South Yemeni separatist leader boycotts Dubai meeting

Southern leaders have vowed to adopt dialogue in Dubai South Yemeni separatist leader Ali Salim al-Beidh has boycotted a meeting between southern leaders in Dubai, to discuss participation in the country's national dialogue later this month. Several opposition leaders vowed to continue talks for the betterment of Yemen, at the gathering which was sponsored by the United Nations and attended by UN envoy to Yemen, Jamal Benomar.
Al-Beidh, former Vice-President of South Yemen before unification and leader of the current southern independence movement al-Harak, has demanded full independence once again for the southern region.
Around 20 leaders from various southern movements took part in the meeting, including former President of South Yemen, Ali Nasir Muhammad, and Yemen's former Prime Minister Haider al-Attas.
The leaders condemned violence in Yemen and stressed the need for all southern movements to promote peace.
"We have agreed that the southern issue can only be resolved peacefully. We look forward to carrying out further meetings with the participation of all southern components," the leaders said in a joint statement.
They also condemned "illegal arrests and killings" by Yemeni authorities, and demanded that detainees are released to to prevent  further violence from erupting on the streets of Yemen.
Al-Beidh renewed his rejection of the upcoming national dialogue in Yemen on March 18, and called on the UN Security Council to apologise to "the people of the south" and give them their right to "self-determination."
Media sources that al-Beidh's representatives attended the Dubai meeting, only to hand Benomar a list of demands before walking out.
The letter from al-Beidh to Benomar said that "a political climate should be created in which to promote dialogue to provide international protection for the people of the south, and replace all military units and northern militias with UN peacekeeping forces."
"Dialogue should be between representatives of the southern state (Democratic Republic of Yemen) and the State of Yemen Arab Republic, following the recognition of the cause of the southern people, and the southern movement as an actor in this issue," he added.
Al-Beidh also criticised the UN Security Council for naming him and former Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh as obstacles to a political settlement in Yemen, adding that they have put "the executioner and the victim in the same basket."
Meanwhile, Yemeni security officials have begun drafting a comprehensive security plan to safeguard the national dialogue sessions taking place in several different locations, after the opening session in the capital Sanaa.
Spokesman for the Yemeni Military Commission for Security and Stability, Major General Ali Saeed Obaid confirmed that President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi had instructed the committee to devise a security plan with the help of security and military units.