http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=19667
Iranian Marjas Responsible for Financing Huthis- Yemeni Official
27/01/2010
By Sawsan Abu-Husain and Arafat Madayash
Yemeni Foreign Minister, Abu Bakr al-Qirbi speaks to the conference
audience on 'Yemen's Future: The Road towards Stability and Development', at
Chatham House in London ahead of the Conference on Yemen. (AP)
A Yemeni policewoman aims here AK-47 during an internal competition in
shooting at the Yemeni police academy in Sanaa. (AFP)
An armed member of the Yemeni anti-terror unit stands next to relatives
of suspected Al-Qaeda members outside a court in Sanaa. (AFP)
Cairo, Sanaa, Asharq Al-Awsat- At the same time that the international
conference on Yemen is taking place in London in the attendance of
international and Arab Foreign Ministers, Yemeni Minister of Information Ahmed
al-Lozi told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Iranian Marjas are responsible for
financing the Huthi insurgency, and that the Iranian State is a threat to the
Arab world.
Speaking about the London conference, al-Lozi told Asharq Al-Awsat "If people
are patient they would see that the London conference is good for Yemen. We
have confidence in everybody who is participating in the London conference, and
we are confident that this is a conference that serves Yemeni national goals
and objectives."
However contrary to this, dozens of Yemeni scholars and tribal leaders met in
Sanaa yesterday in order to discuss the most recent developments in the Yemeni
arena, including the London conference. This meeting considered this conference
to indirectly be one of the "conspiracies launched against Yemen" and an
attempt to "internationalize the internal problems of the country." Yemeni
cleric and head of the Imam University, Sheikh Abdul Majid al-Zindani, was one
of the most prominent figures to attend this meeting.
In other news, the Yemeni government has recognized the need for urgent
economic and political reforms to help fight al Qaeda militancy which risks
threatening regional stability, according to a draft document at the scheduled
London international conference.
According to the Reuters news agency, major powers are committed to supporting
the Yemeni government which agreed to pursue discussions with the International
Monetary Fund to tackle the poverty which is conducive to radicalization.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called the meeting after a Yemen-based al
Qaeda affiliate said it was behind a failed attempt to blow up a U.S.-bound
plane with 300 people on board.
"The challenges in Yemen are growing and, if not addressed, risk threatening
the stability of the country and broader region," the statement said.
"The government of Yemen recognizes the urgent need to address these issues
which will take sustained and focused engagement," the statement added. Yemen
said it would pursue talks with the IMF as part of its reform program.
The Dec. 25 attack drove home how al Qaeda could threaten Western interests
from Yemen and highlighted the risk that it could become a failed state,
compounding security challenges already posed by lawless Somalia just across
the Gulf of Aden.
About 42 percent of Yemen's 23 million people live on less than $2 a day, the
World Bank says. The population is set to double in 20 years, but jobs are
already scarce and water resources are collapsing, making it easier for
militant groups such as al Qaeda to recruit disenchanted youths.
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