Passive Resistance

Post by al-Ghariba

Passive resistance a method of nonviolent protest against laws or policies in order to force a change or secure concessions; it is also known as nonviolent resistance and is the main tactic of civil disobeydience. Passive resistance typically involves such activities as mass demonstrations, refusal to obey or carry out a law or to pay taxes, the occupation of buildings or the blockade of roads, labor strikes, economic boycotts, and similar activities.

Other methods of resistance include information warfare, picketing, vigils, leafletting, samizdat (reproducing government censored material by hand), magnitizdat (reproducing censored recordings by hand),  protest art, protest music and poetry, community education and consciousness raising, lobbying, tax resistance, boycotts or sanctions, legal/diplomatic wrestling, sabotage, underground railroads, principled refusal of awards/honours, and general strikes. Nonviolent action differs from pacifism by potentially being proactive and interventionist.*.

A campaign of passive resistance was undertaken by residents of the Ruhr area of Germany in response to the military occupation of their region by the French and Belgian Governments as a response to Germany not being able to pay the reparations after the First World War. The Ruhr area was chosen by the French as it was a very productive region and they could extract reparations from Germany through this occupation.

Due to the sudden cutting off of productive regions and access to raw materials and export markets, the currency of the Weimar Republic (the Government after the War and before Hitler) experienced hyperinflation and therefore a severe depression.

The people of the Ruhr responded to their situation with passive resistance. Approximately 130 German civilians were killed by the French occupation army during the events of the resistance but during their passive action the German citizens managed to gain the sympathy of the world, and finally pressure was put on the French and allies to reduce reparations payments (Dawes Plan 1924). The Dawes Plan was a momentous moment in European history as it marked the first time that Germany had succeeded in defying Versailles (those responsible for writing up the Versailles Treaty which placed heavy restictions on Germany after the war).*2

So the objective was to create sympathetic feelings in order to generate powerful support which came in the form of America and the resistance was successful.

Many examples of passive resistance can be found throughout history, and some of the modern resistance actions include the velvet revolution of Czechoslovakia, the Orange revolution of Ukraine, the Cedar revolution of Lebanon and this summer, the so-called Jasmin Revolutions of the Arab countries.

We can find many of the strategies of passive resistance in use by the anti-government protesters. They are creating awareness and continuing to grow as people day by day move to the side of the protesters. They have Suhail Channel constantly broadcasting events around Yemen, protest songs and very importantly broadcasting events and images of government brutality and the matyrs lying in pools of blood.These are very powerful images.

If you go to the protest sit-ins you will find protest art and photo-shop images of the President, there are poetry readings daily on stage, and lots of education and information about the aims of the resistance.

After more than 3 months the Yemen protests, although gathering more support throughout Yemen by the day, have not been able to capture the sympathy of powerful foreign nations allied to the current government who fear the Al-Qaeda threat to the point of phobia. The other difficulty is that Yemen protesters are competeing for air-time on the international news channels with the war in Libya, continuing political jockeying in Tunis and Egypt, the bloodshed of Syria, a Japanese Tsunami and nuclear disaster....so what can the protesters do when things get quiet and no one is looking at their resistance for "freedom"? Go for strolls about town shouting "silmian - Peaceful".

Yesterday saw a particularly bloody stroll through town as tens of thousands of protesters from Change Square in Sana'a left the sit in area for a march through heavily pro-government areas in the northern suburbs of Television, Sports City and Airport Street (near the Interior Ministry and al-Hasaba). The protesters marched down the road that runs from Amran Intersection flyover bridge to al-Hasaba passing by the sports city where the pro-government tents are. The protesters it seemed, wanted to stir a hornets nest and indeed they did.

The area is always and openly full of Republican Guard and Central Security troops who on this occassion were happy to respond to the protesters entering their area with automatic gun fire, killing on last count 12 and injuring more than 100 others with gunshot wounds.Government forces opened fire on ambulances and tens of injured protesters were gathered by the forces and taken away.

