Wednesday 24 July 2013

Yemeni eyes on Egypt!


Yemeni eyes on Egypt!

'Conspiracy in Egypt to have new President agent  with Israel' 

By Nasser Arrabyee,24/07/2013

A global terror-linked Yemen cleric said what's going in Egypt now is a conspiracy against Islam and Egyptian people and its President who "refused" to be an agent for Israel.

In a lengthy statement from his own view on "conspiracies" on Islam of Yemen and Egypt, Sheikh Abdul Majid Al Zandani said the aim of such conspiracies is to cancel Islam and make "partners" for Allah to rule instead of the rule of Allah.

"By the conspiracy in Egypt, they want to impose a President working as an  agent with Israel ," said Al Zandani who is accused by US and UN of global terror. He is also  accused of sending Jihadists  to Egypt.

And on conspiracy against Yemen, Al Zandani said there is an attempt to cancel Islam and make "partners" for Allah in the Yemen 6-month long national dialogue which ends on September 18.  

Al Zandani  who was not chosen as a member of dialogue for his extreme views, said the dialogue members conspire with the  West to separate Islam from the State and make Shariah the main source of legislation not the only one.

 Al Zandani, the son, Mohammed, made the statement of his father very clear by mentioning 37 names of dialogue members describing them as the enemies of Islam. 

In a conservative country like Yemen where rule of law is almost zero, mentioning names as enemies of Islam may encourage extremists to kill some or all of them to "please" Allah. 

The dialogue members suspended work and filed a law suit against Zandani and his son for calling them Kafer  ( infidels). They also voted for a draft article in the new constitution criminalizing religious Fatwas calling people Kafer. The team of State Building, 39 out of 44 voted for the article. One voted no and 4 abstained. 

Yemenis are arguing over the fall down of Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt and following everything as if it were a Yemeni issue. 

The media, social media and all kinds of forums and public discussions are almost talk  about the deposed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi and future of Muslim Brotherhood in Yemen. 

The Yemeni  divisions are almost the same as in Egypt over "revolutionary" or "democratic" legitimacy of the deposed Morsi and whether or not Muslim Brotherhood and all religion-based parties or groups  can ever  rule Yemen or any other country after their dishonorable failure in Egypt, the origin  and the inspirer.

Morsi is my president, Morsi is my president chanted some angry members of Yemen Muslim Brotherhood  in a Sanaa demonstration supporting Morsi and blaming Yemeni President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi for supporting what they called  the "military coup" against Morsi. 

The climax happened when some Yemeni leading members of  Muslim Brotherhood threatened to take to the streets to overthrow President Hadi if he did not withdraw his congratulation to the new  Egyptian President Adli Mansour and did not  stop supporting the Egyptian army.

Mr Fares Al Saqqaf, one of  Hadi's advisors, called on leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood's party, Islah, to stop inciting against President saying the congratulation to the Egyptian new President was a protocol that should take place whether what happened in Egypt was a coup or not. 

The Yemeni President Hadi again on Monday July 22nd, 2013, congratulated Egyptian President Adli Mansour on national day ignoring the anger of Islamists. 

However, general Ali Muhsen, Hadi's advisor for defense and security,  strongly refused  deposing of Morsi. The Islamic-oriented general Muhsen seems to have encouraged  Muslim Brotherhood against President Hadi in a way similar to that when he encouraged them to overthrow President Saleh in 2011 when he played the role of the protector of revolution against his long standing boss and kinsman Saleh.

On her part, the Yemen Noble prize winner Islamist leading member Tawakul Karman finally yielded to pressure of her party Islah, local name of  Muslim Brotherhood. Ms Karman changed her mind about Morsi and his legitimacy. Before he was deposed, she said the people in the street of June 30 was the real legitimacy not election. But, hours later, she apologized for Morsi and her party and everyone supporting Morsi for siding with those against Muslim Brotherhood.

