( أصداء و متابعات إخبارية): القضية الجنوبية في الصحافة العالمية

[Ganoob67]

التغطية الأخبارية التي أجريتها و التي تضمنت بحث في الصحف و المواقع الأخبارية الناطقة بالإنجليزية, الفرنسية و الألمانية التي كتبت عن القضية الجنوبية في خلال هذا الأسبوع تعكس حقيقة أن الحديث عن الحصار الإعلامي في الوقت الحالي على الأقل غير دقيق. فهذا العدد الكبير من المقالات التي إبتعدت عن النقل الآلي للخبر كما كان في السابق إلى عرض و تحليل القضية الجنوبية و محاولة سبر أغوارها. هذا العدد الكبير من المواضيع الطويلة التي و جدتها تعكس إزدياد الإهتمام العالمي بما يحصل في الجنوب و محاولة معرفة إلى أين تتجه الأمور و هو نصر كبير يحسب للحراك الجنوبي الذي يحق لنا و بكل فخر أن نصفه بالحراك العنيد الذي لم ييأس من الدق على جدار الحصار الإعلامي حتى سمع صوته العالم.

فليعذرني القارئ من ترجمة هذه المواضيع و ذلك لضيق الوقت و صعوبة الترجمة... و لكني سأضع هنا بعض الملاحظات التي يمكن أن توضح بعض الأشياء عن طبيعة التغطية الإعلامية:


-التغطية في مجملها موضوعية تكشف كذب و زيف نظام صنعاء عن الحرية و الديمقراطية.

- المواضيع في معظمها لا تنسب الحراك للمعارضة و لا يتم فيها ذكر المعارضة اليمنية على الإطلاق كما كان في السابق أو كما لا تزال تفعل بعض الصحف العربية!!.

- كما أوضحت أعلاه... التغطية لم تعد مجرد نقل آلي للأحداث كما كان في السابق من نوعية... قامت مظاهرة في مدينة كذا و أدت إلى سقوط كذا قتيلا... بل أن المقالات تحاول أن تحلل ما يجري في الجنوب و تتعرض بالنقد للوحدة و للحكومة اليمنية كما في مقال قناة دوتشه فيله الألمانية التي تذكر أن الوحدة لم تقم حقيقة.

- يبدوا من خلال قراءة المواضيع أن مصادر المعلومات تأتي في الغالب للصحفيين من شخصيات شمالية... كما في المقال المنشور في الدوتشه فيله حيث الحديث عن رسام عدني إسمه كمال المقرمي و الذي يبدوا لي أنه من تعز. هذا الشخص لم يحد ما يذكره من السلبيات التي جلبتها لنا الوحدة إلا أن "نسائنا أصبحن يرتدين النقاب"!!!

- التغطيات و رغم تميزها بكثير من الموضوعية و تحدثها بإحترام عن الحراك الجنوبي إلا أن وجهة نظر نشطاء الحراك و قادته مغيبة تماما و لم يحدث أن قرأت في أي مقال لقاء أو حتى ذكر إسم لأحد رموز الحراك سواء في الداخل أو الخارج... و بهذا يفتقد القارئ فهم أسباب هذا الحراك الجنوبي و تختلط عليه المطالب الحقوقية بالسياسية.

- مقال الصحفي منير الماوري هو أكثر مقال أثار حنقي لأنه بالرغم من أنه مكتوب بالإنجليزية و منشور في موقع أمريكي و إعتمد فيه الماوري على مصادر متنوعة بذل فيها جهدا يستحق الإشادة عليه إلا أن المقال يبقى مقالا يمنيا بإمتياز. المصادر التي إعتمدها الماوري ليس فيها مصدر جنوبي واحد و كأنه لا يقرأ صحيفة الأيام ولا يتابع أي مواقع جنوبية و حتى عند إشارته لموضوع حظر الصحف الثمانية لا يذكر أسماء الصحف و لا يشير حتى إلى حقيقة أن معظمها جنوبية و لا إلى أن سبب منعها هو نقلها لما يحدث في الجنوب بل يدعي أن السبب هو نشرها لموضوع فضيحة إبن الرئيس اليمنى. أما كتابته عن الحراك الجنوبي فمبهمة و إعتمد فيها على مصادر لا تمثل توجه الحراك الإستقلالي مثل الإشتراكي نت و يمن تايمز.

