Issue No. 612
Region
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14 - 20 November 2002 Issue No. 612 Region |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
Silence and simmering anger
Angered by the CIA attack on alleged members of Al-Qa'eda in their country, Yemenis are asking their government questions it doesn't want to answer, writes Nasser Arrabyee from Sana'a
Against the backdrop of US demands for increased Yemeni cooperation in the war on terror, the US's announcement taking responsibility for the killing of six alleged members of Al-Qa'eda has angered many of the Arab country's people. However, while Yemeni opposition parties and tribes protest the violation of their country's sovereignty, the government has remained silent about the attacks of 4 November.
Opposition figures described the US operation as a "dangerous precedent" and demanded an "explanation" for the government's ambiguous position regarding the attack. They also called for information on the nature of Yemeni- American security cooperation.
"We are waiting for the government to present a complete clarification about what happened. Any shortcomings in explaining what happened will be considered a failure to uphold its responsibility," said Abdel-Wahab Al-Ansi, assistant secretary- general of the Islamist opposition Islah Party. This lack of transparency, Al-Ansi cautioned, would impact on domestic politics. "If the authorities continue hiding information, they will loose support," he said.
"The opposition will take a strong stance towards this dangerous operation, and if Yemeni-American military cooperation harms the nation, then the electoral platforms of the opposition parties will, no doubt, be against this cooperation," said Abdel- Malik Al-Mekhlafi, secretary-general of the Nasserist Unionist Party.
Some observers, however, note that the government's silence is not the only action that speaks louder than words, suggesting that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operation was calculated to send a message to various audiences. Faris Al- Saqaff, chairman of the Future Studies Centre, a Sana'a-based political think-tank, suggested that the operation was meant to inform the American public "and the regimes in the region" that the US is able to score victories in its war on terrorism.
Part of the reason Sana'a has been silent about the US operation, Al-Saqaff suggested, was that it was embarrassed the US announcement did not mention any cooperation with the Yemeni government. "It's clear that US coordination with Sana'a does not take Yemeni sovereignty into consideration," he said.
It might just be this embarrassment that is keeping the government from either confirming or denying the news that a US Hellfire missile from a CIA drone hit the car conveying the six alleged Al- Qa'eda members. The only statements on the part of the state came from security officials and concerned the identity of the men in the car; the more controversial matter of who hit the car having been neglected.
Among the six men security officials identified as killed were Ali Senan Al-Harithy and Ahmed Hejazi. A senior security official said that the six men were wanted by Yemen's security organisations. He also said they participated in planning and carrying out various acts of sabotage, including the attack on the USS Cole in October 2000 which "harmed the national interests of Yemen". Security forces, the official added, are continuing their search for other members of Al-Qa'eda.
Yemeni officials say Al-Harithy was the leader of Al-Qa'eda in Yemen and the mastermind of the attack on the USS Cole in which 17 US servicemen were killed and 39 injured. Al-Harithy was also accused of planning and carrying out a series of bombings in Sana'a that targeted senior security officials and foreign diplomats.
Hejazi is believed to have held American citizenship, the official said, and American sources say he was the leader of an alleged terrorist cell in Lackawanna, New York.
In a press release issued by the US Embassy in Sana'a, the US hailed President Ali Abdallah Saleh's speech on the occasion of the beginning of Ramadan in which he reiterated his rejection of all forms of terror and called on Yemenis affiliated to Al-Qa'eda to "repent".
The statement said "the US still believes that combating terrorism in Yemen is the responsibility of the Yemeni government and the US will keep supporting those efforts." The embassy closed for three days after the missile attack in fear of reprisals.
Al-Harithy's funeral turned into an occasion to express anger and frustration at the government's announcement that it is still "probing" the CIA attack.
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