MARIB: ALL POLITICS IS LOCAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 000882

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/23/2009
TAGS: PGOV PREL YM DOMESTIC POLITICS
SUBJECT: MARIB: ALL POLITICS IS LOCAL

REF: SANAA 857

Classified By: Ambassador E.J. Hull for reasons 1.5 b. and d.

1.(U) Summary: As part of a USG initiative to encourage
development and security in the underdeveloped governorates
of Yemen, Ambassador traveled to Marib to initiate USG
assistance in agriculture, to study cultural preservation and
to review progress on the U.S. efforts to train and equip the
Marib Presidential hospital. The visit took place in the
final days of the parliamentary election campaign. According
to Marib Governor Nassi, the Islah party could win two out of
the three seats of the Marib district. End Summary


2. (U) On April 20 and 21 Ambassador led a delegation to
visit Marib, a conservative and tribal-dominated eastern
governorate to sign an implementing agreement on agricultural
projects with the Governor of Marib, visit the hospital to
which the USG is providing 5.3 million dollars of equipment
and training assistance, and engage in discussions regarding
the future location of a USG-funded museum.

--------------
USG Assistance to Marib
--------------


3. (U) Marib Governor Abdulla Nassi welcomed Ambassador and
signed the proposal initiating the first phase of
agricultural assistance for irrigation, rural women's
development, livestock management, and seed multiplication.
The agreement also allows for the USG to bring electricity to
an agricultural research center that will serve the
governorates of Al-Jowf and Shabwa to develop shade and green
houses. Research will be conducted with the aim of
establishing a second growing season comprised of cash crops
for Marib and to determine ways to fight prevalent plant
diseases. Governor Nassi asked for additional assistance in
bringing local agricultural products to market, canning and
preserving, irrigation, and help in establishing the mining
industry of Marib.


4. (U) Ambassador stressed that the U.S. is currently
providing nearly USD 8 million in assistance for Marib
residents. At the Presidential Hospital, the Ambassador
visited with 15 of the 161 students who were all selected
from the Marib governorate and funded by the USG to study at
institutes throughout Yemen and return to staff the hospital.
The building itself is paid for by ROYG oil revenue, and the
USG is providing 5.3 million dollars for training and
equipping the hospital. Note: Marib governorate is also where
Yemen-Hunt has its main drilling facilities. End Note.


5. (U) In an effort to encourage tourism in Marib, the
ancient home of the Sabaen kingdom and the Queen of Sheba,
the USG is studying a proposal to build a museum to house
antiquities. The Ambassador visited the storage facility
where many of the ancient artifacts are stored haphazardly on
the governor's compound, and initiated discussion on the
location of the museum. (Comment: Rumors that foreign
archeologists, including Americans, are taking artifacts out
of Marib is a continuing source of tension. End Comment.)

--------------
Islah Permeates Marib
--------------


6. (U) At a dinner hosted by the Ambassador for project
stakeholders, Governor Nassi told Ambassador that he believed
Islah would gain one seat in the upcoming parliamentary
elections on April 27, giving Islah two out of the three
districts in Marib. Describing himself as a soccer referee
who happens to favor one side, the Governor explained that
Islah is extremely active in the local community, focusing
their campaign on the economy and social services. Islah's
popularity was clearly visible: several rock formations in
the shape of the Islah party sun symbol lined the road to
Sanaa, on the return the delegation passed a large, loud
convoy supporting Islah, and banners were hung on houses,
trucks, and businesses. Nassi described the present
electoral system as a modern system overlaying traditional
tribal organization and has called on tribal custom to keep
violence down. But, Nassi added, tribal allegiances do not
necessarily follow party lines, and many tribes were offering
candidates in both Islah and GPC parties for the elections.


7. (U) At a local primary girls' school, the Ambassador
toured classrooms that had just received 100 of the 4,000
school desks provided by the USG to Marib. Local officials
told the Ambassador that some of the schools that had
received desks had had no place for the children to sit. At
the girls' school, Islah party literature was visible on the
outer walls, and above the entrance a banner promised that
Islah would provide a better future and eliminate women's
suffering. The curriculum appeared overly religious to
members of the national press who commented negatively on the
strong religious overtones in the teaching methods and signs
on the walls.


8. (U) Fanda Al-Amri, chairperson of the Union of Women and
Child Development Association and principal of the girls'
school where the delegation visited, gave Pol/Econoff a range
of requests for the women of Marib. Explaining that the
short growing season makes it difficult for vegetables to be
consumed year-round, she requested assistance in providing
local women with knowledge on how to can and preserve food.
Turning to education, she said that there is one girls'
secondary school serving the whole district of Marib and
often parents do not want the daughters to travel the long
distance necessary to attend. At the same school, she
continued, there are no chemistry and physics teachers, which
excludes the girls from taking national qualifying exam
should they wish to further their education.


9. (C) Comment: The political race in Marib will be
determined by who can demonstrate that his party can provide
more services and reforms to serve the local population. An
education leader, prominent in local women's organizations,
Al-Amri represents Islah's popularity in Marib. She voiced
frustrations with that Ministry of Education's inability to
provide basic education to the girls of Marib, but also
directly appealed for USG assistance in that area. She proves
that despite anti-US rhetoric by some factions of Islah, her
reason for political alignment is at least in part based on
who she believes will help the girls of Marib.
HULL