Sad as the deaths may be, this is priceless footage for the resistance to send over the world and try to get ontop of the news priority and hopefully push powerful nations to pressure the government more to step down.

Will passive resistance be successful in Yemen? I doubt it. The Yemeni President came to power by force and I doubt very much he would leave except by force, especially considering the even stronger pressure on him from his family to stay put and protect the family jewels.

*from inforplease.com
*2 from enotes.com

Table of passive resistance ations in world history (cut and pasted from wikipedia)

Dates	Region	Main Article	Summary	Refs
BCE 470–391	China	Mohism	The Mohist philosophical school disapproved of war. However, since they lived in a time of warring polities, they cultivated the science of fortification.
around AD 26–36	Judea	Pontius Pilate	Jews demonstrated in Caesarea to try to convince Pontius Pilate not to set up Roman standards, with images of the Roman emperor and the eagle of Jupiter, in Jerusalem (both images were considered idolatrous by religious Jews). Pilate surrounded the Jewish protesters with soldiers and threatened them with death, to which they replied that they were willing to die rather than see the laws of the Torah violated.
Before 1500–1835	Chatham Islands, New Zealand	Moriori	The Moriori were a branch of the New Zealand Māori that colonized the Chatham Islands and eventually became hunter-gatherers. Their lack of resources and small population made conventional war unsustainable, so it became customary to resolve disputes nonviolently or ritually. Due to this tradition of nonviolence, the entire population of 2000 people was enslaved, killed or cannibalized when 900 Māori invaded the island in 1835.	[2][3][4]
1819	England	Peterloo massacre	Famine and chronic unemployment, coupled with the lack of suffrage in northern England, led to a peaceful demonstration of 60,000–80,000 persons, including women and children. The demonstration was organized and rehearsed, with a "prohibition of all weapons of offence or defence" and exhortations to come "armed with no other weapon but that of a self-approving conscience". Cavalry charged into the crowd, with sabres drawn, and in the ensuing confusion, 15 people were killed and 400–700 were injured. Newspapers expressed horror, and Percy Shelley glorified nonviolent resistance in the poem The Masque of Anarchy. However, the British government cracked down on reform, with the passing of what became known as the Six Acts.
1834–38	Trinidad	End of Slavery in Trinidad	The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, then the colonial power in Trinidad, first announced in 1833 the impending total liberation of slaves by 1840. In 1834 at an address by the Governor at Government House about the new laws, an unarmed group of mainly elderly Negroes began chanting: Pas de six ans. Point de six ans ("Not six years. No six years"), drowning out the voice of the Governor. Peaceful protests continued until the passing of a resolution to abolish apprenticeship and the achievement of de facto freedom.	[5][6]
1838	USA	Cherokee removal	The Cherokee refused to recognize the fraudulent Treaty of New Echota and therefore did not sell their livestock or goods, and did not pack anything to travel to the west before the soldiers came and forcibly removed them. That ended tragically in the Cherokee trail of tears.
1860–1894, 1915–1918	New Zealand	Tainui-Waikato	Māori King Tāwhiao forbade Waikato Māori using violence in the face of British colonisation, saying in 1881 "The killing of men must stop; the destruction of land must stop. I shall bury my patu in the earth and it shall not rise again ... Waikato, lie down. Do not allow blood to flow from this time on." This was inspirational to Waikato Māori who refused to fight in World War I. In response, the government brought in conscription for the Tainui-Waikato people (other Māori iwi were exempt), but they continued to resist, the majority of conscripts choosing to suffer harsh military punishments rather than join the army. For the duration of the war, no Tainui soldiers were sent overseas.	[7]
1879–1880	New Zealand	Parihaka	The Māori village of Parihaka became the center of passive resistance campaigns against Europeans occupying confiscated land in the area. More than 400 followers of the prophet Te Whiti o Rongomai were arrested and jailed, most without trial. Sentences as long as 16 months were handed out for the acts of ploughing land and erecting fences on their property. More than 2000 inhabitants remained seated when 1600 armed soldiers raided and destroyed the village.	[8][9]
