Yemen’s neighbours propose transfer of power
By Abigail Fielding-Smith in Sana’a and Abeer Allam in Riyadh
Gulf Arab countries have proposed a transfer of power away from Yemen’s president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, in a mediation effort to resolve the standoff between the regime and demonstrators demanding an end to Mr Saleh’s 32-year rule.
The initiative by Yemen’s Gulf neighbours, led by Saudi Arabia, comes ahead of planned talks in Riyadh, a date for which has yet to be set. It underlines growing alarm in the region at Mr Saleh’s insistence on clinging to power despite sustained protests and the desertion of some of his most powerful allies.
According to Yassin Said Noman, the leader the opposition parties’ coalition, ambassadors from the Gulf Co-operation Council, the six-nation regional grouping, gave a proposal that suggests power should be transferred to the vice-president “as soon as possible”.
“The proposal responds to the demands of the people,” said Mr Noman.
A source close to the government confirmed that the GCC initiative called for a transfer of power, but said it did not specify the timeline or how power should be transferred.
Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Hamid bin Jassem al-Thani, added to the sense of pressure on Mr Saleh, telling the state news agency that the GCC hoped “to reach a deal with the Yemeni president to step down”.
The protests against Mr Saleh’s rule erupted in early February and have gained momentum. But as military and tribal leaders abandoned the embattled president, dividing the regime, the threat of violent conflict has increased.
Gulf observers say regional governments are treading carefully to ensure that Mr Saleh implements any agreement he signs up to.
“The main goal of the initiative is for Saleh to step down now. Staying in power is not acceptable any more, but the GCC is concerned about what he might do if they pressured him too much,” said one observer.
“Everybody wonders what he is hiding, what kind of cards he is keeping to use at desperate times. No one wants to upset him too much with al-Qaeda militants and armed Yemenis all over the place. You never know what he could do.”
An agreement on the principle of transferring power, moreover, has to resolve the contentious issues of the timing and mechanism as well as potential immunity for Mr Saleh’s relatives and other senior members of the regime.
Reaching a deal is complicated by the fact that opponents of Mr Saleh include not only the opposition parties but activists who have been leading a popular protest movement for nearly two months, as well as an insurgent group in the north and a secessionist movement in the south.
Mohammed al-Qubati, an opposition official, said the opposition alone could not decide whether Saleh aides should be prosecuted.
Youth protest groups in Sana’a issued a statement distancing themselves from “international parties or political parties” that did not represent them, affirming that it was “a people’s revolution demanding the fall and the trial of a regime”.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ef78d29c-612b-11e0-ab25-00144feab49a.html
http://samotalis.blogspot.com/
By Abigail Fielding-Smith in Sana’a and Abeer Allam in Riyadh
Gulf Arab countries have proposed a transfer of power away from Yemen’s president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, in a mediation effort to resolve the standoff between the regime and demonstrators demanding an end to Mr Saleh’s 32-year rule.
The initiative by Yemen’s Gulf neighbours, led by Saudi Arabia, comes ahead of planned talks in Riyadh, a date for which has yet to be set. It underlines growing alarm in the region at Mr Saleh’s insistence on clinging to power despite sustained protests and the desertion of some of his most powerful allies.
According to Yassin Said Noman, the leader the opposition parties’ coalition, ambassadors from the Gulf Co-operation Council, the six-nation regional grouping, gave a proposal that suggests power should be transferred to the vice-president “as soon as possible”.
“The proposal responds to the demands of the people,” said Mr Noman.
A source close to the government confirmed that the GCC initiative called for a transfer of power, but said it did not specify the timeline or how power should be transferred.
Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Hamid bin Jassem al-Thani, added to the sense of pressure on Mr Saleh, telling the state news agency that the GCC hoped “to reach a deal with the Yemeni president to step down”.
The protests against Mr Saleh’s rule erupted in early February and have gained momentum. But as military and tribal leaders abandoned the embattled president, dividing the regime, the threat of violent conflict has increased.
Gulf observers say regional governments are treading carefully to ensure that Mr Saleh implements any agreement he signs up to.
“The main goal of the initiative is for Saleh to step down now. Staying in power is not acceptable any more, but the GCC is concerned about what he might do if they pressured him too much,” said one observer.
“Everybody wonders what he is hiding, what kind of cards he is keeping to use at desperate times. No one wants to upset him too much with al-Qaeda militants and armed Yemenis all over the place. You never know what he could do.”
An agreement on the principle of transferring power, moreover, has to resolve the contentious issues of the timing and mechanism as well as potential immunity for Mr Saleh’s relatives and other senior members of the regime.
Reaching a deal is complicated by the fact that opponents of Mr Saleh include not only the opposition parties but activists who have been leading a popular protest movement for nearly two months, as well as an insurgent group in the north and a secessionist movement in the south.
Mohammed al-Qubati, an opposition official, said the opposition alone could not decide whether Saleh aides should be prosecuted.
Youth protest groups in Sana’a issued a statement distancing themselves from “international parties or political parties” that did not represent them, affirming that it was “a people’s revolution demanding the fall and the trial of a regime”.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ef78d29c-612b-11e0-ab25-00144feab49a.html
http://samotalis.blogspot.com/
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