Al-Jifri: Scrambling for Authority,  Not Our Objective [Archives:2000/10/Local News]

Yemen Times has asked the Yemeni prominent opposition leader Mr Abdul-Rahman Al-Jifri on whether he was offered a senior post in the government and the possibility of his accepting the offer, as some people are presently saying.
To this question Mr Al-Jifri responded by saying ” I have not been offered any post, neither today nor yesterday. For me the question is not a high-ranking post or another, but rather how to reform the system of political action in our country. Our objective is not to scramble for authority at any price, otherwise we would have done that long time ago. We are after coalescence of efforts to realize comprehensive reform covering the entire system of government and including all political and economic fields in our country. And I do not think that anybody would advise us to such participation without certain bases, for the question as we view it is bigger and more serious. ‘
Mr Al-Jifry added that,” undoubtedly the influential forces consider any reform whatsoever contradicts their interests. But I would like to say that we all have to realize, including the brothers within the government system, that time is moving on and the world will not wait for us. Unless the situations are put right they would lose everything and the country would lose everything. He who attempts to possess everything would lose all. All of us must profoundly understand this stage and to comprehend that it is a stage when reforms included the entire world, our country is part of this world. If we do not speed up reforming the situations in our country we would not be able to catch up with the world’ advancement, prosperity and stability. Our country is need of complete stability and security, without them we can not achieve any success. We have to begin depending on the power of reason and introduce comprehensive reforms, beginning with the system of government, otherwise everything we be lost.
——
[archive-e:10-v:2000-y:2000-d:2000-03-06-p:./2000/iss10/ln.htm]