Yemen to start work on reforms

Yemeni leaders seeking to end political upheaval started work on comprehensive reforms ­yesterday, with the scale of their task illustrated by the tens of thousands of protesters who marched in the south to ­demand their own state.

Yemen has struggled to restore normality since president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was elected in February 2012 after nearly a year of Arab Spring-style protests that forced out his predecessor, Ali Abdullah Saleh, after 33 years in power.

The national dialogue conference, promised under a Gulf-brokered deal, is the country’s most important political gathering in 50 years and is intended to pave the way for elections in 2014. It comprises representatives of various political parties from across Yemen and is expected to last for six months.

Some 565 people will work in committees to draft a new constitution, prepare proposals on government decentralisation, discuss grievances of the former South Yemen and northern Shiite rebels, and consider reconstruction of the armed forces.