Sunday, January 22, 2012

Yemeni president departs for Oman en route to US, passing powers to his deputy

By AHMED AL-HAJ | Associated Press

January 22, 2012

A spokesman for Yemen's embattled president says Ali Abdullah Saleh has left the country for the Persian Gulf country of Oman.

Ahmed al-Soufi said Saleh flew out of Yemen's capital Sanaa late Sunday.

Saleh's departure follows a farewell speech in which he passed power to his deputy, slated to be rubber-stamped as the country's new leader on Feb. 21. The move could help push forward a U.S.-backed deal brokered by Yemen's neighbors that seeks to end the country's political crisis.

For nearly a year, Yemeni protesters have called for the end of Saleh's 33-year rule. Protesters and human rights groups have criticized the power transfer deal for granting Saleh immunity from prosecution. They want to see him tried for his alleged role in protester deaths.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

SANAA, Yemen (AP) _ Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said Sunday he will travel to Washington for medical treatment and he asked Yemenis for forgiveness, saying it is time to hand over power in a farewell speech, state media reported.

The mercurial president told Yemeni TV networks that he had formally handed power to his vice president but would return to his homeland before early presidential elections scheduled for next month as the head of the General People's Congress Party.

An official at Sanaa airport said that a presidential plane had left the country Sunday morning, but he declined to say who was on board. Two other airport officials said that Saleh had already left the country, but the claims could not be confirmed.

The reports come a day after Yemeni parliament approved a law that gives Saleh immunity from prosecution and is in line with the timetable set in a U.S.-backed power-transfer deal aimed at ending months of political stalemate and violence.

Facing continued protests demanding his ouster, Saleh in November agreed to step down. A unity government between his party and the opposition has since been created. However, Saleh _ still formally the president _ has continued to influence politics from behind the scenes through his family and loyalists in power positions.

The deal was widely rejected by millions of street protesters who have staged anti-Saleh demonstrations inspired by the Arab of revolutions that have successfully led to the ouster of autocratic leaders in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. Protesters reject the immunity clause, insisting Saleh should be prosecuted for the alleged killings of protesters and corruption.

The president, who has ruled for more than 33 years, left the country once before, traveling to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment after coming under attack and he has repeatedly gone back and forth on whether he would leave again.

His remarks, reported by the official Yemeni news agency, were the strongest indication that he was preparing to leave as he said Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi "is the one responsible now" and urged rival political parties and youth to unite and achieve "reconciliation."

Saleh gave no date for his departure, and it was not clear if he would go directly to Washington. Yemeni officials said Saturday that the president planned to travel to Oman first.

Washington has been trying for weeks to find a country where Saleh could live in exile to allow a peaceful transition from his rule of more than 33 years, since it does not want him to settle permanently in the United States.

Aides to the president told The Associated Press that Saleh gathered top political, military and security officials and announced Hadi to the rank of marshal. He is set to replace Saleh.

"I appeal to you to forgive my past mistakes," one top ruling party official who was there quoted Saleh as saying. "Today, I leave the country in your hands," he was quoted as saying.

Another aide who attended the meeting quoted Saleh as saying, "I am leaving this good country, today. I want to bid you farewell from this place. I thank each one of you and offer my apology to the people and ask for forgiveness."

A third official said that Saleh declined to hold a public departure ceremony and preferred to offer his farewell behind closed doors.

All the officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters.

After signing the deal in November, civil servants and employees have staged almost daily protests, each in front of their institution and agency demanding uprooting Saleh's regime members from the top government positions.

Among the latest protests, army forces used armored vehicles to briefly close runways at the military air base, which is attached to Sanaa airport, early Sunday, demanding that the commander of the country's air force be replaced. The commander is Saleh's brother, Maj. Gen. Mohammed Saleh.

Later Sunday, Republican Guard forces, which are commanded by Saleh's son, Ahmed, stormed the airport, fired rubber bullets and water cannons, dispersing the protesters and reopening the airport.

In the southern city of Taiz, security officers staged similar protests demanding the ouster of their commander.

Yemen's 'sorry' Saleh to leave for US treatment

AFP January 22, 2012

SANAA (AFP) - Yemen's longtime President Ali Abdullah Saleh said he will head to the United States for medical treatment as he asked his people for forgiveness, in a farewell speech released as he left Sanaa on Sunday.

"I will go to the United States for treatment and will then return as head of the General People's Congress (GPC) party," the official Saba news agency quoted Saleh as saying.

"I ask for forgiveness from all my people, men and women, for any shortcomings during my 33-year-long rule," he added.

An official close to the presidency told AFP that "the Yemeni president left Sanaa one hour ago," without specifying Saleh's destination.

His departure came a day after parliament adopted a law giving Saleh "complete" immunity from prosecution in return for stepping down under a Gulf-brokered transition deal.

The law has drawn wide condemnation from young protesters, hundreds of whom have been killed by Saleh's security forces and loyalists since an uprising against his rule broke out in January 2011, as well as from rights groups.

Parliament also adopted a law approving Saleh's longtime deputy, Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, as the consensus candidate in the election for Saleh's successor, due to be held on February 21.

After that date, Hadi is to be "handed over the presidential palace while Ali Abdullah Saleh will take his bag, bid farewell, and leave to his own home," Saba quoted the veteran president as saying.

A senior official of Saleh's GPC party, Sultan al-Barakani, said last week that the 69-year-old president, who remains in office on an honorary basis, would travel abroad.

"In the coming days, he will visit the sultanate of Oman and then Ethiopia before travelling to New York for treatment" for wounds he sustained in a bombing at the presidential palace last June, the official told AFP.

"Once he has completed his treatment in New York, he will return to Yemen to continue leading the party."

Diplomats in Sanaa said on Sunday that Saleh's eldest son Ahmed -- who commands the feared Republican Guard -- was "already in Oman" to prepare for his father's visit.