Yemen+(A.K.,+J.K.)

PART I: A LOOK AT THE NATION ** 1.) ** ** Demographics- A snapshot of people **   * Median age of the population: 18.1 years old    · Male/female: 49.01% of the population is women and 50.99% are male.    · Race: Arab    · Ethnicity: predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans.    · Religions: Muslim indulging Shaf’i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shia), and a small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu.   ** 2.) ** ** Geography: ** ** 3.) Political structure: **
 * The country is slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming. It is mostly deserts. Narrow coastal plain backed by flat topped hills and rugged mountains dissected and upland desert plains in center slope into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula. Seasonal monsoons in the western mountain.
 * Economic Resources:
 * Imports: food and live animals, machinery and equipment, chemicals
 * Exports: Crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish, liquefied natural gases
 * Jobs: 58% of the population are engaged in agriculture and related jobs. The other most popular job sector is oil industry.
 * GPD compared to the US: In Yemen the GPD Purchasing power Parity is $61.88 billion and the GPD official exchange rate is $30.02 billion while the American GPD is 14.12 trillion US dollars. This shows that the US is more successful.
 * Type of government: Republic
 * Who can vote: Starting at age 18, everyone can vote. Women recently got the freedom to vote.
 * Elections are held every seven years.

2004 || Who? || Where? || What? || Why? || connection: Both had sects that were symbolic of the original al-Houthi
 * PART II: History**
 * Shi'ite Insurency
 * ^  || Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi and his sect || in northern Yemen || Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi launched an uprising against the Yemeni government || He believed that Yemen and the United States were too closly allied. ||

January 2008 || Who? || Where? || What? || Why? || connection: They were protesting becuase they want a new government. There were injuries and they wanted a new leader
 * Rebels clash with security
 * ^  || rebels loyal to Abdul-Malik al-Houthi || Yemen || Renewed clashes between security forces and rebels after many died in 2007 || against the government ||

November 2008 || Who? || Where? || What? || Why? || connection: Both protests were in Sanaa and there were injuries.
 * Demonstrations
 * ^  || demonstrators || Sanaa, Yemen || Police fire shots at Common Forum opposition rally. At least five protesters and two police officers injured. || demonstrators want an electoral reform and fresh polls ||

March 2011 || Who? || Where? || What? || Why? || Yemen || Pro-reform demonstrations continue. Police fire on pro-democracy camp, killing more than 50 people. || There were no other ways to stop the big crowd. ||
 * Deaths occur
 * ^  || President Saleh, protesters || Sabaa,


 * PART III: Legitimacy of the Current Leader and Government **

RANKING( 1 being the best and 5 the worst) Protection of rights: 5 resolving conflict:4 providing public services: 1 Providing a common defence: 2 making economic decisions: 3
 * > ** Criteria for legitimacy test: Fulfilling the 5 purposes of government ** ||> ** Does Yemen fulfill? ** ||> ** Evidence to support claim ** ||
 * > Protection of rights ||> NO ||> This is not present in the revolution ||
 * > Resolving conflict ||> NO ||> There isn't support for resolving conflict ||
 * > Providing public services ||> YES ||> The government provided ambulences and medical centers. They are only providing basic services. ||
 * > Providing a common defense ||> YES ||> Police and military forces are present and trying to keep peace in Yemen but they also shoot at protesters. ||
 * > Making economic decisions ||> YES ||> There are economic decisions being made, but the people don't like it. Yemen is against Al-Quida along with the US. ||
 * PART IV: SNAPSHOT OF THE CURRENT UPRISING**
 * **Who revolted?** The people who revolted all wanted President Ali Abdullah Saleh's 32-year rule to end. They are Yemeni and the protesters are mostly students, activists, and opposition groups. I believe that it was the people as a whole who revolted and they were all trying to get the president out of his term.
 * **Why did they revolt?** The people were unhappy with their government because the president ruled for 32 years. Protesters believed that a revolution was the only way to cause change because Saleh kept winning elections and the government is seen as corupt.
 * **How did they organize?** The earlier revolution was planned for a long time, but the protests in February were spontaneous when thousands of students protested. They organized through text messages.
 * **How did the people overthrow the government?** People in Yemen peacefully protested. The protesters did not have the support of the military. The people protesting did not fight back with military force.
 * **How did the government respond?** The leader gave into the demand of the people but they have to wait two years for Saleh to step down. The government fought back using military forces. The military used stun guns, tear gas, and fired into crowds.
 * **How was the government the same or different following the revolution**? The government is the same but they president cut the taxes in half and let the military maintain the costs of goods. They also put the military in places that were on the verge of protesting to keep peace.

PICTURES: Protesters President Saleh

Goodman, David J., and Laura Kasinof. "Yemeni Youth Square Off With Forces." The New York Times. New York Times, 13 Feb. 2011. Web. 5 Apr. 2011. .

Wikipedia. "Hussein Badreddin Al-Houthi." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, Oct.-Nov. 2010. Web. 06 Apr. 2011. .

BBC. "BBC News - Yemen - Timeline." BBC News - Home. BBC, 23 Mar. 2011. Web. 06 Apr. 2011. .

Cia. "CIA - The World Factbook." //Welcome to the CIA Web Site — Central Intelligence Agency//. Web. 24 Mar. 2011. .