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.

Opposition leader calls for refining Yemeni revolution from ‘terrorist Taliban culture’

Opposition leader calls for refining Yemeni revolution from ‘terrorist Taliban culture’

By Nasser Arrabyee/23/04/2011

A Yemeni opposition leader called Saturday for refining the peaceful revolution from the ‘terrorist culture of Taliban’.

Dr. Mohammed Abdul Malik Al Mutawakil, former chairman of the Islamist-led opposition coalition asked the opposition leaders especially the Islamists to stop beating up women who march with men.

He also asked them to apologize for the women who were beaten up by extremists for just marching with men last week.

Al Mutawakil said he would boycott all meetings of the opposition until the leaders publicly apologize for the liberal women, and stop such a barbaric behavior.

A total of 18 women and men (11 women and 7 men) were beaten up and arrested for hours by extremist Islamists for marching together in an anti-Saleh protest on April 16th,2011.

“This reckless and repeated behavior has become dominant culture, and would affect on our future, and would realize the local and international fears of Taliban’s rule ,” said Al Mutawakil in an official letter addressed to the leaders of the Islamist-led opposition coalition which includes Islamists, Socialists, and Nasserites (Arab pan nationalists).

“The President Saleh orally criticized men and women for marching together, but the colleagues of the revolution of change and freedom beat them up with the shoes and ends of the guns and threw them down,” said Al Mutawakil, who is the secretary general of the opposition party, Federation of Popular forces, a small Islamic (Zaidi-Shiite) party in the opposition coalition.

“I would not attend your meetings unless you take a serious and decisive step, otherwise we’ll all lose credibility of the freedom, democracy, and respect of human rights that we want to achieve, then we’ll lose respect of ourselves,” said Al Mutawakil who described himself in the letter as: Vice Chairman of the Yemeni Organization for Human Rights, Chairman of the Al Jazeerah Centre for Studies of Human Rights, and Professor of Liberties and Human Rights at Sana’a University.

The 18 women and men who include famous female activists like Arwa Othman, Huda Al Attas, Jamila Ali Raja, Elham Al Kebsi, and Sara Jamal, published a joint statement to media and general prosecutor demanding prosecution of the perpetrators.

The liberal men and women vowed to sue the perpetrators and to continue marching and protesting the way they like until the revolution of freedom , democracy, and human rights is successful.

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.

Friday of Making or Breaking in Yemen

Big pro-and anti-Saleh rallies before accepting or refusing a GCC plan to solve the deteriorating crisis.

By Nasser Arrabyee/21/04/2011

The supporters of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and opposition are in full swing preparations for seemingly a decisive Friday rallies before accepting or refusing a GCC plan to solve the crisis in Yemen.

The Saleh supporters call their Friday the “Friday of Reconciliation” and the opposition call it the “ Friday of the Last Chance”.

This Friday, April 22, 2011, is different from the previous Fridays of Yemen unrest over more than three months, because a US-backed- Saudi-led GCC plan suggests that President Saleh should step down in one month after he hands over his powers to his deputy.

A new president should be elected within two months after forming a unity government from the ruling party (50%), and opposition (40%) and other parties (10%).

 Sources from both sides said their final positions about the plan would be declared before Saturday.

However, the two sides, in their media statements, are still far from the GCC plan.

The opposition wants Saleh to immediate step down and Saleh’s supporters insist on their President to continue until his constitutional term ends on September 2013.

 

And Saleh himself promises his supporters he would stand as firm as mountains and would never accept coups and conspiracies.

On the eve of this seemingly decisive Friday, the GCC Secretary General Abdul Latif Al Zayani, met President Saleh and the opposition leaders and handed them the GCC view on how a smooth and peaceful transfer of power can take place in the light of the discussions between the GCC foreign ministers and the delegations of the opposition and the ruling party in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi earlier this week.

The UAE foreign minister Abdullah bin Zayid, is expected to arrive in Sana’a on Saturday to attend the signing ceremony of an agreement to implement the GCC plan if the two sides approved the plan.

 

Meanwhile the two sides are trying to mobilize as many as supporters as possible to show their popularity in the street especially after President Saleh defiantly said on Wednesday “ Change or departure must only take through balloting boxes, and for the streets, every party knows very well their popularity.”

For the first time, the opposition called their supporters to attend the “Friday of the Last Chance” in the 60-ring road which extends directly to the Presidential Palace.

 

The opposition obviously wants to hint that they could march to the Presidential Palace to make the pressure on Saleh at the highest level

 

The supporters of Saleh who come every Friday from almost all provinces would perform their Friday prayers in Al Sabeen and Tahrir squares and the big rally after sermons would be held as always in Al Sabeen Square which is close to the Presidential Palace.

 

The masses of each side on Fridays could be estimated at one million each.

GCC plan needs three months to have new elected president for Yemen

Saleh Step-down in one month and presidential elections in two more months

Source: Reuters, 21/04/2011

Sanaa: A new version of a Gulf Arab proposal to end Yemen's political crisis called for a three month transition plan that would end with a presidential election, a senior Yemeni official told Reuters on Thursday.

