Monday, April 04, 2011

SANAA: Two Yemenis died and hundreds were hurt Sunday after police used live rounds, tear gas and batons to try to break up protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who called for an end to weeks of unrest.
The violence comes a day after Yemen’s opposition said it had presented a detailed outline that asked Saleh to step down and hand over to his vice president.

The two dead were among around 10 people hit by bullets in the violence in Taiz, south of the capital, where doctors said dozens were wounded, and that they were treating hundreds suffering tear gas inhalation.
“Armored vehicles and tanks are surrounding us. They have spent three hours firing tear gas and bullets [in the air] in an effort to break up the protest,” said activist Bushra al-Maqtari.

Protests inspired by uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia have brought Saleh’s rule to the verge of collapse.
But the president, a perennial survivor, called Sunday for an end to the violence, signaling he has no intention of resigning soon.

“We call on the opposition coalition to end the crisis by ending sit-ins, blocking roads and assassinations, and they should end the state of rebellion in some military units,” Saleh told visiting supporters from Taiz Province.
“We are ready to discuss transferring power, but in a peaceful and constitutional framework,” he added to chants of “No concessions after today!”

His ruling party also said it had not received a proposed transition plan from opposition parties that envisages Saleh handing power to a vice president while steps are taken toward creating a national unity government and calling new elections. “We haven’t got it yet,” an official said.

In a new “vision for a peaceful and secure transition of power,” the opposition Common Forum urged Saleh Saturday “to announce his resignation, so that his powers pass to his deputy.”

Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, who is from the southern province of Abyan, is a member of Saleh’s ruling General People’s Congress.
Young activists among the protesters appeared to distance themselves from the opposition’s proposal, announcing at the podium of their main sit-in in Sanaa that their demand remained the “departure of the president and all the figures of his regime.”

Under the opposition plan, the vice president would take over on a caretaker basis and embark on a reorganization of the myriad security agencies, which are the backbone of Saleh’s regime.

“An agreement would be reached with the temporary president on the form of power during the transitional period, based on national consensus,” the opposition statement said.

It stipulated a transitional national council should begin a wide-reaching national dialogue, and that a panel of experts should be formed to draft constitutional reforms.
It said a government of national unity should be formed to manage the transition, along with an interim military council made up of “officers known for their competence and integrity, and who are respected in the army.”

A high electoral commission would be formed to oversee the holding of a referendum on constitutional reforms, as well as parliamentary and presidential elections. In addition, the opposition stressed the “right to peaceful expression, demonstrations and sit-ins for all the people of Yemen,” and demanded an investigation into the use of deadly force by security forces personnel against protesters.

It said those responsible for the attacks on demonstrators “should be tried, while those wounded and disabled and the families of martyrs should be compensated.”
Saleh thanked thousands of supporters gathered near the presidential palace Saturday for backing the Constitution.

Opposition groups stepped up action against Saleh in the port city of Aden, seat of a separatist movement by southerners who say the 1994 unification of south Yemen with Saleh’s north has left them marginalized.
Much of the city was deserted in a second day of civil disobedience as businesses stopped work. Opposition groups have also called on people to stop paying taxes and utility bills.
Seven protesters were wounded in the western port of Hudaida Saturday when riot police used batons and tear gas to disperse demonstrators.

One soldier was killed and three were wounded in a clash Sunday with armed men at a military checkpoint in Milah, in the southern province of Lahej, an official said, blaming southern separatists.
A police colonel and two companions were wounded when men opened fire on their convoy in southern Dalea Province, another official said.
He did not say who he believed was responsible for the attack. – Agencies