Arab League: Situation in Yemen More Complicated Than in Others

Arab League: Situation in Yemen More Complicated Than in Others

By Fuad Rajeh

Sana'a- Feb 24, 2011- Director of the Arab League Secretary General's Office said on Thursday that the situation in Yemen is more complicated as protests and revolts are continuing to sweep through Arab countries.

The Yemeni government refused the participation of the Arab League in contacting the opposition figures outside the country, saying the initiative was interference in its internal affairs, said Hisham Yousif.

The fury in the Arab streets needs serious addressing and a quick agreement on a general Arab framework taking the difference from a country to another into consideration, he said, adding: "the current situation in some Arab countries, the protests demanding the ouster of regimes, really needs exceptional procedures".

"The Arab League can't force any Arab country to accept its intervention to tackle a problem in this country, especially when such a country refuses the League's effort," he said.

To address the situations in Arab countries, the Arab League should bring together all political forces including the opposition, though officials in some Arab countries look self-restrained towards this ways of tackling crises, he added.

Yousif's remarks were given during Good Morning Egypt TV Programme on Thursday as tens of thousands of people are continuing sit-ins and protests in several Yemeni cities demanding the departure of the Saleh regime.

Inspired by the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions and fed up with the deteriorating economic situation, high unemployment rates, poverty, a corrupt elite, poverty and the boring 33-year rule of Saleh, the sit-inners and protesters said they are determined to continue their protest until the regime was ousted.

Whatever happens to us we will not abandon this and we are ready to die for the sake of removing this oppressive and corrupt regime, protesters and protest organizers said.