As New Presidential Initiative Announced, Opposition Says Saleh Offers Can’t Address Situation

Sana'a- Mar 10, 2011- The Joint Meeting Parties JMP rejected on Thursday a new initiative by President Saleh to transfer some executive powers to a new Parliament by the end of this year, with Secretary General of the Yemeni Socialist Party, Yasin Saeed Noman, saying that all Saleh’s concessions and initiatives can’t address Yemen’s problems.

President Saleh announced his new initiative for power transition within a year telling thousands of people, who flooded into the capital Sana’a from various governorates to show support to him, the plan aimed to lift the country out of the current crisis.

Its terms included forming a committee from the House of Representatives, Shura, political, social and youth organizations and civil society to prepare a new constitution that should ensure the separation of powers and to hold a vote on it by the end of 2011.

Saleh, who has been making unwelcome concessions and initiatives as the anti-regime protests escalate across the republic, also said his initiative called for improved local governance with wide power, establishing a federal system for Yemeni regions on geographic and economic bases, forming a national unity government and preparing a new election law ensuring the quota system.

Noman said the new Saleh initiative was not suitable for addressing what Yemen is passing through at this moment, adding that it should have been announced six months ago.

After the anti-regime protests started to grow last month following the resignation of Egyptian President Mubarak, Saleh called for a Parliament – Shura meeting when he announced an initiative including concessions and a call for resuming dialogue between the political parties.

Among the concessions were that Saleh will not run for president again and will not bring his son to power when his term expires in 2013.

In response, the opposition coalition JMP held a news conference welcoming the dialogue call.

But later the two sides traded accusations over unserious attitudes to come back to the dialogue table and work together to tackle the political stalemate, with the opposition then officially rejecting the initiative and joining the revolt demanding the departure of Saleh and his corrupt government.

Today’s initiative also came days after the JMP vowed to intensify its anti-Saleh rule protest, urging the regime should be held responsible for the deteriorating situation in the republic.

In the meantime, hundreds of thousands of Yemeni people have been conducting sit-ins in Taiz and Sana’a and tens of thousands take to the streets in other cities, mostly in the south, demanding the ouster of the regime.

Source: Yemen Post