Biography of Abdulaziz Saqqaf

Dear Friends of Yemen Times,

In addition to launching Yemen Times's Archives online (www.yementimes.com), a book recounting the life story of Yemen Times's founding editor Dr Abdulaziz Al-Saqqaf is published. The book details his life journey as well as work in Yemen's democratization journey in the 1990s. Below are select excerpts for your enjoyment.

This book is available at amazon.com (or other regional amazon websites) as paperback ($14.95) or eBook ($4.95). https://amzn.to/3FjCetn

Happy Reading!

الاعزاء، 

إضافة إلى اطلاق ارشيف صحيفة يمن تايمز على الموقع http://www.yementimes.com، تم نشر كتاب يتناول قصة حياة مؤسس صحيفة يمن تايمز الدكتور عبدالعزيز السقاف. يسرد الكتاب قصة حياته ومساهمته في التنمية الديمقراطية في اليمن خلال فترة التسعينات. يتوافر الكتاب حالياً باللغة الإنكليزية على موقع أمازن على الرابط، وهناك نية لنشر ترجمة بالعربية مستقبلا. https://amzn.to/3FjCetn 

قراءة سعيدة. 

Excerpts from Abdulaziz: Making Yemen A Good World Citizen

Page 92:

Upon his arrival, he was received by Iraq’s Saddam Hussein in the customary welcome meeting, however Saddam wasn’t impressed by Saleh’s look. At this point, Saddam took Saleh aside at the Presidential Palace, walked him to his private quarters, and called on the presidential barber to get a haircut, and the presidential tailor to get him a well-fitted suit. An hour later, Saddam flattered Saleh saying, “Now you look Presidential.”

Page 135:

They put me in a 1.5 x 2.5 meter underground cell at the installations of the political security compound off Djibouti street. There was a small pad with a two-inch thick sponge to serve as my bed. No free access to the toilet, barely any light, and one piece of inedible dry bread (Kudam). That was only the beginning of the nightmare, with the sounds of agony and torment flowing through the cells over the night.

Pages 174-176:

"On November 9, 1998, Yemen Times published a headline entitled “$22,500,000,000” as the dollar inflow into government coffers over the last twenty years. The article showed the volume of oil produced by Yemen, as well as the foreign assistance the country had received.

The paper asked for explanations how the money was used. The point of that article was to highlight what was already on everyone’s minds, and provided a numerical figure to put it in context.

Then all hell broke loose.”