SANAA, 24 July 2005 — Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh pledged yesterday to reconsider his government’s decision to raise the price of diesel following violent riots that left over 20 people dead. In his first public comment after two days of widespread violent protests that left 22 dead and 375 injured, Saleh said “the country’s top officials are now restudying the matter to find what is right.” He also vowed that the “troublemakers” who incited the violence would be pursued. “All the troublemakers and those who are behind them must be pursued and punished,” said Saleh during a meeting of the country’s Higher Security Committee. “Looting public and private properties and destabilizing society have nothing to do with democracy and freedom of speech at all,” the Yemeni leader said. Riots broke out after the government raised prices of oil derivatives by up to 260 percent as part of a restructuring program agreed with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in 1995. The capital Sanaa and six provinces in northern and southern Yemen saw violent protests on Wednesday and Thursday over the sharp fuel price increases. The army deployed tanks and thousands of troops to reinforce security forces in Sanaa and other major cities. Further violence yesterday saw at least two people injured in the southern province of Dhalea, witnesses said. They told Deutsche Presse-Agentur that angry protesters stormed buildings of the municipal authority in the central city of Dhalea, some 300 kilometers south of the capital Sanaa, and offices of the ruling GPC party in the metropolitan town of Habilin. Police used teargas to disperse the demonstrators. Yemen, one of the world’s poorest countries, has been reducing government subsidies on basic foodstuffs and fuel utilities since early 1995 under pressure from international donors. The Cabinet decided to raise the price of petrol by 90 percent and diesel by 260 percent. Kerosene prices shot up by 250 percent and cooking gas by 100 percent. Government officials said the subsidy cut has been delayed from 2002. Fifty-two people were killed in similar riots sparked by price hikes in June 1998.
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