SANAA/DUBAI: Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies are trying to broker a deal to have Yemen’s president step down and hand over power, possibly to an interim council of tribal and political leaders, sources told Reuters Wednesday.
Tens of thousands resumed protests in Taiz, south of Sanaa, Wednesday and security forces shot in the air to try to disperse them. There were no reports of casualties.

Saleh’s at times bloody response to protests, inspired by those in Egypt and Tunisia, against his 32-year rule has tried the patience of his U.S. and Saudi backers.

“We hope that we will strike a deal,” Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani told reporters on the sidelines of a Business and Investment in Qatar Forum in New York when asked if the Gulf Cooperation Council had reached such a pact for Saleh to step down.

“We (the council) have been meeting for the last few days in Riyadh and we're sending a proposal for him and the opposition and we hope a meeting will be held between his team and the opposition to try to find a way out of this problem,” he said.
The proposal by the Gulf Arabs involves Saleh finally agreeing to stand down and handing his powers to an interim  national council.

“The proposal is to have a governing council grouping all the various political parties and tribes for a period that would not exceed three months,” one Gulf official told Reuters Wednesday of the plan to be presented to Saleh and his opponents at talks to take place soon in Saudi Arabia. A date is not set.

“The council will set the way for elections,” the official added, echoing other sources in the region and beyond.
The Gulf Cooperation Council  made the invitations Monday. Saleh told GCC envoys Tuesday that he would come to the talks in Riyadh. The ambassadors were waiting for a response from opposition leaders with whom they met in Yemen Wednesday.

“The talks in Saudi Arabia will discuss the modalities and mechanism for transition of power,” another source close to the discussions told Reuters. “There are some names being circulated to head a transitional council.”

These included Sheikh Hamid al-Ahmar, a leading figure among Yemen’s powerful tribes, Abdulkarim al-Iryani, a U.S.-educated former prime minister and currently an adviser to Saleh, and another former prime minister, Abdulaziz Abdul-Ghani.
It is not clear whether any of these could win a consensus among the opposition, which includes the Islamist Islah party, socialists, Arab nationalists and others. Nor is it clear they would be acceptable to Saleh, who wants a say in the matter.

“We only expect something good from our brothers. But it will take time before we can talk about the details,” opposition parties spokesman Mohammad Qahtan said after the meeting with the ambassadors.
Recent talks between Saleh and the opposition, some held in the presence of the U.S. ambassador, yielded little. Sources close to the talks in Sanaa say the U.S. gave Saleh an ultimatum to accept a deal and has since lost patience.

One Gulf Arab source said there was concern that talks may yet drag on: “Saleh is still maneuvering. He keeps on coming with new ideas. All he wants is to stay in power. He starts off saying one thing and then ends up changing his mind.”

The sources said talks had most recently bogged down over Saleh’s demand for assurances that he and his family will not face prosecution, particularly for the corruption that is a particular grievance of the thousands of protesters who have been camping out at Sanaa University for two months.

Another source in the region said the Riyadh talks would discuss details of the transition of power but the GCC was keen not to be seen forcing a solution on the parties involved.
“Saudi Arabia wants to resolve Yemen at the soonest possible time,” he said. “The GCC will monitor the talks to ensure a smooth and peaceful transition of power. They will include the logistics, timeline and structure of the transition.”

Saleh has insisted for weeks he will leave once he has overseen parliamentary and presidential elections this year, rejecting an opposition proposal to allow the vice president, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, to become temporary head of state. – Reuters