Yemen's opposition tells UN Envoy "transfer of power before dialogue"

23/07/2011

News Yemen

Yemeni opposition parties have informed the envoy of the Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon to Yemen that transfer of powers to Vice President Abdo Rabo Mansour Hadi should be done before any dialogue.

A leader in the Joint Meeting Parties, Dr. Mohammad al-Mutawakel, said that the meeting with Ban Ki-moon's envoy, Jamal Bin Omar, on Saturday did not discuss anything new, but said the JMP stressed that President Saleh must transfer powers to his vice Hadi before any dialogue between the ruling party and JMP.

Bin Omar earlier called on all parties and political forces of Yemen to conduct a constructive national dialogue that does not exclude anyone, and create safe climates for ways out of the current crisis.

The UN envoy also met last week with a number of government officials, and opposition leaders, including the Secretary General of the Preparatory Committee for National Dialogue, Hamid al-Ahmar.

Bin Omar also met last Thursday with Sheikh of Hashid tribes Sadiq al-Ahmar, who criticized the international position towards the Yemeni people's revolution and warned that situation in Yemen might shift to that in Libya "if the international community realize that."

Al-Ahmar said that the international community continues to turn blind eye to events in Yemen compared to its position towards events in Libya and Syria.

Al-Ahmar told the UN envoy that 'there is no disagreement on the transfer of power in Yemen, but the difference is on how the transfer of power should be," wondering the description of events in Yemen as political crisis.

"The crises in Yemen were in 2006 until 2010, but today it is a popular revolution," al-Ahmar was cited as saying.