Wednesday, March 23, 2011

SANAA: Yemen’s president said Tuesday his country would descend into civil war if he were forced to quit and pledged to step down more than a year early, while Washington voiced concern about instability in the country.
Seven weeks of unrelenting anti-government protests and defections among the ruling elite have piled pressure on Saleh, a U.S. ally against radical Islamist ambitions in the Arabian Peninsula, to step down immediately after 32 years in power.

But an aide said he would leave office only after organizing parliamentary polls and establishing democratic institutions, by January 2012 – a declaration the opposition promptly rejected.
“Ali Abdullah Saleh does not seek power,” Saleh’s media secretary Ahmad al-Sufi said. “Saleh will not leave without knowing who he is handing over to.”
Saleh also invited young people to join what was described as a transparent and open dialogue, the state news agency said Tuesday.

The U.S. voiced rare public alarm about the situation. “We are obviously concerned about the instability in Yemen,” U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said. His chief concern was to avoid “diversion of attention” from opposing Al-Qaeda there.
Opposition spokesman Mohammad al-Sabry, rejecting Saleh’s offer to go by January 2012, said the coming hours would be decisive.

In speeches to army officers and tribal leaders in Sanaa, Saleh said Yemen faced the danger of civil war and disintegration because of efforts to stage a “coup” against his rule.

“You have an agenda to tear down the country, the country will be divided into three instead of two … [parts]. A southern part, northern part and a middle part. This is what is being sought by defectors against … unity,” he said, referring to northern Shiite rebels and Al-Qaeda militants.

“Those who want to climb up to power through coups should know that this is out of the question. The homeland will not be stable, there will be a civil war, a bloody war. They should carefully consider this,” Saleh told army commanders.
Presidential guards loyal to Saleh surrounded an air force battalion in the coastal city of Hudaida after its commander said he supported the protesters.

Several generals and officials have abandoned Saleh this week after a massacre of demonstrators Friday

Abdul-Malik Mansour, Yemen’s envoy to the Arab League, told Al-Arabiya television Tuesday he was siding with protesters. Abdul-Rahman al-Iryani, whom Saleh sacked as environment minister Sunday along with the rest of the Cabinet, said on Facebook he was joining “the revolutionaries.”
Yemen’s ambassador to Jordan, Shae’ Mohsin al-Zandani, also defected Tuesday to the opposition ranks but has said he will not quit his post.

In southern Abyan province, troops clashed with Al-Qaeda militants, killing 12 and wounding five, state media said.
One opposition leader offered Saleh the prospect of secure retirement if, like Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, he would go quietly.

“He shouldn’t follow the style of Gadhafi by destroying the country and killing people,” Yassin Noman, rotating head of Yemen’s opposition coalition said. “After this long term of governing, he should say: Thank you my people, I leave you peacefully.”

“I know the morality of Yemeni people. If he left peacefully, they will look at him as a real leader. He will be able to live wherever he likes,” Noman told Reuters. “They will ensure him a very nice life. His dignity will be kept.”
A crowd of around 10,000 gathered outside Sanaa University in a rally, keeping up the pressure after seven weeks of protests.

Tribal sources said sheikhs had embarked on mediation efforts Tuesday, focusing on a potential deal that protests could continue, violence against protesters would be investigated and ensuring a smooth transition of power.
Soldiers were preventing cars driving along roads close to Saleh’s presidential palace in Sanaa Tuesday. Late Monday night residents heard explosions and shooting near a presidential palace in the eastern port of Mukalla.
Gen. Ali Mohsen, commander of the northwest military zone and Saleh’s kinsman from the Al-Ahmar clan, said Monday he was backing the protesters and warned of civil war.

Mohsen – seen by northern rebels as a ruthless military leader – declared Tuesday that the “era of military coups is over” and vowed to protect the “youth revolution.” – Reuters, AP