- هذه التغطية تكشف حقيقة أن على نشطاء و قادة الحراك أن يسعوا للتواصل مع الإعلام الخارجي و ذلك عن طريق تشكيل فريق إعلامي في الخارج مهمته تعريف رجال الصحافة و الإعلام العرب و الأجانب بوجهة نظر أبناء الجنوب من ما يحصل في بلدهم و شرح أهداف الحراك و التركيز على حق تقرير المصير كحق تكفله كل الشرائع و القوانين.

[عدن برس]

اقتباس   المشاركة الأصلية كتبت بواسطة Ganoob67 One Yemeni paper facing government wrath Al-Ayyam finds itself in hot water in troubled Yemen but the 50-year-old paper is no stranger to pressure. By Christian Chaise - ADEN, Yemen Published 2009-06-05 High calibre bullets have peppered the place -- a wall in the children's room on the first floor, in shattered windows and on the facade of the building. The compound in downtown Aden housing the office of Al-Ayyam, the biggest daily newspaper in southern Yemen, was the scene of a deadly shootout on May 13 between security forces and armed guards. One man was killed and three were wounded in the hour-long battle. Police and soldiers had arrived to arrest Al-Ayyam owner Hisham Basharaheel, 66, in connection with a killing more than a year ago in Sanaa, the capital, 400 kilometres (250 miles) north of Aden. But Basharaheel and those close to him say the arrest warrant was a direct result of the secessionist unrest that erupted in southern Yemen in late April that has claimed 16 lives. South Yemen, then run by a socialist government allied to the former Soviet Union, was an independent state until unification with the north on May 22, 1990. Al-Ayyam is one of eight publications that were forced by the government of President Ali Abdullah Saleh to cease publication early last month for allegedly working against Yemeni unity. The violence broke out in Radfan district in Lahaj province north of Aden. Eight people, including four soldiers, were killed between April 27 and May 3 in clashes between protesters and security forces. For several days in a row, pictures of the dead and wounded featured on Al-Ayyam's front page. "When Al-Ayyam stopped publishing we were printing 78,000 copies a day," a huge number for Yemen, "and we were selling 100 percent," said Basharaheel Basharaheel, one of the owner's three sons, who heads the foreign desk. He said average daily circulation was normally around 50,000, although it has not been possible to verify these figures independently. After a spate of incidents early last month, when delivery trucks were stopped by armed civilians or security forces and thousands of copies seized and destroyed, Al-Ayyam decided to suspend publication on May 5 as it could no longer distribute, he says. On May 6, the paper's Internet site was blocked, and the next day the government announced the publishing ban on Al-Ayyam and seven weeklies. For Al-Ayyam the situation was about to get even worse. A prosecutor issued an arrest warrant against Hisham Basharaheel in connection with a shooting on February 12, 2008 in Sanaa between armed men and a security guard at the newspaper's office there. One person was killed and the guard was arrested. Basharaheel stood accused of encouraging the guard to open fire. Basharaheel's son said his father was prepared to appear in an Aden court to answer the charge, but not in Sanaa where he would fear for his life. The authorities and Al-Ayyam offer conflicting versions of what happened next -- the gun battle at the newspaper's Aden compound. Police said Al-Ayyam guards opened fire first, but Basharaheel Basharaheel is adamant to the contrary. "They (the security forces) just opened fire all of a sudden," he said. The security guards "fired back. That's their job." The building is also home to the Basharaheel family. "There were twenty women and children in the compound at the time," the younger Basharaheel said. His wife and two children, aged five years and just six months, were among them. "By a miracle, my wife and two kids had left the room a few seconds before," he said, pointing to bullet holes in the wall just above a child's bed. Hundreds of Al-Ayyam supporters rushed to the scene after the shooting, and they now take turns to keep vigil outside the building which has become a fortress. "Basically, we're trapped," the young Basharaheel said. The security forces may have pulled back, but they are still doing their utmost to keep the family isolated. They tried to prevent an AFP reporter from visiting Al-Ayyam, and also forced an AFP photographer to delete pictures he had taken. It is not the first time Al-Ayyam has found itself in hot water. Established in 1958, the paper was suspended for 23 years between 1967 and 1990, during socialist rule in the south. "They told us 'You should suspend the publication for one week pending licensing procedures'," the younger Basharaheel recalled with a smile. "The licence came 23 years later..." [فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات . إضغط هنا للتسجيل]

