SANA'A: Sheikh Mohamed Abu Lohoom, a prominent Yemeni politician and former ally of the regime, warned that the international community needed to exert pressure on the dictator in order to save the region from further instability. The sheikh, who has been for the past 2 months in Washington DC, discussing the Yemeni dossier with American officials has on many occasions stressed the importance of a political resolution to the current popular uprising, as he feared an armed conflict would trigger a devastating chain reaction within the Arabic Peninsula. Abu Lohoom warned the Canadian press that the international community had better to pay attention to events in Yemen if it didn't want group such as al-Qaeda to further establish their bases in the region. “Al Qaeda does not have roots or a strong base yet – and I stress the term yet – in Yemen. If the international community keeps hesitating about taking serious initiatives, serious steps towards getting the power transferred, if you ask me where will al Qaeda be in 2012 or 2013, I will tell you yes they will have a strong base in Yemen.” In regards to a possible power-transfer in Yemen where President Ali Abdallah Saleh would agree to transfer his authority to his Vice-President, the sheikh said that Saleh was likely to hold on unless forced out. What the sheikh said he would like to see the UNSC freeze Saleh's assets as well as those of his family, impose a travel ban on all his associates and finally ban all weapons import into the country. “I would hope that the Canadians would take this step before everybody else. It doesn't cost them anything. It has a moral responsibility, a moral duty and it will show that Canadians are in the direction of peace and stability in that area,” he said. He further added “we will not need any air power and we will not encourage anybody to send any troops to Yemen because we can handle the situation ourselves.” Sheikh Abu Lohoom who has spent several years trying to change things from within as a member of the ruling party is now reassuring the West that Yemen can indeed deal with matters such as terrorism without Ali Abdullah Saleh, stressing that in fact with the proper support his country, it could become a valuable partner in the fight against terrorism. “The Arab Spring will open new horizons, will open a new way that we can build new relationships. This is a good sign that there is no audience for al Qaeda. This is one of the best ways of fighting al Qaeda, by giving people hope and faith and by showing people that you do really care about their issues and worries.” BM
