May 04 2009
Forgotten Yemen
Violence has flared up in Yemen this past week, marking the anniversary of the 1994 two-month long uprising, which was quickly put down by government troops. The current state of Yemen exists after an agreement in 1990 for South Yemen and North Yemen to unite. Yemen, bordered by Saudi Arabia, and Oman, is primarily an oil state, with 90% of its exports being in oil. Yermen is far from a wealthy republic, ranking somewhere around 10th or 11th on the world’s poorest nations lists. Its oil reserves are quickly running out, and are predicted to dry up somewhere in the next 15 to 20 years.
The South, which is primarily Sunni Muslim and the location of much of the republic’s oil, is dissatisfied with the government. Starting a few days ago, towards the end of April, the fighting began at a rally. Since then, 8 have died, four of them Yemeni soldiers. 21 people have been wounded. The violence is taking place in the south of the country. The United States has issued a statement, showing concern for the stability of Yemen, asking the different sides to discuss their issues. A difficult thing to do in a country still with independent tribes, al-Quada influences, poverty, and social unrest. The government also faces a Zaydi Shi’ite rebellion in the north.
Yemen is led by President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Strongly supported by America, Saleh was the President of North Yemen since 1978, and of unified Yemen since 1990. Although he has led for some time, he ran again and won in 2006. The elections are supposedly “fair”, although Yemen isn’t the most transparent of countries, nor does it have the cleanest human rights record. There isn’t much international attention directed on the Southwest Asian nation, but because of its geographical importance, rubbing elbows with both Somalia and Saudi Arabia, if the violence continues there will probably be more of a reaction. Right now the US is probably hoping this will blow over, as one more al-Quaeda hotbed in the region would really be devastating.
