TIME: Almanac 1990s

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<text id=93CT1921> <link 90TT1420> <link 89TT0094> <title> Yemen (South)--History </title> <history> Compact ALMANAC--CIA Factbook Southwest Asia Yemen </history> <article> <source>CIA World Factbook</source> <hdr> History </hdr> <body> Between 1200 B.C. and the sixth century A.D., what is now the P.D.R.Y. was part of the Minaean, Sabaean, and Himyarite kingdoms. The Himyarites were conquered in A.D. 525 by Christian Ethiopians, who were conquered by the Persians 50 years later. Islam was introduced in the seventh century, but the highland regions did not fall under the rule of Islamic religious leaders until the ninth century. The coastal area subsequently came under the nominal control of Egyptians in the 11th century and Turks in the 16th century. Aden was a small fishing port when it was captured by the British in 1839, but it became an important coaling station as the use of steam-powered ships increased. After the Suez Canal opened in 1869, Aden became important as a trading city. It was ruled as a part of British India until 1937, when it was made a crown colony directly under the Colonial Office. To protect their foothold in Aden, the British established authority in the hinterland. Eventually, through a number of protection treaties, the United Kingdom extended its influence eastward into the area known historically as the Hadhramaut. In 1962, 15 of the 16 Western Protectorate states, one of the four states of the Eastern Protectorate, and Aden Colony joined to form the Federation of South Arabia. British efforts to prepare the federation for full independence by 1968 (as agreed in a treaty signed in 1959) were complicated by two major factors. One was the enormous difference between the busy, modern port at Aden--with its large, foreign population and strong trade union movement--and the poor, tradition-oriented, agriculturally based, small sheikhdoms and sultanates of the protectorates. The second factor was the rising tide of Arab nationalism. In 1965, two rival nationalist groups--the Front for the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen (FLOSY) and the National Liberation Front (NLF)--turned to terrorism in their struggle for control of the country. FLOSY was associated with the sizable Nasserite Egyptian presence in neighboring Y.A.R., which was supporting the republican faction against the royalists deposed in 1952. In 1967, in the face of rising violence, British troops began withdrawing from sections of Aden, the capital at al-Ittihad, and the protectorate states. Federal rule collapsed. NLF elements seized control, often after bloody fighting with FLOSY, which had been weakened by Egyptian withdrawal from the Y.A.R. after Egypt's catastrophic defeat in the June 1967 war with Israel. The British, having announced their intention to deal with any indigenous group capable of forming a new government, met with the NLF at Geneva. Following these negotiations South Arabia, including Aden, was declared independent on November 30, 1967, and was renamed the People's Republic of South Yemen. During the early period of its independence, South Yemen was ruled by a three-man presidential council and a council of ministers. The NLF was the dominant political force, although a communist and a Ba'ath party also existed. On June 22, 1969, a radical wing of the NLF gained power and changed the country's name to the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen on December 1, 1970. In August, 1971, a more radical NLF group achieved power at the expense of Prime Minister Muhammad Ali Haytham. In 1978, President Salim Rubbaya Ali was over-thrown in a bloody coup and executed by Abdul Fatah Ismail, who assumed the presidency. P.D.R.Y. enacted a new constitution and amalgamated the three political parties into one, the Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP), which became the only legal party. The governments of P.D.R.Y. and the Y.A.R had declared in 1972 that they considered the two countries to be one nation, which should be united in the future. However, little progress was made toward unification, and relations were often strained. Simmering tensions led to the outbreak in early 1979 of border fighting, and P.D.R.Y. troops occupied Y.A.R. territory. After the intervention of the Arab League, the troops withdrew. During a summit meeting in Kuwait in March 1979, the presidents of both countries reiterated their support for the objective of uniting the two states. However, President Abdul Fatah Ismail that year established the National Democratic Front (NDF) insurgency against Y.A.R. In April 1980, Abdul Fatah Ismail resigned, ostensibly for health reasons, and was exiled and replaced by Ali Nasir Muhammad. The new president adopted a less interventionist stance toward his Arab neighbors after 1982, and both the NDF insurgency and a similar movement against the government in Oman were reined in. However, internal opposition to Ali Nasir was growing and, in August 1985, gained focus with Ismail's return from his Moscow exile. A YSP conference in October 1985 did little to reduce the tensions arising from his return. On January 13, 1986, a violent struggle began in Aden between Ali Nasir Muhammad and Abdul Fatah Ismail and their supporters. Fighting lasted for more than 1 month and resulted in Ali Nasir's ouster and Ismail's death. The prime minister, Haydar Abu Bakr Al-Attas, assumed the presidency. A period of instability followed and continued into the summer of 1986. Since then, the situation has stabilized, although the government remains beset by internal rivalries. Former President Ali Nasir Muhammad continues in exile in the Y.A.R. together with nearly 60,000 followers and dependents. Current Political Conditions The 1978 establishment of a one-party system created a government and party structure modeled on the communist regimes of the U.S.S.R and Eastern Europe. The YSP secretary general heads a seven-member politburo which directs party functions. Party cells have been established throughout the state, and mass organizations of workers, peasants, and women have been established. Recent news reports indicate, however, that the YSP, influenced by the changes occurring in Eastern Europe, is considering allowing opposition groups to form political parties. The highest legislative body is the 120-member Supreme People's Council, whose members were last elected in November 1986 from candidates put forward by the YSP. The Supreme People's Council elects a presidium, whose leader functions as head of state, and a council of ministers. The close interrelationship between party and state was underlined in 1980, when the president also held the functions of party secretary general and prime minister. Administratively, P.D.R.Y. is divided into six governorates--Aden, Lahij, Abyan, Shabwah, Hadhramaut, and al-Mahrah. The governorates are closely controlled by the central government and are subdivided into districts. Source: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Public Affairs, December 1989. </body> </article> </text>