1908–62	Samoa	Mau movement	Nonviolent movement for Samoan independence from colonial rule in the early 20th century.	[10][11]
1919. 2.8, 3.1	Korea	March 1st Movement	This movement became the inspiration of the later Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi's Satyagraha—resistance and many other non-violent movement in Asia.	[12]
1919–22	Egypt	Egyptian Revolution of 1919	A countrywide revolution against the British occupation of Egypt. It was carried out by Egyptians from different walks of life in the wake of the British-ordered exile of revolutionary leader Saad Zaghlul and other members of the Wafd Party in 1919. The event led to Egyptian independence in 1922 and the implementation of a new constitution in 1923.
1919–21	Ireland	Irish Non-cooperation movement	During the Irish War for Independence, Irish nationalists used many non-violent means to resist British rule. Amongst these was abstention from the British parliament, tax boycotts, and the creation of alternative local government, Dáil Courts, and police.	[13]
1919–present	Palestine	Mubarak Awad First Intifada Third Intifada	Palestinian groups have worked with Israelis and foreign citizens to organize civilian monitors of Israeli military activity in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Peace camps and strategic non-violent resistance to Israeli construction of Jewish settlements and of the West Bank Barrier have also been consistently adopted as tactics by Palestinians. Citizens of the Palestinian village of Beit Sahour also engaged in a tax strike during the First Intifada.
1920–22	British India	Non-cooperation movement	A series of nationwide people's movements of nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience, led by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi) and the Indian National Congress. In addition to bringing about independence, Gandhi's nonviolence also helped improve the status of the Untouchables in Indian society.
1923	Germany	The Occupation of the Ruhr	With the aim of occupying the centre of German coal, iron, and steel production in the Ruhr valley; France invaded Germany for neglecting some of its reparation payments after World War I. The occupation of the Ruhr was initially greeted by a campaign of passive resistance.
1930–34	British India	Civil disobedience movement	Nonviolent resistance marked by rejecting British imposed taxes, boycotting British manufactured products and mass strikes, led by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi) and the Indian National Congress.
1933–45	Germany	German Resistance	Throughout World War II, there were a series of small and usually isolated groups that used nonviolent techniques against the Nazis. These groups include the White Rose and the Confessional Church.
1940–43	Denmark	Danish resistance movement	During World War II, after the invasion of the Wehrmacht, the Danish government adopted a policy of official co-operation (and unofficial obstruction) which they called "negotiation under protest." Embraced by many Danes, the unofficial resistance included slow production, emphatic celebration of Danish culture and history, and bureaucratic quagmires.
1940–45	Norway	Norwegian resistance movement	During World War II, Norwegian civil disobedience included preventing the Nazification of Norway's educational system, distributing of illegal newspapers, and maintaining social distance(an "ice front") from the German soldiers.
1942	British India	Quit India Movement	The Quit India Movement (Bharat Chhodo Andolan or the August Movement) was a civil disobedience movement launched in India in August 1942 in response to Mohandas Gandhi's call for immediate independence.
1945–71	South Africa	Defiance Campaign Internal resistance to South African apartheid	The ANC and allied anti-apartheid groups initially carried out non-violent resistance against pro-racial segregation and apartheid governments in South Africa.
1946–1958	Territory of Hawaii	Hawaii Democratic Revolution of 1954	Following World War II, general strikes were initiated by the large working poor against racial and economic inequality under Hawaii's plantation economy. Movement members took over most of the government in 1954 and the State of Hawaii was established in 1959.
