| Submit your comments on this article |
| Arabia |
| Yemen Could shift political capital to Aden |
| 2012-01-18 |
| [Yemen Post] The Yemeni government reconsiders shifting the political capital from Sana'a to Aden, government sources reported. The sources said Sana'a would be declared as a historical capital, pointing out that it has no longer enjoy qualities of modern capital. Many Yemeni prominent intellectuals, writers and journalists have called for transferring the political capital to Aden, affirming that Aden enjoys all factors that make it a modern and civilized political capital. The sources revealed that the Yemeni interim government headed by Mohammad Salem Basindiwa are currently negotiating with international firms specialized in scheming modern political capitals and cities. The sources said the government seeks to launch huge development projects in Aden that include transfer of Aden International Airport to the neighboring province of Lahj. "Among the strategic project the new government intends to carry out is a railway project that would link between several Yemeni provinces," they added. "Establishment of a government compound to include a number of ministries that will be transferred from Sana'a into Aden." They affirmed that such orientations meet the ambitions of Yemeni youths who took to streets demanding to build a new civil and modern nation. Many Yemeni prominent writers and journalists had said that Sana'a is no longer appropriate to stay as a capital while it is surrounded with many tribal militias and weapons, emphasizing that it will be subject to risks and turbulences. They said that Sana'a lacks to secure supply lines for food commodities and oil derivatives from the port cities. Yemeni experts warned that its water basin will be run out by 2025 and it has been under siege from an on-going drought for many years. "Sana'a is a mountainous city with a low water table," they added. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 no one knew who would maintain order east of Aden. No one has. The old worry was always that there would be a return to anarchy and rampant piracy. So far, that worry has been misplaced. Given the high cost of making sure that other aspects of life in the region are as they were during the Days of Empire, I'd say it's been a real boon for Britain that the wogs were left to fend for themselves. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2012-01-18 20:41 |
| #2 Aden was a big Brit naval station. I remember the big deal when they left sometime in the 60's and no one knew who would maintain order east of Aden. No one has. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2012-01-18 15:40 |
| #1 Sana'a is 1000 years old, in what was historically one of the fertile valley areas in an otherwise uninviting country. Sits at the lower end of the al-Houthi separatist territory. Aden is on the Gulf of Aden, just around the horn from the Red Sea. Historically a major port for the spice trade, and run by the Brits for many years, it became a Marxist secessionist hotbed when they left. Not a bad idea, but it will be interesting to watch the, ummm, execution. |
| Posted by: lotp 2012-01-18 14:57 |