Democracy cannot be applied by force: president Saleh

SANA’A Jan 11 (Saba) – President Ali Abdullah Saleh asserted on Sunday the importance of the Sana’a Inter-government regional conference on the Democracy , Human Rights and the Role of the ICC. Saleh said that the conference is considered as a recommendation for the political regimes to go the right way. Saleh said in a press conference after the opening session of the conference that that ” the attendance is good and the Sana’a declaration will include many things related to democracy and human rights. It will be a recommendation for all regimes to go the right way and to close the political prisons to keep them for terrorists who continue unresting humanity.” He condemned terrorism whatever its form or religion. He pointed particularly to “the Israeli terrorism which oppress Palestinians, destroy their homes and lands.” Saleh also criticized the international media silence towards the Israeli terrorism, and its concentration only on the al-Qaeda network, asserting that there is no place for dictatorship either by small regimes or big regimes. Saleh called for regimes and mass media to adopt transparency, pointing out to the importance of media means to guide both regimes and peoples. ” Ten years ago there were some sensitivity from private media but now the regimes started to accept media criticism step-by step” president Saleh said. Saleh expressed his hope that the media must be concern with accuracy and credibility because journalism should be free from hostility and grudge, which harm the regimes and nations alike. He also expressed his hope the press will be the fourth authority. He underlined the regimes’ need for free media and the opinion freedom. In his reply to a question related to his initiative to adopt the democracy principle, whether it is warning to countries of single ruling party and Yemen’s role to strengthening relations between the western democracy and democracy of the third world, president Saleh made it clear that his speech comes on behalf of the third world’s countries which are similar in its political regimes to Yemen. He underscored that democracy is a “lifeboat for nations and regimes” of the third world. President Saleh asserted that concept of “no peace without justice” is related to the whole world because some countries in the civilized world allege freedom and democracy, but they, at the same time, violate human rights. He pointed out that the problem is not related to only the third world, but to the civilized world as well. Regarding his coming visit to Egypt, he said, “I would visit Egypt and exchange the viewpoints with the Egyptian leadership “. He answered to questions related to the role of the conference to solve the problem of double standards in dealing with issues of human rights in Palestine and Iraq, he said the conference is concerned with general principles of democracy and human rights and it does not deal with details which may be included in the final statement. When asked whether the conference would passage the chances of those who want to apply democracy to the region by force, he underlined that he is against enforce democracy by force because the nations choose the governing regimes whatever they are. ” We have to move towards democracy as other nations move as democracy is the feature of this age. Nations do not accept the hearing and blind obedience sense, there are press and social institutions which have their own views.” Saleh said that from his won view that democracy has only one shape based on the principle of ” you should consulate them”, saying that democracy is press and opinion freedom, public participation in making decisions. NA/NA SABA