Exit talks in Yemen yield no progress

President holds on; militants may expand reach

By Ahmed Al-Haj

Mar 27, 2011

SANA, Yemen- Allies of Yemen’s president and his political opponents failed to make progress yesterday in talks on a possible exit for the man who has led the nation through 32 years of growing poverty and conflict and whose rule is now deeply imperiled by a popular uprising.

As the political turmoil deepened, there were signs that Islamic militants in the remote reaches of Yemen were seeking to make gains on the situation. Residents and witnesses in Jaar said suspected Al Qaeda militants moved from the mountains yesterday to seize control there a few weeks after police fled.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh asserted in a TV interview that without him, the country would be at grave risk of breaking apart.

“Yemen is a ticking bomb and if the political system collapses and there’s no constructive dialogue there will be a long civil war that will be difficult to end,’’ he told the Al-Arabiya network.

Officials on both sides of yesterday’s talks, which were attended by the US ambassador, said the parties refused to give any ground.

After six weeks of unprecedented protests in Yemen, Saleh says he is willing to step aside in a peaceful transition of power, but has left himself room for maneuvering by adding the condition that he wants to leave the country in “safe hands.’’

In the TV interview, he insisted he would not leave the presidency “humiliated’’ and that even if he stepped down as president, he would remain head of his Congress Party, leaving the door open for his continued involvement in the nation’s politics.

“I will not give up on my supporters,’’ he said.

The protesters — whose ranks have been bolstered by defecting military commanders, lawmakers, Cabinet ministers, diplomats, and even Saleh’s own tribe — are insisting he go immediately. The demands and defections have only grown since government security forces shot more than 40 demonstrators to death in the capital of Sana a week ago.

Yesterday, Saleh’s vice president and political adviser met with the US ambassador and tribal and military leaders who joined the opposition, said Saleh spokesman Ahmed al-Sufi.

Among the military leaders was Major General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, who has deployed tanks in downtown Sana to protect protesters. Ahmar is the most powerful man to emerge as a possible successor to Saleh.

Sufi said ruling party officials were prepared to discuss a possible transition of power, but that the opposition demanded Saleh’s immediate resignation and a ban on future government positions for him and his family.

“These demands are impossible to accept,’’ Sufi said. “What is clear is that the president wants an honorable transfer of power according to the constitution and through elections.’’

Opposition spokesman Mohammed al-Sabri confirmed the meeting’s details and accused Saleh of stalling. The US Embassy in Sana declined to comment.

The United States holds a large stake in Yemen’s future. It considers Saleh a key ally against an active Al Qaeda branch that calls Yemen home.

Yesterday, residents of Jaar said men believed to be Al Qaeda militants took control of the town.

During the antigovernment protests, security forces have either withdrawn or been forced out by residents of some towns.

But the takeover of Jaar was a sign that militant groups could be using the uncertain situation to expand their reach.

Source: Associated Press

Yemen Is ‘Time Bomb’ Nearing Tribal Civil War, Four-Way Split, Saleh Says

Yemen Is ‘Time Bomb’ Nearing Tribal Civil War, Four-Way Split, Saleh Says

By Vivian Salama - Mar 27, 2011

Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh warned his nation faces growing chaos and a civil war that may split the country.

“Yemen is a time bomb,” Saleh said in an interview with Al Arabiya television, according to a transcript published by the state-run Saba news agency. “Everyone will side with his tribe and we will then end up with a destructive civil war.” Saleh said the country may split into four sections if the unrest doesn’t end.

The U.S. has backed Saleh, a key ally in the fight against al-Qaeda, with $300 million a year of military and economic aid. Ben Rhodes, the U.S. deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, said last week that the country needs “a government that is more responsive” to its people.

Tens of thousands of Yemenis gathered for competing rallies in different parts of the capital, Sana’a, on March 25 as the opposition demanded Saleh’s immediate departure. The protests, inspired by revolutions that toppled the presidents of Tunisia and Egypt, have gained momentum since March 18 when police and snipers killed 46 protesters in the worst violence since the unrest began two months ago.

About 83 demonstrators have been killed in Yemen since March 12, Ezzedine el Asbahy, director of the country’s Human Rights Information Training Center, said March 25.

Al-Qaeda Ambush

Six Yemeni soldiers were killed in an al-Qaeda ambush in Ma’rib, Al-Arabiya reported today. Yemen’s Defense Ministry yesterday said on its website that three suspected al-Qaeda militants were killed in the southern province of Abyan and six were detained.

