With a history stretching back millennium, Yemen today is in many ways the Yemen of time immemorial, when tribes roamed the lands, each with its zone of influence, according to its ancestral tribal legal and social system.
Although the only active republican system in the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen never truly abandoned its tribal past, instead it somewhat juxtaposed the republic to its tribal tradition, neither marrying nor adopting, but merely tolerating that the nation, under one flag had a common leader, the president.
And while sheikhs have little problem recognizing the constitutional legitimacy of their president, it is his ability to impose national will which often poses a problem, as tribal leaders often assume they are the ultimate authority on their lands, and not a far way presidential figure.
If former President Ali Abdullah Saleh managed to rule unchallenged and for the most part undisturbed for three decades over tribal Yemen after a dark period mered by political assassinations and unrest, it is more to do with his tactician skills than his ability to draw a political consensus.
Conscious that the tribes would resist the idea that an elected president could rule their houses, former President Saleh, himself a tribesmen, decided to establish a system of patronage which would enable him to gain financial control of tribal leaders, which in turn would serve to the establishment of his political leadership.
While imperfect and flawed at the core, this system survived three decades of power, creating a myriad of states within the states, authorities within authorities and a weak central state with no national reach.
Yemen 2011 revolution tore down the political and institutional veil, putting bare a deceased and atrophied republican system essentially driven by tribal lords whose hold on the state policies were fed by thirty years of state sponsorship.
While the tribal system is not in itself the problem, its existence cannot be allowed to perdure if Yemen is to assert itself as a modern state where the rule of law is applicable to all citizens, regardless of their creed, religious affiliations, political stance, gender and social status.
Moving Backwards
If Yemen has a perfectly viable judicial system, where laws are strictly and clearly enounced, recourse exposed and punishment implemented, tribal Yemen choses most often to ignore the law of the state to instead apply the law of the tribe, which in most cases simply translate by one taking matters in one's own hands.
While a land dispute or a trespass would most likely end with a court decision, the payment of just compensation or maybe the arrest of the guilty party, such a case could quickly degenerate to a full-blown tribal conflict in between neighboring tribes, a few gunshots and a good amount of threats.
Back in April, the most incredible tale was reported by the local press; the story of a donkey which has strayed from his owner's land and wondered to another, where he began to mingle with a female donkey. As it turned out the owner of the female donkey was less than impress at the attention lavished by the intruder donkey, so, in anger he beat up the animal.
When the owner of the wondering donkey found out that his animal has been battered by his neighbor, his immediate reaction was to attack the culprit.
The argument degenerated to such an extent that gunshots were fired and a number of people were injured.
In another similar incident, also involving a donkey, several farmers ended up dead, shot by an angry tribesman over what he qualified an affront to his authority and right of ownership.
Such events are common in Yemen. The most trivial argument can quickly and without so much of a warning lead to deadly consequences, all in the name of tribal law, or at least what tribesmen make of it.
Ever since 2011 revolution, Yemen has reverted to its tribal past, preventing the nation from moving forward in its democratic journey.
Revenge Killings
The coalition government already established that since 2001 thousands of Yemenis have fallen victims to such crimes: revenge killings; over minor offenses which the police or the judicial authorities should have been able to manage without difficulty.
And if neighboring countries such as Oman and Saudi Arabia where tribal traditions remain strong have managed to reign down on the phenomenon, Yemen has still a long way to go.
Abdul-Rahman al-Marwani, chairman of a leading nongovernment organization dedicated to fighting such killings, told the press revenge killing are on the increase. “This phenomenon increases with unrest and the lack of security.”
Sana'a University sociology professor Dr. Abdul-Baqi Shamshon said on the matter, “the problem with revenge is that it opens the door for unending bloodbaths between the feuding parties, with many innocent people becoming victims. Many people become targeted and are killed for no reason except their belonging to the same family sharing the same last name as the feuding family or tribe. Some revenge feuds go on for over a century, leaving dozens from both families killed
Usually, the problems that lead to revenge killings erupt over unimportant things, such as the killing of a donkey, a sheep, or a dispute over a tiny plot of land, but these problems become increasingly complex with time, as more people get killed on both sides."