Yemen's president pledges not to resign

SANAA, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh pledged on Saturday that he will not resign as long as the majority of people stand by him, accusing opposition leaders of being behind weeks-long bloodshed.
"Those jugglers and liars (opposition's leaders) have no sense of shame. As a party, it said that the dialogue is over, and that the president conflicts with his own people," Saleh told thousands of supporters who gathered near the presidential palace, according to the official Saba news agency.
"If all those millions of people from Taiz, Hodeidah, Hadramout, Hajjah, Ibb, Mahwait, Amran, Dhamar, Raymah, if all those millions from the republic's provinces are in a conflict with the president, then the president should step down within hours," Saleh said, cited by Saba.
"It is not in accordance to legitimate right for a minority to impose its will on the majority. It is not possible in any case that the minority (opposition) twists the arm of the majority," he told the gathering.
"Ninety-five percent of the general population support security and stability." The embattled president charged the opposition coalition Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) leaders with being behind current political crisis that has been rapidly escalating. He also accused JMP leaders of being the plotters behind the massacre of March 18 in the capital that left 52 protesters dead, according to Saba.
"The JMP leaders are responsible for the regrettable events of Friday [March 18 ]. They are responsible for the pure blood that was shed in Taiz, Abyan, Sanaa, and other provinces," Saleh told the crowds, adding "they are behind this crisis, and they are responsible for causing panic and unrest among citizens." "The JMP's illegitimate ambitions and uncivilized behavior are the reasons behind the crisis, and they want to reach power by coups," he said.
Besides mounting Egypt-style protests, the impoverished Yemen is facing years-long Houthi-led Shiite rebellion in its northern region.
It also has been trying to quell a separatist movement in the south and resurgent al-Qaida wing in southern and eastern provinces.
"They are all allies: the al-Qaida, Houthis, separatists, JMP, and all of them have joined forces so as to overthrow the political system. Overthrowing the political system will lead to disunity," the president said.
The president recently summoned his loyalists each Friday to hold rally in Sanaa and said the majority of the people supported him. Meanwhile, he stopped offering any more concessions to the opposition.
The president and the opposition have reached a deadlock in their negotiations of searching solutions for a peaceful end for Saleh's rule and smoothly transferring the power.
Both sides have been trading accusations of hindering the conciliation talks. The standoff resulted in deterioration of economic situation as well as security stability this month after the government pulled the police out from some towns. The large absence of police and security in some southern provinces led anti-government protesters to set up militia for self-defense, while well-armed resurgent al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) seized control over some remote areas.

Saba, cultural institutions condemn threats on colleague

SANA'A, April 02 (Saba)- Yemen News Agency, Saba, and other cultural institutions condemned on Saturday a threat e-mailed to director of the cultural and scientific department in Saba Ahmed al-Aghbari.
They criticized such a negative move as it represents a university teaching staff member who is supposed to refrain from such unacceptable acts.
They also called on the Interior Ministry to probe into the incident and protect al-Aghbari's life, and punish the perpetrator as well.

Opposition Reveals Five-Point Vision for Power Transfer

Sana'a, Apr 2, 2011- The Joint Meeting Parties, the opposition coalition, announced on Saturday its vision that included steps and measures for power transfer in Yemen.

The vision included five points: 1- Saleh steps down and transfers all powers to vice president Abdu Rabu Hadi. 2 – Vice President Hadi announces as he takes office the restructuring of the national security, the central security and the republican guard systems to ensure they do their duties according to the Yemeni constitution and law under competent and patriot commanders and under the supervision of the Interior and Defense Ministries. 3- Agreement with the new president, Hadi, on an interim government based on national reconciliation.

Under this point: an interim national council including all political, social, youth, civil society, women and businessmen spectrum should be formed. The council will be in charge of holding a comprehensive national dialogue bringing together all political forces inside and outside Yemen to address various issues including the south and reaching a vision for constitutional reforms to ensure better rights and freedoms.

In addition, the council will be responsible for forming a committee of experts and specialists to draw up the constitutional reforms in the light of the outcomes of the national dialogue, forming a transitional national unity government headed by the opposition but including all political forces, the youths and businessmen to manage all constitutional affairs, managing the public affairs, fixing the national economy, and forming a military council including representatives for retirees.

4 – Forming the supreme commission for referendum and elections to be responsible for the vote on the constitutional reforms and holding presidential and parliamentary elections according to the new constitution. 5 – Ensuring freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful protests and sit-in and investigating the attacks on the killings of the protesters calling for the ouster of the current regime.

Earlier today, the coalition and its partners within the dialogue preparatory committee held a meeting and expressed their pride of the crowds that flooded into the squares of change across the republic to call for the resignation of President Saleh.

They also saluted the determination of the people, who have been conducting protests and sit-ins in almost 15 provinces, saying Yemen is passing a through a moment it has never witnessed in its history.

Furthermore, they condemned the continuous attacks on the protesters, criticizing in a statement the stupidity of Saleh and his regime, and condemned the attacks against the officials who announced support to the peaceful popular uprising and their houses as well as the continuous attacks on and arrests of journalists and blocking news websites.

Calling for journalists and organizations to document the crimes of the regime against the people, particularly those who have been demanding the ouster of President Saleh, they claimed that the government is continuing its old ways to deceive and mislead the people as well as creating crises.

The shortage of gas and power outages must be blamed on the regime, which commits various illegal acts but accuses others of this, they said.

Source: Yemen Post

Yemen protests: Learning to speak without fearing

By Genevieve Bicknell

Sana'a, Apr 2, 2011- Thousands of anti-government protesters in Yemen have been calling on President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down - and they have not given up despite arrests, beatings and fatal shootings.

