Yemen seeks recipe for stability at London conference (Feature)

By Khaled al-Mahdi Jan 25, 2010, 5:04 GMT

Sana'a - As the US and leading European nations gear up for an international meeting this week to discuss means to defeat al- Qaeda in Yemen, the beleaguered government in Sana'a is seeking to gain aid for its efforts to fight radicalism and stabilize the country.

The claim of responsibility by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which is Yemens branch of the group, for the botched Christmas Day airliner bombing by the 23-year-old Nigerian, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, resulted in an increased pressure on Yemen to make al-Qaeda its top priority.

In an audiotape broadcast on the al-Jazeera satellite channel Sunday, the al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden claimed the group's responsibility for Abdulmutallabs attempt to blow up the plane, and vowed more attacks.

As the failed attack showed the AQAP's ability to extend its reach, the United States and its Western allies in the fight against terrorism now see Yemen as a staging ground for potential further attacks against them.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called for an international conference in London on January 27 to discuss means to confront the threat posed by al-Qaeda in Yemen through aid and reform.

Although emerging as a new focal point in the global 'war on terrorism', Yemen's ills go far beyond al-Qaeda.

The poorest Arab state is plagued by corruption, poverty and violence, and is seen by Western analysts as teetering on the edge of being a Somalia-style failed state.

Yemen also faces two other main challenges threatening its stability: A growing secessionist movement that has been gaining strength in the south, and an insurgency in the north by members of the Shiite al-Houthi group.

Representatives of the Western countries to the conference are expected to express their concerns at the rampant corruption in Yemen and the deteriorating security amid the civil unrest.

Fearing any foreign intervention in the country's political turmoil, the Yemeni government was quick to react to Brown's call by making clear that it wants the gathering to discuss only economic aid to bolster its fight against terrorism.

'We should focus on two points specifically: development and terrorism,' Yemen's Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qerbi told reporters in a Sana'a press conference earlier this month.

He said if the meeting is redirected into political issues 'we will compromise the objectives of this conference.'

Brown's call for the conference also prompted Yemens leading clerics to threaten that they would declare jihad if any foreign troops entered the Arab country to fight al-Qaeda.

More than 150 clerics made the warning in a statement after a meeting in Sanaa on January 14, led by Sheikh Abdul-Majeed al- Zindani, who is wanted by the United States over terrorism financing charges.

Foreign observers say President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in charge for some 32 years, should take decisive initiatives to combat corruption if he wants to gain trust of the international community.

'There has been no concrete initiative so far to tackle corruption,' a Sanaa-based Western diplomat told the German Press Agency dpa, on the condition of anonymity.

'Corruption and lack of good governance only help extremist groups to expand,' he said.

Most Yemenis, however, see the London conference as a chance for their government to build a real partnership with the West that could help Yemen alleviate its plight.

'We are aware that this conference is not a pledging conference ... but it could be the key to real and meaningful support to Yemen in the coming days,' the Chairman of Yemen's state-run news agency, Nasr Taha Mustafa, said.

He thinks the West should look beyond counter-terrorism in Yemen to help the country tackle longer-term economic pressures and defeat the militancy that is exploiting poverty.

'We are suffering from economic problems, which are the main reason for the emergence of extremism and violence in different shapes,' Mustafa added.

Faisal Mukarram, an independent political analyst, says the West should deal with Yemen as a victim of terrorism and a partner in combating it.

'Yemen remains one of the victims of terrorism, and the world must speak with Yemen as a partner in the fight against terrorism,' he said.

'This partner has rights and sovereignty that must be respected, and needs its partners help it to overcome its crises and face the challenges posed to it,' Mukarram said.

Ali Saif Hassan, a political analyst and chairman of the Sanaa- based Political Development Forum, however thinks that that the conference should only be focused on terrorism.

'The partnership between the United States and Yemen is limited to the fight against terrorism and not a partnership in development,' Hassan said.

'They should provide funds to finance the fight against terrorism that threatens them, and not for development - that is our problem' he said.