By Ahmad Shihadah
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SA’NA, Yemen – Yemen, under international pressure to quiet domestic unrest and focus its sights on al Qaeda, has offered to hold talks with southern separatists and hear their grievances, state media said on March 9.

The move by President Ali Abdullah Saleh follows an escalation in violence on both sides in south Yemen that has left a trail of dead and wounded in recent weeks even as insurgent violence elsewhere in the country fades.

North and South Yemen united in 1990, but many in the south – home to most of Yemen’s oil facilities – complain northerners have seized resources and discriminate against them.

“We say to them: Come talk with your brothers in the authority, and we will talk with you. We extend the hand of dialogue without having to resort to violence or blocking roads or raising the flag of separation,” Saleh said in an address at a military academy.

“I am certain the flags of separation will burn in the days and weeks ahead. We have one flag we voted on with our free will. We welcome any political demands. Come to dialogue,” he said, according to the Defense Ministry’s online newspaper.

Civil war between southern and northern forces shook Yemeni unity in 1994. A crackdown on separatists in recent weeks left several dead on both sides, though Sa’na claimed it arrested dozens of high-profile figures in recent weeks. Secessionist leaders in February called for an uprising against the government in Sa’na.

Yemen is dealing with looming presence of al Qaeda as well as threats from secessionist supporters. A truce with the Houthi rebel group in the north appears to be holding. However, Saleh said he would form a committee to have a dialogue with those who were interested in talks but stressed sustainable development required a strong stance.

“I don’t want the chair of presidency or Cabinet, I want to be a soldier to serve the nation and its unity,” he said.

For more information, please see:

 

Al-Jazeera – Yemeni Leader In Dialogue Call – 9 March 2010

AFP – Yemen President Warns Separatists But Offers Talks – 9 March 2010

Reuters – Yemen Offers Talks With Separatists As Unrest Flares – 9 March 2010

UPI – Yemen’s Saleh Open To National Dialogue – 9 March 2010