A decree banning protests in Yemen has left the country in an "undeclared state of emergency" according to opposition parties that can no longer take to the street without prior permission from the government.

The decree was issued last week by the country's highest defence council, chaired by President Ali Abdullah Saleh, after a series of protests demanding "genuine reforms" in southern provinces led to riots and violence.

Two days after the decree, Saleh issued another setting the date of 27 April for electing the chiefs of the country's 22 provinces instead of appointing them -- an attempt to show flexibility in giving more powers to provinces, especially those of the south where some protesters over the last few months were demanding secession.

The opposition alliance, Islamists, Socialists and Nasserites, has refused such measures demanding serious solutions to the country's problems. Hundreds were arrested over the last few weeks when the government used force to quell riots in more than three southern provinces. "Using force will make things even worse. Using force has failed in the past," read a statement issued Monday by the three main opposition parties.

The Yemeni government accuses the three main opposition parties of incitement via protests that began about one year and a half ago when thousands of retired military and security individuals took to streets complaining they were ousted from their posts after the civil war of 1994. The opposition says it supports only peaceful protests that seek solutions to the lasting effects of the 1994 war in the framework of national unity.

The retired and jobless protesters, however, though affiliated mostly to the Socialist Party, are apparently in disagreement with most political opposition parties that call for preservation of national unity. In some protests, the retired and jobless, or the "Southern Movement" as they call themselves, used slogans that eschew unity. They also clashed with opposition Islamist and socialist and Nasserist figures that call for peaceful struggle.

Yemeni Minister of Interior Rashad Al-Alimi, when summoned by parliament last week to account for developments in the south, accused Yemeni expatriates living abroad of supporting anti-unity protesters. The government said it would put on trial all those involved in breaking the law by inciting riots and acts of sabotage.

Dialogue between the government and opposition remains at a standstill. The two sides have been trading accusations over the deteriorating situation, including armed rebellion in the north and rising prices in general.

The opposition alliance boycotted last Thursday a meeting held by Saleh in the presidential palace with the aim of addressing the causes of protest in the south. President Saleh in turn accused the opposition of spreading a "culture of hatred" and of attempting to block his reform programme which he vowed to implement after winning the 2006 presidential elections.

The opposition accuse Saleh of excluding them as partners in the political process and threatening "the peaceful democratic project" by resorting to the use of state force.