Members of the opposition said today that Saleh was responsible for the breakdown of recent negotiations for a peaceful transfer of power. One of the main disagreements is the fate of the president’s relatives, who are in key government and security positions.

“They want guarantees of immunity to legal prosecutions,” Mohammed al-Sabri, a leader in the Joint Meeting Parties, an opposition coalition of six groups, said in a telephone interview today. “Even if this is granted inside Yemen, no one can guarantee they escape it outside Yemen.”

Ali al-Sariri, a member of the Yemeni Socialist Party, said the president’s comments indicate he is “not serious about negotiations and agreements” for an exit.

“Power to Saleh isn’t just a status. It’s a whole country, with all its riches, at his disposal and the disposal of his family,” al-Sariri said in an interview today.

‘A Catastrophe’

Saleh “showed that he cannot absorb the fact that people want change,” lawmaker Zaid al-Shami, who is also a member of the opposition Islah group, said in an interview. “This is a catastrophe. His relatives and those around him do not want him to go because of the privileges and benefits his presence secures them.”

Sheikh Sinan Abu Luhoom, leader of Yemen’s largest tribe, said March 24 he supports the demands of anti-government demonstrators, according to a statement e-mailed by Yemeni protest groups. Abu Luhoom’s tribe is second in influence only to Saleh’s own tribe, the Hashid, Yemen’s second-biggest, which announced its support for the opposition on March 20.

Saleh said he is willing to step down “respectably” and a transfer of power should come peacefully and not through mayhem.

“I have been in power for 32 years and I want to transfer it to people peacefully, not with chaos,” Saleh told Al- Arabiya. “Protesters are the minority and they don’t consist of two percent of the people.”

Saleh told the broadcaster that he reached no compromise on the timing of his departure during talks with Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi.

Source: Bloomberg

Defense Secretary: Yemen Gov’t Collapse 'A Real Problem'

March 27, 2011

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates expressed worry in an interview on “This Week” about Yemen, after that middle eastern country’s long-time President, Ali Abdullah Saleh, said he was willing to step down. Saleh was in talks Saturday to leave office after 32 years, according to The Associated Press. Widespread protests in Yemen have sapped Saleh’s political support in recent days.

“Secretary Gates, you said this week we have not done any post-Saleh planning,” Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper said. “How dangerous is a post-Saleh world -- a post-Saleh Yemen to the United States?” he asked.

“Well,” Secretary Gates replied, “I think it is a real concern because the most active and, at this point, perhaps the most aggressive branch of al Qaeda -- al Qaeda and the Arabian Peninsula -- operates out of Yemen.

“And we have had a lot of counterterrorism cooperation from President Saleh and Yemeni Security Services,” he said.

“So if that government collapses or is replaced by one that is dramatically more weak, then I think we'll face some additional challenges out of Yemen. There's no question about it. It's a real problem,” Gates told Tapper.

In response to violence in Yemen last week, President Obama released a statement saying, in part, “I strongly condemn the violence that has taken place in Yemen today and call on President Saleh to adhere to his public pledge to allow demonstrations to take place peacefully. Those responsible for today’s violence must be held accountable.”

Source: ABC News

I want to transfer power peacefully to people, says Saleh

SANA’A, March 27 (Saba)- President Ali Abdullah Saleh has said that he wants to transfer power peacefully to the Yemeni people and not to the chaos.

‘’Meetings were held on Thursday and Friday in the house of Vice President (Abdu Rabo Mansour Hadi) by leaders of the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) and Major General Ali Mohsen in presence of the U.S. ambassador’’, President Saleh said in an interview with Dubai-based satellite TV channel al-Arabiya aired on early Sunday.

‘’The discussions focused on how to get out of the current crisis and what is the way to address this crisis’’, Saleh added.

He said that the agenda of the meetings was based on his speeches in the parliament and the general national congress, a 8-point plan presented by Muslim clerics and a 5-point plan by the JMP.

The President rejected the demands of the JMP for the departure of the regime and the handover of the power to the opposition.

‘’We do not have a problem to meet their demands for the departure of the regime… but for whom? and how?’’, he explained.

Al-Qaeda Kills seven soldiers in Mareb

Mareb, Mar 27, 2011- Security forces in Mareb confirmed that an Al-Qaeda attack in Mareb province killed seven security men and injured seven others, among them three are still in critical condition.

The attack took place at a military checkpoint one mile north of the governmental complex in Mareb province. According to the source, grenades and machine guns were used by the attackers.

The attackers took the two military vehicles that were being used at the check point.

source: Yemen Post