1955–68	USA	African-American Civil Rights Movement Chicano Civil Rights Movement Mass protest in the United States	Tactics of nonviolent resistance, such as bus boycotts, freedom rides, sit-ins and mass demonstrations, were used during the African American Civil Rights Movement. This movement succeeded in bringing about legislative change, and making separate seats, drinking fountains, and schools for African Americans illegal.	[14][15]
1957–present	USA	Committee for Non-Violent Action	Among the most dedicated to nonviolent resistance against the US arsenal of nuclear weapons has been the Plowshares Movement, consisting largely of Catholic priests, such as Dan Berrigan, and nuns. Since the first Plowshares action in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania during the autumn of 1980, more than 70 of these actions have taken place.	[16][17][18]
1959–present	Cuba	Cuban opposition since 1959	There have been many nonviolent activists in opposition to Cuba's authoritarian regime. Among these are Pedro Luis Boitel (1931–1972), Guillermo Fariñas Hernández ("El Coco"), and Jorge Luis García Pérez (known as Antúnez), all of whom have performed hunger strikes.	[19][20][21]
1968	Worldwide	Protests of 1968	The protests that raged throughout 1968 were for the most part student-led. Worldwide, campuses became the front-line battle grounds for social change. While opposition to the Vietnam War dominated the protests, students also protested for civil liberties, against racism, for feminism, and the beginnings of the ecological movement can be traced to the protests against nuclear and biological weapons during this year.	[22]
1970–81	France	Larzac	In response to an expansion of a military base, local farmers including José Bové and other supporters including Lanza del Vasto took part in nonviolent resistance. The military expansion was canceled after ten years of resistance.
1979	Iran	Iranian Revolution	The Iranian Revolution of 1979 or 1979 Revolution (often known as the Islamic Revolution), refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.	[23]
1980–present	Poland	Solidarity Orange Alternative	Solidarity, a broad anti-communist social movement ranging from people associated with the Roman Catholic Church to members of the anti-communist Left, advocated non-violence in its members' activities. Additionally, the Orange Alternative offered a wider group of citizens an alternative way of opposition against the authoritarian regime by means of a peaceful protest that used absurd and nonsensical elements.	[24][25][26]
1986	Philippines	People Power Revolution	A series of nonviolent and prayerful mass street demonstrations that toppled Ferdinand Marcos and placed Corazon C. Aquino into power. After an election which had been condemned by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, over two million Filipinos protested human rights violations, election fraud, massive political corruption, and other abuses of the Marcos regime. Yellow was a predominant theme, the colour being associated with Corazon Aquino and her husband, Benigno S. Aquino, Jr., who was assassinated three years prior.
1987–90	The Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia)	Singing Revolution	A cycle of mass demonstrations featuring spontaneous singing in The Baltic States. The movement eventually collected 4,000,000 people who sang national songs and hymns, which were strictly forbidden during the years of the Soviet occupation of the Baltic States, as local rock musicians played. In later years, people acted as human shields to protect radio and TV stations from the Soviet tanks, eventually regaining Lithuania's, Latvia's, and Estonia's independence without any bloodshed.	[27]
1989	Czechoslovakia	Velvet Revolution	During the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, the Czechoslovak citizens responded to the attack on their sovereignty with passive resistance. Russian troops were frustrated as street signs were painted over, their water supplies mysteriously shut off, and buildings decorated with flowers, flags, and slogans like, "An elephant cannot swallow a hedgehog."
1989–90	East Germany	Monday demonstrations in East Germany	The Monday demonstrations in East Germany in 1989 and 1990 (German: Montagsdemonstrationen) were a series of peaceful political protests against the authoritarian government of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) of East Germany that took place every Monday evening.