She acknowledged that she fell under "dangerous conspiracy" saying the "real legitimacy"  is the election, and Morsi was elected in free and fair elections and must return and continue in power.  Now, she is using her  social media  day and night for supporting return of Morsi and ignoring all those who were behind his dismissal. 

A lot of Yemeni activists criticized Ms Karman saying she is  trying to please four groups at the same time: The committee of Noble Prize, Americans (Turkey Qatar and Al Jazeera), and number 4 is her group Muslim Brotherhood. 

On the other side, 12 Yemeni civil society organizations demanded in a joint statement that one of the main streets in Sanaa be called "Al Sysi"  in acknowledgment and appreciation of  "efforts" made by the commander of the Egyptian armed forces Abdul Fatah Al Sysi who was capable enough to protect the national security of Egypt from chaos by deposing Morsi and putting him on trial for major  treason charges.

In Yemen, arguments and controversy continue now in all levels about whether or not Morsi will return to power after his supporters took to the streets also.
They make a lot of sarcastic comments on the dreams of some  "devout" Muslims being promoted by some speakers that Morsi will return by a divine miracle.

Jamal Mujahid, an Egyptian activist based in Sanaa, said "The return of Morsi to power is impossible  because there is a new reality now"
"But Morsi and his aides should be released from prison and the Muslim Brotherhood should participate in the coming parliamentary and presidential elections"

The clamor in Yemen is all about whether or not what happened in Egypt will happen in Yemen? Will Yemen Muslim Brotherhood, who became  very close to power now, will they fall down also?

The activist Adel Al Kateb, sees that what happened in Egypt must happen in a way or another in Yemen. " Yemen Brotherhood will fall also because they are doing the same thing in Egypt,they exclude all others as evils, and they are extremists in taking decisions because they belief that they are absolutely right always, and  because they believe that  they are closer to Allah," said Al Kateb.

However, Moneer Al Omari, analyst, said,"The Yemen Muslim Brotherhood will not fall like their counterparts in Egypt, but they will not be able to recruit more and more, and people will not believe them any more as in the past"

Al Omari also said that Saudi Arabia and UAE will not be supporting opponents of Muslim Brotherhood (like  leftists and secularists) the same way they do  now in Egypt. 

The military expert, Wada Tahri, sees that Yemen Muslim Brotherhood will not take power without support from army and tribesmen.
"And if they dominate army and tribesmen and take power, I think they will try to reduce exclusion of others," said Tahri.

A lot of Yemenis from all levels exchanged congratulations via SMS  after Moris was deposed on July 3rd, 2013. Many of them also celebrated by firing to air at night especially in the rural areas.

Observers say at  least the fall of Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt will reduce exclusion and discrimination against political opponents in civil and military institutions where Islamists have the upper hand as revolutionaries despite the fact that they form  a national unity government with the party of the  former regime of Saleh and other secular forces.

 "In some ministries like ours, if you want to get promoted or continue in your post, you have to bring a recommendation from a brotherhood-run  local mosque that you are devout," said Mohammed Hamdan from ministry of information.  " I think these things will disappear after what happened in Egypt," he added. 


The spokesman of Yemen Brotherhood party(Islah), Rajeh Badi, said that his party will not be affected by what happened in Egypt but will learn from the lessons and mistakes.

"I think what happened in Egypt will positively affect Islah, the party will make use of all mistakes that happened in the Egyptian experience and then it will do its best to avoid repetition of those mistakes here in Yemen," said Mr Badi.




Thursday 18 July 2013

Sister of Yemeni Guantanamo Detainee Pleads with Obama




Mr President,please help me get my life back

By Nasser Arrabyee,
18/07/2013

A sister of Yemeni detainee in Guantanamo pleaded with President Barack Obama for releasing her brother promising to keep him peaceful.

Ms Amina Rabeii is the only one  now who takes care for her old and sick mother after husband died more than one year ago.

The mother Safia keeps weeping all the  time when she finds herself alone in a house that used to be crowded with boys and girls and husband supporting all of them.

