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| Arabia |
| Yemen frees 82 southern prisoners |
| 2010-07-22 |
| SANAA — Yemeni authorities freed 82 prisoners detained during anti-government protests in the south in a step towards implementing an accord sealed with the opposition, a local official told AFP on Wednesday. “Eighty-two prisoners were freed in Al-Mukalla,” the main city in the southeastern province of Hadramawt, “on the orders of President Ali Abdullah Saleh after the deal was signed with the opposition,” the official said. All of those released have “participated in protests” in support of Yemen’s Southern Movement, the official added, referring to a coalition of groups with demands ranging from greater autonomy to full independence for the south. The agreement to embark on a national dialogue was signed on Saturday with the opposition Common Forum, which groups the main Islamist opposition — Al-Islah (Reform) — the Yemen Socialist Party — which was once the ruling faction in the formerly independent south — as well as other smaller groups. It focuses on mechanisms to implement a February 2009 accord for national dialogue and the postponement of a parliamentary election until April 2011 to allow time to amend Yemen’s constitution and restructure its political system. The Yemeni president said on Saturday that the new agreement was “a positive step towards political detente.” Saleh also renewed calls for the opposition to join a national unity government. In May, he invited all political groups inside and outside Yemen to a “responsible national dialogue, within the framework of constitutional institutions.” Officials in the region estimate that some 300 southern activists are in custody. |
| Posted by:Steve White |