.

"The deficit in the budget for the five-year plan is about $6 billion," Qirbi said.

"We hope that the GCC countries with the other donors will contribute really to the development plan and to finance the deficit in the government budget," he said.

The GCC groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Protests have also erupted in Oman, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

GCC SUPPORT

Yemen's opposition said protests would escalate after Saleh rejected a plan for a transition this year in the Arab state, strategically located next to top oil exporter Saudi Arabia. Saleh wants to stay until his current term expires in 2013.

Qirbi said the Gulf Arab states supported Saleh's efforts to engage in dialogue with the opposition in Yemen.

"The GCC countries are supportive of President Saleh's efforts, especially initiating the dialogue with the opposition parties and the youth in order to find solutions for all the political and economic challenges faced by Yemen," he said.

Gulf states are concerned that instability in Yemen, which is home to a resurgent regional arm of al Qaeda that also targets Saudi Arabia, will destabilise the Gulf region.

Yemen was teetering on the brink of failed statehood even before recent protests, with Saleh struggling to cement a truce with Shi'ite rebels in the north and quell a secessionist rebellion in the south.

Analysts say recent protests, inspired by unrest that has toppled the leaders of Egypt and Tunisia and sparked insurrection in Libya, may be reaching a point where it will be difficult for Saleh to cling to power.

"I hope (the opposition) puts the interest and stability of Yemen as a priority for their own programmes," Qirbi said.

"We need a lot of political effort, and this is what's been undertaken by the government and president Saleh, and we're seeing now light at the end of the tunnel."

Source: (Reuters)