Mrs Safia, who suffers from many diseases including diabetes and pressure, is now living alone in a small and unfinished  house nearby the Sanaa international airport of Yemen.

Her daughter Amina lives not far away but always extremely busy with her own kids and her job.Amina teaches in a primary school and her salary goes for her mother and her own family. 

Amina, in her late 20s, is not only busy with old and sick mother, kids, husband and teaching, but also she  seems to be spending a lot of time following up cases of her two brothers who are in prisons only because of their brother Fawaz Rabeii who was killed in October 2006 by security forces as a leading terrorist.

 Fawaz along with 22 other terror suspects had escaped from intelligence prison by digging a tunnel  in February of the same year 2006.

Her brother Salman is in Guantanamo and brother Abu Bakr is in a maximum security prison in Sanaa for terror charges as well.

"I want at least one of my brothers be released to help my mother and help me, I am very tired," Amina said as she sits patting her mother's head and shoulder in their house last week.

"My father sent my brother Salman to bring Fawaz from Afghanistan and he was detained, and my brother Abu Bakr was put in prison here only because he is the brother of Fawaz," said Amina "Now Fawaz is dead, they killed him, what else they want,  why they didn't let his brothers go?"

Abu Bakr is about to finish his 10-year sentence, but she said that one of Yemeni security officials told her that Abu Bakr will not be released even after he finished  period.

Although Salman was put within a list of 26 detainees considered to be dangerous and should not be released from Guantanamo,Amina says she has hope that President Obama would cancel such a list and release them all especially her brother who has no time to do anything but to help his mother before she dies. 

Amina said her brother Salman, when released,would get married and find a job for supporting himself to please his mother before she dies.

She said he always expressed his repentance and remorse for not being with his  father and mother when they needed him.

"Mr President Obama,I would assure you that my brother Salman would not join any armed groups for fighting when he arrived home," said Amina in the appeal to Obama.

"Salman wants only to kiss feet of my mother to have her forgiveness,he wants to help me and my daughters, he always says in his letters he will put us in his eyes and in his heart," said Amina in her letter.

" How would such a nice and repentant man go to violence and be terrorist?," Amina wondered. 

"Mr President, my brother Salman was deprived from helping and seeing our sick father until he dies, now I plead with you as a father, to let  Salman see his sick mother before she dies," said Amina.

The mother wants to see Salman getting married and having kids before she dies. This is a will from the father Yahya who died out of injuries he developed while being arrested for investigations about his son Fawaz.

"For me, Mr President, I would say I am very tired taking all this responsibility alone,I feel I am lost,  I need my brother to help me get my life back," pleadingly Amina concluded her handwriting letter to Obama.

Salman is one of 88 Yemeni detainees out of  the total 166  remaining Guantanamo Bay. They spent about 12 years in this prison.

Some detainees have been on hunger strike since early this year to draw the attention of the world to their problem demanding release or fair trials.

And in Ibb province, the 12-year old Aisha has not seen her father Abdul Malik Abdul Wahab who has been languishing in this badly reputed detention since she was born. Aisha said her top wish is only to see and hug her father." I want to be like other girls who have fathers," said Aisha as she sings an emotional song about the   moment of her meeting her father for the first time.

And in the old city of Ibb, the old and sick mother of the detainee Saeed Hatem lives alone in the fifth floor of an old-fashioned house. When she was briefed last week by the American lawyer David Remes who represents her son and 14 other Yemenis. She was only saying " When my son is getting back?" Not listening to any other news. 

This question is always raised by families but it's always very difficult to answer by lawyers or human right activists. 

When she was told that the Congress is still refusing a decree by President Obama to close Guantanamo and send all detainees home including her son Saeed, she said," Don't Congress have kids!?". She thought that Congress was a man.

Then she started to pray to Allah to give the Congress kids and take them to Guantanamo as indefinite prisoners so that he ( The Congress) feel her feelings  about her son.