New Gulf plan in Yemen

ABEER TAYEL, Al Arabiya with Agencies

A Gulf Arab peace plan presented in Sana’a on Thursday called for President Ali Abdullah Saleh
to transfer power over three months, the latest effort to stop Yemen’s descent into further violence and chaos. Mr. Saleh has insisted that a power transfer should be done through elections. President Saleh’s ruling party said it would respond within 24 hours, but his aides—who had earlier sounded defiant—said he seemed poised to accept the initiative. Meanwhile on Friday, eight people, including six soldiers, were reported killed in clashes between Yemeni forces and gunmen from a tribe in the southern Yemeni province of Lahj.

Gulf Arab and Western states, long-time backers of Mr. Saleh, are trying to negotiate an orderly transition after three months of protests that have brought his 32-year rule to the brink of collapse. This is a country where Al Qaeda militants have re-established themselves in recent years.

A Yemeni government official told Reuters the revised Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) proposal would see President Saleh announce his resignation to parliament one month after signing an agreement, then hand over power to his vice president.

Mr. Saleh would also appoint an opposition leader to run a new cabinet that would prepare for presidential elections two months later. The proposal envisages protesters winding down their activities and offers immunity from prosecution to President Saleh, his family and aides. Street activists have demanded that Mr. Saleh and his associates be prosecuted.

“We welcome this new initiative and we will deal with it positively,” an official said after Mr. Saleh met GCC Secretary General Abdullatif al-Zayani.

Yemen’s Western and Gulf Arab allies have sought in vain so far to negotiate an orderly transition of power from Mr. Saleh, but opposition patience has been fading with more violence flaring.

“Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed is coming to Sana’a in the coming days to convey the Gulf view after listening to the points of view of the government and the opposition,” a government official told Reuters, referring to the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates.

Yemen’s allies, which long backed President Saleh as a bulwark against an active Yemen-based al-Qaeda arm, fear escalating clashes would cause chaos that could benefit the global militant group.

Mr. Saleh has warned of civil war and the break-up of the Arabian Peninsula country of 24.3 million people, if he is forced out.

President Saleh, 65, who has been in power since 1978, said a power transfer in his country should happen through elections, the state-run Saba news agency reported.

“Change should be made through the ballot boxes and be based on constitutional legitimacy,” Saba cited Mr. Saleh as saying during a meeting with tens of thousands of his supporters.

Gulf and European foreign ministers meeting in Abu Dhabi said they were deeply concerned over the situation in Yemen and urged various sides to reach a deal through dialogue.

“The current impasse between the various parties might decline quickly into more serious confrontation and conflict,” the ministers said in a statement.

President Saleh has vowed not to seek re-election when his term ends in 2013 and has said he is willing to transfer power to “safe hands,” but protesters are demanding that he should leave now.

GCC, which comprises Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman, has been holding internal consultations on the crisis. It said Gulf leaders had now heard the views of both Yemen’s opposition and the government after separate talks.

“Now in the GCC we’re doing internal consultations to discuss the next step, and over the next hours you will hear about the next step by the Gulf States,” Sheikh Abdullah told a news conference in Abu Dhabi, without giving details.

More than 123 protesters have been killed in clashes with security forces since activists took to the streets in January.

Western countries and Arab neighbors fear a prolonged standoff could cause clashes between rival military units in Sana’a and elsewhere in the mountainous country where Mr. Saleh has already lost control of several provinces.

(Abeer Tayel of Al Arabiya can be reached via email at: abeer.tayel@mbc.net)