SANAA, Yemen, May 24 (UPI) -- Yemen has been active in combating terrorism. But of late, this country on the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula has a new concern, Somalia, where al-Qaida is reported to have established a new foothold in the region. Separated from Yemen by a narrow waterway, the Yemenis fear Somalia's instability could spill over into other countries in the region.
Somalia "is a source of concern," Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu-Bakr Abdallah al-Qurbi, told United Press International during an interview in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa. Al-Qurbi said other countries in the region, such as Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti were also concerned.
"Any spot like Somalia where there is no stability and where extremist elements are gathering is not only a danger to itself but also to surrounding countries," al-Qurbi said.
Questioned on the dangers of al-Qaida moving bases to Somalia, al-Qurbi said the United States and a number of Western countries which have a presence in the Gulf of Aden and the African Horn "are watching any movement between the African and Yemeni coasts." They include France, Germany and Italy.
The minister told UPI there were "expectations that members of al-Qaida are trying to infiltrate from the African Horn to Yemen and through it to other regions."
He emphasized that Yemen was keen to help re-stabilize Somalia and establish a legitimate government to prevent "extremist and terrorist elements from exploiting" the deteriorating conditions in Mogadishu.
"The real solution lies in the need of establishing a strong Somali state, government and security services and not to let any militia there bullying the other (militias)," al-Qurbi said, expressing fears that Somalia might face the same fate of Afghanistan.
Yemen has been working behind the scene to try and contain the fighting among Somali factions. Gunmen loyal to Islamic courts are currently facing off against an alliance of warlords believed to be backed by the United States. Last February, Yemen hosted a reconciliation meeting that ended with an agreement to convene the Somali parliament whose members were elected in Kenya. But continuing street fighting in Mogadishu has so far killed 155 people and wounded hundreds others.
Al-Qurbi referred to "many promises by donor states," including European Union and Arab countries, to help Somalia rebuild its institutions, police and armed forces "but regretfully such assistance is extremely slow at a time the Somali government is facing huge difficulties in paying salaries for the Army, police forces and the parliamentarians."
"This weakens the ability of the government to control the country and allows warlords, with money flowing to them legally and illegally, to carry out their plans and obstruct government efforts in consolidating security in Somalia," he said
But while Yemen continues to cooperate with the United States in combating terrorism, they have also initiated dialogue with Muslim "extremists." Those are said to have yielded good results.
"The government and security services have really succeeded in controlling the extremists and terrorists. In comparison with other countries in the region, Yemen was the least to have been targeted by terrorist operations for the past three years," said al-Qurbi.
The last such terrorist operation was the Oct. 6, 2002 bombing in the Gulf of Aden of French oil tanker, the Limburg, which was carrying crude oil from Iran to Malaysia. One crew member was killed and 12 others injured. The bombing was claimed by al-Qaida. The Limburg was hit two years after the attack on the USS Cole.
Yemen's successful experience in combating terrorism, said the minister, is due to the fact that the authorities did not solely rely on the military, "but also engaged the society in confronting this phenomenon and initiated dialogue with the extremists."
As a result, many who were seized on suspicion of terrorism were released, but al-Qurbi emphasized, that it is illogical to say that "al-Qaida danger is over."
Despite its cooperation with Washington in combating terrorism, Yemen was criticized by the U.S. administration over human rights violations and widespread corruption during a trip by Yemeni President Ali Abdallah Saleh to Washington last November.
Al-Qurbi said his country "is annoyed" by such criticism, "because we are fully aware that there is a political will to introduce reforms, boost democracy and fight corruption... but many forget the cost of such reforms."
He cited as example Yemen's needs for $13 billion to reform its educational sector while donor states have barely offered $200 million per year. He acknowledged that such funds might have been misused "but this is another issue and we have already a reform program to combat corruption."
Talking about U.S. pressures to organize free and democratic presidential elections due next September, Al-Qurbi referred to the amendment of the election law, saying "anyone could present his candidacy."
The minister complained that while the U.S. was pushing for democratic changes in the Arab world, while Western countries "are adopting laws that contradict human rights."
He cited the case of Sheikh Mohammed al-Moayed, a member of the Yemeni Reform Party's Shoura Council, who was arrested in Germany in 2004 as a result of a joint U.S.-German intelligence operation on charges of channeling $20 million to al-Qaida and of collecting funds for Hamas. Al-Moayed, who was sentenced to 75 years in prison and fined $500,000, is currently serving his sentence in a New York jail.
"Al-Moayed was arrested and sentenced by the U.S. in an illegal way," al-Qurbi said.
Yemen is expecting to take back a number of prisoners from among 110 Yemenis held prisoner in Guantanamo. So far, only four Yemeni prisoners were released from the notorious detention camp in Cuba and regained freedom after spending two additional years in a Yemeni prison.
Al-Qurbi said U.S. authorities provided Sanaa with a list of 18 prisoners to be freed but "we are checking because we are unsure they are all Yemenis. We agreed on taking back 15 of them..."
Another shaky issue between Yemen and the United States is the case of Abdel Majid al-Zandani, the head of the opposition Reform Party's Shoura Council and founder of the religious Iman (Faith) University who was included in a U.N. Security Council list that accuses 24 people of funding terrorism.
Al-Qurbi said Yemen asked the removal of al-Zandani from such a list "because they presented no proof on his involvement (in funding terrorism) or give us any justification for including his name." Yemen wants proof.
After Yemen agreed to reform its economy and attract Gulf investments, there is a chance it will be able to join the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council.
