CONTROVERSIAL UNITY LAW LIKELY TO BE WITHDRAWN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANAA 001839 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/25/2017 TAGS: YM PHUM PGOV SUBJECT: CONTROVERSIAL UNITY LAW LIKELY TO BE WITHDRAWN REF: SANAA 1634 Classified By: DCM Angie Bryan for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) At an informal iftar (breaking of the fast during Ramadan) at PolOff's residence on 23 September and during a telephone conversation with Poloff on 25 September, Deputy Finance Minister Jalal Yacoub said that the controversial draft National Unity Law, which produced a public outcry when it was introduced in August (reftel),will not be passed by Parliament. Yacoub said that the draft law will be withdrawn from the Cabinet and/or Parliament by the ROYG and be either rejected immediately or presented to the public for a national dialogue. (Note: Yacoub says that the law has passed through the Cabinet and is on its way to Parliament; however, Post cannot confirm this, as reports claim that the law has been frozen in the Cabinet, not yet cleared to move on to Parliament. End Note) ¶2. (C) Yacoub said that during his recent trip to Washington he arranged a meeting between the Minister of Legal Affairs and officials from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). During the meeting the MCC officials expressed their discontent with the draft law and explained the negative effects it would have on Yemen and on potential funding for Yemen. Upon returning to Sanaa, Yacoub arranged a meeting between the Minister of Legal Affairs and the Prime Minister, at which they agreed to withdraw the draft law from Parliament. ¶3. (C) Based on this information and the popular condemnation of the draft law, Post expects the ROYG to withdraw and kill the draft Unity law within the next month, or at least not allow it to move further. SECHE