Yemen/Saudi Arabia: The Yemeni National Opposition Front and whether it had/has an office in Jeddah; the function and activities of its military affairs section; the whereabouts of Haidar Abu Bakr al-Attas; information on another specific individual

On 30 September 1994 "[s]outhern Yemeni leaders, defeated and exiled by the civil war [in July 1994], made a surprise appearance in London ... to announce the formation of a National Opposition Front [MOWJ]" (Middle East International 7 Oct. 1994). The leaders formed a "seven-man delegation," which included Haydar Abu Bakr al-Attas (ibid.) and which is led by Abd al-Rahman al-Jifri (ibid.; Yemen Times 24-30 Jan. 2000). MOWJ is comprised of five opposition parties (AFP 24 June 1998), is not considered "legitimate" by the Yemeni government and its activities are banned in the country (Yemen Times 24-30 Jan. 2000).

Information on whether the MOWJ had or has an office in Jeddah could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. However, Al-Majallah, the MOWJ's newspaper, quoted al-Jifri as stating "we do not carry out political activities from the territories of other Arab countries because we are aware of the delicate relations that exist between Yemen and these countries and we do not want to cause any embarrassment for anyone and we do not want to become the instrument of the prevention of any inter-Arab rapprochement" (9 May 1996).

No reference to a military affairs section within the MOWJ or to the other specific individual named in the Information Request could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

No information aside from that contained in YEM40658.E of 20 December 2002 concerning the whereabouts of Haydar Abu Bakr al-Attas could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. However, Al-Majallah quoted al-Jifri as stating that al-Attas is still an MOWJ member and that he had met with al-Jifri in Cairo (9 May 1996). The news report did not indicate when this meeting took place.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Agence France Presse (AFP). 24 June 1998. "Yemen Fuel Price Protests Claim 13 More Lives: Opposition." (NEXIS)

Al-Majallah [London, in Arabic]. 9 May 1996. "Other Reports: Opposition Leader Says Change Must Come From Within Yemen." (BBC Summary 10 May 1996/NEXIS)

Middle East International[London]. 7 October 1994. No. 485. Brian Whitaker. "Yemen: National Opposition Front."

Yemen Times [Sana'a, in English]. 24-30 January 2000. Vol. X, Issue 4. "MOWJ Denies Claims of Clandestine Contacts with the Government." [Accessed 27 Mar. 2003]

Additional Sources Consulted

Countries of the World and Their Leaders Year Book 2003

IRB Databases

Political Handbook of the World 1999

Political Parties of the World

World News Connection

Internet sites, including:

Ain-Al-Yaqeen (no searchable archives)

Al-Bawaba

Amnesty International

Arab News [Jeddah]

BBC

European Country of Origin Information Network (ECOI)

Government of Yemen, Ministry of Information

Middle East Review of International Affairs

Middle East Times

National Opposition Front (cannot be accessed, appears unoperational)

The New Ridyadh Daily (no search engine)

Yemen Gateway

Yemen News Agency (no search engine)

Yemen Times

Search engine:

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