MER Article A Tale of Two Families Virtually every aspect of life in North Yemen has changed dramatically since 1977, including those aspects of Yemeni society which represent continuity with the past: tribalism, rural life and use of qat. [1] The driving force for change has been economic. By 1975, Yemen was caught up in the dramati Cynthia Myntti, Sheila Carapico • 13 min read
MER Article "Eventually There Can Only Be an Arab Solution" Amb. ‘Abdallah al-Ashtal is Yemen’s representative to the United Nations. He served as ambassador for the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen from 1971 until May 1990, when he became the representative of the newly unified Republic of Yemen. In March and December 1990, he chaired the UN Security C James Paul • 7 min read
MER Article Moscow's Crisis Management In January 1986, a major crisis broke out within the leadership of the Yemeni Socialist Party, the ruling party in the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen. In two weeks of fighting many thousands of people lost their lives, and afterward between 30,000 and 70,000 fled to neighboring North Yemen. Fred Halliday • 16 min read
MER Article The Last Days of 'Ali Nasir The full story of the bloody crisis that tore apart the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY) in January 1986 has yet to be told, but more information is now becoming available on how President ‘Ali Nasir Muhammad was overthrown and forced to flee the country. Jean Gueyras • 11 min read
MER Article Letters (March/April 1986) Nuclear Dumping in Sudan and Somalia? (Author not identified) • 2 min read
MER Article Lackner, P.D.R. Yemen Helen Lackner, P.D.R. Yemen: Outpost of Socialist Development in Arabia, (London: Ithaca Press, 1985). It is hard to imagine a more timely publishing event than the appearance of Helen Lackner’s new book on the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen, given the crisis that engulfed that country this Joe Stork • 2 min read
MER Article Catastrophe in South Yemen How can social tensions be managed and policy differences resolved by ruling socialist parties in poverty-stricken Third World states? On January 13, 1986, this question defeated the Yemeni Socialist Party in a devastating spasm of civil war. Parallels can be drawn between the South Yemeni trauma an Fred Halliday • 11 min read
MER Article The Yemenis of the San Joaquin Musa (“Moses”) Saleh laughs now at his expectations as a new immigrant to the United States. “We were fooled,” he says, reflecting on the first morning when he prepared for his new job as an apricot picker in California. “We didn’t know what kind of work our Yemeni friends had been doing here…. I dr Ron Kelley • 15 min read
MER Article Stookey, South Yemen Robert Stookey, South Yemen: A Marxist Republic in Arabia (Boulder: Westview Press, 1982). Fred H. Lawson • 1 min read
MER Article Bidwell, The Two Yemens Robin Bidwell, The Two Yemens (Boulder: Westview Press, 1983). Robin Bidwell was a British political officer in Western Aden Protectorate from 1955 to 1959, and has written five other volumes on the Arabian Peninsula. Most of this new work deals with the region subsequent to the British seizure of Jon C. Swanson • 1 min read
MER Article Memories of a Sentimental Education I was supposed to set an example. Voluntary Service Overseas was in its second year in 1959 and two of us were here on a pound a week plus keep, to be examples. Nineteen-year-old examples. A year before university, you’ll have a wonderful experience. It was, too. The students in Form 2A were not wh Michael Gilsenan • 9 min read
MER Article "We Must Be Realistic About Our Goals" “Al-Hamdani” is the nom de guerre of a representative of the Yemeni People's Unity Party. MERIP spoke with him in February 1984. (Author not identified) • 8 min read
