MUKALLA, Yemen, 24 May 2005 — Yemen is celebrating the 15th anniversary of reunification between its former parts; the conservative North and Marxist South, as calls are being raised by the opposition for more democratic reform.
In a speech to the nation on Sunday marking the unity day, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh called on the opposition to play a “responsible” role in the political life and to “turn a new page” by overlooking the past. “We reiterate that the opposition is the other face of the political regime. The opposition parties should play their role in a responsible way.”
He also urged opposition parties to involve in a dialogue with his ruling General People’s Congress party. “We renew our call for all political powers to conduct dialogue for a unified national rank based on the national consistent principles and to turn over a new page among all and for the sake of the good, development, prosperity, security and stability of the nation.”
Saleh said the unified Yemeni state has now got its constitutional institutions either the legislative, executive, judicial and local authorities or the civil society organizations “based on democratic foundations emanated from the will of our people who has chosen since the birth day of unity the democratic policy.”
“This policy is based on political pluralism, freedom of opinion, women participation and respect of human rights. It was adopted by conviction and was not imposed by any one.”
On Sunday, Saleh attended a parade in the southeastern city of Mukalla, the provincial capital of Hadramout governorate. The ceremony was attended by senior officials from Arab countries as well as the Arab League’s Secretary-General Amr Moussa.
But it seems that Saleh’s joy is not shared by a considerable part of Yemenis. Abkar Muhammad, a taxi driver, in Mukalla is not optimistic about the future. “We need a change in our life,” says Muhammad. “Where our oil wealth goes? We don’t see any thing visible.” Hassan Al-Haifi, a Yemeni writer, has a similar assessment, but from a political angle. He says that after 15 years of unity “no balance of power, no hope of political relief from a quasi totalitarian order, with a lot of lip service to democratic political ideals and even contempt for our long cherished values.”
“The future has never been more uncertain than it is now, as we are unable to truly predict what is in store for the nation, when the government has no clear definitive ideas itself of where we are going and when will the interests of the people of Yemen take precedence above all interests?”
