Forcefully shutting down a mosque and television station linked to Ali
Abdullah Saleh has put Yemen's current president in open conflict with his
predecessor, writes Nasser Arrabyee
21 June, 2014
Yemeni President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi has decided to take charge, this
week after more than two years in power. As such he opened a serious
conflict with the man many understood to be his boss, ex-president Ali
Abdullah Saleh.
In their party, the previously ruling General People's Congress (GPC), Saleh
is seen as president of the president - only deputy to Saleh in the party.
The popularity of the semi-secular GPC is growing with every failure of the
new government, which faces tremendous challenges.
Hadi wants Saleh out of politics, out of the party, and even out of the
country. This is extremely difficult, if not impossible. No one of these can
be done by force, and Saleh's continued presence does not contradict the
transitional deal that is internationally supported. Saleh signed the deal
in his capacity as president of Yemen and president of the GPC.
But Hadi, apparently, has started to believe that Saleh is behind every
failure of his government that cannot even protect the army and security
personnel from almost daily assassinations. If it were true, that Saleh was
behind the bombing of oil and gas installations, power cuts, assassinations
of security and army officers through his contacts and supporters and
patronage networks as a former president, it would matter little if he left
the party or the country. Even if he dies, it seems that the new
administration would need time to deal with this huge network of dependents
and operatives.
Earlier this year, Saleh said the problem was not in him; rather, the
problem is with Yemen's new rulers who feel that they are still employees of
Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Hadi cannot become president of the GPC overnight without elections and
without a general assembly conference. Neither can Hadi, nor any Yemeni, can
force Saleh to leave the country, simply because tribal links are much
stronger than any government directive. Saleh still can bring thousands of
armed tribesmen to his defence very quickly. Hadi knows this well. So he
seeks a bigger stick to beat Saleh out of politics and out of Yemen - to
convince the international community, and justify to them, to get Saleh out.
UN experts arrived in Yemen earlier this month to collect information about
alleged spoilers of the transition deal. The experts will report to the UN
Security Council committee on Yemen sanctions that will meet later this
month in New York. Hadi apparently wanted Saleh to do something wrong that
could be taken by the experts as evidence of him acting as a spoiler.
Hadi provoked Saleh by doing two things seen by some as red lines to Saleh.
He used his power to control Saleh's TV station and Saleh Mosque. The two
are seen as the reason behind the increasing popularity of Saleh. Many
thought Saleh would no longer be patient after Hadi closed his TV and his
mosque. But Saleh has shown more patience than ever.
The capital, Sanaa, witnessed strong riots by angry demonstrators who were
blocking streets and setting fire to tyres. They demanded fuel and
electricity. Yemen Today TV, Saleh's party station, was covering the riots
minute by minute.
Rumours were spread that a coup against Hadi was in motion behind such
scenes. Brotherhood activists and their media were accusing their opponents
- Houthis and Saleh supporters - of being behind an alleged coup attempt.
Influenced by the rumours, President Hadi sent huge forces from his
Presidential Guards - more than 15 armed vehicles - to storm the TV station
that was covering the angry demonstrators, some of whom were carrying
pictures of ex-president Saleh and praising his time as better than now, at
least in terms of fuel and other public services, and security.
About 100 soldiers stormed the studios of Yemen Today and violently ended
the broadcast and evacuated all the staff. They destroyed the studio and
looted the most expensive equipment, forgetting that surveillance cameras
were filming their illegal acts.
Saleh prevented his armed supporters from doing anything in retaliation
saying, "we should use the same wisdom we used during the 2011 crisis."
The barbaric acts of Hadi's forces were strongly condemned as flagrant
violations of press freedoms, not only by supporters and friends of Yemen
Today but by all freedom fighters inside and outside Yemen. Those who were
against Yemen Today TV said President Hadi should have used the legal
procedures to close it down, not force, which encourages violence and chaos.
After worldwide condemnations, Hadi said in a statement he closed Yemen
Today station in his capacity as secretary general of the GPC that owns the
station. He said he did it in the interests of the party chaired by his
predecessor, ex-president Saleh.
In his own statement, Saleh asked why force was used and why materials were
destroyed and looted if it was a partisan issue. The station resumed
broadcasting, showing Hadi's guards storming the station's offices and
studios and looting and destroying equipment.
The following day, Hadi sent even greater forces to surround the over $100
million Saleh Grand Mosque. Guards at the mosque refused to leave or hand
the mosque over. Hadi's forces closed all the gates with tanks and heavy
guns. Brotherhood activists spread rumours that a lot of weapons were stored
in the basement of the mosque, which is close to the presidential residence.
Saleh again calmed down his angry supporters, telling them that if they did
anything wrong, like clashing with Hadi's forces, this would only please
their opponents, especially the Brotherhood that wants Hadi to clash with
Saleh.
If Saleh's armed supporters clashed with Hadi's forces, Saleh would be seen
as a spoiler in the eyes of the international community and the UN Security
Council experts on Yemen sanctions. Second, Hadi would lose his party and
need the Brotherhood for support.
"The Brotherhood did their best to convince Hadi that Saleh was making a
coup against him, and Yemen Today and the mosque are the main tools for
that," said Abdul-Malik Al-Mutawakel, secretary general of the Federation of
Popular Forces.