On May 29, Alaa Jarban did something that no one in Yemen had ever dared to do before. Using his real name, he announced in a blog post: "I'm Queer".
Alaa, a 23-year-old graduate of Sanaa University, was a prominent youth activist in the revolution that toppled President...
Blog archive: Yemen
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9th June 2013
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18th May 2013In a little-noticed move, President Obama signed an executive order this week extending "the national emergency with respect to Yemen" for a further 12 months. The official announcement says: "The actions and policies of certain members of the Government of Yemen and others continue...
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11th April 2013Yemen's "interim" president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, issued a series of decrees yesterday which have been hailed as his boldest move yet towards curbing the influence of ex-President Saleh's family. Saleh's son, Ahmad – formerly in charge of the Republican Guard – was named as Yemen's...
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24th March 2013Considering that Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi has been president of Yemen for just over a year, it's remarkable how little is known about him. Even during his 18 years as ex-president Saleh's deputy he remained mostly below the radar. It was intriguing, therefore, to see a photo of the future...
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27th February 2013Bahrain has expressed its appreciation to the UAE for turning away a British academic who was due to speak at a conference in the Emirates last Sunday. Bahrain's foreign ministry said the UAE's decision was "a true reflection of the strong bonds of fraternity between the UAE...
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16th February 2013The UN Security Council yesterday welcomed Yemen's National Dialogue, after Russian objections (reported here yesterday) were overcome. The statement issued yesterday names both ex-President Saleh and southern separatist leader Ali Salim al-Baidh in connection with "reports of...
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15th February 2013Russia has prevented the UN Security Council from issuing a presidential statement welcoming Yemen's National Dialoguewhich is due to start on 18 March. According to diplomats cited by the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), Russia objected to a paragraph mentioning "persistent...
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5th February 2013Chatham House, the foreign affairs thinktank, has issued a progress report on Yemen's post-Saleh transition – though I'm not sure "progress" is the right word to describe it. "With attention focused on the National Dialogue process," it says, "the transition government is paying...
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30th January 2013Saudi journalist Faheem al-Hamid seems to be having an interesting time in Yemen. Following his hilarious interview the other day with ex-president Salih, Hamid has now had a close encounter with the ex-president's ex-trousers. The remains of the trousers – which Saleh was wearing...
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28th January 2013Gaddafi is dead, Mubarak is in jail, Ben Ali is in exile but Yemen's former dictator, Ali Abdullah Saleh, is living comfortably at home – thanks to a vote in parliament which gave him immunity from prosecution – and he has been talking about his new life as "a normal Yemeni citizen". In an...
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15th January 2013There is no doubt that southern Yemenis had a raw deal under President Ali Abdullah Saleh – though they were by no means alone in that. There is also no doubt that southern grievances and aspirations will have to be addressed in the forthcoming National Dialogue if Yemen's political transition is...
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15th January 2013Since 2004 the Yemeni government has waged a series of wars against the so-called Houthi rebels in the far north of the country, close to the Saudi border. This conflict is currently in abeyance but a long-term solution will be needed if Yemen is to undergo a successful political...
