Draft Rules Prepared for PLC Work in Yemen

PLC Chairman Rashad Al-Alimi meeting with  Mohammed Al-Ghaithi, Chairman of the Consultation and Reconciliation Commission, and his deputies Abdul-Malik Al-Mikhlafi, Sakhr Al-Wajeeh, Jamila Ali Raja, and Akram Al-Amiri (Saba News Agency)
PLC Chairman Rashad Al-Alimi meeting with Mohammed Al-Ghaithi, Chairman of the Consultation and Reconciliation Commission, and his deputies Abdul-Malik Al-Mikhlafi, Sakhr Al-Wajeeh, Jamila Ali Raja, and Akram Al-Amiri (Saba News Agency)
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Draft Rules Prepared for PLC Work in Yemen

PLC Chairman Rashad Al-Alimi meeting with  Mohammed Al-Ghaithi, Chairman of the Consultation and Reconciliation Commission, and his deputies Abdul-Malik Al-Mikhlafi, Sakhr Al-Wajeeh, Jamila Ali Raja, and Akram Al-Amiri (Saba News Agency)
PLC Chairman Rashad Al-Alimi meeting with Mohammed Al-Ghaithi, Chairman of the Consultation and Reconciliation Commission, and his deputies Abdul-Malik Al-Mikhlafi, Sakhr Al-Wajeeh, Jamila Ali Raja, and Akram Al-Amiri (Saba News Agency)

The committee tasked with preparing the work rules for Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) and its affiliated bodies has completed the preparation of a final draft that it will submit to Rashad Al-Alimi, PLC Chairman, to make final observations before presenting it to parliament for approval.

Ahmed Attia, a member of the legal team, revealed that the rules governing the PLC and its affiliated bodies have been successfully prepared.

Former Yemeni president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi had issued a presidential decree last April, transferring all his presidential powers to the PLC headed by Al-Alimi.

“Since the announcement of the transfer of power, we in the legal team have worked in the spirit of one team in order to prepare the rules governing the PLC and its affiliated bodies, which are the Consultation and Reconciliation Commission, the Economic Team and the Legal Team,” Attia told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“We have completely finished the draft that establishes a new stage in the history of Yemen, because the system has shifted from the presidential system to a joint PLC system,” added Attia.

“These rules regulate the work of the PLC and the method of procedures to be taken, whether with regard to the issue of voting, budgets, or the PLC’s relationship with other bodies,” he explained.

The new draft rules consist of six chapters and approximately 62 articles, revealed Attia.

“The new draft rules represent the legal reference for the PLC and its bodies, and anything else that does not contradict the Constitution and the applicable law,” noted Attia.

“The transfer of power suspended the part of the constitution regarding the issue of transferring power only, leaving other articles of the constitution intact and effective.”

“We have been keen for the new rules to be based on the statement of the transfer of power in letter and spirit without addition or subtraction,” affirmed Attia.



Kurdish PKK Militants to Hand over First Weapons in Ceremony in Iraq

PKK militants in northern Iraq (Reuters)
PKK militants in northern Iraq (Reuters)
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Kurdish PKK Militants to Hand over First Weapons in Ceremony in Iraq

PKK militants in northern Iraq (Reuters)
PKK militants in northern Iraq (Reuters)

Dozens of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants will hand over their weapons in a ceremony in northern Iraq on Friday, marking a symbolic but significant first step toward ending a decades-long insurgency with Türkiye.

The PKK, locked in conflict with the Turkish state and outlawed since 1984, decided in May to disband, disarm and end its armed struggle after a public call to do so from its long-imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan, Reuters said.

After a series of failed peace efforts, the new initiative could pave the way for Ankara to end an insurgency that has killed over 40,000 people, burdened the economy and wrought deep social and political divisions in Türkiye and the wider region.

Around 40 PKK militants and one commander were expected to hand over their weapons at the ceremony in the northern Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah, people familiar with the plan said. The PKK is based in northern Iraq after being pushed well beyond Türkiye’s frontier in recent years.

The arms are to be destroyed later in another ceremony attended by Turkish and Iraqi intelligence figures, officials of Iraq's Kurdistan regional government, and senior members of Türkiye's pro-Kurdish DEM party - which also played a key role in facilitating the PKK's disarmament decision.

The PKK, DEM and Ocalan have all called on Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's government to address Kurdish political demands. In a rare online video published on Wednesday, Ocalan also urged Türkiye's parliament to set up a commission to oversee disarmament and manage the broader peace process.

Ankara has taken steps toward forming the commission, while the DEM and Ocalan have said that legal assurances and certain mechanisms were needed to smooth the PKK's transition into democratic politics.

Erdogan has said his government would not allow any attempts to sabotage the disarmament process, adding he would give people "historic good news".

Omer Celik, a spokesman for Erdogan's AK Party, said the disarmament process should not be allowed to drag on longer than a few months to avoid it becoming subject to provocations.