Yemen's ex President denies interference in state affairs

Former Yemeni President denied any interference in the affairs of the state's administration. An official source of the office of the General People's Congress Party (GPC) headed by Ali Abdullah Saleh denied reports via the press office of Yemen's Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) saying that this accusation is nothing but a smokescreen to cover up the failure in managing the Gulf initiative files and their entitlements. The source stressed that Saleh left power voluntarily through early elections in commitment to the provisions of the Gulf initiative. Differences between the new Yemeni president Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi and the former President Ali Saleh, escalated due to Saleh's interference in Hadi's role in managing the affairs of the country, and his repeated attempts to pressurise Hadi into implementing certain requests which contradict with the direction of the current phase. These should be consistent with the operational steps of the Gulf initiative articles, signed in Riyadh on November 23, 2011 and its executive mechanisms. Saleh also attempted to impede the government activities through pressurising ministers into boycotting the weekly cabinet meetings, which Hadi considered a blatant interference in the government affairs. The partners of the political settlement are represented in the General People's Congress Party (GPC) headed by Ali Abdullah Saleh and Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) which consists of six political parties, most notably the Islamic Reform grouping and the Socialist Party. Conflicts arose due to Saleh's refusal to restructure the army and the security forces, accusing the National Reconciliation government, headed by Mohammed Salem Basendwah of failure, which prompted Basendwah to respond via a statement under the name "Friday of Dignity" massacre, referring to the event where more than 50 revolutionary young men were shot and more than 200 people were injured. Saleh was accused of being behind this massacre as well as cutting off electricity, petroleum products and services to the citizens.