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The 'People's Democratic Republic of Yemen', 'Democratic Yemen', 'South Yemen' or 'Yemen (Aden)' was a state in present-day southern Yemen. It united with the Yemen Arab Republic, commonly known as North Yemen, on May 22, 1990 to form the current Republic of Yemen.

Contents

History

Reunification

Politics and social life

Human rights

Governorates

Economy

References

See also

History

Main articles: History of Yemen

British interests in the area which would later become the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY) began to grow when in 1832, British East India Company forces captured the port of Aden, to provide a coaling station for ships en route to India. Aden was ruled as part of British India until 1937, when the city of Aden became the 'Colony of Aden'. The Aden hinterland and Hadhramaut to the east formed the remainder of what would become South Yemen and was not administered directly by Aden but were tied to Britain by treaties of protection with local rulers of traditional polities that, together, became known as the 'Aden Protectorate'. Economic development was largely centred in Aden, and while the city flourished, the states of the Aden Protectorate stagnated.
In 1963, Aden and much of the Protectorate were joined to form the 'Federation of South Arabia' with the remaining states that declined to join, mainly in Hadhramaut, forming the 'Protectorate of South Arabia'. Both of these polities were still tied to Britain with promises of total independence in 1968.
Two nationalist groups, the Front for the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen (FLOSY) and the National Liberation Front (NLF), began a struggle against British control and, with the temporary closure of the Suez Canal in 1967, the British began to withdraw. Southern Yemen became independent as the 'People's Republic of South Yemen' on 30 November 1967, and the NLF consolidated its control in the country.
In June 1969, a radical Marxist wing of NLF gained power and changed the country's name on 1 December 1970, to the 'People's Democratic Republic of Yemen'. In the PDRY, all political parties were amalgamated into the Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP), which became the only legal party. The PDRY established close ties with the Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China, Cuba, and radical Palestinians.
The major communist powers assisted in the building of the PDRY's armed forces. Strong support from Moscow resulted in Soviet naval forces gaining access to naval facilities in South Yemen.

Reunification

Main articles: Yemenite reunification

Unlike East and West Germany or North and South Korea, the northern Yemen Arab Republic (YAR) and the PDRY remained relatively friendly, though relations were often strained. In 1972 it was declared unification would eventually occur.
However, these plans were put on hold in 1979, and war was only prevented by an Arab League intervention. The goal of unity was reaffirmed by the northern and southern heads of state during a summit meeting in Kuwait in March 1979.
What the PDRY government failed to tell the YAR government was that it wished to be the dominant power in any unification, and left wing rebels in North Yemen began to receive extensive funding and arms from South Yemen.
In 1980, PDRY president Abdul Fattah Ismail resigned and went into exile. His successor, Ali Nasir Muhammad, took a less interventionist stance toward both North Yemen and neighbouring Oman. On January 13, 1986, a violent struggle began in Aden between Ali Nasir's supporters and supporters of the returned Ismail, who wanted power back. Fighting lasted for more than a month and resulted in thousands of casualties, Ali Nasir's ouster, and Ismail's death. Some 60,000 people, including the deposed Ali Nasir, fled to the YAR.
In May 1988, the YAR and PDRY governments came to an understanding that considerably reduced tensions including agreement to renew discussions concerning unification, to establish a joint oil exploration area along their undefined border, to demilitarize the border, and to allow Yemenis unrestricted border passage on the basis of only a national identification card.
In November 1989, the leaders of the YAR (Ali Abdullah Saleh) and the PDRY (Ali Salim al-Baidh) agreed on a draft unity constitution originally drawn up in 1981. The Republic of Yemen was declared on 22 May 1990. Saleh became President, and al-Baidh became Vice President.

Politics and social life

The only recognised political party in South Yemen was the Yemeni Socialist Party, which ran the country and the economy along lines they described as Marxist, modelled on the Soviet Union.
The constitution prescribed universal suffrage although very few exercised power beyond the elite of the Socialist Party.
The People's Supreme Assembly was appointed by the general command of the National Liberation Front in 1971.
In Aden, there was a structured judicial system, with a supreme court. However, outside of Aden and especially in rural areas, Sharia law was in force, often supplemented by traditional local law.
Education was provided without charge; however, there was almost no secondary education outside of Aden and proper education for girls had only been achieved in that city, though it began to develop.
There was a significant shortage of qualified doctors and staff at hospitals, and this meant that socialised medicine programs were generally poor, although again provided without charge.
Unlike the Soviet Union, there was no housing crisis in South Yemen. Surplus housing built by the British meant that there were few homeless people in Aden, and people built their own houses out of adobe and mud in the rural areas.

Human rights

There were many hundreds of cases of "disappearances" of opponents of the South Yemen government. Most of these victims were members of the National Democratic Front which waged war against the regime for decades.
Amnesty International found the regime guilty of torture, arbitrary detention and many other human rights abuses.

Governorates

Following independence, South Yemen was divided into six governorates (Arabic '''muhafazat'''), with roughly natural boundaries, each given a Roman numeral.^[1]

Numeral	Name	Approximate Area (km.²)	Capital
I	'Adan	6,980	Aden
II	Lahij	12,766	Hawatah
III	Abyan	21,489	Zinjibar
IV	Shabwah	73,908	Ataq
V	Hadhramawt	155,376	Al Mukalla
VI	al-Mahra	66,350	Al Ghaydah

Economy

There was little industrial output, nor mineral wealth exploitation, in South Yemen, until the mid-1980s, following the discovery of significant petroleum reserves in the central regions near Shibam and Mukalla. The main sources of income were agriculture, mostly fruit, cereal crops, cattle and sheep, fishing and later, oil exports.
The national budget was 13.43 million dinars in 1976, and the gross national product was USD $150 million. The total national debt was $52.4 million.
==Statistics as of 1990==

★ Literacy Rate: 25%

★ Growth Rate: 3.2%

★ Birth Rate: 48 births/1,000 population

★ Death Rate: 14 births/1,000 population

★ Net migration rate: -2 migrants/1,000 population

★ Infant mortality rate: 110 deaths/1,000 live births

★ Life expectancy at birth: 50 years male, 54 years female

★ Total Fertility Rate: 7.0 children born/woman

★ Suffrage: universal at age 18

★ Inflation rate: 2.8%

★ Airports: 42 total, 29 usable

★ Merchant marine: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over)

★ Member of: Arab League, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, ITU, NAM, OIC, UN, UNESCO,
UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO

★ Major Export Partners: Japan, North Yemen, and Singapore

★ Major Import Partners: Soviet Union, Australia, United Kingdom

★ Forign Debt: $2.25 billion

★ Airforce: 8 major transport aircraft

★ Defense Forces: Five Branches (Army, Navy, Air Force, People's Militia, People's Police)

★ Military manpower: 544,190 (males 15-49)

★ Fit for Military Service: 307,005

References

1. The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen: Politics, Economics, and Society; The Politics of Socialist Transformation, , Tareq Y., Ismael, Lynne Rienner Pub, , 0931477964

See also

★ President of South Yemen

★ Prime Minister of South Yemen

★ History of Yemen