1990–91	Azerbaijan SSR	Black January	A crackdown of Azeri protest demonstrations by the Red Army in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR. The demonstrators protested against ethnic violence, demanded the ousting of communist officials and called for independence from the Soviet Union.
2003	Liberia	Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace	This peace movement, started by women praying and singing in a fish market, brought an end to the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003.
2004–05	Israel	Israel's unilateral disengagement plan of 2004	Protesters opposing Israel's unilateral disengagement plan of 2004 nonviolently resisted impending evacuations of Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Protesters blocked several traffic intersections, resulting in massive gridlock and delays throughout Israel. While Israeli police had received advance notice of the action, opening traffic intersections proved extremely difficult. Eventually, over 400 demonstrators were arrested, including many juveniles. Further large demonstrations planned to commence when Israeli authorities, preparing for disengagement, cut off access to the Gaza Strip. During the confrontation, mass civil disobedience failed to emerge in Israel proper. However, some settlers and their supporters resisted evacuation non-violently.
2004–2005	Ukraine	Orange Revolution	A series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine in the immediate aftermath of the run-off vote of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election which was marred by massive corruption, voter intimidation and direct electoral fraud. Nationwide, the democratic revolution was highlighted by a series of acts of civil disobedience, sit-ins, and general strikes organized by the opposition movement.
2005	Lebanon	Cedar Revolution	A chain of demonstrations in Lebanon (especially in the capital Beirut) triggered by the assassination of the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on February 14, 2005.
2010	Israel-Palestine	Palestinian Protests in West Bank	A "White Intifada" has begun to take hold in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Weekly protests by Peaceful Palestinian activities accompanied by B'Tselem ( the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories) in addition to Israel academics and students against settlers and security forces. The EU through it's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has criticised the peaceful movement and is she was deeply concerned about the arrest of Abdullah Abu Rahmeh. There have been two fatalities among protesters and an American peace activist suffered brain damage after being hit by a tear gas canister	[28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33]
2011	Tunisia	2010–2011 Tunisian uprising	A chain of demonstrations against unemployment and government corruption in Tunisia. Protests were triggered by the self-immolation of the vegetable seller Mohamed Bouazizi and resulted in the 24-year-ruling president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali fleeing the country a month later.
2011	Egypt	2011 Egyptian protests
2011	Syria	2011 Syrian Revolution	started on March 15, 2011 as a collaborative effort between online websites such as Liberty For The People of Syria {الحرية لشعب سوريا}, The Syrian Revolution 2011, The Syrian Days of Rage {يوم الغضب السوري}, and some other media websites that facilitated the coordination and communication of Syrians on the grounds who were deprived from any local organizing bodies due to the country's 48-year old state of emergency that was instated in 1963 upon the takeover of power by Al-Ba'ath Arab Socialist Party and that was later taken over by the Assad regime in November 16, 1970. Since then, Syrians have experienced very minimal political life and virtually no exercise of freedom of expression until the Syrian revolution erupted, launching the most significant coordinated campaign of civil disobedience and peaceful protests in various Syrian cities. The response by the regime was and continue to be very brutal and has caused the death of hundreds of Syrian citizens and more than a thousand wounded in addition to thousands of people arbitrarily detained in a government campaign to quell the rebellion but it is only growing stronger by the day. The future of the Syrian revolution remains uncertain but one thing that has been certain thus far is its civil nature despite the elaborate media campaign by the ruling Assad regime to defame and attack the rebellion.

