SALEH CELEBRATES UNIFICATION DAY ALA KIM JUNG IL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 001376

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/25/2015
TAGS: PREL YM DOMESTIC POLITICS
SUBJECT: SALEH CELEBRATES UNIFICATION DAY ALA KIM JUNG IL


Classified By: Ambassador Thomas C. Krajeski for reasons 1.4 b and d.


1. (C) Summary. Ambassador along with twenty-five other
foreign Ambassadors and thousands of other invited guests
attended the 15th commemoration of Yemen's unification on May

22. In what turned out to be a remarkable and contentious
decision, President Saleh held this year's festivities in the
southern port city of Mukalla. Although a number of world
leaders were invited, the highest-ranking officials in
attendance were Arab League Secretary General Amr Musa and
the Prime Minister of Djibouti. The ceremony, which involved
speeches, songs, and thousands of colorfully dressed
synchronized dancers, all praising Yemen's President and
leader, caused many of our diplomatic colleagues and many
local observers to comment on Saleh's increasing tendency to
portray himself as the indispensable, wise leader in the run
up to the 2006 presidential election. End Summary.

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Coverage of President Bush's Letter
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2. (U) President Bush's letter congratulating President Saleh
on Unity Day was widely covered in the press and received top
billing in official al-Thawra, above that of French President
Chirac. In the receiving line prior to the ceremony,
President Saleh expressed his personal thanks to Ambassador
for President Bush's letter. Ambassador's op-ed piece on the
importance of unification day also received wide, positive
coverage.

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Cult of Personality
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3. (SBU) Since the beginning of May, sole broadcast outlet
government-run Yemen TV has aired special reports with
dogmatic rhetoric and extensive archival and current footage
of President Saleh, highlighting his achievements as unifier
and sole leader of the State. Saleh addressed the nation on
Yemen TV the evening of May 21, followed by live coverage of
the President driving his car and walking in downtown Mukalla
being rushed by a 'spontaneous' crowd chanting "long life to
Saleh."


4. (C) During the seaside celebration on May 22, 6000 young
boys and girls danced and sang a song called "the great
transformation" hailing Saleh as their wise leader.
Observers were immediately reminded of North Korean parades
as thousands of dancers dressed in color-synchronized
costumes performed in honor of Saleh. Chinese and Syrian
advisors reportedly choreographed the performance. In the
grand finale a massive Yemeni flag with a giant superimposed
image of Saleh was raised above the throng of multi-colored
marchers as a huge yellow dirigible festooned with ribbons
and another gigantic picture of Ali Abdullah waving to his
people drifted behind the gathered masses. One observer
remarked, wryly, "L'etat c'est Ali."

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Opposition Parties Criticize Celebration
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5. (U) In the style typical of the regional press, government
and opposition papers alike carried pages of congratulatory
messages to President Saleh and page sized picture of the
President in patriotic poses, in addition to extensive
coverage of the celebration. All political parties expressed
good wishes to the Yemeni people. Two major opposition
parties, however, used the occasion to criticize the ROYG as
well. Islah commented that the party rejects using Unity Day
to promote a one-party system, and the Yemeni Socialist Party
(YSP) commented that the extravagant nature of the
celebration was inappropriate given Yemen's dire economic
conditions.

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The Mukalla Controversy
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6. (C) In the run up to the May 22 festivities, ROYG and
opposition figures close to the Embassy discussed the
controversial choice of the Mukalla venue. In a reportedly
spur of the moment decision, Saleh declared Mukalla as the
site, over many ROYG officials objection due to the high
costs of moving the entire government south due to
infrastructure, security, and other logistical requirements.
Several high level officials complained to Ambassador and
other EmbOffs of a 300 Million USD price tag for moving the
venue from the capital. (Comment: Although the cost was no
doubt high, this number is exaggerated and likely includes
multiple infrastructure development projects that were
underway in Mukalla long before the decision to hold the
ceremonies there. Nevertheless, the projected cost of the
festivities became a rallying point for those critical of
ROYG waste and corruption. End Comment).
Krajeski