Yemen says plans to release 300 rebels are moving forward

Opposition welcomes to release nearly 300 al Houthi rebels and southern separatists as step towards resuming talks,

SANA'A // Yemen's plan to release nearly 300 al Houthi rebels and southern separatists is moving forward, a Yemeni security official said yesterday, in line with a promise the president made last week. On Friday, Yemen's president, Ali Abdullah Saleh ordered the release of all detainees associated with the rebel group in the north and members of the Southern Movement, which is seeking an independent state.

"Following the president's directives ... arrangements are being taken to release 200 detained in connection with the insurgency sedition in the [northern] province of Sa'ada and 98 detainees who violated the law and took part in riots in some [southern] provinces," an unnamed official at the country's top security committee was quoted as saying by the state-run Saba news agency. The security committee called upon al Houthi rebels to respect the conditions of a truce signed with the government in February and "urged all detainees to be freed to make use of the presidential pardon, respecting the constitution and law provisions while practising their rights".

Yesterday, the Joint Meeting Parties, an opposition coalition of six parties, welcomed Mr Saleh's decision to release the detainees. In a statement, the group said it considered the move a step towards resuming talks with the government over political and electoral reforms. The talks were halted when the two parties agreed in February 2009 to postpone the parliamentary election for two years due to the insurgencies threatening the country. The opposition said it is a must that the dialogue is quickly resumed.

The north of the country, mainly Sa'ada province, has endured six rounds of fighting since an on-and-off war erupted in 2004. The last round started last summer and continued until the truce in February. The government's conditions for the truce included the rebels' withdrawal from government buildings and military posts they had seized, reopening roads, returning weapons seized from security services and freeing all military and civilian prisoners. Al Houthis also pledged not to attack Saudi Arabia.

Since this fragile truce was reached, both sides continue to accuse each other of breaching the peace deal. The government has accused the rebels of not handing over maps of landmines and not reopening roads, charges the rebels deny. The release of the 98 members of the Southern Movement comes on the heels of the government's decision to set free 19 southerners, who were detained in February and March. Dozens of people have been arrested across the south over violent protests in which dozens were killed and wounded.

Southerners have complained of being marginalised, particularly since they lost the 1994 civil war. Saba also reported that the courts and prosecuters had begun to implement Mr Saleh's pardon of journalists who are were convicted of, or on trial for, press offences. Five journalists remained in jail after the government released one, Hussein Aliswas, yesterday. Ghazi al Aghbari, the minister of justice, said the prosecutions and courts are working to implement the president's pardon.

"The prosecutions and courts have started counting the cases they are handling in line with their specialisations, in order to finalise the president's pardon and release those covered by the pardon on cases relating to public rights," Mr al Aghbari told Saba on Sunday. Mohammed Abdulsalam, a Houthi rebel spokesman, welcomed the pardon but said there were about 1,000 prisoners since the war erupted in 2004.

There are reportedly about 800 prisoners linked to the southern separatists. @Email:[e-mail]