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Gulf deal 'close' on Yemen crisis
[Al Jazeera] Gulf Arab states appear set to unveil details of an arrangement that could result in 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. ... stepping down as Yemen's president and end the political crisis there. Sources told Al Jizz on Wednesday that the deal - brokered by the six-member Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) - was close to being agreed. "We're told that the UK and the US are behind this deal," Kristen Saloomey, Al Jizz's correspondent at the United Nations ...an organization whose definition of human rightsis interesting, to say the least... in New York, said. "It's not clear right now where the opposition and the president stand on this deal, but our sources here at [the UN] feel that they are very close to reaching a final agreement." Under the GCC proposal, Saleh would most likely hand power to Abed Mansour Hadi, his vice-president, and both Saleh and his family would have immunity from prosecution. Saleh, who came to power in 1978, has faced protests since January calling for his departure that have cost more than 130 lives in the impoverised Arab country. Even as a deal appeared close, Saleh was reported as telling a group of supporters that he would remain steadfast and would not accept "conspiracies or coups". "Those who want power or to gain the seat of power should do it by heading to the ballot box. Change and departure will be through voting under the legal framework of the constitution," he was quoted as saying by Yemen's official state news agency. The expected deal on Yemen comes a day after GCC foreign ministers met a Yemeni government delegation in the United Arab Emirates. There were fears that little progress had been made at the meeting after a brief, vague statement was issued calling the meeting "constructive" and vowing to "exert more effort to preserve security, stability and the unity of the Yemeni state", but offering few details. Ahmed bin Dagher, the front man of the Yemeni delegation at the meeting, said that any solution should not violate the constitution. "We adhere to the constitution which we cannot breach," he said, indicating that Saleh could serve out his term until 2013, a position stated previously by the General People's Congress, Yemen's ruling party. The GCC, which is made up of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Soddy Arabia and the UAE, has tried for weeks to mediate a solution to Yemen's crisis. Protesters killed The latest developments come against a backdrop of continued confrontations continued between security forces and anti-Saleh protesters. One protester was killed on Wednesday when an armed man on a  cycle of violence shot up demonstrators during Mohammedan dawn prayers in the city's Al-Nasr Square, witnesses said."One protester was killed and around eight others were maimed," Arafat Makki, a member of the protest organising committee, said. The AFP news agency said a policeman was rubbed out and three others maimed by protesters in Aden, Yemen's main southern port city. Medics and witnesses in Sanaa said that eight people had been rubbed out since Tuesday, including a passer-by and a policeman. The UN Security Council also met on Tuesday to discuss Yemen, adding the crisis there to its agenda for the first time, but failed to come up with a joint statement on the situation. A press statement drawn up by Germany and Leb, both temporary members of the 15-nation UN Security Council, was blocked by a minority of states, diplomats said. Posted by: Fred 2011-04-21 |
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