Suggestion for Salehs Farewell Speech

I cringe when I hear the president address the nation "O great Yemeni people," It is soooooo condescending, it is insulting coming from him.

I wrote up this short and sweet speech, a suggestion if the great Yemeni president is stuck for words.

ياأيها الشعب اليمني العظيم
شكرا للذكريات... نعم
و شكرا لأعمالكم
و شكرا لعرقكم
و شكرا لدموعكم
و شكرا لدمائكم
و شكرا جزيلا لمالكم

مع السلامة

O Great People of Yemen,
Thank you for the memories
Thank you for your toils
Thankyou for your sweat
Thank you for your tears
Thank you for your blood
and a big thank you for your wealth

Good bye

Steps to Start a War in Sana'a

Yemen Post reported that Yemen's president Saleh has planned to explode the situation militarily in the capital Sana'a, amid the escalation of the protests calling for his ouster, almasdaronline.com reported on Wednesday.

The independant news website quoted political and security sources with knowledge of the plans as saying that: " Saleh and his relatives, especially those who command key military systems, have chaos and criminal plans on which they pin hope to cling to power and that these plans just need to be implemented".
The plans will be implemented in two phases; in the first phase, the targets will be the first armored division, whose commander announced peaceful support to the popular uprising, the square of change outside Sana'a University and houses of opposition leaders , the sources were quoted as saying.
"Missiles will be fired at these targets, and in the second phase the pro-Saleh forces will raid the targets".
Saleh himself will run the operations in collaboration with his son, Ahmed, commander of the republican guard, his nephews commanders of the national security and the central security, and his brother, the website said.
The national security will use force to disperse the tens of thousands, who have been conducting a sit-in in the square of change for months to call for the resignation of Saleh, it said, quoting analysts and politicians as warning of the consequences of such plans.

LPOY contacts have also expressed similar information. The targeting of the main Ali Muhsin rebel army base would affect the areas around Al-Eman University, Nahdha street and Sitteen areas adjoining the bases. Threats have also been made to the residences of Ali Muhsin as well as parts of the al-Ahmar* family including the compound of Shaikh Sadeq in al-Hasaba area.

Insha Allah the situation finds a solution before such potentially catastrophic events befall the community. If the President leaves, it seems he will destroy what ever is left on his way out.

*The al-Ahmar family are not the same as the al-Ahmar name of Ali-Muhsin.

Local Gas Demonstrations

As the gas supply crisis intensifies, the smell of charcoal thickens in the air. The availability and price of charcoal has forced many residents to switch to this fuel supply to meet their daily cooking needs.

On plastic shopping bag of charcoal costs around 60 riyals and if used for a meal and tea/coffee, will last 2days. Despite this, the fuel source is proving to be cheaper than gas, if one can get their hands on gas, which has risen to up to 5000riyals per bottle.

Local residents have taken to blocking roads with their empty gas bottles.These blockages are causing further disruptions in traffic flow.

Sana'a Situation Map Link

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=208524688437899033617.0004a0dea7f037b0c6774&ll=15.38815,44.221001&spn=0.193975,0.287361&z=12

American Journalist Jeb Boone updates this map every-so-often.

Civil Disobedience and Sabotage

A lot is going on around town and not all of it is happening at the demonstration area in Change Square.

Sit-inners are getting more and more frustrated and have been marching by the tens of thousands through town calling for more people to join them as well as continuing their demands of complete removal of the President, his sons and cronies rejecting all dialogue and mediation as a useless until their demands are met.

The protesters are often being met with lethal force, and  are fighting back with rock throwing and many are armed with traditional daggers, which are not merely for decoration.

Acts of civil disobedience have been various, ranging from simple grafitti to spreading sit-ins to other areas of the capital, but the more dangerous actions have been coming from the big players, actions such as skirmishes between the two armies (government loyalist forces and the forces of General Ali Muhsin). One of these exchanges was reported to have happened at the Amran Road check point. (Road to Amran from Sana'a to the north). It has been reported that artillery was used by both sides as the Ali Muhsin army attempted to gain control of the area.

The call by protesters to partake in civil disobedience has opened the door for the government to sabotage vital services and then blame it on protesters, such as the cutting of power lines in Marib. These power lines provide a large portion of the energy needs of the capital Sana'a.

Government forces are also restricting gaz trucks into the Capital, causing mass cooking gas shortages and inflated prices as bottles are now exceeding 3000 riyals.

An interesting story has come out of Abyan about who was responsible for the ammunition factory explosion with resulted in the deaths of 150 people. A previously unknow Jihadi group in Jaar (the town housing the ammunition factory) has come forward claiming responsibility and saying that their group is not al-Qaeda but share the same vision as al-Qaeda and the Taliban, and also say their people wear the same clothes as Afghani people. I found this quite strange that this group has now emerged, I cannot hold the reports of this group with any credibility and will hazard a guess that this is a fabricated group made up by the Government to cover their possible involvement or implicity in the explosion.

Some interesting claims have been made that students from al-Eman University have been trained by the Ali Muhsin army and instructed to attack the Sana'a International Airport as well as government media. I am unable to confirm if such a plan was underway, but this is not the first time that students of al-Eman University have been accused of receiving military training from the army base that borders the university.

