HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR NEW CHIEF OF YEMENI

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 002162

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/06/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM KMCA KMPI KWMN YM DOMESTIC POLITICS
SUBJECT: HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR NEW CHIEF OF YEMENI
SOCIALIST PARTY

Classified By: DCM Nabeel Khoury for reasons 1.4 b and d.


1. (SBU) Summary. Amidst calls of "Enough corruption! Enough
plundering!" and "Let's put unity back on track," the Yemen
Socialist Party (YSP),Yemen's third most influential
political party, concluded its Fifth Annual Conference on
July 31. The conference wrapped up with the election of a
new secretary general, Dr. Yassin Saeed Noman, a resolution
to several heated "conservative" vs. "progressive" debates,
and the release of a final Communiqu. End Summary.


2. (SBU) The YSP conducted its Fifth Annual National
Convention July 26-31 in Sanaa. The Convention, attended by
more than 2000 delegates from across the country, was touted
as the YSP's last chance to re-ignite itself after suffering
from political stagnation since the 2002 assassination of its
powerful deputy SYG, Jarallah Omar.

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"The Best Thing To Happen in Yemen Since 1994!"
-------------- --


3. (SBU) On July 30, Yassin Saeed Noman became the YSP's
third SYG since Yemeni unification, after incumbent Ali Saleh
Obaid Muqbil stepped down for health reasons. Noman takes
leadership of the YSP at time when the party is perhaps the
weakest in its history as a result of Omar's death and losing
a large number of its leadership to exile after the 1994
Civil War.


4. (C) Noman, who returned from self imposed exile abroad
nearly two years ago, is well respected in Yemeni political
circles for his performance as the first Speaker of
Parliament following Unification. His acceptance of the
nomination sparked widespread congratulations from Yemeni
political figures across the political spectrum. No one was
more pleased than SYG of the ruling GPC party, Dr. Abdul
Karim al-Iryani, who reportedly called Noman from Germany to
thank him for taking the job the night of the election.


5. (C) Deputy Foreign Minister Mustafa Noman, who is "good
friends" with, but not related to, Yassin Saeed Noman,
described the new YSP head as a "good man of solid national
reputation. Everyone is optimistic he can revive the whole
political spectrum," DFM Noman told DCM on August 2, adding
that the new SYG nominee was not tainted by involvement in
the "bloody era of the south" and has made his reputation as
a competent technocrat. DFM Noman told DCM he was with SYG
nominee Noman the night of the nomination and that the latter
had some trepidation about accepting until a phone call from
President Saleh persuaded his to take the post. DFM Noman
said Iryani also called that night, praising Noman's election
as "the best thing to happen in Yemen since the civil war in
1994."

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High Expectations from All
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6. (C) There are high expectations for the New Secretary
General, which may explain the reluctance to accept the
position until President Saleh's urging. Political
observers, including long time YSP Central Committee member
Abdullah Mohammed, expect that SYG nominee Noman will be able
to strengthen the party's internal structures, badly damaged
from endemic infighting since 1994. Moderates within the
leading opposition party, Islah, hope some real competition
from the Socialists will force Islah's conservative
leadership to push forward with their reform agenda. The
ROYG is hoping for a more "responsible" opposition with Noman
leading the YSP.


7. (SBU) Noman's appointment piggybacked on the election of a
301-member Central Committee responsible for formulating the
YSP's platform and electing its Politburo leadership. The
elections, described by convention participants and local
media as "fair and transparent," elected 8 members of
parliament, 40 women, and 13 YSP leaders currently in exile
to the powerful committee.

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Heated Debate And A Call For Unity
--------------


8. (SBU) The Conference, which was closed to the general
public, concluded on July 31, three days later than expected.
Press observers told Poloff that the delay was caused by
several heated debates on platform and leadership issues.
The debate was split between two trends: A conservative "old
guard," which insists that the ROYG remedy its past actions
against the YSP as a precondition to the YSP's political
participation, and "progressive unionists," who advocated
immediate political participation. Newspapers also reported
that "unionists" won a slight majority over the conservatives
in the Politburo, the YSP's 29-person body charged with
running the party.


9. (SBU) The convention was also peppered with calls on the
ROYG to reinvigorate "true" national unity. Senior YSP
member Mohammed Masdos led the charge, calling on Saleh to
begin a dialogue with the YSP in order to remove the "effects
of war" and find "the path to unity." Several times
throughout the convention, other speakers called for "true
unity" supported by chants declaring, "The YSP is for unity!"
and demanding, "dialogue for reform!"

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The Final Communiqu
--------------


10. (SBU) the convention published its final communiqu on
August 1, calling for a national plan to fight corruption, a
political system that puts rule of law above all, and urging
the ROYG to secure civil liberties and human rights. The
official platform, released to party members, will be
distributed to the press and public in the near future.


11. (SBU) Comment: The convention seems to have breathed new
life into a party reeling from infighting and stagnation
since the assassination of Jarallah Omar. The new SYG must
convince his followers to stop fretting about the past and
formulate a realistic political and strategic plan for moving
forward. If the YSP fails to look forward, it will lose this
last chance to become a party with any political relevance to
Yemenis. Although there were many calls for dialogue with
the ROYG and for "true unity," the party has yet to
articulate what this really means or how it expects to
achieve it. This phrase could reflect the party's
willingness to join other parties, including the GPC, in
order to achieve "unity" and, more importantly, to survive.
End Comment.
Krajeski