President attends graduation of 4th batch

SANA’A, Jan 3 (Saba) – President Ali Abdullah Saleh attended on Saturday the graduation of the 4th batch of the B.A holders and 5th batch of M.A holders in Hodeidah University for the academic year 2002-2003. President Ali Abdullah Saleh delivered a speech in the ceremony expressing good wishes for the graduating students in the New Year. “Once upon a time, there was only one state-run university, the University of Sana’a. Today there are eight state-maintained and more private universities,” he said adding that the emergence of such education facilities was very important in the context of the agricultural and industrial development. ‘We are on the right track in the trade, industrial, cultural and social arenas,’ he continued saying the Yemeni Government wouldn’t act like “some regimes which maintained oppressive security institutions for combating public liberties and undermining education and culture.” “The security apparatus is an instrument for protecting the citizens and guarding the process of development. We have the army to defend the nation, not to terrorize it as some dictator regimes use it. This is the epoch of democracy and human rights. Time of dictatorship is over.” The President attributed “the fall of some regimes of our time” to the lack of democracy and the foreign conspiracy against some Arab and Moslem states. President Saleh said “our young generation is worth more than the wealth of oil, agriculture and industry. Once this generation learns well, it will be self-reliant.” Saleh condemned terrorism whatever its sources might be and the attempts of some western media to link Islam, “the religion of tolerance and democracy” to terror. The worst form of terror, President Saleh, says is that practiced by Israel against the Palestinians. “Once again, I say to my nation that there is no retreat from democracy, human rights, press freedom. We have closed all political jails, there is no political detainee in Yemen. We exchange appreciation with our people.” AA/NM SABA