Saturday 23 April 2011

Opposition dragging Yemen into war, President Saleh says

Source:Reuters, 23/04/2011

By Mohamed Sudam and Mohammed

Sana'a-Yemen's president on Saturday accused the opposition of dragging the country into civil war, as Yemenis boarded up their shops and businesses across the country in protest against his rule.

Ali Abdullah Saleh, in a speech in the capital Sanaa, called on Yemen's youth to form a political party according to the constitution and said the Arab state would not accept any tutelage "whatsoever."

"They (the opposition) want to drag the area to civil war and we refuse to be dragged to civil war," Saleh said.

"Security, safety and stability are in Yemen's interests and the interests of the region," he said.

Protests in Yemen, inspired by uprisings that toppled the leaders of Egypt and Tunisia, are now in their third month and bring tens of thousands of people onto the streets almost every day demanding an end to endemic poverty and corruption.

Scores of protesters have been killed.

Acknowledging that Yemeni students drew on the example of Egypt and Tunisia, Saleh said there was a "huge difference" in Yemen, but that his government would meet students' demands in the framework of the constitution and the law.

Up to 90 percent of shops, markets and schools were closed in the southern port city of Aden, a Reuters witness said. There were few pedestrians in the streets and almost no traffic.

Many businesses were also closed for the day in the cities of Taiz, Yemen's third city and a center of opposition to the 69-year-old-president, and Hodeidah on the Red Sea.

Yemenis flooded the streets of Sanaa and Taiz on Friday in rival demonstrations for and against Saleh, who gave a guarded welcome to a Gulf Arab plan for a three-month transition of power.

The proposal of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) calls for Saleh to hand power to his vice president one month after signing an agreement.

He would appoint an opposition leader to lead an interim cabinet charged with preparing presidential elections two months later, a Yemeni official said on Friday.

The plan, presented on Thursday, also gives immunity from prosecution to Saleh, his family and aides -- anathema to his foes, who would also have to end protests under the proposal.

Saleh's long-time Gulf and Western allies, concerned that the chaos in Yemen will open more opportunities for al Qaeda militants, are trying to broker an orderly transition after three months of protests against Saleh's 32-year rule.

8 comments:

  1. It's going to be interesting to see if the new government is as open to US cruise missiles being fired in Yemen. Something tells me that free-for-all is going to end.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi,

    new york tech startups

    A report compiled by Paul Tostevin, Associate Director of Savills in London, showed that, in terms of business and technological environment, bustle of the city, talent groups, real estate costs and mobility, New York has become the leading technological city of world, surpassing San Francisco.

    For more: new york tech startups

    ReplyDelete
  4. นี่เป็นข้อมูลที่น่าสนใจมากๆ เป็นเรื่องที่ละเอียดอ่อนเกี่ยวกับการเมือง ขอบคุณสำหรับข้อมูล. สวัสดี! แทงบอล เว็บไหนดี ฉันเป็นนักพัฒนาเว็บทำเงินออนไลน์ที่เปิดให้บริการ 24 ชม. เปิดให้บริการเกมคาสิโนที่หลากหลาย เล่นง่ายได้เงินจริง ระบบการเงินเป็นรูปแบบอัตโนมัติ รวดเร็วที่สุด.

    ReplyDelete
  5. isc888 ทางเข้า กำถั่วออนไลน์ เล่นเกมกำถั่ว วิธีเล่นกำถั่วออนไลน์ เล่นง่าย ได้เงินจริง รับโบนัส 50% ทันที สมัครวันนี้รับฟรีเครดิต

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi,
    Thank you for the valuable information
    Zazzio is an enterprise-levelmobile application developer . We make apps that work, sell and engage users around the world.Zazzio is a mobile app development company specializes in bringing your visions to life. We have a team of passionate developers with greenfield capabilities.Build Mobile Apps, websites and more for your business and surrounding industry

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks for sharing this information. Here is some information about Disneyplus Login.

    ReplyDelete