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Yemen

Yemen (Arabic language|Arabic: اليَمَن al-Yaman), officially the '''Republic of Yemen''' (Arabic language|Arabic: الجمهورية اليمنية al-Jumhuuriyya al-Yamaniyya) is an Arab country located on the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia. With a population of more than 20 million people, Yemen is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the North, the Red Sea to the West, the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden to the South, and Oman to the east. Yemen's territory includes over 200 islands, the largest of which is Socotra, about 415 kilometres (259 miles) to the south of Yemen, off the coast of Somalia. Yemen is the only republic on the Arabian Peninsula.

History

The land of Yemen is one of the oldest centers of civilization in the world. Between 2200 BC and the sixth century Anno Domini|AD, it was part of the Sabaean, Awsanian, Minaean, Qatabanian, Hadhramawtian, Himyarite, and some other kingdoms, which controlled the lucrative spice trade. It was known to the ancient Ancient Rome|Romans as ''Arabia Felix'' ("Happy Arabia") because of the riches its trade generated. Augustus Caesar attempted to annex it, but the expedition failed. The Ethiopian Kingdom of Aksum annexed it by around 520, and it was subsequently taken by the Sassanid dynasty|Sassanids Persians around 570. In the 3rd century and again and early seventh century, many Sabaean and Himyarite people migrated out of the land of Yemen following the destructions of the Ma'rib Dam (''sadd Ma'rib'') and migrated to North Africa and the northern part of the Arabian Peninsula. In the 7th century, Islamic caliphs began to exert control over the area. After the caliphate broke up, the former North Yemen came under the control of imams of various dynasties usually of the Zaidi sect, who established a theocratic political structure that survived until modern times. Egyptian Sunni caliphs occupied much of North Yemen throughout the 11th century|eleventh century. By the 16th century|sixteenth century and again in the 19th century|nineteenth century, north Yemen was part of the Ottoman Empire, and during several periods its imams exerted control over south Yemen. In 1839, the British occupied the port of Aden and established it as a colony in September of that year. They also set up a zone of loose alliances (known as protectorates) around Aden to act as a protective buffer. North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1918 and became a republic in 1962. In 1967, the British withdrew and gave back Aden to Yemen due to the extreme pressure of battles with the North and its Egyptian allies. After the British withdrawal, this area became known as South Yemen. The two countries were formally Political union|united as the Republic of Yemen on May 22 1990.

Politics

Yemen is a republic with a bicameral legislature. Under the constitution, an elected president, an elected 301-seat House of Representatives, and an appointed 111-member Shura|Shura Council share power. The president is head of state, and the prime minister is head of government. The constitution provides that the president be elected by popular vote from at least two candidates endorsed by at least fifteen members of the Parliament. The prime minister, in turn, is appointed by the president and must be approved by two thirds of the Parliament. The presidential term of office is seven years, and the parliamentary term of elected office is six years. Suffrage is universal for people age 18 and older. President of Yemen|President Ali Abdullah Saleh became the first elected President in reunified Yemen in 1999 (though he had been President of unified Yemen since 1990 and President of North Yemen since 1978). After an initial reluctance to run once more, he was re-elected to office in September 2006. Saleh's victory was marked by an election that international observers judged to be generally "free and fair".http://www.freedomhouse.org/inc/content/pubs/fiw/inc_country_detail.cfm?year=2007&country=7304&pf Popular demonstrations and editorials of support in major papers helped change his mind to run again. In April 2003, parliamentary elections were held, and the General People's Congress (GPC) maintained an absolute majority. There was a marked decrease from previous years in election-related violence. However, there were some problems with underage voting, confiscation of ballot boxes, voter intimidation, and election-related violence. The constitution calls for an independent judiciary. The former northern and southern legal codes have been unified. The legal system includes separate commercial courts and a Supreme Court based in San‘a’|Sana'a. Since the country is an Islamic state, the Islamic Law (Sharia) is the main source for laws. Indeed, many court cases are debated by the religious basis of the laws. For this reason, many judges are religious scholars as well as legal authorities. Unlike Saudi Arabia and other Islamic states, however, the consumption of alcohol by non-Muslims is tolerated, and the mild stimulant Khat|qat is chewed by Yemenis of all strata of society, despite being banned or frowned upon by other Muslim countries and groups.

Governorates and districts

As of February 2004, Yemen is divided into twenty governorates (''muhafazah'') and one municipality.Governorates of Yemen. The population of each governorate is listed in the table below.

Qat

Khat|Qat, also known as Khat (''Catha edulis'') is a large, slow growing, evergreen shrub, reaching a height of between 1 and 6 meters, in equatorial regions it may reach a height of 10 meters. (Qat plant) This plant is widely cultivated in Yemen and is generally used for chewing. When Khat juice is swallowed, its leaf juice has a caffeine-like effect. It is deeply rooted in Yemeni culture, which it has exported to its neighbours across the Gulf of Aden, Somalia, Djibouti and, to a lesser degree, Eritrea (where it is mainly consumed by ethnic Arabs of Yemeni and Rashaida origins). Khat is chewed by men and women. The cost of Khat is significant to the Yemeni economy for it both consumes a significant amount of water to grow and is seen by many to reduce the productivity of the people.

Cinema

The Yemeni film industry is in its early stages, there being only two Yemeni films as of 2008. Released in 2005, ''A New Day in Old Sana'a'' deals with a young man struggling between whether to go ahead with a traditional marriage or go with the woman he loves. In August 2008, Yemen’s Interior Minister Mutahar al-Masri supported the launch of a new feature film to educate the public about the consequences of Islamist extremism. "The Losing Bet" was produced by Fadl al-Olfi. The plot follows two Yemeni jihadis, who return from years living abroad. They are sent home by an Al Qaeda mastermind to recruit new members and carry out deadly operations in Yemen.http://www.pulitzercenter.org/openitem.cfm?id=1129 - Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, August 29, 2008

References

External links

Government
- List of Yemen government links
- Yemen Parliament homepage General information
- Yemeni Students Association Abroad
- BBC News Country Profile - ''Yemen''Economy
- Yemen Constitution Humanitarian news
- IRIN Yemen: humanitarian news and analysis
- Painstakingly slow progress on poverty reduction
- Qat cultivation threatening water resources
- Moves afoot to reduce number of fire-arms in cities
- Video short on the effect guns have on the local population in Yemen (03:08 - Windows Media Player) Other
- French Center for Archeology and Social Sciences CEFAS
- AAYSP: American Association of Yemeni Scientists and Professionals.
- Voter turnout, Gender quotas, Electoral system design and Political party financing in Yemen
- Cnn News Report on the eruption Category:Yemen| Category:Middle Eastern countries Category:Arab League member states Category:Arabic-speaking countries Category:Least Developed Countries zh-min-nan:Yemen be-x-old:Емэн simple:Yemen bat-smg:Jemens

Related Images

- Governorates of Yemen
- Governorates of Yemen (Arabic names)

Sources: StartLearningNow, Wikipedia | Usage license: GNU FDL

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