At
last, the
parliament could hit the nil on the head and come up with a
very good fact-finding report on the
plight of the al-Ja''ashin area in
Ibb governorate. The area has been suffering at the hands of the
oppressive
influential council member Mohammed Ahmed Mansur. The
parliament report has caused controversy over the last few weeks, and
some influential figures at parliament wanted to bury its clear
condemnation of Mansur''s oppressive acts against his people. The report
called for the firing of the Ibb governor who with Mansour, helped in
the eviction and intimidation of more than 400 families in the
Al-Ja’ashin district.The parliament did a good job when it
ordered the interior ministry, which has become very idle, to act
swiftly to address the question of private jails that shame the history
of modern Yemen. It is disgusting that in the 21st century some
influential figures still have their own private jails, and it is also
a clear infringement on the law and constitution. The governor
and local authority members of Ibb, as the parliament report
pinpointed, should be held accountable for their failure to address the
dilemma of the al-Ja''ashin people, being lenient with the influential
Sheikh. Not only had they kept silent, they even stood by the oppressor
and tried to justify his acts, for they considered the protest from the
people of al-Ja''ashin in Sana''a a sort of politically motivated
showdown. Last Thursday, I read at the al-Motamar website that
the governor of Ibb Ali al-Qaisi ordered that water supply to
al-Ja''ashin which has been disrupted by Mansur to be returned. The man
took this action just after the parliament report condemned his silence
over the problem of al-Ja''ashin people. He previously said he knew
about their problem just from the media and that no complaints have
been addressed to him. Wow! Now, he knows and he admits that there is a
problem. This is really ridiculous and he should be held accountable
for these acts of irresponsibility. In fact, if our parliament
functions as it should, a lot of mistakes and wrongdoings will be
addressed.