The proposal, which called for an immediate end to protests, would see President Ali Abdullah Saleh step down within a month of signing the initiative and hand over powers to his vice president, the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

According to the Gulf plan, a unity government led by the opposition would work to organise presidential elections within two months of Saleh's resignation.

Gulf region envoy briefs Presidnet Saleh on how GCC plan wants him to step down

Source: Reuters, By Mohammed Sudam and Mohammed GHobari

* GCC secretary general to speak with president

* UAE foreign minister to visit Sanaa on Saturday

* Saleh again signals defiance

SANAA-The Gulf Cooperation Council  secretary general met  president in Sanaa on Thursday to present the GCC’s  views on ending a political crisis threatening to plunge the country into further violence.

Gulf Arab and Western states -- long-time backers of President Ali Abdullah Saleh -- have been seeking to negotiate an orderly transition of power to end over three months of unrest.

Protesters demanding democratic reforms in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula state insist the veteran president step down.

A Yemeni official told Reuters GCC Secretary General Abdullatif al-Zayani met Saleh and presented a written document of the GCC’s  vision for a transition.

He gave no details.

"He has already met the president and we expect him to meet the opposition," he said.

Saleh, who has given mixed signals on his readiness to step down, voiced defiance again on Wednesday, telling a crowd of supporters he would stand firm amid "conspiracies and coups".

"Those who want power or to gain the seat of power should do so through the ballot box," he said. "Change and departure will be through voting via the legal framework of the constitution."

Saleh has said he will not seek reelection when his term ends in 2013, then said he would stand down after organizing  new parliamentary and presidential elections this year.

But the opposition and protesters have little faith in his promises and want him to stand down first.

"This speech is to raise spirits, but it no longer logical because the people have had their say, they say an immediate departure is necessary," said Sultan al-Atwani, the leader of Yemen’s  Nasserist party, part of an opposition coalition.

"It (the government) needs to prepare for its departure, voluntarily or by force."

TALKS DRAG, VIOLENCE FLARES

Yemeni officials also expect a visit on Saturday from the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates. Opposition leaders said it was unclear if Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan would also meet them.

Earlier this week Gulf foreign ministers met Yemeni government representatives in Abu Dhabi, and an opposition delegation in Riyadh.

As rounds of negotiations have dragged on, violence has flared. Protesters tested security forces  limits by marching past the defence and other ministries in Sanaa on Wednesday and burning tyres in the streets of Taiz, south of the capital.

The death toll has been rising. Six people died from their wounds when police opened fire at protests in Sanaa and Taiz on Tuesday, bringing the count of demonstrators killed to 123.

The potential for fractious Yemen to further descend into chaos or bloodshed has been a concern for Washington and neighbouring Saudi Arabia, the world’s  biggest oil producer.

Both countries are intended targets for al Qaeda, which has reestablished in mountainous Yemen in recent years.

Gulf states fear the standoff could lead to clashes between rival military units -- after leading general Ali Mohsen turned against Saleh last month -- in a country where Saleh relies on tribal alliances to maintain control in many areas.

Saleh has warned of chaos if he is forced out of office, suggesting there could be civil war and militants could benefit.

But the opposition, which includes the Islamist Islah party, says it could do better at maintaining control and accuses Saleh of making deals with militant groups in the past.

US-backed Saudi-led GCC plan to end Yemen crisis soon

Source:UPI,21/04/2011

UNITED NATIONS-- A deal brokered by six Arab states to end Yemen's political crisis is nearly set, with President Ali Abdullah Saleh most likely stepping down, diplomats said.

The Western-backed deal -- brokered by the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, a political and economic union of the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait -- was believed on the verge of agreement, Qatar's pan-Arab al-Jazeera network reported Thursday.

"We're told that the (United Kingdom and the United States) are behind this deal," an al-Jazeera United Nations reporter in New York said.

Yemen's opposition coalition, known as the Joint Meetings Parties, has indicated its support for the plan. Saleh has yet to respond.

"Our sources here at [the United Nations] feel that [mediators] are very close to reaching a final agreement," reporter Kristen Saloomey said.

Under the proposal, Saleh would most likely hand over power to Vice President Abed Mansour Hadi and leave office within a few weeks, al-Jazeera said. Saleh and his family would be guaranteed immunity from prosecution.

Presidential elections would be held after 60 days, as stated in the country's Constitution.

Saleh, who came to power in 1978, has faced protests since January calling for his ouster that have led to the loss of more than 130 lives in the impoverished Arab country.

The Gulf Cooperation Council has sought to broker an end to the political crisis for weeks, al-Jazeera said.

Yemen's Saba news agency said Tuesday government officials met with the council in Abu Dhabi after similar meetings with opposition representatives Sunday.

The brokered plan is seen as a compromise between what the ruling party and the opposition have been seeking.