Video-New military commission to restructure armed forces in Yemen

After a week’s delay, The Vice President Abdurebih Mansour Hadi has assigned a military a commission consisting of 14 senior military officials from both opposition and the regime.

The Council members are squarely divided between the ruling party and the opposition, as each side will receive seven seats in the council.

As was stipulated in the signed initiative, the military commission will now move forward into reconstruction the armed and security forces of Yemen.

Both parties have welcomed the new council, expressing that this will be a progressive step in bringing an end to the turmoil.

Opposition experts say the main purpose of the military commission is to serve the nation’s interest and to assure that the army will not be controlled by any family or party.

Main opposition leader Mohamed Gahdan added that this commission will eventually rid Ali Saleh and his family’s grip on the army forces.

Mohamed al Asal a main organizer in the liberation square and a member of the Islah party said that the formation of a military commission is a step in the right direction, however, they will remain in the liberation square till protesters meet all their demands.

Some protesters in the liberation square expressed hope for the new commission, calling on the committee to serve the people’s interest, not the regime’s.

Many protesters have condemned the newly establishment as it includes members of Ali Saleh’s regime, something protesters have made clear they will not accept.

These protesters said that the revolution came out to topple the regime of Ali Saleh, not to form a military commission or to sign an initiative.

According to the initiative which was signed in Riyadh, the military commission should have been formed immediately after the initiative was signed. It was however delayed due to political discrepancies between opposition and the regime. Opposition parties then rejected to participate in the formation of a new government, until the military commission was formed.

Now that the commission has been established, opposition is expected to announce their members in the unified government within 24 hours.

The formation of a military commission is viewed by some as a positive step for the revolution. However many argue that this will not bring about any change, due to the fact that members of Ali Saleh’s regime will still remain in power.