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Yemen: A society divided by
blood
By Nabil Sultan
SANA'A,
Yemen - A series of attacks culminating in the murder of
three American missionaries last month have left deep
political divisions in Yemen.
The American
doctors were shot dead two days after political leader
Jarallah Omar was killed by a gunman at an opposition
meeting. Two policemen were killed earlier by suspected
terrorists.
The killings came after a warning on
December 10 by a group calling itself Abu Ali
al-Harithi, one of whose leaders was killed in an attack
by an unmanned US Predator aircraft in November. Five
others said by the US to be members of al-Qaeda were
killed in the attack.
The shooting of the US
doctors was the second attack on American nationals in
Yemen after the attack on USS Cole off Aden port in
October 2000. Seventeen US sailors were killed and 39
injured in that suicide attack.
But no one was
expecting an attack at Jibla hospital. It is a sign that
Yemen will continue to face terrorism, analysts say.
Thousands gathered on New Year's Day to mourn
the death of the three American doctors and Jarallah
Omar. "Myers [one of the American doctors killed]
treated me during my first pregnancy when I feared for
months I would lose my baby," Samira Abdullah said at
the memorial, trying to hold back her tears.
Terrorist groups have many more targets in their
sights, according to official sources. They did not
indicate what these targets are.
The attacks
have provoked strong political divisions within Yemen
ahead of the general elections due April. Differences
between the ruling People General Congress Party and the
opposition Islah Party have become particularly
acrimonious. The government presented a report earlier
this week alleging that some political leaders have
links with al-Qaeda. It said these leaders are opposed
to democracy, seeing it as anti-Islamic.
Two
days before the attack on the US doctors, an extremist
suspect identified as Ali Jarallah entered an opposition
meeting called by the Islah Party and assassinated the
secretary-general of the Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP)
Jarallah Omar. A senior leader of the Islah Party was
seriously injured in the shooting, party leaders say.
An official statement after the killing pointed
to a link between the killer and the Islah Party. "The
terrorist fundamentalist is a member of Islah and was a
student of al-Imman University," according to the
official statement. Al-Imman is a religious university
in Sana'a that was inaugurated by President Ali Abdullah
Saleh.
Two well known members of the Islah
Party, Haza'a al-Masoari and Mohammad al-Hazmi were
taken for questioning over the attacks, according to the
Rights and Freedoms Protection Association in Yemen.
Islah leaders deny the charges against party
members. "This fundamentalist [Ali Jarallah] has
admitted he had no relation with Islah and that he was
planning to kill leaders from several parties at the
conference," says Mohammad Al-Yadooni, secretary-general
of the Islah Party. Extremists are trying to take
advantage of political differences, and Americans are
not their only targets, he says.
"The government
wants to launch a counteroffensive against opposition
parties, and so it is accusing them of links with
al-Qaeda," says Faris al-Saqqaf, chairman of the Yemeni
Center for Future Studies. The government is
particularly worried by the alliance between the Islah
Party and the YSP, he says.
The Islah Party was
an ally of the ruling party against the YSP during the
1994 civil war. Islah is now firmly opposed to the
ruling party. Analysts say this separation was provoked
by the close alliance that developed between the ruling
party and the US.
Islah and the YSP are among
seven opposition parties that issued a joint statement
condemning the ruling party for allowing the Predator
attack. They accused the government of allowing the US
to interfere in the internal affairs of Yemen and of
"surrendering sovereignty".
The government now
wants to outlaw the Islah Party ahead of the approaching
elections, says political analyst Mohammed al-Sabri.
Beneath the differences among the political parties lies
a deep division within Yemeni society, analysts say.
"The US policies in the Middle East are provoking
extremism among Arab and Islamic youths," political
researcher Mansour al-Kaf told IPS.
Secretary-general of the Al Haq Islamic Party
Ahmed Mohammad al-Shami says, "What can Americans expect
from a conservative people like Yemenis while the US
desecrates their country's sovereignty and dignity by
assassinating their leaders at home?"
(Inter
Press Service)
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