Helen Lackner - Yemen in Crisis: Autocracy, Neo-Liberalism and the Disintegration of a State

YEMEN IN CRISIS

Editor

Yemen and the Gulf States: The Making of A Crisis

(with Daniel Varisco)

Why Yemen Matters: A Society in Transition

Yemen into the Twenty-First Century: Continuity and Change

(with Kamil Mahdi and Anna Wuerth)

Author

PDR Yemen: Outpost of Socialist Development in Arabia

A House Built on Sand: A Political Economy of Saudi Arabia

Helen Lackner

YEMEN
IN CRISIS

Autocracy, Neo-Liberalism and
the Disintegration of a State

SAQI

Published by Saqi Books 2017

Copyright Helen Lackner 2017

ISBN 978-0-86356-193-1

eISBN 978-0-86356-188-7

Helen Lackner has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work.

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publishers prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

First published in Great Britain in 2017 by

Saqi Books

26 Westbourne Grove

London W2 5RH

www.saqibooks.com

A full cip record for this book is available from the British Library.

Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon CR0 4YY

For Jamal

Thanks for being a wonderful human being,
principled, caring, and kind in the face of an unjust world.
And for your children,
Hoping that they will live in a happier Yemen.

YEMEN IN ITS REGIONAL ENVIRONMENT

YEMENS PRINCIPAL PHYSICAL FEATURES AND INFRASTRUCTURE

MAP OF YEMEN SHOWING ADMINISTRATIVE ENTITIES

Akhdam: also known as muhamasheen; status acquired by birth, most despised social group found throughout the country, main occupations are begging and cleaning.

Al-Ahmar family: leading shaykhly family of Hashed confederation. Since the death of Abdullah Husayn in 2007, his sons have shared a group of prominent roles. Sadeq is shaykh mashaykh (chief shaykh or tribal leader) of Hashed, Hashim is the military leader, and Hamid the main political leader. Joint leaders of the Islah party representing its tribal component.

Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar: military leader from same village as Saleh, he is not related to the other frequently mentioned al-Ahmar. Was close associate of Saleh since the 1970s; after years of increasing rivalry, the break took place in March 2011. In 2017 vice president to Hadi, Sunni fundamentalist on the margin of jihadism.

Ali Salem al-Beedh: former General Secretary of the YSP, effective ruler of PDRY (South Yemen) between 1986 and 1990, then vice president of ROY between unification and 1994 civil war. Lives in exile.

AQAP: al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, headquartered in Yemen; established in 2009.

Believing Youth: Zaydi revivalist movement started by the Huthi family in the 1990s. Some members went to Iran to study. Became the Huthi movement.

General Peoples Congress: political organisation, established in 1982, ie. when political parties were illegal, bringing together influential people of all kinds whose common factor was, and remains, ensuring Saleh retains major political role.

Abdu Rabbu Mansur Hadi: President of the internationally recognised government since 2012, Vice President to Saleh from 1994 onwards. Military southerner from Abyan who supported Ali Nasser in 1986 and moved to Sanaa at that time.

Hashed: one of Yemens major tribal confederations (see Al-Ahmar).

Hiraak: term used to describe the collective southern separatist movement; it is composed of a very large number of entities with very similar names, few of which include more than a few members. Most of them based in Aden, but with origins mainly in al-Dhala, Lahej and Abyan Governorates. Other main base in Hadramaut.

Huthi movement: also known as Ansar Allah; originating in Saada Governorate in the far north of Yemen, it is a family-based movement of Zaydi revivalists whose only ideological characteristic is belief that sada [descendants of the prophet] are the only rightful rulers. Involved in six wars against the Saleh regime between 2004 and 2010, now allied with Saleh in fight against the internationally recognised government and the Saudi-led coalition supporting it.

Islah party: officially the Yemeni Congregation for Reform. Political party established in 1990 combining Sunni Islamism of the Muslim Brotherhood variety, a more extremist faction led by al-Zindani, and a third one composed of northern tribesmen, mostly from the Hashed confederation (led by al-Ahmar family).

Joint Meeting Parties: coalition of opposition parties established in 2003, composed of Islah, Yemeni Socialist Party, two sada parties (al-Haq and the Union of Popular Forces), the Nasserist Unionist Party and the Baath. Since 2015 most of these are split between the Huthi-Saleh alliance and the internationally recognised government.

Ali Nasser Mohammed: former leader of PDRY from Abyan, led the failed coup in Aden in 1986, then joined Saleh in YAR, living in exile since unification. Occasionally mentioned as a possible interim leader.

Sada [sg sayyed]: small social group based on inherited status, claiming descent from the Prophet; there are both Shafi and Zaydi sada.

Salafi: believer in returning to the original roots of Islam, fundamentalist rejecting any interpretation; wants Quranic prescriptions to be implemented literally; a Sunni trend.

Ali Abdullah Saleh: President of YAR from 1978 and then ROY until 2012, head of General Peoples Congress, military man from Sanhan tribe, a minor component of Hashed federation. In 2017 officially allied with Huthis though rivalry for leadership active.

Shafi: branch of Sunni Islam prevalent throughout Yemen, except the central and northern highlands; main characteristic is tolerance and flexibility.

Wadi: river bed, mostly dry, subject to flash floods.

Waqf (pl. Awqaf): religious endowment.

Zaydi: branch of Shii Islam found in the central and northern highlands of Yemen. Theologically far closer to Sunni Islam than to Shii, until the current war there was little to differentiate followers from either creed who prayed together and celebrated the same ceremonies.

Abdul Majeed al-Zindani: prominent Islamist politician in Yemen.

Aydaroos al-Zubeidi: Southern separatist leader, governor of Aden (201517) and joint leader of Southern Transitional Council established in May 2017.

Transliteration has been kept as simple as possible. The symbol has been used for the letter ayn. When an Arabic word or name which has entered the English lexicon appears, its customary English spelling has been retained. With respect to names of people, I use the transliteration individuals use for themselves, which may lead to some inconsistencies.