GPC will remove tents of pro-regime sit-iners next week

By Fatik al-Rodaini

SANA'A, May 9, 2012 -Yemen Deputy Information Minister and spokesperson for the General People’s Congress, Abdu al-Ganadi, announced on Wednesday at a press conference that the readiness of GPC party to remove the tents of the supporters from the public squares.

Al-Ganadi said that the GPC leaders reached an agreement with Yemen's new president Abdu Raboo Mansour Hadi to remove the sit-ins of their supporters next week.

''We agreed with president Hadi to remove the sit-ins of our supporters next week,'' al-Ganadi stated.

The spokesperson of the GPC called at the same time the Yemeni opposition coalition, Joint Meeting Parties, JMP, to remove the sit-ins in Sana'a and other provinces as well, warning of not doing so by the opposition parties.

''We called the JMP to remove the sit-ins in the capital Sana'a and in the other provinces, or our supports will return back to the streets,'' he said.

Meanwhile, before anti-Saleh protests had taken to the streets in the last year, pro-Saleh supporters took to streets too, to cut the way from them and to stop protesting against the previous regime.

As a matter of fact the protests against ex-president Saleh started in February 2011 demanding the ouster of president Saleh, who inked in last November on GCC proposal to step down as an international solution to ease him out of the rule, after almost 33 years in the office.

The following is a brief outline of the GCC agreement and its “Implementation Mechanism,” or roadmap, which will dictate Yemen’s political transition from November 23, 2011, until presidential and parliamentary elections sometime in 2013.

• President Saleh remains president until February 2012, when he will formally step down. He and his family have been granted immunity from prosecution and he is to retain his role as head of the General People’s Congress (GPC), the former ruling party.

In theory, Saleh’s executive powers are to be transferred to Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour al Hadi and a new prime minister from the opposition Joint Meeting Parties (JMP). After the deal was signed, Saleh granted a general amnesty to many of his cohorts who had been accused of perpetrating human rights violations (in Saleh’s words, “made mistakes”) during the revolution.

 Many observers questioned whether or not he was legally permitted to do so.

• The GCC agreement stipulates the immediate formation of a new national unity government. Shortly after it was signed, JMP member Mohamed Salem Basindwah was selected as the new prime minister. He then formed a national unity government on December 7 composed of 35 cabinet ministers split between the GPC and the JMP. The interim government is mandated to form a “military committee” that will take control of the armed forces and oversee their withdrawal from urban areas.

• Within 90 days of the agreement (on February 21, 2011), Yemen will hold an “election” for a new president. As per the terms of the agreement, both the GPC and the JMP have agreed that Vice President will be the only candidate. Hadi will serve for two years.

• During this two-year interim period, a new constitution will be written.

• In 2013, elections for parliament and the presidency will be held under the new constitution.