Yemen's Opposition Coalition Refuses Dialogue with President Saleh

By Fatik Al-Rodaini

Sana'a, Mar 18, 2011- Yemen's opposition coalition, the Joint Meeting Parties, JMP, refused resuming dialogue with the ruling General People Congress, GPC, after the latest deaths showed it was not possible to reach a compromise with the president.

"There is no longer any possibility of mutual understanding with this regime and he has no choice but to surrender authority to the people," said Yassin Noman, the rotating President of Yemen's umbrella opposition coalition.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced on Friday that there was Saudi mediation between Yemeni government and opposition parties to resume dialogue, but the latest events will hinder this mediation.

On the other hand, thousands of anti-Saleh protesters rallied Friday in the cities of Taiz and Aden and others provinces demanding the ouster of Saleh's regime, their protests inspired by the unrest across the Arab world that toppled rulers in Egypt and Tunisia.