The UK Fremmit Office haes gied out wyce tellin Breitish ceitizens bydin in or veisitin the Yemen tae lee belyve whan ther stull commercial flichts out o the kintra. The FO haes statit hit haes gied the wyce “in light of the rapid deterioration in the security situation”. The sou Arabian state, the puirest kintra in the Arab warld, haes seen stramash an violence brek out efter protests agin the 32 yeir rule o President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Feirs rins hie at protests efter services at the mosques the day, the Islamic hailie day, wull gar the unchancie seitiacion tae turn een waur.
The protests haes aareddie seen monie fowk loss thair lifes. Instabeilitie haes grew efter 52 protesters at a demonstracion in Sanaa wis gunned doun bi Saleh uphauders on the 18th Mairch. The daiths provokit widespreid internacional condemnacion an gart monie o Saleh’s umquhyle uphauers tae chynge sides, strenthenin the opposicion.
Yae o the kintra’s leadin opposicion feigurs, Hamid Al Akhbar, tellt the BBC in an interview at President Ali Abdullah Saleh maun staun doun belyve, an lee the kintra an aa.
Yestreen the offeicial state news agencie Saba sayed tribal chiefs, releigious leaders, an ither uphauders o the president wis incomin ti Sanaa efter the president made a caa fur a shaa o solidaritie. The president sayed ti a paircel o his uphauders gaithert in Sanna at he wid haun ower pouer ainerlie ti ‘sauf hauns’, efter a lang sherrackin agin anti-regime protesters at didnae gie onie sign at he wis about tae negotiate wi thaim.
His challengers, fur the maist pairt young fowk an students at is campin aroun “Chynge Square” neist ti Sanaa Universitie, haes speirt demonstrators tae tak ti the streets but, feirt o violence, tae pit aff a mairch thae war plannin on the presidential palace.
Saleh’s regime is no juist confrontit bi pro-democracie protesters, in the sou o the kintra monie fowk wants independence. The twa haufs o the kintra wis unitit in 1990 efter Sou Yemen, the umquhyle Breitish colonie o Aden, jyned wi the north efter an on-aff ceivil weir at haed lastit sin independence frae the UK. In the suddren province o Daleh, hunners o fowk tuik pairt in a demonstracion on Thursday an caaed fur the independence o Sou Yemen. The croud chantit “Aye ti independence an ti freedom. Revolt. Revolt.”
Suddreners compleins at thae ar discriminatit agin bi the north. In 1994 the region declared independence but wis suin taen back bi Saleh’s airmie. Instabeilitie haes conteinaed tae affeck the area, an Al Qaeda is weill establisht in monie pairts o the kintra.
The growin violence in the kintra gart the FO tae gie out hits statement, sayin, “In light of the rapid deterioration in the security situation in Yemen and likely protests on Friday April 1 which might result in violent clashes, we strongly urge all British nationals to leave the country now while commercial airlines are still flying.
“Given the situation on the ground, it is highly unlikely that the British Government will be able to evacuate British nationals or provide consular assistance in the event of a further breakdown of law and order and increased violent civil disorder. British nationals should therefore plan accordingly.
“We have advised against all travel to Yemen since March 4 and have urged British nationals to leave immediately since March 12. The latest amendment to our travel advice reflects the increasing seriousness of the situation.”
The FO haes eggit aa pairties in the Yemen tae tak aa staps thae kin fur tae defuse the tensions on the grunn an caaed fur aa pairties ti jyne thegither ti finn a solucion ti the problems. The statement eikit: “The government of Yemen must take urgent action to build trust with the opposition and with the protesters: without this trust, no agreement can be reached. The Yemeni people want to see their legitimate demands acknowledged and met and the UK fully supports them in this aspiration.”
Wurds ye mibbie no ken
fremmit – foreign
wyce – advice
byde – live, reside
belyve – straight away, immediately
unchancie – dangerous, threatening
paircel – group
sherrackin – diatribe, rant
umquhyle – former
weir – war
A note on Scots spelling: In the early modern English of southern England, a sound change occurred. The w of words like want, wash caused the vowel to change from ‘a’ as in ‘man’ to ‘o’ as in top. This change happened after English spelling rules were established so isn’t reflected in modern English spelling. But the change didn’t happen in Scots at all. Scots preserves both the original spelling and the original pronunciation. In Scots the words ‘want’ and ‘wash’ rhyme with grant and bash.