Jarallah Omar
Encyclopedia
Jarallah Omar al-Kuhali (1942 in Kuhal
, Ibb Governorate
– 28 December 2002) was a Yemen
i politician, intellectual, and guerrilla fighter. He was trained in Islamic law
, but in the 1960s he turned towards Marxism
. He was a political prisoner
from 1968 to 1971 and participated in the civil war between North Yemen
and South Yemen as a leader of the National Liberation Front
, a politico-military coalition affiliated to the socialist government of the South. He escaped to the South after his forces were defeated by then-North Yemeni President and current unified Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh
. Jarallah became a member of the Politburo of the Yemeni Socialist Party
(YSP), the ruling party in the South, and was named minister of culture in the government of a newly unified Yemen in the early 1990s. He resigned his cabinet post and went into exile shortly before a failed attempt by former southern politicians to re-establish a "Democratic Republic of Yemen
" in 1994. The president of the ephemeral secessionist regime, Ali Salim al-Baidh
, was a former ally of Jarallah in the factional disputes within the YSP in 1986. When Jarallah returned to the country in 1995, he developed a reputation as a leading advocate of human rights and political freedoms in the authoritarian political climate of Yemen.
Jarallah was assassinated in Sana'a
in December 2002, receiving two shots to the chest. The assassin was 26-year-old Ali Ahmad al-Jarallah, an Islamist hardliner who sided with Saleh's government in the civil war. He was arrested immediately following the shooting and in interrogation revealed plots to kill other secular leftist (Nasserite and Baathist) leaders. He was sentenced to death on 14 September 2003.
At the time of Jarallah Omar's death, he was deputy secretary-general of the YSP. He was buried in the "martyrs' cemetery" in Sana'a, on the orders of President Saleh.
, and Anna Wuerth (31 December 2002) "Yemeni politician shot dead" BBC (28 December 2002) "Yemeni Politician’s Killer to Die" by Khaled Al-Mahdi (article stored in Google
cache; dated 15 September 2003)
Kuhal
Kuhal is a village in the north eastern region of Rampur Bushahr, Shimla district, Himachal Pradesh, India....
, Ibb Governorate
Ibb Governorate
Ibb is a governorate of Yemen. It is located in the inland south of the country with Ta'izz Governorate to the southwest, Ad Dali' Governorate to the southeast, Dhamar Governorate to the north, and short borders with Al Bayda' Governorate to the east and Al Hudaydah Governorate to the west...
– 28 December 2002) was a Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
i politician, intellectual, and guerrilla fighter. He was trained in Islamic law
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
, but in the 1960s he turned towards Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
. He was a political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
from 1968 to 1971 and participated in the civil war between North Yemen
North Yemen
North Yemen is a term currently used to designate the Yemen Arab Republic , its predecessor, the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen , and their predecessors that exercised sovereignty over the territory that is now the north-western part of the state of Yemen in southern Arabia.Neither state ever...
and South Yemen as a leader of the National Liberation Front
National Liberation Front (Yemen)
The National Liberation Front or NLF was a military organization operating in the Federation of South Arabia in the 60s. During the North Yemen Civil War fighting spilled over into South Yemen as the British tried to exit its Federation of South Arabia colony...
, a politico-military coalition affiliated to the socialist government of the South. He escaped to the South after his forces were defeated by then-North Yemeni President and current unified Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh
Ali Abdullah Saleh
Field Marshal Ali Abdullah Saleh is the first President of the Republic of Yemen. Saleh previously served as President of the Yemen Arab Republic from 1978 until 1990, at which time he assumed the office of chairman of the Presidential Council of a post-unification Yemen. He is the...
. Jarallah became a member of the Politburo of the Yemeni Socialist Party
Yemeni Socialist Party
The Yemeni Socialist Party is a political party in Yemen.It was the ruling party in South Yemen, the only Marxist Arab state, before unification in 1990...
(YSP), the ruling party in the South, and was named minister of culture in the government of a newly unified Yemen in the early 1990s. He resigned his cabinet post and went into exile shortly before a failed attempt by former southern politicians to re-establish a "Democratic Republic of Yemen
Democratic Republic of Yemen
The Democratic Republic of Yemen was declared in May 1994. The DRY, with its capital in Aden, was led by President Ali Salim al-Beidh and Prime Minister Haidar Abu Bakr al-Attas and represented a response to the weakening position of the South in the Yemeni civil war of 1994...
" in 1994. The president of the ephemeral secessionist regime, Ali Salim al-Baidh
Ali Salim al-Baidh
Ali Salim al-Beidh is a Yemeni politician who served as the General Secretary of the Yemeni Socialist Party , the top political position in South Yemen, and as Vice-President of Yemen following Yemen's unification in 1990. He left the unification government in 1994, sparking the 1994 civil war in...
, was a former ally of Jarallah in the factional disputes within the YSP in 1986. When Jarallah returned to the country in 1995, he developed a reputation as a leading advocate of human rights and political freedoms in the authoritarian political climate of Yemen.
Jarallah was assassinated in Sana'a
Sana'a
-Districts:*Al Wahdah District*As Sabain District*Assafi'yah District*At Tahrir District*Ath'thaorah District*Az'zal District*Bani Al Harith District*Ma'ain District*Old City District*Shu'aub District-Old City:...
in December 2002, receiving two shots to the chest. The assassin was 26-year-old Ali Ahmad al-Jarallah, an Islamist hardliner who sided with Saleh's government in the civil war. He was arrested immediately following the shooting and in interrogation revealed plots to kill other secular leftist (Nasserite and Baathist) leaders. He was sentenced to death on 14 September 2003.
At the time of Jarallah Omar's death, he was deputy secretary-general of the YSP. He was buried in the "martyrs' cemetery" in Sana'a, on the orders of President Saleh.
External links
"The Death and Life of Jarallah Omar" by Sheila Carapico, Lisa WedeenLisa Wedeen
Lisa Wedeen is Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago specializing in comparative politics, the Middle East, political theory, and feminist theory. Wedeen received her Ph.D. in political science at the University of California, Berkeley, where she studied with Hanna Pitkin...
, and Anna Wuerth (31 December 2002) "Yemeni politician shot dead" BBC (28 December 2002) "Yemeni Politician’s Killer to Die" by Khaled Al-Mahdi (article stored in Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
cache; dated 15 September 2003)