Outcomes of dialogue chart way for future Yemen

The conclusion of Yemen's national dialogue showed the "first step" to build a modern Yemen, analysts said on Saturday, noting that Yemen will overcome all challenges just like the dialogue did. At the closing ceremony of the national dialogue conference after 10 months of intensive consensus-based talks on all national issues, Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi said Yemen has now turned over a new leaf in its history that will lay the groundwork for concrete change. "With the dialogue concluded, we moved from talking about problems to the stage of finding practical solutions to these problems; from the battle of theories to the battle of building," he said. ABUNDANT OUTCOMES The consensually agreed outcomes, more than 2,000 constitutional and law specifics and proposals to improve general policies, stated Yemen to be made of federal regions, protecting human rights and all freedoms, boosting the national economy, fighting poverty and unemployment, sharing power and wealth and finding fair solutions to appease pro-separatism factions in the south and Shiite Houthi rebels in the north. The outcomes also laid plans for a new constitution and mandated president to reshuffle the cabinet and Shura council to include more southerners in response to the region's desire for more representation and autonomy. Analysts said the conclusion of the dialogue reflected the least level of consensus and determination of all factions to reconcile, but it remains the easy step to build a modern Yemen. Nabil Albukiri, head of the Arab center for political studies and development, said the dialogue conference was a positive sign from the perspective of considering it a civilized way to transition. DOCUMENT TO IMPLEMENT OUTCOMES Last week, all political factions and other groups participating in the dialogue signed the final document of guarantees to implement the conference's outcomes. The guarantees included general principles and executive measures focused on finalizing all the transition requirements on the bases of partnership and consensus in accordance with the Gulf Initiative that ended the political upheaval in 2011 and commitment of factions to making real changes. The executive measures focused on the constitution drafting process and preparing and holding elections in a year, good governance, resolving all conflicts, restructuring the armed forces and the security systems, transitional justice and judicial power and decisions on the federal system. Analysts said it is enough that the dialogue's outcomes including the final document laid the groundwork for Yemen's ultimate goal which is to share power and wealth and not go back to chaos, conflicts and misuse of powers. Hadi and the UN envoy to Yemen Jamal bin Omarin on Saturday described the document as "a miracle." "The time has come to start a new era of equal rights, the rule of law and putting the public interest above anything else," Hadi said. CRUCIAL CHALLENGES One of the main challenges facing Yemen and which observers said is threatening the political transition is "external interference through supporting violent groups." "The success of the dialogue was the best response to external interference. Yemenis have put their guns aside and consensually agreed to start a new social era in which equal citizenship, the rule of law and participation of all prevail," said Abdulsalam Muhammad, head of the Abaad center for strategic studies. Anis Mansour, an Aden-based analyst, said the international support to the power transition in Yemen stands as a good guarantee to face external attempts to derail the transition course. On the aspect of the determination to tackle crucial issues, Mansour said "giving priority to the southern issue in the dialogue's agenda and outcomes just reflected the serious intention of all Yemenis to put an end to complicated issues." The final document of the dialogue also focused on taking strict measures to put an end to all armed conflicts and an immediate restructuring of the national forces. Meanwhile, analysts said federalism is a good option to empower federal governments and protect the national unity. Muhammad said the federalism, on which Yemenis have agreed, mainly aims to strengthen decentralized federal governance to prevent separation. "In other words, our federalism is focused on empowering economic more than political federal governance." "The most important thing is how factions can demonstrate commitment to work together sincerely to resolve the problems which they have been meeting on," Albukiri said. "The post- dialogue period will answer all questions about the real success of Yemenis which lies in resolving these problems practically."