[26 April 2004]

SANA'A, April 26 (Saba)- President Ali Abdullah Saleh called on Arab states to adopt democratic reforms and bolster public participation in the decision making process.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the 1st conference of the Association of Senates and Equivalent Councils in Africa and the Arab World on Sunday, President Saleh said, "I hope regimes would induct democratic reforms and let their people's participate in the decision making process."

"This is the era of dialogue, democracy and public participation in decision making, the era of dictatorships and monocracies is over,"President Saleh said. "We should patch up ourselves before others reform us… we should take lessons from what happened (to Iraq)," he added.

But he said reforms should be initiated from inside the Arab countries "not from outside," a clear reference to the U.S. reform project for the Middle East, known as the 'Greater Middle East'.

The Yemeni leader called for the immediate withdrawal of coalition forces from Iraq and leaving the Iraqi people choose its ruling regime. He criticized the lack of stability in Iraq, saying that no security nor stability, freedom or democracy in Iraq, they were only slogans by Americans before the occupation of Iraq.

President Saleh pointed to the going down situation in the Middle East due to the terrorist acts by Israel which is completely supported by the United States of America.

President said the American ultimate bias towards Israeli terror against Palestinian people would not lead to peace and stability in the region.

"We ask the United States of America, as sponsor of peace, not to rouse the antagonism of one billion Muslim and all nations of the third world's countries against it. We want from US to work hard to enjoy good relations with the Arab world, Islam and all countries of the third world. We don not need hostility between nations, civilizations and religions," said president Saleh.

President Saleh called upon America to give up double standards, especially in relation to the international resolutions regarding the region.

"Double standard in applying resolutions is discrimination. We call for an international conference to identify terrorism and its reasons," president Saleh.

Saleh criticized the international human rights organizations for the ignorance of human rights violations in Palestine and Iraq by occupation forces.

NS/KM