Yemeni cabinet approves steps to implement 20 and 11 points

The Cabinet on Wednesday approved the executive steps, timetable and suggested bodies to implement the 20 and 11 points. In its weekly meeting chaired by Prime Minister Mohammed Salem Basindwa, the Cabinet approved the steps that include issuing a cabinet's decision on forming a committee to count cases that are still held in custody in connection with political cases or detained forcibly and illegally. The committee, which includes members of the State's Presidency, Ministries of Interior, Justice and Human Rights, the Public Prosecution, national security and political security services, has to take the necessary measures to investigate the cases and immediately release any detainee in connection with the southern peaceful movement, Sa'ada wars and the peaceful youth revolution. The steps also underscored the issuance of a decision forming the members of an independent inquiry committee into the 2011 events, pursuant to the Presidential Decree No. 40 of 2012 and of Human Rights Council's (HRC) relevant resolution. The Cabinet has to draft a comprehensive amnesty bill that abolishes all sentences passed on the Southern leaders, excepting no one, in addition to making every effort to end the civil conflict in Sa'ada province. The approved steps stressed to finalize procedures for issuing a presidential decree to establish a fund for the wounded martyrs' families of the February 11th popular and youth peaceful revolution and the South peaceful movement, including the wounded of the events taken place on February 21, 2013, in addition to completing procedures to establish a compensation and reparation fund to address the conditions of the wounded and the martyrs of the wars of 1994 and Sa'ada. Concerning the abolition the culture of glorification of civil wars and calls for revenge and political retaliation, the steps indicated that the cabinet has to form two committees; one to develop a media plan enhances the culture of tolerance and rejection of hatred, and not to use mosques for political goals, and stops immediately any programs disturb the progress of the national dialogue. The other committee is charged with revising and redrafting the educational curricula in line with the intellectual diversity in the country, and the national dialogue's outcomes. The Cabinet also agreed to cancel the "July 7" from the list of the State's national vacations and holidays. It approved the implementation of presidential orders to pay $3 million to "Alayyam Newspaper" as compensation. The executive steps to carry out the 20 and 11 points also included revising contracts of oil companies' protection and all oil facilities lease contracts and stopping any illegal way of dealing with the State's lands and public tourist enterprises and facilities in all provinces. The steps proposed the government to draft a law regulating the recovery of seized properties in the light of the outcomes of the committee addressing land disputes in the southern provinces and to return the funds, headquarters and archives of the Socialist Party. The 20 points have been proposed by the National Dialogue Conference's (NDC) preparatory technical committee and the 11 points approved by the NDC's Southern issue team. They all aimed to carry out trust-building measures and pave the way to succeed the national dialogue.