الترجمة: الإنجليزية » العربية
One Yemeni paper facing government wrath Al-Ayyam finds itself in hot water in troubled Yemen but the 50-year-old paper is no stranger to pressure. By Christian Chaise - ADEN, Yemen Published 2009-06-05 High calibre bullets have peppered the place -- a wall in the children's room on the first floor, in shattered windows and on the facade of the building. The compound in downtown Aden housing the office of Al-Ayyam, the biggest daily newspaper in southern Yemen, was the scene of a deadly shootout on May 13 between security forces and armed guards. One man was killed and three were wounded in the hour-long battle. Police and soldiers had arrived to arrest Al-Ayyam owner Hisham Basharaheel, 66, in connection with a killing more than a year ago in Sanaa, the capital, 400 kilometres (250 miles) north of Aden. But Basharaheel and those close to him say the arrest warrant was a direct result of the secessionist unrest that erupted in southern Yemen in late April that has claimed 16 lives. South Yemen, then run by a socialist government allied to the former Soviet Union, was an independent state until unification with the north on May 22, 1990. Al-Ayyam is one of eight publications that were forced by the government of President Ali Abdullah Saleh to cease publication early last month for allegedly working against Yemeni unity. The violence broke out in Radfan district in Lahaj province north of Aden. Eight people, including four soldiers, were killed between April 27 and May 3 in clashes between protesters and security forces. For several days in a row, pictures of the dead and wounded featured on Al-Ayyam's front page. "When Al-Ayyam stopped publishing we were printing 78,000 copies a day," a huge number for Yemen, "and we were selling 100 percent," said Basharaheel Basharaheel, one of the owner's three sons, who heads the foreign desk. He said average daily circulation was normally around 50,000, although it has not been possible to verify these figures independently. After a spate of incidents early last month, when delivery trucks were stopped by armed civilians or security forces and thousands of copies seized and destroyed, Al-Ayyam decided to suspend publication on May 5 as it could no longer distribute, he says. On May 6, the paper's Internet site was blocked, and the next day the government announced the publishing ban on Al-Ayyam and seven weeklies. For Al-Ayyam the situation was about to get even worse. A prosecutor issued an arrest warrant against Hisham Basharaheel in connection with a shooting on February 12, 2008 in Sanaa between armed men and a security guard at the newspaper's office there. One person was killed and the guard was arrested. Basharaheel stood accused of encouraging the guard to open fire. Basharaheel's son said his father was prepared to appear in an Aden court to answer the charge, but not in Sanaa where he would fear for his life. The authorities and Al-Ayyam offer conflicting versions of what happened next -- the gun battle at the newspaper's Aden compound. Police said Al-Ayyam guards opened fire first, but Basharaheel Basharaheel is adamant to the contrary. "They (the security forces) just opened fire all of a sudden," he said. The security guards "fired back. That's their job." The building is also home to the Basharaheel family. "There were twenty women and children in the compound at the time," the younger Basharaheel said. His wife and two children, aged five years and just six months, were among them. "By a miracle, my wife and two kids had left the room a few seconds before," he said, pointing to bullet holes in the wall just above a child's bed. Hundreds of Al-Ayyam supporters rushed to the scene after the shooting, and they now take turns to keep vigil outside the building which has become a fortress. "Basically, we're trapped," the young Basharaheel said. The security forces may have pulled back, but they are still doing their utmost to keep the family isolated. They tried to prevent an AFP reporter from visiting Al-Ayyam, and also forced an AFP photographer to delete pictures he had taken. It is not the first time Al-Ayyam has found itself in hot water. Established in 1958, the paper was suspended for 23 years between 1967 and 1990, during socialist rule in the south. "They told us 'You should suspend the publication for one week pending licensing procedures'," the younger Basharaheel recalled with a smile. "The licence came 23 years later..." [فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات . إضغط هنا للتسجيل]
ورقة واحدة تواجه الحكومة اليمنية غضب

