Yemen's Saleh open to national dialogue

SANAA, Yemen, March 9 (UPI) -- National dialogue is the way to preserve national unity in Yemen, though military protection is needed to thwart any plots, said President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Saleh, during an address at a military academy in Sanaa, said rivals who pledged their allegiance to southern separatists were destabilizing the country, the official Saba news agency reports.

Civil war between southern and northern forces shook Yemeni unity in 1994. A crackdown on separatists in recent weeks left several dead on both sides, though Sanaa claimed it arrested dozens of high-profile figures in recent weeks.

Secessionist leaders in February called for an uprising against the government in Sanaa.

Yemen is dealing with looming presence of al-Qaida as well as threats from secessionist supporters. A truce with the Houthi rebel group in the north appears to be holding, however.

Saleh said he would form a committee to have a dialogue with those who were interested in talks but stressed sustainable development required a strong stance.

"I don't want the chair of presidency or Cabinet, I want to be a soldier to serve the nation and its unity," he said.