AL-MUKALLA: Yemen’s internationally recognized government, political parties and journalists have expressed support for invitations sent by the Gulf Cooperation Council to warring factions in Yemen for comprehensive talks in Riyadh to agree to a peace deal to end the conflict.
Yemenis have demanded that the Iran-backed terrorist Houthi militia and the Yemeni government comply with GCC-brokered peace efforts to find a solution to the war.
Nayef Al-Hajraf, the GCC’s secretary-general, said on Thursday that the Gulf bloc would host consultations between Yemeni parties at the end of this month in Riyadh to find a settlement.
The office of Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi welcomed the GCC’s “sincere” offer to host the talks, adding that it would back all peace plans that are based on three references: the GCC’s peace initiative in 2011, the outcomes of the National Dialogue Conference and UN Security Council Resolution 2216.
“The presidency also called on all Yemeni components to effectively and positively participate in the upcoming consultations, and to combine all efforts to get Yemen out of its crisis, end the suffering of its people and start building the future of its generations,” Hadi’s office said in a statement carried by the official news agency SABA.
The pro-independence Southern Transitional Council also on Saturday backed the GCC’s call for talks, calling for the implementation of the Riyadh Agreement, reforming state’s bodies, addressing the crumbling economy and rescuing the falling currency.
The STC said it praised “the efforts and activities of the GCC to achieve peace, security and stability in the south and Yemen.”
Yemeni politicians and journalists, meanwhile, have urged the country’s warring parties to seriously take part in the conference in Riyadh to help address the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Abdul Kareem Al-Medi, a Yemeni journalist, said the GCC invitation has revived hopes to end the war and the humanitarian crisis caused by the Houthi military takeover of power in late 2014.
“We pray that the consultations succeed in coming up with a comprehensive vision between the various parties that responded to the invitation,” Al-Medi said on Twitter.
Omar Al-Murshed, a Yemeni media consultant, described the planned talks as “the last chance” for reaching a peace deal to end the suffering of Yemenis.
Riyadh Al-Dubai, a Yemeni human rights activist, called upon the Yemenis to “sincerely and effectively” take part in the conference, put aside their differences and personal interests and to work on ending the suffering of 30 million Yemenis who have been impacted by the war.
“Accepting this initiative and having sincere intentions before participating in it may be the lifeline that may pull Yemen out of the clutches of the war that has impacted all Yemenis,” he said on Twitter.