Meanwhile the value of the riyal is falling which is a problem for a country that imports almost all its food. This has been a long term prblem in Yemen and we could blame qat growing for that - agricultural sabotage and a government that seemed to encourage qat chewing perhaps as a means to pacify the population all these years.

The Third Person View Through Town

Many people are getting weary of the demonstrations blogging down in their lives and clogging the roads. It is hard to get about one's daily business without meeting either road blocks, military checkpoints, demonstrators both in fixed locations and large bodies of them marching around town, tear gas, armed hooligans and other types of armed locals.

It isn't a strange thing to accidentally get caught up in a tear gas storm if your way home happened to be along the protesters march route, maybe even a stray bullet to brighten you day.

Tahrir, is reported by some to be out of bounds not because of the pro-government camp as such but because of the horrendous stench emminating from the location. One local remarked, "they are indeed the garbage of the regime."

Balataja (hired thugs) do roam and do so openly and menacingly. Just walk by and make dua they don't take to you with a bat or butt (of a rifle).

Another group described as balataja has taken over the suburb of al-Hasabah, the location of the al-Ahmar compound. Since moving in at the start of the uprising to protect the residence of Shaikh Sadiq al-Ahmar (the eldest of the brothers and the leader of the Hashid tribal confederation) residents of the area complained of rubbish in the streets, the blocking-off of roads and thoroughfares as well as feeling of fear of their mere existance.

They are not the same as government sponsored balataja as they do not actively go out and hunt people to assault or kill, the just sit around chewing qat with their rifles. They lack basic bearing and carry their weapons in dangerous ways that could easily cause a fatality of a pedestrian should the trigger become caught on something, which during the few hours I spent in al-Hasabah, happened three times, and the locals I was visiting simply remarked, "oh, there is another one," indicating that these accidental discharges happen regularly. These hired tribesmen hardly seem a force to reckon with should an attack on the al-Ahmar compound eventuate.

While walking through the area I was myself almost bowled over as a mad dash of al-Ahmar tribal gunmen ran like a heard of startled gazelles onto the road. I wondered what had happened until I saw them all clammouring at the window of an ice-cream truck!

Also in al-Hasabah area, at jawlat as-sa'ah (intersection of the clock) which is near the Thawra Park and the Ministry of Interior one of the foreign brothers reported that he was stopped by police for an ID and weapon check. Alhamdulillah he was not harrassed further and walked away without even paying a bribe. Those police must have already bought their qat.

The protestors of Change Square are continueing with their daily marches around the area, often resulting in the blocking of the Sitten, either along the road between the Science and Technology Hospital heading west, or up the Sitteen near Al-Eman University. It seems sitting-in is not enough now, and extra measures are needed. These marches are part of the civil disobedience sweeping through anti-government camps in a few protectorates of Yemen.

One wonders how long this situation can continue as many people are now out of work due to closure of businesses, schools, universities and many other institutions around the city. Transport is difficult and journeys can take double and tripple the time the same journey would take before the uprising started.

This will be a battle of patience. Not just for the protesters and political figures, but for the residents of the whole country.

Numbers

The Government claims that five million people attended the pro-government rally in Sana'a this past Friday, named Friday of Compromise by the government and Friday of Steadfastness by the anti-Government camp.

Five million however seems somewhat exaggerated. I admit that there was a huge crowd, but five million is something enormous. If you have ever seen the massiveness of a one million crowd, you will understand that a five million crowd is much bigger and much more beholding to the eye, actually it would be too much for the eye, so after seeing footage of the Saleh rally, I would say it would be one million tops. A source mentioned that the number this Friday was the same as last Friday, that is, 15,000 from inside Sana'a and another 70,000 trucked in from other governates. That number falls way short of the one million that I generously estimated.

The source also estimated that country wide, the president has 600 close supporters and 4 million general population support of a population of 24 million, so democratically speaking, its a landslide popular uprising.