صحيفة الايام على صفيح ساخن المضطربة في اليمن ولكن من العمر 50 عاما ورقة ليست غريبة عن الضغوط.

بقلم كريستيان شيز -- عدن (اليمن
نشر 2009-06-05

مقدرة عالية من الرصاص قد اضفى على المكان -- جدار الطفل في غرفة في الطابق الأول ، وأدى الى تحطم النوافذ وعلى واجهة المبنى.
مجمع السكن في وسط مدينة عدن مكتب قناة الأيام ، أكبر صحيفة يومية في جنوب اليمن ، وكانت مسرحا لقاتلة خلال تبادل لاطلاق النار في 13 ايار / مايو بين قوات الأمن وحرس مسلحين.
وقتل رجل وأصيب ثلاثة آخرون في المعركة التي استمرت ساعة.
رجال الشرطة والجنود وصلوا الى لإلقاء القبض على صاحب صحيفة الايام Basharaheel هشام (66 عاما) فيما يتعلق قتل قبل أكثر من عام في صنعاء ، العاصمة ، على بعد 400 كيلومترا (250 ميلا) إلى الشمال من عدن.
Basharaheel ولكن القريبين منه يقولون مذكرة التوقيف هو نتيجة مباشرة للقلاقل الانفصالية التي اندلعت في جنوب اليمن في أواخر نيسان / أبريل الذي اودى بحياة 16 شخصا.
جنوب اليمن ، التي تديرها حكومة اشتراكية متحالفة مع الاتحاد السوفياتي السابق ، وكانت دولة مستقلة حتى الوحدة مع الشمال يوم 22 مايو 1990.
صحيفة الايام واحد من ثمانية من المنشورات التي أجبرت حكومة الرئيس اليمني علي عبد الله صالح لوقف نشر في مطلع الشهر الماضي لاتهامه بالعمل ضد الوحدة اليمنية.
واندلعت أعمال العنف في منطقة Radfan في محافظة لحج شمال عدن. ثمانية اشخاص بينهم اربعة جنود قتلوا في الفترة بين 27 ابريل و 3 مايو في اشتباكات بين المتظاهرين وقوات الامن.
لعدة ايام متتالية ، وصور القتلى والجرحى ظهر صحيفة الايام في صدر صفحاتها.
وقال "عندما توقفت صحيفة الايام كنا النشر والطباعة 78،000 نسخة يوميا" عدد هائل من أجل اليمن ، "وكنا بيع 100 في المئة" Basharaheel Basharaheel ، وهو واحد من ثلاثة اولاد المالك ، الذي يرأس مكتب الخارجية.
وقال ان المتوسط اليومي لتداول عادة حوالي 50،000 ، على الرغم من أنه لم يكن من الممكن التحقق من هذه الارقام بشكل مستقل.
بعد سلسلة من الحوادث في مطلع الشهر الماضي ، عندما توقفت الشاحنات تسليم المسلحين المدنيين أو قوات الأمن وآلاف من النسخ تم الاستيلاء عليها وتدميرها ، الأيام قرر تعليق نشر في 5 ايار / مايو حيث لم يعد في امكانها توزيعها ، ويقول :
