Category Archives: Ali Abdullah Salih

كيف استقبل شباب الثورة بصنعاء ظهور صالح؟!

"Arab Spring", Ali Abdullah Salih, Sanaa, Yemen


  • الصورة لمتظاهرين في ساحة التغيير بصنعاء في 4 يوليو الجاري (AP).

    لمصدر أونلاين ـ صلاح القاعدي

    تباينت ردود الفعل لدى شباب الثورة في ساحة التغيير بصنعاء من الظهور العلني للرئيس صالح من خلال خطابه المسجل الذي بث يوم الخميس الفائت، وتوزعت بين حالة من الاحتقان والسخط على القوى المحلية والدولية لتأثيرها على مسار الثورة، وأخرى ساخرة.

    الشباب الذين استولى عليهم السخط والغضب نتيجة شعور سيطر عليهم، بسبب تفويتهم الفرص المتاحة لحسم الثورة، التي كان أبرزها فرصة رحيل صالح إلى السعودية. ومع ذلك خرج الشباب في مسيرات تجوب ساحة التغيير مرددين هتافات ضد قوى يعتقدون أنها سبباً حقيقياً في تأجيل حسم الثورة وومن بينها أحزاب اللقاء المشترك ودولتي السعودية والولايات المتحدة الأمريكية.

    وتنامت حالة العداء تجاه السعودية والولايات المتحدة في أوساط شباب الثورة في اليمن خلال الآونة الأخيرة بسبب دور الأخيرتين البارز في حل المشكلة اليمنية، وسط اتهامات لهما بالتواطؤ مع نظام صالح والسعي لإجهاض الثورة السلمية المطالبة بإنهاء حكم صالح المستمر منذ نحو 33 عاماً.

    الاختلاف في الآراء ووجهات النظر كان سيد الموقف حول انعكاسات خطاب صالح، ويرى الشاب سليمان الراشدي ان اتضاح حالة صالح الصحية بعد أسابيع من التضارب، سيسهل في الإقدام على الخطوات القادمة وتحقيق بقية الأهداف التي قامت من أجلها الثورة.

    لكن كثيراً من شباب الثورة جعلوا من ظهور صالح مادة لصياغة النكتة التي تتميز بسرعة انتشارها على قطاع واسع من اليمن بمختلف الوسائل المتاحة.
    Continue reading كيف استقبل شباب الثورة بصنعاء ظهور صالح؟! →

    • Breaking News: Salih on Yemeni TV

    "Arab Spring", Ali Abdullah Salih, Yemen, YouTube Watch


    from Al Jazeera website

    The first video of President Ali Abdullah Salih since his severe injuries has been broadcast in Yemen just a short while ago. A brief excerpt is already on Youtube with better videos likely to be posted. As the pictures above and below show, he is heavily bandaged and the audio indicates he has trouble speaking. It is hard to imagine that he would be able to resume work any time in the foreseeable future. It appears he is lucky to even be alive. For an interview on Al Jazeera with Dr. Ameen al-Himyari of Qatar University, click here.


    from the BBC website

    Yemen’s Unfinished Revolution

    "Arab Spring", Ali Abdullah Salih, Journalism and Media, Photography, Sanaa, Yemen


    Photo by Karim Ben Khelifa

    By TAWAKKOL KARMAN, The New York Times, June 18, 2011

    Sana, Yemen

    AFTER more than five months of continuous protests, I stand today in Change Square with thousands of young people united by a lofty dream. I have spent days and nights camped out in tents with fellow protesters; I have led demonstrations in the streets facing the threat of mortars, missiles and gunfire; I have struggled to build a movement for democratic change — all while caring for my three young children.

    We have reached this historic moment because we chose to march in the streets demanding the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, an end to his corrupt and failed regime and the establishment of a modern democratic state. On June 4, our wish for Mr. Saleh’s departure was granted, but our demand for democracy remains unfulfilled.

    Following months of peaceful protests that reached every village, neighborhood and street, Yemen is now facing a complete vacuum of authority; we are without a president or parliament. Mr. Saleh may be gone, but authority has not yet been transferred to a transitional presidential council endorsed by the people.

    This is because the United States and Saudi Arabia, which have the power to ensure a peaceful transition to democracy in Yemen, have instead used their influence to ensure that members of the old regime remain in power and the status quo is maintained. American counterterrorism agencies and the Saudi government have a firm grip on Yemen at the moment. It is they, not the Yemeni people and their constitutional institutions, that control the country. Continue reading Yemen’s Unfinished Revolution →

    Is it civil war yet in Yemen?

    "Arab Spring", Ali Abdullah Salih, Yemen


    Imam Ahmad, left; Ali Abdullah Salih, right

    [Webshaykh’s Note: This is a nice summary of the situation in Yemen just before Salih was wounded and left for Saudi Arabia.]

    An avoidable civil war in Yemen that has already begun

    by Brian O’Neill, The National, June 5, 2011

    The scenes coming to us out of Yemen appear as raw and bloody chaos: running gun-battles through the streets, protesters screaming fiercely and the president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, apparently wounded in a mortar attack at the weekend (and rumoured to be headed to Saudi Arabia for treatment).

