Yemen disappointed at summit withdrawal [Archives:2006/966/Front Page]
SANA'A, July 23 ) At a press conference held in Sana'a yesterday, Yemeni Minister of Foreign Affairs Abu Bakr Al-Qirbi announced that Yemen has withdrawn its request to hold an extraordinary emergency Arab summit.
Al-Qirbi expressed his sorrow at withdrawing the request to hold the summit proposed to discuss Israeli attacks on Lebanon and Palestine and other issues related to Darfur and Somalia regions. “In an effort not to cause any conflicts among Arab states, Yemen had to cancel its efforts in calling for the emergency summit. Yemen appreciates those states that responded to its call for the summit,” he noted.
Al-Qirbi clarified that it was decided to withdraw the request because there was no response to Yemen's call for a summit on the part of other Arab states. Additionally, he denied any foreign pressure behind withdrawing the request. “If there was American or any foreign pressure, we would not have announced our initiative for a summit,” he commented.
According to Al-Qirbi, President Ali Abdullah Saleh has ordered a day's wage to be subtracted from state employees as donations from Yemen to the peoples in Palestine and Lebanon. Donations will be received at account No. 797 at the Central Bank of Yemen, the Yemeni Bank for Reconstruction and the Cooperative Agricultural Bank. In-kind donations will be received at the Yemeni Economic Cooperation and its branches throughout the country, Al-Qirbi added.
Yemen was the first Arab state to call on other Arab League members to hold an urgent summit July 24 at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo. In mid-July, President Saleh called for holding an emergency summit to discuss escalating aggression against the Lebanese and Palestinians. In this regard, Saleh sent letters to Arab leaders, stating Yemen's vision to urgently hold a summit.
Yemen has made diplomatic efforts in calling on other Arab states to hold the summit. Analysts thought such efforts would succeed in holding a summit, especially after 14 Arab states agreed to hold it, with one state remaining to agree, so that they could attain a quorum.
Yemen has taken a firm stance in condemning Israeli attacks on Lebanon and Palestine. In his speech, President Saleh welcomed the struggle of Lebanese and Palestinian peoples in front of the Israeli war machine. Al-Qirbi further affirmed that Yemen will stick to its stance and stand by Palestinian and Lebanese peoples until they overcome their crisis.
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