[ سلة الصحافة العربية والعالمية ] - سبتمبر 2008 - الأسبوع الثاني

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Yemen pardons rioters in deal with opposition
11 Sep 2008 13:13:25 GMT
Source: Reuters


</SPAN> SANAA, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Yemen has pardoned dozens of people arrested in violent protests by unemployed youths in April, under a government agreement with the opposition, a security official said on Thursday.

"The last 12 detainees were freed yesterday and early today (Thursday) after signing a pledge not to carry out activities against the unity of the country," the official told Reuters.

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh issued the amnesty after authorities reached a settlement with opposition parties, particularly the Yemen Socialist Party (YSP) which ruled south Yemen before its unification with the north in 1990.

The amnesty also covers three YSP ******s charged in May with inciting violence and calling for secession after the riots that left dozens wounded in the south of the country.

Opposition officials confirmed the report.

Youths demanding army jobs rioted in several towns in April, some raising demands for secession of the south, where many people feel marginalised.

Government forces crushed a southern bid to secede in 1994.

The south is home to only a fifth of Yemen's 22 million population but it generates much the country's revenue.

Up to 80 percent of oil production comes from the area which also has fisheries and Aden's port and refinery.

One of the poorest countries outside Africa, Yemen is also struggling with an ailing economy and an al Qaeda campaign while the government is fighting to crush a four-year rebellion in the north and cope with an influx of Somali refugees. (Reporting by Mohammed Sudam; writing by Firouz Sedarat; editing by Elizabeth Piper)

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