Everyone wants to be part of the national dialogue. This is promising, and it sounds like the way toward a positive future is already being paved. However, the tragedy is that everyone believes he or she has to be part of the structural committees responsible for organizing the dialogue. People fear that if they are not part of the logistical decision-making process, then their voice will not be heard.

The historical baggage of a pseudo democracy has left almost every Yemeni citizen with a chip on their shoulder full of distrust. So, they all want to be the ones in the kitchen making sure the ingredients they like are there in the meal. They don’t trust the waiters or the chefs, and they especially don’t trust the restaurant manager.

Almost everyone wants to part of the committees responsible for creating the dialogue process, but this is not logical or even possible. Moreover, the committees are not where everyone needs to be present it is the dialogue. The committees should be up to the task to make sure all stakeholders and their issues are represented and respected in the dialogue.

This is why we have to remember two points if we wish to make this dialogue a success; the first is that there is no specific body or patron governing this dialogue. Its process and success is the responsibility of all the stakeholders involved.

The second issue is that the various committees working on the dialogue process have to leave their political baggage behind while they work on the national dialogue’s structure and mechanism. Ideally the responsible committees should be made up of neutral bodies; however, Yemen’s situation has not necessarily allowed full impartiality, so it remains the responsibility of the individuals in the various committees to make sure their technical work is not affected by their backgrounds or their views.