Young protesters refuse GCC plan for different reasons, Saleh and opposition not clear

By Nasser Arrabyee/22/04/2011

The US-backed and Saudi-led GCC plan which wants Yemenis to have a new elected President within three months, has sparked various reactions among the opposition, government and the protesters in the streets.

After two days of receiving the plan, the President Ali Abdullah Saleh says in front of hundreds of thousands of his supporters he would deal with it positively according to the constitution.


The opposition says it is still studying it, while some young protesters totally refuse it and some others refuse it partially.

The foreign minister of UAE, Abdullah bin Zayid, is scheduled to arrive in Sana’a Saturday April 23, 2011, to meet President Saleh and all parties for listening to their final positions.

The leading young protester Abdullah Salam says all the points of the GCC plan are good except for the point which calls for ending the sit-ins and protests.

“For us, we agree on the GCC plan as long as President Saleh will step down by it,” Said Abdullah Salam who leads a group of young protesters called “ Movement of Young People with the Uprising”.

“But we never ever agree on ending our sit-ins until we see with our eyes other points of the plan are implemented,” He said “ We do not trust this regime as long as security and army are under their control.”

The leading young protester Najib Abdul Rehman Al Sa’adi refuses the GCC plan because it totally ignores the young people in the street and talks only about the ruling party and the opposition.

“We do not accept it, because it ignores the real people, the young people who made the revolution,” said Al Sa’ada who leads a group of young people called “ February Movement of the Independent Young People”.

“The opposition coalition is a part of the problem and not a part of the solution, and unfortunately the GCC plan deals only with it (opposition).”

Adel Abdu Arrabyee, who also leads a group of young protesters called “ Union of Yemen Youth for Change” says they are waiting for a better plan from the GCC but not his one.

“We refuse the contents of this GCC plan because the step down was not immediate, and was not clear as we want, but we’ll keep appreciating efforts of our brothers in the Gulf to help us,” Arrabyee said.

One day before the UAE foreign minister visit Yemen for finalizing the GCC plan with all conflicting parties, the two sides did their best to show their popularity in the streets.


Each side mobilized about one million of supporters only in the capital Sana’a for attending the Friday sermons in two different places.

Friday rival rallies were held in many of other cities with the opposition calling it “The Friday of the Last Chance” and Saleh’s supporters calling it “The Friday of Reconciliation”.

Friday worshipers of the opposition were loudly praying to Allah Almighty to remove President Saleh, while those of Saleh were praying for keeping him for ever .


The State-run media estimated the Saleh’s supporters who attended Friday rallies in Sana’a and all other provinces at more than 10 million people. The opposition media estimated their supporters at 5 million.