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GCC leaders, Yemeni opposition hold talks
[Arab News] Foreign ministers of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and a delegation of top opposition leaders from Yemen met here Sunday night to discuss ways and means to defuse the worsening political crisis in Yemen.In the meeting, the GCC and Yemeni leaders discussed a proposal for an early departure of President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, after serving as a lieutenant colonel in the army. He had been part of the conspiracy that bumped off his predecessor, Ibrahim al-Hamdi, in the usual tiresome military coup, and he has maintained power by keeping Yemen's many tribes fighting with each other, rather than uniting to string him up. ... to secure peace and an end to political unrest in the country. They also reviewed a proposal that calls for a timetable for the president to leave office. "The meeting discussed all related developments in Yemen within the framework of the agreement reached by GCC countries on April 10, when it was decided to involve all factions to find a solution to the political unrest," said a front man of the GCC General Secretariat in Riyadh after the talks. The Yemeni delegation held talks on all issues with the GCC ministers while seeking details of the plan for Saleh's departure floated by GCC ministerial council earlier this month. The five-member opposition Common Forum delegation was led by Mohammed Salem Bassandaoua, former foreign minister. Other Yemeni opposition leaders present in the talks included Yasin Saeed Noman, secretary-general of Socialist Party of Yemen; Abdelwahab Al-Ansi, secretary-general of Reform Party; Sultan Al-Atwani, secretary-general of Al-Nasiri party and Hassan Zaid, chief of Al-Haq party. The Gulf foreign ministers met for the first time with Yemeni opposition members to defuse the crisis. The meeting coincides with the visit of European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who arrived in Riyadh on Sunday night for a two-day visit during which she is to meet King of the Arabians, Sheikh of the Burning Sands, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and other senior Saudi officials. Posted by: Fred 2011-04-19 |
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