يوم 6 مايو ، طبقا للصحيفة على الانترنت منع ، واليوم التالي اعلنت الحكومة فرض حظر على نشر صحيفة الايام السبعة والأسبوعية.
لصحيفة الايام ان الوضع على وشك أن يزداد سوءا.
وقال المدعي العام أصدر مذكرة توقيف بحق هشام Basharaheel فيما يتعلق باطلاق النار على 12 فبراير 2008 في صنعاء بين مسلحين وحارس أمن في مكتب الصحيفة هناك.
قتل شخص واحد واعتقل حرس. وقفت Basharaheel اتهم تشجيع الحرس الى اطلاق النار.
ابن Basharaheel ان والده مستعد للمثول في عدن امام المحكمة للرد على هذا الاتهام ، ولكن ليس في صنعاء حيث كان يخشى على حياته.
السلطات و آل الايام عرض روايات متضاربة ما حدث بعد ذلك -- في معركة الصحيفة مجمع عدن.
وقالت الشرطة ان صحيفة الايام الحراس فتحوا النار أولا ، ولكن Basharaheel Basharaheel تصر على العكس.
وقال "إنهم (قوات الأمن) وعادل للجميع فتحت النار فجأة". حراس الامن "باطلاق النار هذا وظائفهم".
المبنى ايضا الى Basharaheel الأسرة.
"كانت هناك والعشرين من النساء والأطفال في المجمع في ذلك الوقت ،" الاصغر Basharaheel. زوجته وطفليه ، والذين تتراوح أعمارهم بين خمس سنوات وستة اشهر فقط ، كان من بينها.
"معجزة ، زوجتي وطفلين قد غادر القاعة قبل بضع ثوان" ، مشيرا إلى ثقوب رصاص في الجدار فوق سرير الطفل.
المئات من انصار صحيفة الايام هرع الى مكان الحادث بعد إطلاق النار ، وتحول الآن الى اليقظة امام المبنى الذي أصبح القلعة.
وقال "نحن محاصرون" Basharaheel الشباب.
قوات الامن قد انسحبت ، لكنها لا تزال تبذل كل ما في وسعها للحفاظ على الأسرة المعزولة.
حاولوا منع مراسل وكالة فرانس برس عن زيارة صحيفة الايام ، واضطر ايضا مصور وكالة فرانس برس على حذف الصور التي اتخذها.
انها ليست المرة الاولى صحيفة الايام وجدت نفسها في ورطة كبيرة. أنشئت في عام 1958 ، ورقة علقت لمدة 23 عاما بين 1967 و 1990 ، وخلال الحكم الاشتراكي في الجنوب. "قالوا لنا' يجب تعليق نشر لمدة أسبوع واحد في انتظار إجراءات الترخيص ، "الاصغر Basharaheel أشارت وهو يبتسم. "وجاءت الرخصة بعد 23 عاما..."

[فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات . إضغط هنا للتسجيل]

[Ganoob67]

