By Nasser Arrabyee/13/05/2011
The Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said Friday the army would not keep watching if protesters did not stop trying to storm the government institutions.
“Enough, enough playing with the fire, stop sabotage acts, or the army and the behind it, would resort to the public institutions with every possible force,” Saleh said in front of more than one million of his supporters in Sabeen Square after Friday sermons.
Earlier in the week, the opposition protesters threatened to force Saleh out by marching to his Palace and by storming the important institutions of the State.
The escalation from both sides came after a US-backed and Saudi-led GCC plan for a smooth and peaceful transfer of power from Saleh has stalled.
The State of Qatar, one the six GCC countries, withdrew from the plan because of the stalling.
The Saleh’s ruling party and several other parties allied with it “ warmly and highly” welcomed the withdrawal of Qatar saying it would do the best to bring the plan to success with the other five GCC countries.
“Yemen will continue dealing positively with the GCC countries , without Qatar, to bring the deal to success,” the ruling party said in an official statement immediately after Qatar announced its withdrawal early Friday.
“Qatar was forced to take this action because of the stalling in signing the proposed agreement, … the continued escalation, and the intensity of the confrontations,” the Qatari official news agency earlier said.
If signed, the stalled GCC deal would have seen President Saleh step down in one month.
Hope remains that the Saudi Arabia and United States would continue pressing all conflicting parties to sign the deal as soon as possible to avoid a civil war.
The GCC chief Abdul Latif Al Zayani, is expected to arrive in Sana’a on Saturday May 14th, 2011, to resume consultations with the conflicting parties for signing the deal. US still urges all parties to sign the deal.
These developments came after both sides declared their readiness for confrontations.
The spokesman of the opposition parties, the Islamist leader, Mohammed Qahtan threatened in a press statements to “remove the regime and arrest its leaders ” this week in obvious reference to Saleh and his aides.
The ruling party responded to that statement by saying “ the opposition would commit a suicide” if they turned violent and started any confrontation.
Earlier in the week , the protesters who are mainly led by the Islamist opposition party Islah, announced that Tuesday morning May 17th, 2011, at 9:00 they will implement their “last, last revolutionary action” by “creeping” as they say in Arabic which means (marching forward) to the Presidential Palace and force Saleh out and immediately announce the “first” statement of their revolution.
Their final program will start, as they said, from Friday May 13th, which was called “the decisive Friday”. More million opposition supporters attended the Friday sermons after which some of the protesters moved two steps in the direction of the Presidential Palace in a sign that count-down for marching has started.
But the ruling party did the same thing by calling its supporters from all over the country to get ready for marching forward and storming the commercial companies of those who are behind the anti-Saleh protests.
In statements published by media close to the ruling party and pages of face-book, the Saleh supporters who also have their own sit-in camps in more than three places in Sana’a, threatened to storm the commercial companies and luxurious villas and fancy palaces of the Islamist leader billionaire Hamid Al Ahmar, who is accused of funding and orchestrating the anti-Saleh protests.
“To reveal to the Yemeni people who were the real thieves, who stole the wealth of the nation in the name of the religion and in the name of the tribe,” said one of the statements.
“Tens of thousands of young people are ready to march forward and storm the Saba phone, Islamic bank, and all Al Ahmar’s establishments and house,” Saleh supporters threatened referring to the main companies of Hamid Al Hamar.
The headquarters of the Islamist party, and Al Eman university of sheikh Abdul Majid Al Zandani will also be stormed, according to the Saleh supporters’ threats.
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