Middle East
Yemen president agrees Gulf plan to resign
Aide to Ali Abdullah Saleh says leader has agreed to step down under a 30-day
transition plan after weeks of protests.
Last Modified: 23 Apr 2011 23:07
Anti-government protesters have been demanding the resignation of Yemen's
president for weeks [Reuters]
Yemen's embattled president Ali Abdullah Saleh has agreed to a deal by Gulf
Arab mediators that would lead to a transition of power in the country after
weeks of anti-government protests.
Tariq Shami, a presidential aide, told Al Jazeera on Saturday that the
president had agreed in principle to a proposal from the Gulf Co-operation
Council (GCC) for him to step down.
The GCC plan would see Saleh submit his resignation to parliament within 30
days, with a presidential vote to be held within two months.
Shami said the opposition must first agree to the deal in order for Saleh to
accept the plan.
"The president has agreed and accepted the initiative of the GCC," he said.
"The transition of power in Yemen will take some time. It needs an agreement
between the national powers and the opposition at the same time. This thing
will happen within 60 days if we have an agreement."
The White House welcomed Saturday a plan for Yemen's longtime President Ali
Abdullah Saleh to step down, urging all sides to "swiftly" implement a peaceful
transfer of power.
"We applaud the announcements by the Yemeni Government and the opposition that
they have accepted the GCC-brokered agreement to resolve the political crisis
in a peaceful and orderly manner," said Jay Carney, White House spokesman.
Mohammed Qahtan, an opposition spokesman, told Al Jazeera that the opposition
parties also welcome the deal. He said a basis of trust is lacking for the
opposition to join a national unity government, but he said the opposition
would start a conversation regardless.
"The vice-president will take over for a certain period and then we will see
what happens," he said.
'Civil war'
Saleh, who has ruled the country for more than three decades, has been under
pressure to step down ever since anti-government protests began several weeks
ago.
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On Saturday, the president accused the opposition of dragging the country into
a civil war, as Yemenis boarded up their shops and businesses across the
country in protest against his rule.
In a speech in Sanaa, the capital, he called on Yemen's young people to form a
political party according to
the constitution and said the Arab state would not accept any tutelage
"whatsoever", without giving further details.
"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."
The developments came a day after opponents and supporters of the Yemeni
president flooded the streets of Sanaa, the capital, and the southern city of
Taiz to stage rival demonstrations.
Protesters demanding that Saleh resign dubbed the day "Last Chance Friday",
while pro-government demonstrators called it "Reconciliation Friday".
The weekly day of communal prayers for Muslims has in recent weeks become an
occasion for rival political rallies.
Framework of constitution
Amen al-Basha, the chairperson of the Arab Sisters Forum for Human Rights and a
pro-democracy activist, told Al Jazeera that Saleh's "regime has lost the trust
[of Yemenis]".
"It is the desire of the people, it is the will of the people, for Ali Abdullah
Saleh to step down immediately," she said.
Pro-democracy protesters would not accept any plan that did not include this
provision, she said.
Parliamentary opposition groups and Saleh's government had been mulling over
the GCC plan under which Saleh would step down 30 days after the formation of a
national unity government, but some protesters in Sanaa have said they reject
such a plan.
"Neighbouring countries; no negotiations, no dialogue," read posters carried by
anti-government demonstrators, apparently referring to the GCC plan, under
which Saleh would transfer powers to Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, the country's
vice-president.
The Peaceful Youth Revolt, a group that has helped organise protests against
Saleh's government, issued a statement rejecting the GCC initiative, saying "it
does not include Saleh's immediate ouster", and "provides safeguards to him,
his family and aides who are all killers".
The plan formulated by Gulf Arab mediators calling for a three-month transition
that would end with a presidential election was made public on Thursday by a
government official.
According to the plan, a unity government led by the opposition would work to
organise presidential elections within two months of Saleh's resignation.
Saleh's term runs until 2013.
Saleh, who has been in power since 1978, has faced protests since late January
calling for his departure that have cost more than 130 lives.
Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies
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