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| Hadi: national dialogue is top priority |
| 2012-03-05 |
| [Yemen Post] Newly-elected Yemeni President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi said on Sunday that the inclusive national dialogue is on top of his priorities in the current transitional stage, emphasizing that Yemen has turned the corner. During an interview with Al-Sharaq Al-Awsat newspaper, Hadi has talked about the most contentious issues in the country, including Southern issue, Shiite insurgency of Houthis, al-Qaeda threat, and the economy, which is on the brink of collapse. In the beginning of the interview which was published today, Hadi said the inclusive national dialogue is of paramount importance at the current transitional stage, assuring that no faction or party would be excluded from taking part in it, and pointing out that he along with the Interim Government would do their best to ensure that all the Yemeni society components are represented in the national dialogue. Asked what is his priorities in this critical phase, Hadi replied:" we have a raft of priorities at present. The stalemate, which has dragged on for over a year has had catastrophic repercussions at political , security, and economic levels. "However, man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them... the GCC-drawn executive mechanism is now of paramount importance to us. As it's well-known that the essence of the GCC-brokered deal after the presidential election is the inclusive national dialogue to take place in the upcoming months," "The power transfer deal signed in the Saudi capital of Riyadh and the UN resolution regarding Yemen, has included all the pending issues in the country such as Southern issue, and put forward proposals aimed to resolve them." Hadi has stressed the importance of internal genuine efforts and cooperation , and international community's support in order to improve the struggling economy, pointing out that the economy was in bad state before the stalemate broke out in February last year. "The year-long political deadlock was combined with many crises with varying dimensions. One of the hardest hit sectors by the crisis was economy. However, man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them... Yemen's economy was at a very bad shape even before the breakout of the protests in 2011 with very limited resources. It has for long suffered major setbacks and blows due to various reasons." Exiting the current economic hole is something that requires the cooperation of all internal forces as well as the genuine support of the Friends of Yemen, Hadi said. Speaking about terrorism in Yemen, Hadi has underlined the importance of the international support for Yemen to fight al-Qaeda until it becomes eradicated , arguing that terrorism is closely linked with the high rate of unemployment and poverty in the country. "Having strategic location, nearby shipping lanes through which more than 3 million barrel of oil pass daily, obliges the entire international community to cooperate with us in fighting terrorism, which has spread over and gained momentum lately due to various reasons," he said. "Yemen is one of the most badly affected countries by AQAP in the world....I call on the international community to take al-Qaeda threat seriously." "Furthermore, al-Qaeda takes advantage of the economical situation. The high number of unemployed youth makes it easier that a large segment of the people falls victim and be an easy prey for the terrorist network to recruit and exploit," Hadi responded a question regarding al-Qaeda threat in Yemen. With regards to the Shiite insurgency of the Houthis in the far north of the country, the new President confirmed that Houthis said they would participate in the dialogue. "The Houthis have sent us letters, indicating their intentions to take part in the national dialogue. For our part, we assured them that the new government will not exclude any faction and that they will be welcome," he said. Towards the end of the interview, the President has hailed the good relationship between Yemen and its rich GCC states, particularly Soddy Arabia, describing it as exceptional, historic, and strategic. "Soddy Arabia represented by the custodian of the two holy mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz has stood by Yemen in the hardest circumstances and has a leading role in brokering and pushing through the GCC-initiated deal that has helped to a great extent ease tensions between the conflicting parties," he concluded. |
| Posted by:Fred |