    But while it looks like madness, the falling apart of Yemen is deeply rooted in the inexorable logic of its own history, the personalities of the major players and a looming generational shift. While civil war is not inevitable, circumstances have made it likely, and it may be too late to prevent the country from violently tearing apart its own seams.

    Probably the biggest question swirling around the fighting is why? Not why is President Saleh clinging to power, but why has he established a series of feints and dodges that would appear to propel unrest rather than restore stability?

    For instance, why did the president offer to sign a GCC-sponsored transfer of power, only to back away multiple times? If he had no intention of signing, why even bother with the pretence?

    The answer to these questions is one of the keys to understanding why Yemen is where it is.

    Mr Saleh has ruled parts or all of Yemen for over 30 years. But even the “all” in that sentence is misleading. Mr Saleh has never ruled all of Yemen, even if he has arguably the longest reach in his country’s ancient history. Yemen is governed by negotiation and appeasement, by the carrot and the stick, by squeezing one party while massaging the other.

    Rule in Yemen is very personal; the president, like the Imam before him, is intimately involved in tribal politics – a game of swirling alliances. Continue reading Is it civil war yet in Yemen? →

    Ali Abdullah Salih and Yogi Berra

    "Arab Spring", Ali Abdullah Salih, Journalism and Media, Yemen


    The picture chosen by The Washington Post for its lead article today

    The speculation about the health and future of President Ali Abdullah Salih of Yemen is wild today. On Friday he was wounded by a rocket attack on his compound that killed several others. I first heard about this when someone called me and mentioned that in Pakistan they were saying he had been killed in the attack. When he only gave an audio message afterwords, and that with a clearly heavy breathing voice, it was still not clear what his injuries were. Since government sources are certainly not believable and no reporters were on the scene, all kinds of rumors spread easily. Now it is known that Salih with a number of family members and some of the other wounded are in Saudi Arabia for treatment.

    So what next? The BBC takes a cautious approach with the headline “Yemenis rejoice as Saleh leaves but fighting continues” while The Washington Post is more optimistic, leading the headlines with “Yemeni crowds cheer as Saleh transfers power,” and stating “The departure of Yemen’s president for Saudi Arabia raises the prospect that a key U.S. ally in the fight against al-Qaeda has lost his grip on a nation tumbling into chaos.” Over at Waq al-Waq Gregory Johnsen reflects the hopes and fears of the situation:

    “My guess is that his wounds are much more severe than Yemeni officials have let on, as Salih was well aware that leaving Yemen would make it incredibly difficult for him to return. Continue reading Ali Abdullah Salih and Yogi Berra →

    Ali Abdullah Salih wounded

    "Arab Spring", Ali Abdullah Salih, Yemen


    Reports just coming out of Yemen indicate that President Ali Abdullah Salih was wounded today in an attack on his compound in Sanaa. After the attack he was apparently treated for injuries. He later issued an audio statement which can be heard here. Both the Prime Minister and the Speaker of Parliament were said to have been injured. The attack happened with major demonstrations after a funeral for those recently killed in violence. More details are available at the BBC and Al Jazeera. For more details in Arabic, click here.


    map showing areas of conflict in Sanaa

    How to protest peacefully

    "Arab Spring", Ali Abdullah Salih, Yemen, YouTube Watch


    Protests in Sanaa on Friday; if only everyone could follow the dove

    The past few days has witnessed a turn to violence in the ongoing protests in Yemen. An altercation between President Salih’s forces and the major Hashid tribal family of al-Ahmar left scores dead and threatened to accelerate into a civil war. It appears that Salih would like nothing better as once again he could find an excuse to hold on to power. But as the young Husayn al-Ahmar said yesterday:

    صالح قال اليمن ليست مصر ولا ليبياوأناأقول له إن صنعاء ليست طرابلس ومهلة الضمانات انتهت.
    “Salih said that Yemen isn’t Egypt nor Libya, but I say to him that Sanaa is not Tripoli and the time for making a decision about guarantees has passed.”


    Sadiq al-Ahmar, left; Husayn al-Ahmar, right

    Continue reading How to protest peacefully →

    Is this the last dance for Ali?

    "Arab Spring", Ali Abdullah Salih, Yemen


    Reports coming out of Yemen today suggest that Ali Abdullah Salih may finally have no choice but to sign his abdication. Yesterday’s altercation with supporters of Hashid shaykh Sadiq al-Ahmar near his fortified house in Sanaa expanded to the Ministry of Interior. Today it is reported that Sanaa International Airport is closed and the Central Bank of Yemen has been shut down as well. Yemen is currently in the dark, both literally and politically.

    Having run his country into a ditch, indeed quite a large wadi, President Salih is desperately trying to go out with some kind of moral victory. He will not let the country succumb to Civil War, like Somalia. He will not let Yemen become a failed state and fall to Al Qaeda. He will stay in the country and join the opposition. The words sound conciliatory enough, but his political kalam machine has been spewing forth similar justifications ever since he took power lo those many years ago. Even the little boy who cried “wolf” in the fabled children’s story only did so three or four times. Continue reading Is this the last dance for Ali? →