US embassy cable - 05SANAA3387

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 003387 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR NEA, NEA/ARP, NEA/PD, NEA/RA, DS/OP/NEA AND 
S/CT 
CENTCOM FOR POLAD 
NEA/PPD FOR AFERNANDEZ 
THE WHITE HOUSE FOR NSC 
UNCLASSIFIED 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KDEM, KMPI, PGOV, PHUM, PREL, YM 
SUBJECT:  SANAA MEDIA REACTION -- GENERAL ABIZAID VISIT, 
SOLIDARITY WITH AL JAZEERA, MEHLIS REPORT, JMP REFORM 
INITIATIVE, ET AL. 
 
Following paragraphs cover November 22 - 29 
 
1. ABIZAID VISIT:  Yemeni newspapers gave above-the-fold 
coverage to the two-day visit of Commander-in-Chief General 
John Abizaid of U.S. Central Command to Yemen.  Al-Thawrwa 
(official government daily) reported that General Abizaid 
and President Saleh discussed bilateral cooperation in 
security and counterterrorism. 
 
2. AL-JAZEERA REPORT:  Local media reported on several 
demonstrations staged in solidarity with Al-Jazeera 
following an unsubstantiated report in the UK's Daily Mirror 
that President Bush had proposed the bombing of Al-Jazeera's 
Doha headquarters.  On November 25, Al-Sahwa (Islah Party 
weekly) reported that the Joint Meeting Party (coalition of 
opposition parties) issued a statement in solidarity and 
requested a UN probe.  On November 27, NewsYemen.net 
(independent news site) reported that the Yemeni 
Journalists' Syndicate also staged a sit-in in support of Al- 
Jazeera.  On November 29, Al-Sahwa quoted Nasser Taha 
Mustafa, Chairman of the official Saba News Agency that "the 
U.S. silence about the report is a clear indication of its 
authenticity." 
 
3.  PRESS FREEDOM:  On November 21, Almotamar.net (website 
of ruling GPC party) reported a demand by the Yemeni 
Journalists' Syndicate that the press law providing for 
imprisonment of journalists should be abolished.  On 
November 23, journalist Hafez Al-Bokari, YJS Secretary- 
General, resigned his syndicate post.  In a statement which 
Al-Bokari sent to media contacts and to post, he described 
the YJS as "paralyzed" and under attack both from outside 
forces and from internal pressures imposed by YJS board 
members close to the government.  On November 28, the Yemen 
Times reported that a Sana'a court banned the newspaper 
Attajamu' (weekly, affiliated with the Unionist Congregation 
Party) from publication for six months for publishing 
reports "ridiculing Islam and touching on public security" 
and banned two journalists connected with the paper from 
publishing any articles for one year.  [Note:  The article 
which generated the verdict was an August 2005 retrospective 
regarding street fighting in 1968 between royalist 
supporters and Sha'afi militants.  End note.] 
 
4.  SWISS TOURISTS:  On November 21, most press sources 
reported the kidnapping of two Swiss tourists near Marib. 
The kidnapper reportedly expressed no political demands, but 
asked only for the release of his imprisoned brother.  On 
November 22, the two tourists were released and returned to 
Sanaa. 
 
7.  CHILD LABOR:  On November 28, the Yemen Observer 
(English-language weekly; publisher is President Saleh's 
personal media advisor) carried news of a Ministry of Labor 
report estimating the number of child laborers at 500,000. 
Other media sources over the past week estimated the figure 
at 400,000. 
 
5.  HUNT OIL ARBITRATION PROCEEDINGS:  On November 22, 
Raynews (website of liberal opposition Rabita Party) carried 
straight reporting about Hunt Oil's decision to resort to 
arbitration with the International Chamber of Commerce in 
Paris against the government of Yemen for remuneration over 
the allegedly illegal expropriation of an oil production 
block operated by Hunt since 1982. 
 
6.  MEHLIS REPORT:  Press commentary on the Mehlis Report 
has been uniformly supportive of Syria and critical of the 
United States.  On November 27, however, Al-Thawra quoted FM 
Al-Qirbi that Yemen "welcomes the agreement" between Syria 
and Mehlis to interrogate Syrian officials in Vienna. 
 
7. JMP REFORM INITIATIVE:  On November 27, most opposition 
media sources and some (though not all) official sources 
reported on the Joint Meeting Parties (coalition of 
opposition parties) announcement of a political reform 
initiative aimed at peaceful steps, without outside 
assistance, to arrest the "deteriorating political, social, 
and economic climate" in Yemen.  The JMP initiative elicited 
a swift reaction from the government.  According to Al- 
Sahwa.net (Islah Party news site) Sultan Al-Barakani, head 
of the GPC parliamentary bloc, demanded from the floor of 
Parliament the formation of a committee to investigate the 
initiative and branded it "an incitement" against the 
country and accused the JMP of "treason" and of "throwing 
themselves into the arms of foreign powers."  A commentary 
by the editor-in-chief of Al-Motamar.net (GPC website) 
criticized the initiative as "unconstitutional, traitorous 
and separatist."  Mohammed al-Yadoumi, Secretary-General of 
the Islah party, accused the government of attempting to 
undermine any initiative for reform and called an open 
dialogue. 
KHOURY