REUTERS
-
Yemen's opposition rejected on Monday
a Gulf Arab initiative for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step
down, because it appears to offer him immunity from prosecution,
while Saleh himself welcomed the plan.
Gulf Arab foreign ministers meeting in Riyadh late on Sunday
said publicly for the first time that the framework of their
mediation effort involved Saleh standing down, though it did
not say when that would occur.
The ministers called for a meeting of parties to the Yemeni
conflict in Saudi Arabia but set no date.
"Who would be a fool to offer guarantees to a regime that
kills peaceful protesters? Our principal demand is that
Saleh leaves first," opposition spokesman Mohammed al-Sabry
said, referring to assurances that Saleh and his sons would
not face the fate of rulers in Tunisia and Egypt.
Tens of thousands filled the streets of Sanaa, Taiz, Hudaida,
Ibb and the southeastern province of Hadramaut on Monday to
protest against the GCC plan, witnesses said.
Diplomatic sources say Saleh has dragged his heels for weeks
over U.S. attempts to get him to agree to step down and end
protests crippling the country since early February,
manoeuvring to win guarantees that he and his sons do not
face prosecution.
With more than 100 protesters killed as security forces try
to break up demonstrations with tear gas and live fire,
activists have said they want to see legal action against
Saleh and his sons, who occupy key security and political
posts.
Power transfer
General Ali Mohsen, a kinsman of Saleh whose units are
protecting protesters in Sanaa, said on Monday he welcomed
the details of the GCC plan announced in Riyadh.
"He hopes all parties will accept this initiative and not
miss this opportunity," a statement from his office said.
Shortly after the opposition rejected the Gulf initiative,
Saleh's office issued a statement saying he accepted it.
"The presidency welcomes the efforts of our brothers in the
Gulf Cooperation Council to solve the current crisis in
Yemen," the statement said from his office said.
"He (Saleh) has no reservations about transferring power
peacefully within the framework of the constitution," it
added, in language Saleh has used before to argue he should
oversee a transition involving new elections.
Long regarded by the West as a vital ally against al Qaeda
militants, Saleh has warned of civil war and the break-up of
Yemen if he is forced to leave power before organising
parliamentary and presidential polls over the next year.
He had sought Saudi mediation for some weeks, but Gulf
diplomatic sources said Riyadh was prompted in the end by
concern over the deteriorating security in its southern
neighbour after Saleh failed to act on the backroom deal
struck with U.S. officials on a quick exit.
Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, is the key
financier of the Yemeni government as well as many Yemeni
tribes on its border.
Countries of the region became convinced that Saleh, a
shrewd political operator in power since 1978, is an
obstacle to stability in a country that overlooks a shipping
lane where over 3 million barrels of oil pass daily.
Gulf Arabs say Saleh should go
The GCC statement on Sunday talked of "the formation of a
national unity government under the leadership of the
opposition which has the right to form committees ... to
draw up a constitution and hold elections".
It said Saleh should hand his authorities over to his vice
president and that all parties should "stop all forms of
revenge .. and (legal) pursuance, through guarantees
offered" -- wording that appeared to offer Saleh assurances
of no prosecution for him or his family once he leaves
office.
Saleh's deputy, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, has said he is not
interested, which could open the way to the perennial
survivor nominating an interim successor of his own choice.
Even before the protests, Saleh was struggling to quell a
separatist rebellion in the south and a Shi'ite Muslim
insurgency in the north -- violence that has given the
Arabian Peninsula branch of al Qaeda more room to operate.
In continued unrest, two soldiers and a militant were killed
in a clash between militants and the army in Lowdar in the
restive Abyan province of south Yemen, which is seen as a
hotbed of al Qaeda activity.
