For the most part, freedom of the press
U.S. News senior writer Kevin Whitelaw recently visited Yemen, an impoverished Muslim nation on the Arabian Peninsula that became a surprising U.S. ally in the wake of September 11. The Yemeni government has made some impressive strides when it comes to fighting terrorism, despite a few serious lapses like an embarassing prison break last month when 23 al Qaeda prisoners escaped through a tunnel. But now, Yemen is facing questions about its own crisis, as mounting poverty, declining oil resources, and suffocating corruption combine to threaten the nation's democratic progress–and perhaps its very existence. Whitelaw spent time with Yemenis from all walks of life – those in government, security, business, and education, along with a few of Yemen's legion of unemployed.
SANA, YEMEN—Yemen's newspapers are relatively free, at least compared with most of the Arab world. (Television and radio remain controlled by the state.)
But journalists still complain that the government gives them trouble whenever the coverage turns critical. Sometimes, the harassment is simply clumsy. Earlier this year, someone in the government tried to leak two-year-old wiretaps of telephone conversations between the local al Jazeera correspondent and his wife. Several Arab journalists received E-mails that contained the recordings of these phone calls, which came from both his home and mobile phones. To protest the intimidation, Yemeni journalists called a meeting, in which they decided to file a lawsuit and demand an investigation.
One female journalist told the crowd, perhaps only half joking: "I'm surprised you had this gathering. In our phone conversations, we talk about how tough the situation is. Maybe it is a good way for our voices to reach the government, even if it is through a spy agency."
But some journalists have also been threatened after crossing the government. One respected independent journalist, Nabil Sabaie, was beaten by a group of armed men last year. Journalists in Aden have had similar fears. "It reached a stage a month ago where my brother and I did not feel safe going outside the office," says Tammam Bashareel, the managing editor of al-Ayyam, the most respected independent newspaper, based in Aden. "We know all our telephones are bugged."
Yemen's president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, denies that journalists are being intimidated. His government has proposed a new press law that would impose fines instead of jail time on journalists who are convicted of violations. But in recent weeks, Yemen has shuttered three newspapers (including the Yemen Observer ) and jailed their editors for reprinting some of the controversial Danish cartoons that have sparked worldwide protests.