President Saleh calls Qatar to convince Al Houthi rebels of peace

By Nasser Arrabyee, 31/07/2010
The Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh called on the Qatari leadership to convince Al Houthi rebels to abide by the Doha-agreement.

“We hope that our brothers in Qatar would contact and persuade Al Houthis to comply with what was agreed upon,” President Saleh said in a students’ graduation ceremony at Sana’a university.

“The Doha-agreement should not be sound phenomenon but it must be implemented,” He said. During a visit to Sana’a by the Qatari Emir earlier this month, the Yemeni government announced that the Doha agreement would be applied to end the war with the rebels. Doha agreement was reached in middles of 2007 and renewed in 2008.


The President Saleh said Al Houthi rebels are violating the cease-fire to implement a foreign agenda.
“Al Houthis are working according to a foreign agenda and they have become lords of war.”

“The option of the State is peace, and the rebels are still violating the cease-fire,” he said.
The President repeatedly called the rebels to abide by the six conditions they accepted to stop the war in February this year.
“We call upon the rebels to abide by the six conditions and their implementation mechanism,” he said.

On February 12, the rebels accepted six conditions set by the government to end the 6-year old sporadic conflict. The conditions include the rebels going down from the mountains and handing over the weapons.
Saleh said Yemen would not allow to undermine its stability and security which are “important for the regional and international security” .

“We call for coordinating the efforts for confronting, terrorism, rebellion, and the outlaws (separatists ),” he said.