State-opposition dialogue halted [Archives:2005/834/Local News]
Mohammed bin Sallam
The Joint Meeting Party (a group made up of seven opposition parties) requested late last week at the opening session of dialogue with the Ruling Party (GPC) that the GPC-favored National Council Parties be not involved in the dialogue. Dr. Abdul-Karim al-Eryani, GPC Secretary General, insisted however, that the dialogue should include the 21 parties licensed by the Parties Committee.
In response to the opposition's request to exclude the NCP, a JMP leader reported Dr. al-Eryanias saying, “I am not ready to break up dialogue whatever that may cost.” With the GPC unready to budge, dialogue has been postponed indefinitely.
In a statement to the Yemen Times, one of the JMP leaders said, “dialogue has been postponed after the opposition (JMP) requested that an agenda should be set up for issues to be covered by discussion so that opposition-ruling party dialogue becomes a success.”
The JMP do not want to announce their declining the GPC General Secretariat's invitation lest they be seen as being anti-dialogue, said the JMP leader. “The JMP are convinced that the invitation is unfeasible because experience has shown that the Ruling Party is not serious about dialogue,” he said.
He added, “we requested that the invitation be sent by the GPC leadership to the party secretary generals and not through a Permanent Committee's communication officer (Ali Hamza) because we are neither working for the Ruling Party nor are we its members to be addressed in such a way.”
The GPC Permanent Committee's last meeting notice had called on opposition parties to join a dialogue based on national principles, law, and the constitution. That was in the wake of protests against the sales tax sweeping the country in the middle of last month.
The invitation met with opposition's sarcasm, “the aim was to make preparations to put the new price increase on oil derivatives into play and to give the impression that the (opposition) parties approved of the State's orientation,” the opposition claimed.
Analysts believe that the technique of dialogue and deliberation promoted by GPC leaders enhances the opposition's air of caution especially as the dialogue invitation goes against the GPC's recent accusations and smear campaigns against some opposition parties conducted by official and Ruling Party's newspapers. They are also carrying out an ongoing policy of duplicating parties as well as threatening to dismantle existing parties.
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