Thursday, March 24, 2011

SANAA: Yemen’s Parliament enacted sweeping emergency laws Wednesday after the country’s embattled president asked for new powers of arrest, detention and censorship to quash a popular uprising demanding his ouster.
The move escalates the showdown between President Ali Abdullah Saleh and the movement that has unified military commanders, religious leaders and protesting youth in demands for his immediate departure.

The state of emergency suspends the Constitution, allows media censorship, bars street protests and gives security forces 30 days of far-reaching powers to arrest and detain suspects without judicial process.
Youth leaders at the Sanaa square that has become the epicenter of the protests dismissed the move.
“It is the revolution that now decides the future of the nation,” said Jamal Anaam, one of the protest leaders. “We pay no attention to the measures.”

The accelerating conflict has raised fears that Yemen could be pushed into even greater instability.
Rival factions of the military have deployed tanks in Sanaa – with units commanded by one of Saleh’s sons protecting the president’s palace and units loyal to a top dissident commander protecting the protesters.
Saleh has already dramatically increased his crackdown on anti-government demonstrators, with his security forces shooting dead more than 50 protesters Friday in Sanaa.

The White House has been reluctant to weigh in on the situation in Yemen, except to urge an end to violence.
In Cairo, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said it was too soon to determine the outcome of political turmoil in Yemen. “We’ve had a good working relationship with President Saleh. He’s been an important ally in the counter-terrorism arena,” Gates said. “But clearly there’s a lot of unhappiness inside Yemen. And I think we will basically just continue to watch the situation. We haven’t done any post-Saleh planning.”

Having tried at first to fend off calls to quit by saying he would not seek a new term in 2013, Saleh has since made greater concessions and Wednesday offered constitutional change and elections to replace Parliament and the head of state this year.

“At this historic moment Yemen needs wisdom to avoid slipping into violence … that would destroy gains and leave the country facing a dangerous fate,” Saleh said in a letter passed to opposition groups in a bid to reconcile differences.

Opposition groups, which had earlier called for massive rallies in Sanaa to force Saleh from power Friday, said they were studying the offer.
The letter, also sent to army commander Ali Mohsen, who has declared support for the protesters, contained a proposal to hold a referendum on a new constitution, then a parliamentary election followed by a presidential election before the end of 2011.

The adoption of the state of emergency was a virtual certainty because Saleh’s ruling party dominates the 301-seat legislature. Opposition and independent legislators stayed away from Wednesday’s parliamentary session along with dozens of lawmakers from Saleh’s own ruling party. Parliament said more than 160 lawmakers were present Wednesday.

There was no breakdown available of the vote, which was done by a show of hands amid chaotic scenes. Some dissident lawmakers queried whether the chamber had the necessary 151 members present when it voted, arguing that only about 130 legislators were there.

“The vote is illegitimate,” said Abdul-Razzak al-Hijri, an independent lawmaker.
More soldiers were milling around Wednesday among the thousands of protesters who have been camped in the streets near Sanaa University since early February. Some were wearing red roses to demonstrate support for what is being termed the “youth revolution.”
“We are its protection,” said one soldier, with a rose affixed to his rifle.

But protesters are divided over what they think of Mohsen, an Islamist who was popularly regarded as the second most powerful man in the country before he abandoned Saleh.
Opposition leaders regard Mohsen’s motives with suspicion and few would want him to have a role in any future transitional government.

“We see Ali Mohsen’s joining us as a corruption of the revolution. The revolution is not against an individual but against a system,” said Abdullah Hussein al-Dailami, 33, from Saada in the north. He said Mohsen had been Saleh’s accomplice. – Reuters, AP