US embassy cable - 03SANAA415

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANAA 000415 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NSC FOR GORDON/BEERS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/04/2013 
TAGS: PTER, PGOV, PREL, YM, COUNTER TERRORISM, DOMESTIC POLITICS 
SUBJECT: GUN CONTROL LEGISLATION REACHES PARLIAMENT 
 
Classified By: Political/Economic Officer Willeah E. Cato for Reasons 1 
.5 (b,d) 
 
1.  (U)  Summary:  After years of internal debate, amendments 
to Yemen's 1992 gun control law have received Cabinet 
approval and been referred to Parliament for final passage. 
However, the absence of official comment of late may signal 
their relegation to the bottom of the pile.  Prospects for 
adoption of an improved law may improve after the April 
elections, but action on MANPADs is likely to continue as an 
entirely separate program.  End summary. 
 
2.  (U)  As part of the ongoing ROYG counterterrorism 
initiative, the Yemeni Cabinet has approved a series of 
amendments designed to enable Law 40 for the year 1992 to 
regulate possession and trafficking in weapons, ammunitions, 
and fireworks more effectively.  The amendments were drafted 
during 2002 and their swift approval was due, in part, to 
increased political concern after a 2002 ROYG report to 
Parliament on terrorist operations and activities in Yemen. 
 
3.  (C)  In their current form, these amendments will, among 
other things, permit the expansion and duplication of 
programs like the Sanaani licensing initiative.  Established 
by Presidential decree in 1999, this program has notably 
increased ROYG control and supervision of weapons inside and 
transiting through the capital city of Sana'a.  The 
implementation of such a program in other regions of concern 
would be a significant achievement for ROYG's 
counterterrorism efforts. 
 
4.  (C)  Before these amendments can be written into law, 
Parliament must complete a series of constitutional 
procedures.  The Cabinet has assigned oversight of the 
legislative process to both the Minister of Legal Affairs and 
the Minister of State for Parliament and Shura Affairs. 
Nevertheless, the recent absence of official comment, either 
in support of or against the legislation, may signal a 
political impasse. 
 
5.  (C)  Comment:  Law 40 has remained controversial 
throughout the last decade.  Although successive Ministers of 
Interior have complained about its weakness and expressed 
frustration at their inability to implement gun control 
nationwide, tribal MPs and senior officials, especially 
Parlimentary Speaker Sheikh al-Ahmar, have held any revision 
in limbo for years.  Sheikh al-Ahmar continues to publicly 
oppose amending Law 40, alluding to the possession of weapons 
as a symbol of Yemeni manhood.  Even heightened security 
concerns may thus prove insufficient to ensure its passage, 
especially preceding this April's parliamentary elections. 
Prospects could imporve after the elections, particularly if 
al-Ahmar is replaced with a more reform-minded Speaker.  The 
ROYG views MANPADs as a particular concern, but is likely to 
continue its well-established buy-back program as an 
initiative separate from the gun control legislation.  End 
comment. 
 
HULL