Ban lauds start of Yemeni dialogue

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NEW YORK, March 19 (UPI) -- The people and government of Yemen have made the right choice in embracing dialogue over violence, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said.

Yemeni President Abdu Rabbo Mansour Hadi launched a long-awaited national dialogue session Monday that has U.N. and international support. Yemen's stability is jeopardized by al-Qaida threats and separatist ambitions.

Ban issued a statement through his spokesman's office congratulating Hadi's administration for marching down the road to peace.

"The dialogue represents a historic opportunity for the Yemeni people, including women and youth," the statement read. "It will allow them to come together to resolve grievances and to build trust, ensure justice, promote human rights and contribute to the country's development and prosperity."

Dialogue was scheduled for November but was delayed because of objections by southern separatists.

Hadi said Tuesday that Yemen required national solutions to national problems.

"We should always remember that we entered this hall in order to exit with Yemeni-made solutions of a national flavor to our problems," he was quoted by the official Saba news agency as saying. "You will spare yourselves solutions coming from abroad."

Hadi served as vice president under Abdullah Ali Saleh, whose legacy he's trying to erase.