The President after accepting GCC initiatives of mediation has slammed the door, seems GCC brothers are no longer in support of supporting him so he's taken his ball and gone home.

I found this quote describing diplomacy with President Saleh, “The brusker, the blunter, the better,” the British ambassador to Yemen said. “Saleh doesn’t understand anything if it’s framed diplomatically.”

How much more blunt can the people be demonstrating in very large numbers all over the country for his ouster?

The only people with him now are his sons, the corrupt and the ignorant, all the rest will leave him once their payments stop.

Sh#% Rolls Down Hill

It has been 2 months since the anti-government sit in started at the front of Sana'a University, slowly growing and extending along the adjoining streets. The protesters have remained patient and not retaliated violently to violence metted out to them by government forces and their affiliates.

I applaud the audacity of the original sit-inners, but now the situation has become way too big for the youth and well, quite frankly they have bitten off more than they can chew and now need support, help and guidance from those older and more experienced.

Hearing statements from youth expressing disappointment that America has not been more helpful is one such naive idea I have found amongst youth activists. Or the call for democracy and freedom, not realising that democracy does not equate to freedom, but is a system that bends with the desires of the people, which may not always be in keeping with Islamic principles. A move further away from Islam is not a desireable outcome for Yemen or for the Ummah in general.

In fact no matter what system is in place after Saleh leaves, the situation for the people is going to be desperate. Poverty will increase, long with unemployment and lack of opportunities while the new leadership slowly combs out all the knots tied up by the current regime. The patience of the sit-inners will have to continue as all Yemeni hands work to clean up the mess, something that could take an entire generation, pending no future internal conflicts or messy foreign interventions.

Protesters have recently  taken to taking walks en masse around the areas near university and have attracted attacks from pro-government affilliates. Yesterday 4 were killed on the Sitteen not too far from Al-Eman University (which is in an Ali Muhsin army area), while on one of these walks. The protesters are frustrated that it is taking so long to dislodge the President and so need to push the point further. Continued killings have prompted responses from EU for the President to hand over power immediately, but America is still weak on resolve in this crisis wanting to support the President for his cooperation in the war on al-Qaeda, and in doing so, creating a police state which people can unite on in opposition to the Saleh regime and American foreign policy.

From what we can see, the President will cling to power as long as he can, buying time with agreements to GCC sponsored talks (which the opposition opposes as talks with the President are a waste of time, no talks until he is gone), and no one really knows how far the President will go in regards to military force upon protestors as well as opposition figures and their families. He may go so far as to "do a Gaddafi".

Allah protect us from such lunacy and strengthen us so not as to let such lunatics rule over the Muslims. Amin.

Women and the Uprising in Yemen

1. Every Thursday will be "womens' day" at Change Square in front of Sana'a University. This womens' participation is strictly a non-partisan event (as in established parties such as Islah etc) but it is pro-Islam and pro-Yemen without Ali Abdullah Saleh and enterage (or non-terage!).

2. Al-Qaeda who have declared Abyan an Islamic State and warned women not to go out unnecessarily or without mahram.

This statement is scaring people and making them feel al-Qaeda is oppressing women. LPOY would like to put forward these thoughts to even out the argument. Islamically women should not go out without need and when they do go out to do so with a mahram (where possible). This does not mean that they are prohibited from going out at all.

I would hazard a guess that in Abyan as in many parts of rural Yemen, women go out without mahram to do chores such as collecting water and attending to their flocks of sheep and goats. There is not much need other than that for women to go out in these areas, obviously in a city where culture is different there would be exceptions. The situation in Abyan is also far more dangerous than in other urban parts of the country, so we should also keep this in mind.

I would like to say to al-Qaeda in relation to womens' issues to remember the importance of education and health opportunities for women and not to restrict them from these opportunities so long as the subject content is compatible with Islam and needed by the ummah. The leaders of an Islamic state should not waste the talents of half the population - this is bad human resource management.

Allahumma barik fikum.