Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
against the country), and in doing so managed to alienate not only the US and its allies,
but also its Gulf neighbours, in particular Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. This led to the expul-
sion of over one million Yemeni emigrant workers from Saudi Arabia and devastated the
economy.
On the home front things also began to sour and the YSP and its members started to
feel increasingly marginalised by the GPC and its coalition partner Islah.
Eventually tensions came to a head, and in 1994 civil war again broke out between the
north and the south. Bidh's attempts to secede from the north were quashed, and he fled
the country.
The country was reunified shortly afterwards and the GPC again swept to power in
elections held in 1997.
In September 1999 the country held its first-ever presidential election, and Saleh was
re-elected as the country's president.
September 11 & Beyond
Following the attacks of 11 September 2001, Yemen was viewed with suspicion by the
US. With its remote, unruly and little-policed interior, Yemen was suspected of providing
- even unwittingly - a refuge for Al-Qaeda members and supporters, as well as supplying
a bolt-hole for militant Islamists. A number of incidents encouraged this perception. In
October 2000 the US warship the
USS Cole
was bombed in Aden harbour, killing 17 US
servicemen. Following this the French supertanker, the
Limburg,
was bombed in 2002. In
an effort to avoid further isolation, the Yemeni government was very quick to sign up to
the USA's 'War on Terror'.
In the 2006 presidential elections, Saleh was re-elected by a large margin in elections
that international monitors declared largely free and fair. The general consensus among
the populace, however, was that after so many years under his rule it was a case of better
the devil you know.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Government & Politics
Yemen's first constitution came into force in 1991. Under this system, the president is
head of the executive and is elected every seven years; the last presidential election was
held in September 2006, the next one was due in 2013. However, the protests of
2010-2012 and the fall of Saleh led to special elections being held in February 2012 (fur-
