President calls on parliament to approve legal amendments to elect governors

Saba
SANA’A, April 10 (Saba)- President Ali Abdullah Saleh called on Thursday the Parliament to approve the legal amendments on constitution to open door for electing governors. Addressing the Parliament, president Saleh determined April 27 as date for elections after approval of the amendments. Regarding recent riots and demonstrations in some towns of the country, the president called for dialogue instead of violence. “Instead of demonstrations, burning tyres and cutting off roads, those who have a complaint or problem are welcome to Parliament,” Saleh said. “Tampering with national security is not acceptable”. He also called on the political forces to hold their responsibilities with more credibility, urging for spreading love and unity as well as rejection for all kinds of abhorrence. President Saleh affirmed the importance of security to move the development wheel ahead, giving example of development progress in Hadramout due to stability and security. He pointed out to the decision of the National Defense Council (NDC) that security forces would take necessary measures to quash demonstrations and rallies staged without permission from the government. He said that a handful of the protesters had carried banners demanding secession in protests last week. On the other hands, Prime Minister Ali Mujawar said that 22 soldiers had been hurt and 75 shops and government offices were damaged or looted in the unrest between March 30 and April 9. It was not clear how many civilians were hurt. He added that 283 people had been detained during the protests but 161 of them have been released. AH/AM