SANAA — Yemeni Prime Minister Abdel Qader Bajammal was threatened on Sunday by gun-toting parliamentary guards critical of the government’s economic reform program, a lawmaker said yesterday.
“Dozens of armed men who guard the MPs, and who were gathered in front of Parliament, questioned the prime minister as he arrived, denouncing his government’s economic reforms,” the lawmaker said.
Bajammal’s own guards intervened allowing him to enter the building while the other guards fled before police reinforcements arrived, he said.
It was the second time in three months that the prime minister has been the target of abuse by armed parliamentary guards.
After a debate on government reforms at the end of September, Bajammal was forced to leave Parliament via a back door to avoid the angry guards.
An unpopular government bid to raise fuel prices in order to secure funds necessary for economic reforms and development projects was rejected by Parliament in September.
Despite Sunday’s incident, Bajammal defended his reform program before the house, which debated a $4 billion draft budget for the 2005 fiscal year, a source said.
The premier also warned of the consequences of Parliament rejecting economic measures recommended by international organizations helping Yemen.
Sanaa has since 1995 been applying a program prescribed by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to cut subsidies and to privatize state industries.
