Yemen’s embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Friday gave a cool response to a Gulf plan for him to quit, even as massive crowds returned to the streets to demand his immediate ouster. While tens of thousands of anti- and pro-Saleh demonstrators packed two different locations in Sanaa, suspected Al-Qaeda militants and tribesmen gunned down 13 soldiers in separate attacks in Marib province, eastern Yemen.
“We stress that we will hold on to the constitutional legitimacy, in loyalty to our people, as we categorically reject the attempted coups on freedom, democracy, and political pluralism,” Saleh told regime supporters in Sanaa. In a cool reaction to a Gulf plan for him to step down within 30 days, Saleh said he welcomed the initiative but only “within the framework of the constitution,” signalling he could try to serve out his term until 2013. As on past Fridays, a huge rival rally by anti-regime protesters massed a few kilometres (miles) away kept up the pressure for Saleh’s immediate departure on what they branded a “Last Chance Friday.”
An AFP correspondent said the gathering covered a four-kilometre (2.5-mile) stretch, in what appeared to be the largest anti-Saleh rally since protests erupted in late January. Yemeni army and police were deployed in force to prevent clashes between the two camps. Parliamentary opposition groups are still mulling the plan by Yemen’s Arab neighbours in the oil-rich Gulf that urges Saleh to step down within 30 days after the formation of a unity government. But protesters on the streets on Friday dismissed it out of hand.
“Neighbouring countries: no negotiations, no dialogue,” read posters carried by demonstrators, referring to the plan under which Saleh would hand over power to his deputy, Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi. “No initiative no initiative, you should only leave (Saleh),” chanted a group gathered near Hadi’s residence. In the latest version of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) initiative, the president would submit his resignation to parliament within 30 days, with a presidential vote to be held within two months. A motor of the revolt, the “Peaceful Revolt Youth,” on Friday renewed its rejection of the GCC initiative.
