Conflict History: Yemen Uprising

By Eleanor Gaston

For centuries Yemen has been experiencing political and economical turmoil, but the current conflict in Yemen began in January 2011 when citizens could no longer stand the present government (BBC News). They began calling for democracy through peaceful protest just as many other Middle Eastern countries have. People from all walks of life have come together in many non-violent protests to make it clear that their president’s time has come to step down from power. President Saleh has maintained his position for almost 33 years now, and the Yemeni people want a change that will hopefully turn their future into a democratic one. An interview with the president makes it seem that he is prepared to step down and make their dream a reality as long as an appropriate leader can be elected to take his place, but once the transcription is critically analyzed it is fairly obvious that his diplomatic words are merely a stalling technique as he lets the battles rage on against his own people.

Since the beginning of the current conflict in Yemen, there has been much violence. Although, contrary to what one might immediately assume, the people decided to rise up against Saleh in a peaceful manner. Many times violence is the protester’s way of getting a government to step down, but in the case of Yemen, the violence is coming almost exclusively from the regime in power. Whether or not Saleh has personally commanded that such heinous attacks on the discontent citizens of Yemen happen, his supporters have committed crimes that are a violation of human rights including spraying bullets into a peaceful crowd, sniping individual citizens, and releasing tear gas to disperse the protesters. It has even been reported that electricity, fuel and water have been cut off as an intimidation tactic (Cummings-Bruce). An article from the Amnesty International website reports that supporters of Saleh attacked women who were celebrating in the streets of Ta’izz about the recent Nobel Peace Prize awarded to a Yemeni woman for her work on improving human rights in Yemen. It could be argued that the government is committing acts of terrorism against citizens to scare them into giving up their fight for democracy and a higher quality of life.

The al-Ahmar family, a long term rival of Saleh, has been backing the protesters in their quest to remove Saleh from power. However grateful the protesters are for the financial help of this very wealthy family, most are suspicious of their motives because it is feared that if they were to gain power, there would hardly be any change from the sort of dictatorial government that Saleh offers the people of Yemen now (Worth). This family is suspected of bombing a mosque that injured the president back in June of 2011. This attack wounded several high up officials aside from causing the president, what is speculated to be, considerable bodily harm (“Yemen’s President Saleh”). He had to go to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment, and many people hoped he would not return (“Yemeni President”). Had this occurred, it would have allowed for a new leader to be elected and a democratic government could have been formed. Unfortunately for the protestors and Yemen as a whole, this was not the case, and he came back ready to govern once again (“Yemen—Protests”).

Another key player in the Yemenis’ fight for a more in their politics is General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar. He is no relation to the al-Ahmar family that participates in violence against the Saleh’s regime, and the powerful general insists only upon protecting the protesters and not on being violent (Worth). He decided to break away from supporting Saleh (his half brother), and as a result, has caused a split in the Yemeni military because Saleh’s son maintains control of one part, while the majority have decided to follow al-Ahmar’s lead and support the protesters (“Conflict Risk Alert: Yemen”).

This split in government troops is dangerous because it could end up causing a civil war. However, the fact that at several points Saleh has claimed that he will step down from power and has not, is just as likely to raise tensions to a boiling point, making the now-peaceful protesters feel a desperation that they may try to remedy by resorting to violence. Yemen is one of the most armed countries in the world, and up until now the protesters have refrained from violent acts in an effort to get the international community on their side in the fight for political freedom. Excessive amounts of force have been used against them though by Saleh’s supporters in an effort to quiet their demands for democracy.

It is hard to comprehend the amount of violence that is going on against people who remain peaceful but steadfast in their quest for a new, stable government. To mention particular instances in which the violence has been particularly ugly is a near impossible task, when so many innocent human lives are being taken, and thousands of people wounded. I have found that reports of civilian deaths and injuries are reported in publications from the US, however, I felt that much was missing. A crisis is occurring in Yemen, and I wanted to hear from some Yemeni people about what is going on.

Much was being left unsaid about the extent of the violence occurring, and so I began to explore videos uploaded by Yemeni citizens themselves. The silence about the horrible acts of the government against the Yemeni people could be due to the fact that the US is an ally of Saleh. Though our government, as well as Saudi Arabia’s government, is working towards getting Saleh to step down quietly, it remains apparent that our priority is maintaining good relations even in the face of an enormous humanitarian crisis. This webpage contains various videos and information about the crimes being committed against the Yemeni protestors. To find out how to help the Yemeni people see a democracy, this video was particularly helpful to me. 

[Bibliography after the fold.]

"BBC News - Yemen - Timeline." BBC News - Home. BBC, 7 June 2011. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/country_profiles/1706450.stm>.

"Conflict Risk Alert: Yemen." Homepage - International Crisis Group. International Crisis Group, 23 Mar. 2011. Web. 26 Sept. 2011. <http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/publication-type/media-releases/2011/conflict-risk-alert-yemen.aspx>.

Cumming-Bruce, Nick. "U.N. Accuses Yemen of Using Deadly Force in Protests." The New York Times 14 Sept. 2011, New York ed.: A10. The New York Times. 14 Sept. 2011. Web. 24 Sept. 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/14/world/middleeast/united-nations-accuses-yemen-of-using-deadly-force-in-protests.html>.

How to Help the Revolution in Yemen? A Msg from a Yemeni Blogger - YouTube. Perf. Sulab Rajim. YouTube. 20 Mar. 2011. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViYde27rits>.

Worth, Robert F., and Laura Kasinof. "Yemeni President Wounded in Palace Attack." The New York Times 4 June 2011, New York ed.: A8. The New York Times. 3 June 2011. Web. 24 Sept. 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/04/world/middleeast/04yemen.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1>.

"Yemen-- Protests (2011)." The New York Times. Web. 25 Sept. 2011. <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/yemen/index.html?scp=1-spot&sq=yemen&st=cse>.

 "Yemen to the Rest of the World: Silence Kills! · Global Voices." Global Voices · Citizen Media Stories from around the World. Berkman Center for Internet and Society, 18 Sept. 2011. Web. 20 Sept. 2011. <http://globalvoicesonline.org/2011/09/18/yemen-to-the-rest-of-the-world-silence-kills/>.

"Yemeni President Stokes Fears of Friday Prayers Violence." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers Ltd, 23 Sept. 2011. Web. 25 Sept. 2011. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2040708/Yemen-president-Ali-Abdullah-Saleh-returns-3-month-absence-treating-wounds.html>.

"Yemeni Women Attacked While Celebrating Nobel Peace Prize Win." Amnesty International. 10 Oct. 2011. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. <http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/yemeni-women-attacked-while-celebrating-nobel-peace-prize-win-2011-10-10>.

"Yemen's Embattled President Speaks: The Interview Transcript." Time. 29 Sept. 2011. Web. 31 Oct. 2011. <http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2095702,00.html>.

"Yemen's President Saleh 'wounded in Palace Attack'" The Telegraph. 3 June 2011. Web. 24 Sept. 2011. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/yemen/8554795/Yemens-President-Saleh-wounded-in-palace-attack.html>.