There is no easy way out for Yemen

By Walid Al Saqaf, Special to Gulf News
Published: June 06, 2009, 23:22
For Yemen to emerge from its current crisis and avoid disintegration and falling into chaos, President Ali Abdullah Saleh will have to take long-awaited and painful decisions. Saleh will have to accept that the old-fashioned temporary solutions in trying to appease a faction, squash a rebellion by force, or prevent the media from covering growing problems around the country will simply not work this time around. The problems have grown out of proportion and cannot be contained by the usual rhetoric or symbolic, decorative gestures here and there.
Here, I will try to describe the most important decisions that the president will have to take in order to try and prevent a doomsday scenario for Yemen, not only for the sake of unity of its land and people, but for the sake of stability of the region.
The first and foremost priority for Saleh is to build the trust of the public in the judiciary by establishing the rule of law as it is supposed to. A real test for the president is in bringing the powerful, corrupt individuals in his regime to justice.
The people have had enough of the rhetoric about the need to combat corruption while showing no real progress on the ground when it comes to big names. Such a move will have to be genuine and sweeping. It must not bring a few scapegoats to trial while leaving the rest untouched.
Apart from corruption, action needs to be taken to resolve the numerous cases of crimes committed against civilians and land grabs by powerful tribal ******s and senior military officers, particularly in the south and west of the country.
Strong action in this regard will bolster the standing of the regime and show it is committed to justice and equality for all citizens, regardless of what class, tribe or province they belong to.
The parliamentary elections that were supposed to be held in April have been postponed and temporarily replaced by a bizarre and unprecedented vote by the members of parliament themselves. Such an act reflects a poor sense of understanding of how democracy works. One can't simply vote for himself to remain in his parliamentary seat for another two years without consulting the people. Yet that is precisely what happened in Yemen this year.
On the other hand, the two-year delay may not be the biggest problem. The real problem is the seriously deficient election process, which leaves little room for competition. The presidential elections of 2006 were a clear example of this problem and unless Saleh acts strongly to correct this serious flaw, democracy will remain handicapped.
Saleh will have to relinquish his grip on the media and allow the reporting of events in the south and other parts of the country without accusing journalists of 'inflaming hatred' or acts 'against the national interests of the country'.
Recently, many newspapers were prevented from publishing, including Yemen's most widely read independent daily, Al Ayyam, whose headquarters in Aden was besieged and two of its employees killed by government forces.
News websites were blocked, and various acts of intimidation against journalists through trials and threats have increased. Such acts are counter-productive and only inflame the situation across the country because in the age of satellite TV channels and the internet, it is virtually impossible to block out information all the time. People, particularly in the south, feel that their voices will not be heard because the media are prevented from reporting about their protests and miseries.
Finally, the regime needs to understand that unity for Yemen, regardless of how great an accomplishment it may be, is not a goal in its own right. Unity should have been an umbrella under which every citizen would be treated equally and justly. It is a means through which development and prosperity should have manifested themselves across the country.
Often times the regime portrays unity as a final destination, the last bus stop after which everyone is expected to leave the bus without asking any questions.
Obviously, unity as a symbol has never been and should never be seen as the reason for the deterioration of living standards and all the negatives that have dominated the lives of Yemeni citizens.
Although calls for breaking up Yemen and turning it back into two or more countries are not the solution to the ongoing crisis, it is important to explore the reasons behind those calls and try to remedy the situation before it is too late.
There is no easy way out of the mess Yemen is in right now. I cannot provide the secret recipe that can save the country from disintegration. But I am convinced that using force to squash local calls for separation, targeting the media, turning a blind eye to corruption and lawlessness, and underestimating or discounting the real roots behind the calls for separation are all the perfect recipe for disaster.

Walid Al Saqaf is the *****istrator of YemenPortal.net and a Phd candidate at Örebro University, Sweden.

[فقط الأعضاء المسجلين والمفعلين يمكنهم رؤية الوصلات . إضغط هنا للتسجيل]

[Ganoob67]

Q&A-What are the risks of instability in Yemen?

Sun Jun 7, 2009 5:02am EDT

June 7 (Reuters) - Yemen, the Arab world's poorest country, is struggling with an on-off revolt in the north, a secessionist movement in the south and intensified al Qaeda militancy.

Oil output is dwindling and water resources are depleting. The global financial crisis has further limited the ability of President Ali Abdullah Saleh's government to cope with high unemployment, runaway population growth and widespread poverty.

If Yemen tipped further into instability, or even state failure, this could endanger its neighbours, especially Saudi Arabia, and complicate efforts to combat al Qaeda and protect international shipping routes from piracy in the Gulf of Aden.

