President Saleh delayed endorsement of GCC deal after opposition and ruling party signed

By Nasser Arrabyee/22/05/2011

The GCC chief Abdul Latif Al Zayani left Sana’a late Sunday after the opposition and the ruling party signed the GCC deal but without the President Saleh endorsement.
Al Zayani flew to the Saudi capital Riyadh where the foreign minister of the six Gulf nations are holding an exceptional meeting on Yemen.

Saleh said he would endorse it only in presence of the opposition leaders.
The opposition leaders already signed the deal separately , and Saleh wanted them to come to his Palace to sign.

However, Saleh’s ruling party signed the US-backed and Saudi-led GCC deal. Those who signed from the ruling party were: Dr Abdul Kareem Al Eryani, vice chairman of the ruling party, and Saleh’s political advisor, Sadeq Ameen Abu Rass assistant secretary general, Amtat Al Razak Humad, assistant secretary general for women sector, and Qasem Sallam, chairman of the alliance parties, small partite allied with the ruling party.

Saleh supporters delayed the signing about two hours by preventing the GCC chief and US, UK ambassadors from getting out from the UAE embassy in Sana’a.

A military helicopter came and took all diplomats from the UAE to the Presidential Palace where the ruling party representatives signed.

Armed supporters of Saleh, refusing the deal, were deployed in almost all the exits and entrances of the capital Sana’a since early morning on Sunday.


They even prevented President Saleh from getting out his place in the Police Colleague where he was holding a meeting with senior officials of his party.


The opposition representatives signed the deal late Saturday in the house of Mohammed Basindow, one of the five politicians chosen by the opposition to sign.

The four others who signed for the opposition were: Yassen Saeed Noman, secretary general of the socialist party, Abdul Wahab Al Ansi, secretary general of the Islamist party, Islah, and Hassan Zaid, secretary general of Al Haq party, and Sakhr Al Wajeeh, member of parliament who resigned from the ruling party and joined the opposition .

However, Saleh and his party were very angry why the opposition did not come to Presidential Palace. Saleh’s party said they would not recognize the signature in “closed rooms”.
The opposition refused to go to the Presidential Palace and meet Saleh.