Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi has warned there will be consequences for political forces in the country whose actions are becoming a barrier to a political settlement in the country. The President rejected what he called the “arm-twisting” policy.
Three out of six political parties invited to take part in the national dialogue will boycott the event, to protest against their misrepresentation in the dialogue.
The United Nations has made an urgent call for Yemen's political parties to initiate a national dialogue, warning that its transition was under threat.
"The transition is threatened by those who have still not understood that change must occur now," UN envoy to Yemen Jamal Benomar told the UN Security Council.
He warned that opponents of the dialogue were "keen to impede this transition and to profit from instability."
"Many Yemenis expect the Security Council to keep a careful watch on the spoilers' actions and to hold them accountable," Benomar added.
The envoy urged the Yemeni government to "take confidence-building measures to address the grievances of the southerners" and thus provide an environment that could foster talks.
President Hadi met with members of the dialogue committee to discuss the advancement of the project. The committee raised 20 points of importance back in August with the expectations that President Hadi would need to consider before the national dialogue.
The President said: “Everyone wants us to succeed, but there is a minority who are trying to hinder the path to peace. The initiative to implement democracy in Yemen is being closely watched by the Gulf Cooperation Council, the international scene and the Yemeni people.
In the meeting Hadi insisted on the importance of putting the national interest before any political interest.
President Hadi added: “We should observe what's going on in countries which have risen for change. We were able to achieve a peaceful agreement which protected our country from civil war and fragmentation and we moved to prospects of growth, peace and development with high hopes."
The national dialogue conference, originally scheduled to take place in mid-November, has been delayed after factions in the Southern Movement - which has campaigned for autonomy or outright secession for the formerly independent south - refused to join the talks.
After North and South Yemen unified in 1990, the south broke away in 1994. The move sparked a short-lived civil war that ended with the region being overrun by northern troops.
Benomar met with Southern Movement leaders in Cairo recently to prod them to participate in the national dialogue. And UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited Sanaa last month promising technical and logistical help from the world body.
Yemenis must hold the national dialogue based on the Gulf and UN-brokered power transfer deal in which President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi replaced Saleh.
The talks are intended to result in a new constitution and prepare for legislative and presidential elections at the end of Hadi's two-year interim period in February 2014.
Spokesperson for the national dialogue committee, Amal Basha, said that the President praised the committee’s work. In a statement to the press, she said: “The President urged members of the committee to speed up the completion and submit the final report as soon as possible. Organising this dialogue is the way out of a violent conflict. We want to protect Sanaa from becoming another Damascus.”