Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, February 18, 1991 TAG: 9102180226
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A/9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL PISTNER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
I recently returned from one of these countries, the Republic of Yemen, where I spent two years as a Peace Corps volunteer. The Peace Corps was evacuated as a direct result of this conflict, when the Yemeni government made clear its support for Iraq.
For the Yemeni people, there was never any doubt where their sympathy lay. Saddam was their man, and as I talked with my Yemeni friends and acquaintances, I began to learn why.
First is the general animosity that Yemenis have for the Saudis. Yemen borders Saudi Arabia on the latter's southeastern side. The border area, especially as one goes east, is an extremely dynamic region inhabited in the mountains by Shiite tribes and in the desert by nomadic Bedouin.
The border is undefined and with good reason: oil. Apparently the Yemenis and the Saudis have conflicting ideas on who has rights to these oil fields. Remember, one of the major issues in the original dispute between Iraq and Kuwait was oil-field rights in the Rumaila area.
Border problems abound throughout the entire region. I got used to hearing reports of skirmishes near Yemen's borders, and travel permits were usually not granted for anywhere near the borders.
Yemen is also keenly aware of the Saudi role in the Yemeni revolution and ensuing civil war. For many centuries, Yemen was ruled by a series of imams, Shiite holy men. Imam Yahya and his son Imam Ahmed, both from this century, kept Yemen as isolated as any country in the world. The society was medieval.
In the mid-1960s, a civil war erupted in which the Saudis backed the imam and his royalist forces against the upstart Nasserite, republican forces backed by Egypt. The war was bloody and bitter; by the early '70s, the republicans had a tenuous hold on the government. The royalist tribes from the north have found accommodation with the republican governments, but some remain restive and are thought of as a conduit for Saudi aims.
In June 1990, with great fanfare in Yemen but unknown to much of the world, the Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen, where I was) and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen) united to form the Republic of Yemen. The actual date for unification was never precisely stated beforehand, so as to avoid possible disruption by forces opposed to the new formation. Again, the origin of possible disruption was the far north, with its ties to Saudi Arabia.
The Saudis, so it was said, were worried about this new neighbor that suddenly had a much larger population as well as a significant land mass and good ports. As progress towards unification continued, I was told that sermons from the north (northern part of North Yemen) were very critical of and hostile to the merger. South Yemen was attacked as immoral, secular and communist. Moslem fundamentalist support was sought by the opposition.
The unification went off without incident. The very next day, Saddam made an unannounced visit to Yemen. The Yemenis were thrilled that this man whom they greatly admired should come so soon to congratulate and recognize the one Yemen and its government. I believe Saddam won the people's hearts that day.
Two months later, Iraq invaded Kuwait. Although the people of Yemen did not express support for Iraq's action, they could never condemn Saddam. For years, the Yemenis had had to depend on the Saudis and their oil-rich neighbors; now, they could turn to Saddam - someone they could fully respect.
Yemen and Iraq have close political and cultural ties. Yemen is part of an alliance - with Iraq, Jordan and Egypt - called the Arab Cooperation Council. Yemenis take great pride in this council; when their turn came to be host, they put up decorative lights all over the capital city of Sana'a. Huge murals were painted of the four leaders of those countries standing together. Pictures of the leaders adorned every building.
I am sure those pictures are still hanging, but now probably show only three men: Saddam Hussein, Jordan's King Hussein and Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh. These men, leaders of populous Arab countries, are revered for the respect they give the more disenfranchised Arabs.
Saddam only has to speak symbolically of the mixing of Iraqi and Yemeni blood (which occurred literally in the Iraq-Iran war), and Yemenis stand behind him with a feeling of brotherhood.
Their stand is mystifying, even when one is familiar with the region and its culture. I was amazed when I would talk with my Yemeni friends, and they did not oppose Saddam's egregious aggression. To them, the allowance by the Saudis of foreign force into Arab lands was the much greater offense. Saudi Arabia has the two holiest mosques in Islam on their soil, and Moslems are sensitive to any perceived irreverence toward those places.
The Yemeni government and other governments sympathetic to Saddam risked much.
The Yemenis have already had to deal with the return of 700,000 nationals expelled from Saudi Arabia because of Saudi anger at Yemen's support for Saddam. Many Western organizations such as Peace Corps have, I am sure, pulled out.
Remittances from workers in the oil-rich countries have been eliminated. Yemen's educational system must be depleted of personnel as well as funds. Kuwait funded a hospital in Yemen, and paid the salaries of many university teachers. Egypt and Syria provided teachers for secondary schools. The Arab world changed indelibly on Aug. 2.
As a democratic nation, the United States needs to be aware of democratic forces in the region. We have some extreme diplomatic challenges after the war.
Saddam brought the wrath of allied forces, including some Arab governments, upon himself and his people. A country such as Yemen may be able to comprehend this reality, but Yemenis feel duty-bound to support the only leader in the world who has given them the friendship and support they believe they've earned as faithful Arabs.
Let's hope that our own government in the postwar era can be flexible enough to recognize the bonds which unite so many in the Middle East.
We must be sensitive and aware of the currents in the region. We need to work with and develop those Arab nations that are calling out for help. The alternative is hate, radicalization and poverty.
In the future, I hope Yemen is able to look toward the United States in good conscience - instead of toward another Saddam Hussein.
by CNB