The Yemeni political scene remains fractious and deadlocked, with the public weary of party conflict, writes Mohammed Al-Asaadi in Sanaa Yemen, suffering several critical impasses, is witnessing a new round of fierce political tension between the General People's Congress (GPC) -- the ruling party -- and the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP), the strongest opposition coalition. The GPC launched a strong attack against the JPM for not responding to an invitation of the Yemeni president to resume stalled political dialogue. Official media accused the JMP of supporting the independence movement in the south, and rebels in the north. In an interim agreement, both parties in February committed themselves to a timetable for making necessary amendments to the constitution and to start arranging postponed parliamentary elections due now April 2011. The basic issues agreed upon include providing opportunity for political parties and civil society organisations to discuss amendments aimed to development of the political and the electoral system, including proportional representation, and extending the current parliament for two more years. Each side is trying to blame the other for delays in the dialogue process. Tariq Al-Shami, head of the media department of the GPC, told Al-Ahram Weekly that his party is willing to start dialogue with all parties represented in parliament and part of the February reconciliation agreement. Al-Shami said the JMP is trying to repudiate the February agreement and avoid invitations for dialogue by imposing new conditions. One such condition is to engage the Houthi rebels in the north, representatives of the southern movement, and opposition leaders abroad. "These factions -- proposed by the JMP to be included in the political dialogue -- need to be convinced first to adhere to the republican system, national unity and democracy," Al-Shami said. Second Deputy of the GPC Abdul-Karim Al-Eryani said earlier this week that the requests made by the JMP are commands only fools can accept. In response, Mohammed Al-Sabri, a JMP leading figure representing the Nasserite Party, expressed his disappointment with such reaction to the call for engaging all factions in a national dialogue. "The government has gone into several rounds of dialogue with the rebels and with Qatari mediation," Al-Sabri said. "It is doing the same with some leaders from the southern movement. Why does it reject our proposal to engage these groups in a national dialogue?" Al-Sabri stressed in a statement to the Weekly that the current authority and ruling party encourage violence -- referring to the movement in the south and rebels in the north -- on a daily basis. The JMP, according to Al-Sabri, will soon announce a national vision to salvage the country from its ongoing crises and call for necessary change. "This initiative is an exclusive effort by the JMP in its peaceful struggle to rescue the country," Al-Sabri added. Political analysts and observers -- quoted by GPC media -- say the JMP's move to halt dialogue before its beginning is likely an attempt to forestall upcoming elections and implement a foreign agenda in Yemen. Some charge that there are elements within the JMP bent on encouraging chaos. However, Ali Saif Hassan, president of the Political Development Forum in Sanaa, said that ongoing manoeuvres between the political parties are a result of the inability of both sides to implement dialogue outcomes. "The GPC does not represent all active powers in the state, including traditional powers represented by tribes and the military," Hassan said. "Also, the JMP doesn't represent the masses or all powers in the street, including rebels in the northern province of Saada and the southern movement in many provinces." The JMP is a coalition that was established in 2003 by the major opposition political parties representing different political ideologies, including the Islamic Party of Islah, the Socialists, Nasserites, the Baath Party and a Shia party. Although the mix is eclectic, it has been able to resist all attempts by the ruling powers to dissolve its strong cohesion. Meanwhile, the general public is disenchanted with the war of words and destructive accusations traded from one side to the other. People in general expect a settlement based on a rational approach to handling critical national issues.
