Any observer of the Yemeni scene is bound to be amused by the somewhat struggling effort to attract tourists to the country* as manifested by the poorly done but very expensive advertisements being aired in CNN and the BCC TV channels worldwide* and the obvious failure to depict Yemen at par with Montenegro* Cyprus* Greece and that fabulous wonderland called Slovakia. The problem does not just lie with the obvious poor quality of the advertisement and the poor phrasing of Yemen as being "many destinations ? one country" blurted out at the end. The fact of the matter is that Yemen is really in bad shape in almost every front: political* social and of course economic. On the political front* we have a democracy that has never been able to reflect itself as such* except to the hired pens of the ruling regime* most of whom haven't the faintest idea of what a democracy really means. Many of the latter would be shocked to learn that if we really ever had a democracy in place in Yemen* they would be the first peons of the regime to be out of jobs! The tireless effort of the regime to actually carry out "national elections" is another farce that is as ridiculous as our failing effort to depict Yemen as an active antagonist in the War on Terror. Terrorism is nowhere near being out of place in the Yemeni socio-political fabric and may in fact have become more implanted than it ever was anytime before. Furthermore* the regime is unable to disenfranchise itself from the reputed iconic elements of terrorism that have come to the surface* in this once almost terror-free peaceful country some thirty years ago. The simple reason for this is that the regime used to regard the laissez-faire attitude towards the growth and dissemination of Salafi-oriented institutions (the breeding ground for many of those who became attracted to extremism and counterproductive violence that lacks any clearly defined objectives or strategically guided objectives) accommodating to its own political ends. These institutions also provided ready fighters in many of the regime's military adventures since it took over the helms of authority in the land* which were misleadingly viewed as Jihad or wars for the sake of Islam (even the war against the Houthis in Sa'ada* who are also staunch advocates of a different religious platform* was disguised as a Jihad!). The latter was one war that proved to be challenging to both the regime and its Salafi paramilitary backers. It is not clear how long this washy washy relationship between the regime and the Salafis can be sustained as a viable mutual enterprise* as the Jihadists are now trying to display some signs of asserting themselves to the point of risking confrontation with the regime's centers of power and undermining the security and stability of the country. The regime is also confronted by a painful revival of southern separatism that was more the result of the horrendous attitude of many of the powerful elements that make up the regime (military brass* sheikhs* politicians and administrators) as the latter the territory that formerly regarded itself as a sovereign state (PDRY) was open grounds to satisfy the greedy narrow minded ambitions that have characterized many of the leading icons that have become identified with the regime* who have literally taken full control of the choice real estate and the leading potential economic and business opportunities that were expected to be launched with Yemeni unification and the development of the South as a viable robust economic entity. Of course these hopes regrettably never materialized because of the obvious mismanagement of most of the efforts that were presumably regarded as essential to getting this economic wishful thinking into the real world. Oh sure the potential is unquestionably there* but the dismal record of economic success of the regime in the "northern part" of the country was simply carried forward to the South to produce one giant economic mess throughout the country. It is not clear where the situation is heading to in the South as dissent is becoming more than vocal* but one would think that the efforts of some Southern leaders to "secede" are neither forgivable nor meaningful. In fact one would think that these leaders are actually giving the regime greater justification for relying on oppressive measures to quell any efforts at secession driven by violence and are almost doomed to failure from the start. Surely* these southern breakaway saspirants have not forgotten the tragedy that 2 Yemens once represented to the Yemeni people* not to mention the break-up of families and clans. The suffering that many southern leaders are pointing to is not unique to the south* but is just as much a part of the real world in the northern part of the country* that one is led to assume the call for secession as being almost selfishly motivated* rather than being the result of patriotic aspirations. More to follow. Hassan Al-Haifi has been a Yemeni political economist and journalist for more than 20 years....

المزيد...