President Saleh: democracy is inevitable choice

SANA’A, (Saba)- President Ali Abdullah Saleh confirmed Yemen’s readiness to support “all honest efforts to in the Arab world to push democracy process forward as inevitable choice”. President Saleh said in the first forum of democracy in the Arab world launched Wednesday in Sana’a that “democracy is a must to achieve development, justice and peace”. Democracy has become an inevitable choice so that nations can make progress and development, especially when organs of controlling and accountability support it according to applicable laws, said Saleh in a letter to the participants from different Arab countries read by his political advisor Abdul-Karim al-Iryani. He stressed on the need for independent judiciary, peaceful power transference, empowering women to participate in the development process as well as encouraging multi-party system and respecting human rights. Then president Saleh reviewed in his letter how Yemen is experiencing democracy and multi-party system through respecting human rights, expression freedom, the right to establish civil societies and opening the way before all to participate in the political field. He finished as saying that the forum reflected the keenness of Arab countries to develop democracy and to deepen the democratic culture of Arab communities. Al-Iryani, head of the Cultures Bridge Forum, the main organizer of the democracy forum, explained that the Cultures Bridge Forum and the National Center for Human Rights and Democracy Development intended to launch an active democratic activity to make awareness of the need to real democracy that meets Arabs requirements and keeps their private culture and history. Madrid Club sent a letter to the forum supporting the goals of the Arab League for Democracy. The letter, signed by former president of Irland Marry Robinson and former head of Madrid Club Ricardo Laghose, reads the Arab League for Democracy was a result of efforts of Madrid Club “for supporting dialogue towards democracy development”. Seventy-five representatives of 18 Arab countries are taking party in the forum to last until August 23. NS/NSSaba