Sunday, 05 September 2010 17:07

SANAA, 26 Oct — Tribal leader and business tycoon, Sheik Hamid Abdullah al-Ahmar Monday said arrangements for holding the oppostion-sponsored dialogue conference are underway.  Al-Ahmar who heads the committee of national dialogue at the opposition Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) told al-Asima weekly that “all political powers, national and social figures in Yemen will be represented in the conference without excluding anyone,” adding “the regime continues to drag the nation into multiple crises and the conference aims at bringing the country out of these crises.”  “We are seriously working to find a national consensus to preserve Yemen’s entity and stability,” he said, adding “dialogue is moving in all directions and we have contacted opponents living abroad and invited them to be part of the national consensus.”  Several weeks ago, he called on President Saleh to step down accusing him of “dragging the country into a dark tunnel,” and official media lashed at him accusing him of hampering out the “development process.”  “What the state media have been babbling about shows the regime is frightened to see the Yemeni people respond [to the opposition’s rescue plan] and to see people are getting closer to each others and determined to take their future out of these hands that have wasted the country’s stability,” he said, adding “we will keep the media updated about our moves.”  The opposition is planning a meeting in Lebanon to address the problems of the country next month.