complex, as RICHARD CARVER explains.
president of conservative North Yemen, closely followed by the peninsula, are the culmination Isolate this Little bastion of hope in the middle of reactionary Arabia.
North Yemeni leader Almad ai-Ghashmi was blown up by a parcel bomb on the ove of a visit to South Yemen Ny carne hom til sppare ently came from his Yemeni counterpart, the most likely suspect is Saudi Arabia This most reactionary of Arab tates has been waging a ter rear campaign to crush Soutt Yemen — a campaign which al-Ghashmi threalened andermine with his diplomatic svertures.
VICTIM He was the second North Yemeni leader to die in nine months. His predecessor, IbraDum anam0l, was killed in London last October, At the tirbe Socialist Challenge specuthe British press, Here surely was further evidence of the Soviet master plan for world — or at least African domination. The facts, as usual, are a little more al-Hamdi's brutal regime.
Recent events suggest that he too was guilty of expessive. diplomatic friendliness with his southern neighbourCRISIS Then came the coup attempt South Yemen. odrtes claim that President Salim Robaya Ali had ased the Nonh Yemeni crisis to try to oust rivals in the governinent. Whalever the details, a day of fighting ended with Ali dead and the faction led by Abdel Factah Ismail in control :10 Ismail is generally presented as pro-Moscow, in contrast to lhe moderate Al (thouun 1 fairness to Ali, it should be added that the Western press only dubbed him moderate in death).
Ismail is pro-Moscow to the extent that any radical World leader guaranlee misary and e00 DEOLCCEADIL Government impertalism.
AIF VECIOd TIl direction: towards reliance on Thind China which in turn. has to be to fulling in with Peking foreign PORCYagainst No wonder Ali won admirers office.
ANOLE BILAE!
and Arabin, Salin Robaya All, pro-Chinese South Yemeni President bafore his assassination, with chairman in the Daily Telegraph oditorial The Chinese leaders pro-Chipese maintain that Iran is the chict progressive force in the Gulf since bulwark against Soviet "social спетуIn the Horn of Africa a South Yemen would have opposed Ethiopia, but on the principle that my friend's enemy's friend is my The Ismail faction, on the orher Jabs under the laws on 'Socia enaplaiun Egged on by the repressive climare encourageu by the state and the press, extreme right I groups have scarted to aulack hand, has a more internationalist line. it has dentitied itself with the Cuban line in the Horn: support for the Ethiogian military regime a. the same une es truiss ro dissuade it from a military solution the Eritrean question and to establish a civilian political structure.
Most importantly, Ismail favours a resumption of the guerilin, strugele apainst tbe Briish-backed Sultanate of Oman.
UNSAVOURY Britain has tried to use Oman as a curting edec against South Yemen ever since it was forced TO BaRE macpCOoCDcC Ne former colony.
The Yemenis have responded liberationh backing the Omani MO CICnE SAMS the Sultan's unsavoury regime and the British SAS troops sent to prop it up The situation got so seriou: for the Sultan that in 1974 the Shah of Iran invaded the Omani province of Dhofar to shatch back rom rete. handi. This dealt a serious blow to the guerillas, but with South Yemeni help they would be capable EOLIEIEI the | strugele