AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES THE OPPOSITION'S ROLE WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANAA 000267

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/13/2013
TAGS: PGOV YM
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES THE OPPOSITION'S ROLE WITH
THE JMP


1. (C) Summary: The Ambassador and DCM met with leaders of
the opposition Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) coalition on
February 13. The conversation focused on the political
dialogue between the ruling party and the JMP and on the role
the JMP is playing in remedying the problems of the country.
During the meeting, however, the JMP appeared to be focused
on complaints, rather than reform. End Summary


2. (U) The Ambassador and DCM met with leaders of the
opposition Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) coalition on February

13. The meeting included General Secretary of Islah
Abdulwahab al-Anisi, Assistant Secretary General of Islah
Mohammed al-Saadi, Assistant General Secretary of the Yemen
Socialist party (YSP) Abu-Bakr Badeeb, General Secretary of
al-Haq Hassan Zaid, Chairman of Union of the Popular Forces
(UPF) Mohammed al-Robaie, Deputy Chairman of UPF Mohammed
al-Mutawakel, and member of the Nasrite party and Chairman of
the JMP Executive Council Mohammed Sabri.

Failed Dialogue
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3. (C) The Ambassador asked about the status of the political
dialogue between the ruling General People's Congress (GPC)
party and the JMP. (Note: The political dialogue collapsed
at the end of 2007 based on disagreements regarding election
reform. End Note.) According to al-Anisi, Secretary General
of the islamist Islah party, the JMP is committed to the
dialogue in principle, as it believes it to be a necessary
means of expression and integral to peace and democracy. The
problem, according to al-Anisi, is that the JMP is
"confronting an authority that does not believe in dialogue."



4. (C) Al-Anisi explained that the government wants to have
"negotiations," rather than "dialogue" with the JMP,
specifying that, in his view, in negotiations the power
balance is with the government, as opposed to dialogue,
wherein both parties are equal. Badeeb, Assistant Secretary
General of the YSP, added that "there is a great portion of
society now, both in the north and south, that do not have
confidence in the dialogue ... this makes the possibility of
resuming the dialogue very difficult for the JMP."

Opposition's Role in Remedying Yemen's Problems
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5. (C) The Ambassador stressed to the JMP leadership that an
"opposition that is faithful to the principles of democracy"
has a vitally important role to play in the country. With
this, the Ambassador asked the JMP how they saw their role in
remedying the problems of Yemen. UPF Chairman al-Robaie
replied that the ROYG was "creating crises" to sustain
itself, and because of this policy, the "regime refuses any
positive cooperation from the opposition." Sabri, member of
the Nasrite party and current Chairman of the JMP Executive
Council, said that the JMP was currently studying a
"salvation program," which they will present to the Yemeni
population to identify the main problems in the country and
come up with solutions to address them.


6. (C) Al-Anisi and Zaid, Secretary General of the dissolved
al-Haq party, said, however, that the authorities do not
allow the JMP to solve problems and pointed to the failed
Saada reconciliation committee, which included members of the
opposition, as proof. Zaid added that the ROYG does not want
to solve most of the country's problems because instability
allows the regime to "oppress and terrorize." Al-Anisi added
that in this environment the ROYG is able to use the
"terrorist card" to gain US support. The Ambassador
reiterated the importance of the existence of "sound and
democratic" alternative solutions for Yemen's pressing
problems and pledged US Embassy support for democratic
initiatives.

Comment
- - - -

7. (C) The opposition in Yemen has seemingly fallen into a
culture of complaint, wherein the ruling party is blamed for
all the ills of the country, and the opposition, like the
rest of Yemen, continues to be the victim. Post recognizes
the opposition's difficulties in surmounting the resistance
of the ruling party. If, however, the JMP continues to
complain and boycott, rather than engage and compromise, the
GPC will succeed in dismissing the electoral reforms the JMP
wants before the 2009 Parliamentary elections. End Comment
SECHE