Yemeni government apologizes to south, Saada for previous wars

The National Reconciliation Government has apologized to citizens of the southern, eastern and Sa'ada provinces for 1994 and Sa'ada wars. The Government said that its apology made on behalf of the former regimes and the parties that took part in the wars, "is to those affected by those wars and to all the victims of the previous political conflicts." It recognized that the previous authorities were "the primary responsible, and not the only one, for the wars and consequent repercussions", considering them "historical and moral mistakes" that cannot be recurred. The apology was approved in the cabinet's meeting chaired by Prime Minister Mohamed Salem Basindwa. The Government said that it was issued in accordance with the recommendations of the 20 points approved by the preparatory committee of the National Dialogue Conference (NDC), and the 11 points approved by the NDC's South team. Its aim was to create the conditions favorable to the NDC's success charged with bringing about national reconciliation, which is a prerequisite for the social peace, the government said. The government obligated itself to provide guarantees that such wars not to be recurred by taking steps aimed at achieving national reconciliation and transitional justice as well as enacting laws ensuring to achieve all that. It expressed its confidence that the NDC's outcomes are the most important guarantees for not to return to the past violations through drafting a new constitution that will ensure the citizens' equal rights and freedoms and an equitable distribution of power and wealth. The government will hold an extraordinary meeting next Sunday to discuss and approve an executive timetabled program to carry out the remaining of the 20 and 11 points.