Yemeni President aiming to address southern separatism

Hadi has submitted a draft law on 'national reconciliation' Sanaa – Ali Rabea Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi issued a presidential decree on Tuesday to address the growing mood of separatism which has pervaded South Yemen since national unification in 1990. Hadi’s decree will form two judicial committees to investigate regional problems, as southern parties refuse to involve themselves in any kind of national dialogue.
Meanwhile dissident members of Yemen's parliament withdrew in protest on Tuesday, demonstrating against a draft law on national reconciliation and administration of justice, which was submitted by President Hadi.
Politicians accuse the country's leader of using his constitutional authority to submit a law without achieving consensus beforehand.
Yemen’s Minister of Legal Affairs Mohamed el-Mokhlafy criticised the draft law, stressing that it represents the specific viewpoint of the President and his party, headed by former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Parties also objected to the law on the grounds that it only judges on incidents that took place during Yemen's 2011 revolution, rather than the years under Saleh’s rule.