Former president Saleh delayed planned trip for necessary treatments for the sake of his supporters

By Nasser Arrabyee,  19/02/2013

Thousands of Yemenis assembled inside and outside the house of the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh asking him not to leave Yemen for treatments in Saudi Arabia or anywhere else  as planned because he is helping the fragile transition as a safety valve as they were saying. 

The supporters came from almost everywhere inside and outside Sanaa carrying banners  some of them read " you must not leave the country now for any reason"  and " you are a safety valve". Saleh told the crowds from a  balcony that he will be always with them. 

Observers say that the Islamists ( brother hood) insisting that Saleh leave his party and the country so that they can dominate everything in the country including President Hadi.

 " They gave Hadi promises to extend his term or elect him again as a consensus candidate if Saleh leaves the country and Hadi becomes head of the party," said Abdul Salam Al Bahri in press interview on Tuesday. 

 " The brotherhood want Hadi to be  like a king who owns but not rules," said Al Bahri who recently defected from the party of brotherhood, Islah.  

Yemenis told not to spoil dialogue!

The Yemen conflicting parties have no other option but to sit for dialogue after the UN Security Council warned spoilers of sanctions.The national dialogue starts on March 18th, and is expected to come out with new constitution according to  which presidential elections to be held on February 2014. 

To support the Yemeni transitional President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi, the UNSC issued last week a presidential statement warning politicians from former regime and former opposition and other influential persons of imposing sanctions on them if they undermine the dialogue.

The statement, however, mentioned by name only two possible spoilers, one from the north and the other from the south:The  former president Ali Abdullah Saleh and former president of the south Ali Salem Al Beidh who has been in exile for  more than 17 years.  Al Beidh retracted the unity between south and north only 3 years after he and Saleh declared it in 1990.

 Reactions on considering Saleh a possible spoiler were various and on Al Beidh there was only one reaction from almost every one including Al Beidh himself. 

That reaction was why Ali Salem was mentioned while  he is not a party of the transition deal, GCCI. He has been demanding separation of the south since he was exiled after 1994 civil war when he failed to separate. 

Al Beidh  is accused of receiving support from Iran to realize separation. Leaders of separation groups inside Yemen support Al Beidh as top leader of the south. 

 " In fact,Iran is not supporting us, but we want it to support our southern issue, and we will be honored with that," said Tarek Al Fadhli, one of the separation leaders who support Al Beidh.  Al Fadhli, said that Al Beidh is the legal president of the south and the statement of UNSC is " biasing against the east ( Russia, China, and Iran) from the west.

As for reactions on mentioning Saleh as a possible spoiler, some observers say the others should have been mentioned by names as well not only implicitly.

"The problem with the statement is that it did not mention general Ali Muhsen by name although he is now even more dangerous than Saleh. The only difference is that Muhsen pretends he is supporting the revolution and he is not," said the political activist Ali Al Bukhaiti.

"He ( general Muhsen)  is actually working with tribal and religious forces to prevent any change or any progress'" he added "These forces ( tribal, religious and military) will definitely be in conflict with President Hadi, if Saleh is not there."

The former president Saleh keeps saying he and his party were behind the transitional deal and they are adhering to it word by word and they are doing their best to  bring the dialogue to success.

Although the UNSC statement did not refer  to Saleh's staying in or leaving Yemen or keeping as a head of his party PGC. The UNSC considers Saleh's staying in Yemen as something up to him only and keeping as a head of PGC is something up to the party itself. All what UNSC  want from Saleh or any other influential person  is not to spoil or undermine the transition deal and the coming dialogue. 

However, Saleh and his party accused the ruling Islamist party Islah ( Yemen brotherhood) of misinforming the UNSC with the purpose of getting more support to dismiss Saleh from his party and his country as a strong opponent who might inspire and guide new faces from his party to take power again in the coming elections.

"The brotherhood do everything they can to dismiss me from my party and from my country, our telephones are monitored and even our sons are monitored and even though we keep silent so that they get reassured we are not conspiring against them," Saleh said in a meeting with his important aides of the  political bureau of his party, PGC, after the UNSC statement.

Saleh and his party feel they have a problem inside their party regardless of what their opponents say or do. The PGC is seen from outside with two heads, two presidents.  Saleh is the formal  president, and Hadi, the President of the country, is  still formal vice president of PGC.

Saleh says he is ready to solve this problem but only by elections as a principle for the future generations and he is willing to recommend Hadi and not to stand for election any more. 

" If my being as a head of PGC undermines the transition and dialogue,  then our party should hold its 8th general congress, and the current leadership should all resign and new leadership should be elected," said Saleh in the meeting with his party.

And even more, Saleh formed a committee made up of his highest aides and their allies from other parties to go and submit an official request to President Hadi and the 10 ambassadors of countries who sponsor the transitional deal,  GCCI. 

Saleh and his party want to know why the presidential statement of UNSC expressed concerns that Saleh might undermine the transition deal while Saleh was the first to propose it and formulate it. 

The secretary of Saleh, Ahmed Al Sufi, said " the UNSC statement  disappointed the opponents of Saleh especially the Islamists by   closing the file of Saleh leaving Yemen or leaving politics."

  Al Sufi  was referring to the position of UNSC regarding Saleh's political activity and his desire to leave or to stay in Yemen, as both have nothing to do with the UNSC.

The statement of UNSC says " the Security Council expresses concern over reports of interference in the transition by individuals in Yemen representing the former regime, the former opposition, and others who do not adhere to the guiding principles of the Implementation Mechanism Agreement for the transition process, including . former President Ali Abdullah Saleh and former Vice President Ali Salim Al-Beidh."

The Security Council reiterates its readiness to consider further measures, including under Article 41 of the UN Charter, if actions aimed at undermining the Government of National Unity and the political transition continue. 

The Security Council expresses concern over reports of money and weapons being brought into Yemen from outside for the purpose of undermining the transition