Western alarm is growing.

The United States has reacted to unrest in the south, where several people have been killed in protests in recent weeks, by urging an end to violence it said could sap Yemen's unity.

The European Union's anti-terrorism chief warned in May that Yemen could become a failed state and a safe haven for al Qaeda.

WHO RULES YEMEN?

Saleh, 67, took power in the former North Yemen in 1978 and has been president since the merger with the south in 1990, winning another seven-year term in a 2006 election.

The former army officer has dominated Yemen's formal democratic structures via his northern tribal power base, patronage networks and support in the armed forces.

Parliament voted in February to delay this year's parliamentary election to 2011 pending electoral reform.

Saleh has no obvious successor. His own grip on power is facing multiple challenges in a country awash with weaponry.

HOW BIG A THREAT IS AL QAEDA?

Yemen, where Osama bin Laden's father was born, has suffered a new wave of al Qaeda attacks over the past year. Saudi Arabia has said it fears al Qaeda could use Yemen to relaunch a 2003-6 campaign to topple the U.S.-allied Saudi royal family.

Yemen issued a list of 38 wanted militants after an al Qaeda suicide bombing killed four South Korean tourists in March.

Al Qaeda's Yemen wing changed its name to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in February, suggesting it aimed to revive the struggle against Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter.

Yemen cooperated with Washington after Sept. 11, 2001 and al Qaeda attacks at home, including one on a U.S. warship. Many Yemenis fought U.S.-led forces in Iraq after the 2003 invasion.

WHAT LIES BEHIND THE NORTHERN INSURGENCY?

Tribesmen led by members of the Houthi family began an intermittent rebellion against the government in the northern Saada region in 2004. The insurgents are Zaidis, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, whose Imam ruled Yemen until the 1962 revolution.

They have economic and religious grievances, accusing Saleh, himself a Zaidi, of favouring Salafi Sunnis who lean towards Saudi-style Wahhabi Islam. The Yemeni government has suggested that Iran supports the rebels, but evidence for this is thin.

Rebel ****** Abdel Malik al-Houthi signed a Qatari-mediated peace deal in 2007, which broke down. It was revised in August 2008. Tension remains and it is not clear the revolt is over.

WHY ARE SOUTHERNERS DISCONTENTED?

The latest violence erupted on April 28 at an opposition rally to mark the 1994 civil war, in which Saleh's forces defeated the secessionist south, known before the 1990 unity deal as the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen.

People in the south, home to most of Yemen's oil facilities, have long complained that northerners abused the unity agreement to grab their resources and discriminate against them.

Demonstrations over army pensions turned violent in Aden in 2007. Job protests in the south degenerated into riots last year. Some southern ******s have openly called for secession.

HOW IS YEMEN'S ECONOMY FARING?

Oil production, the source of two-thirds of public revenue and 90 percent of export earnings, averaged 300,000 barrels per day last year, down from 410,000 bpd in 2004. Government oil export revenue fell 75 percent in the first three months of 2009 compared to the same 2008 period, the central bank said.

Gross Domestic Product grew about 4.4 percent in 2008, up from 4.2 percent in 2007. The World Bank called this disappointing, given high world oil prices in the first nine months. GDP is slated to grow 7.7 percent this year because of the one-off impact of the start of liquefied natural gas (LNG) production. LNG exports are due to begin in August. About 10 percent of GDP is tied up in energy subsidies.

Inflation is expected to decline below 10 percent this year after jumping to 19 percent last year from 8 percent in 2007.

About 35 percent of Yemen's 23 million people live in poverty. The population is set to double by 2035. The poor were hard hit by a 60 percent spike in world food prices in 2007-8.

The global financial crisis could slow inflows of foreign aid, investment and remittances. The World Bank says medium-term prospects beyond 2009 are poor due to declining oil output.

* Source: World Bank, Yemen Economic Update, Spring 2009



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