‘It’s a war if the opposition refuse Fatwas by religious leaders’

By Nasser Arrabyee/04/03/2011

The Yemeni religious leaders said Friday they have approved an 8-point plan to defuse the crisis in their country, saying that whoever disagrees with it, will be calling for ‘Fitnah’, a war.

In a statement read by the religious leader Mukbel Al Kadhi, after in a meeting held in Al Saleh grand mosque on Friday, the religious leaders said, the opposition would be calling for Fitnah if they do not agree on this plan.

This came after President Ali Abdullah Saleh rejected a five-point plan offered by the main opposition parties, who asked Saleh to transfer the power by the end of 2011 at latest.

The 8-point plan was offered to President Saleh last Monday February 28, 2011, by Abdul Majid Al Zandani, the most influential cleric in the largest Islamist opposition party, Islah, in presence of all Yemeni clerics.

The religious leaders said, in their statement, they did not receive any answer on their plan from the opposition parties though they waited for two days.

According to the statement, Abdul Majid Al Zandani was assigned by the religious leaders to offer the plan to the opposition collation which includes the Islamists, Socialists, and Nasserites. The religious leaders said they were supposed to have an answer within two days at most.

“After the two days have passed, we met on Wednesday and unanimously approved the 8-point plan, and we agreed that whoever violates it, then he is calling for ‘Fitnah’ (a religious word meaning an all-out war) ,” said the statement.

On their part, the opposition parties renewed their support for the demonstrators in the street who demand the ouster of President Saleh and condemned any violence against them.

In a statement on Friday, the opposition parties called those who issue such statements and Fatwas, religious decrees, “to please the regime to repent to Allah and ask him for forgiveness, if He would forgive them”, in an obvious reference to the religious leaders who said the opposition is calling for ‘Fitnah’ if they do not agree on the 8-point plan.

Anti- and pro-Saleh demonstrations continued on Friday in Sana’a, Taiz and many other places.
In Sana’a, tens of thousands of opposition supporters attended Friday sermons in the streets around the Sana’a university where thousands of frustrated young people and disgruntled tribesmen have been implementing a sit-in in their tents scattered in the streets for about two weeks now demanding the ouster of Saleh.

Likewise, tens of thousands of supporters of Saleh and his party attended the Friday sermons to participate with those who have been implementing a sit-in also in huge tents for even more than two weeks demanding dialogue and refusing chaos in the streets of the main square of the capital, Tahrir Square.

The anti- Saleh people at the university area could be heard praying loudly to Allah to remove President Saleh and those in Tahrir praying to Allah to preserve him.

The 8-point plan that the religious leaders say, he who would violate it , would be calling for Fitnah, a war, is as follows:
1. All parties are to end demonstrations and sit-ins to bring an end to streets congestion, preventing chaos, destruction of public and private properties.

2. All parties are to end inciting and provocative media campaigns in order to create a suitable environment for national dialogue.

3. Establishment of a mediation committee to end political disputes. Five prominent judges will be selected to the committee. GPC will choose two Judges, JMP will also select two and the Committee of Religious Scholars will choose the fifth member.

4. The release of prisoners who has not been proven guilty or don’t have pending court cases .

5. Forming a national unity government (coalition government).

6. Intensifying anti-corruption investigations and activities by speeding up the prosecution of pending cases.

7. The withdrawal of the current election and referendum draft laws. Parliament will have to approve a new law with the consensus of both parties (Ruling & Opposition).

8. The Withdrawal of proposed constitutional amendments.

The five-point plan is :

The power should be transferred peacefully and smoothly in a time not later than the end of this year.

All Yemenis should be free to do their peaceful demonstrations and sit-ins.

A committee should be formed to investigate the attacks against protestors and hold accountable the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

The families of the martyrs should be compensated and those injured should be treated at the expense of the State.

All forces and parties of the political process inside and outside Yemen without exception should be involved in the discussion.