On a side street, under the shade of a row of tall spreading trees, a small group of men, women and children stand and watch as a soldier runs his hands through the dishes of pasta, rice and fish that the visitors have brought.

Alia and her daughters

Alia has been campaigning for the release of her husband for over a year

He is searching for anything that should not be there.

It is Tuesday morning - visiting hour at Yemen's Political Security Prison in the capital, Sanaa.

The air is still - the chants of the protesters across the city in Change Square cannot be heard from here.

There is nothing for Alia to do but wait. Her two young daughters scuff their shoes in the dust blown in from the desert, and hold on to their mother's abaya, the long black robe that most women here wear.

The smell of fish and spaghetti bolognese starts to drift down the street.

Alia is here to visit Waleed, her husband, who was taken by security forces a year and a half ago.

That afternoon, while Waleed was at work, there was a power cut.

The banging on the front door, when it came, reverberated through the darkened hallway.

Outside in the street, soldiers had surrounded the block.

Waleed's belongings were taken. Waleed never came home.

Silent protests

For three months, Alia did not know where he was - the authorities claimed to have no knowledge of his whereabouts - there was no trace of him.

That was when Alia started her campaign. She made placards with Waleed's photo surrounded by quotations from Yemen's constitution.

Along with her mother-in-law, she began weekly silent protests outside the offices of the security forces.

She went on marches, met other campaigners, and, after three months, she finally got the authorities to admit that they were holding Waleed.

The first time she saw him in the political prison was difficult. It was hard to talk to her husband when they were separated by two wire fences with a wide gap in between.

Since then, they have become used to this form of prison visiting and call across to each other, ignoring the guards who stand beside them listening to their conversation.

Waleed is accused of collaborating with Iran and supporting a Shia Muslim movement that is fighting an on-off war against the government in the north of Yemen.

The charge is based on the fact that he had bought books from Iran to set up a Shia bookstore in the capital, and on confessions that Waleed made - confessions that Alia claims were obtained by torture.

As Waleed awaits trial, Alia is becoming increasingly active.

Once so shy that, according to her family, you could barely hear her when she spoke. She now addresses rallies and gives press interviews.

The placards lie in the boot of her car, ready for the next protest. Nothing seems to intimidate her.

Last year she was invited to attend a human rights conference in Beirut, but was prevented from boarding the plane. Instead she was ushered into a back office and had her passport cancelled.

Being beaten by the security forces during one of the weekly protests only encouraged her further, and she says, smiling at me, her face now healed, that she will continue her work as a human rights activist even after Waleed is released.

Her husband's imprisonment has changed Alia's life in many ways.

"I've never been stronger," she remarks.

This unyielding, dedicated resistance is probably not what President Ali Abdullah Saleh had intended to inspire.

Yet, it is being replicated in the streets and squares all over Yemen, as protesters demand an end to his 32 years of rule.

As Waleed's sister, Mawadha, puts it: "All my life I knew that President Saleh was bad, but I knew not to say anything, but now, after Waleed's arrest, we've started being more open and saying what we think.

"It has made us speak without fearing."

Over the last few weeks, Yemenis from all walks of life have started to speak without fearing, and most are telling President Saleh to go.

And however he tries to quell these protests - with tear gas, with paid thugs brandishing sticks and knives, and with snipers firing from rooftops, he only succeeds in increasing the number of protesters.

Oppression, he is discovering, can be counter-productive.

Outside the prison, the shadows cast by the trees shrink as the sun moves overhead. The midday call to prayer begins echoing across the city, one call melding into another until they become one rolling wave of sound.

The soldier eventually finishes inspecting the dishes of food brought by Alia and her daughters.

It has been a long wait, but finally they are allowed into the prison to visit Waleed.

But how long will the people of Yemen have to wait to see if President Saleh heeds their calls for change?

Source: BBC News

EU advisories rate Yemen most perilous

April 2, 2011

BRUSSELS, April 2 (UPI) -- Yemen is the most dangerous country in the Middle East and the United Arab Emirates is the safest, European travel advisories suggest.

A European Commission consular Web site issued an advisory list for travelers from the 27 EU nations Friday, EUobserver reports.

Yemen exceeds even Libya in the danger ratings. Third is Iraq, followed by Bahrain, Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia and Israel.

At the bottom of the list, only some areas are considered risky in Morocco, Kuwait, Jordan, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has been under pressure to resign for months, and more than 100 people have been killed during protests in recent weeks. France and Britain have warned their citizens anew to "leave immediately" thanks to "a rapid deterioration in the security situation."

Besides being on the verge of revolution, Yemen also poses dangers to Westerners from al-Qaida groups and regional rebels.

In Syria, President Bashar al-Assad, while under pressure, is not threatened by foreign intervention, unlike Libya's Moammar Gadhafi, and European visitors are normally welcomed by local people.

JMP Vision for Power Transfer Underway in Yemen

Sana'a, Apr 2, 2011
The Joint Meeting Parties, the opposition coalition, is preparing a vision for power transition in Yemen, but the details will be revealed later today.
At the meeting that gathered the coalition and its partners within the dialogue preparatory committee, they expressed their pride of the crowds that flooded into the squares of change across the republic to call for the resignation of President Saleh.
They also saluted the determination of the people, who have been conducting protests and sit-ins in almost 15 provinces, saying Yemen is passing a through a moment it has never witnessed in its history.
Furthermore, they condemned the continuous attacks on the protesters, criticizing in a statement the stupidity of Saleh and his regime, and condemned the attacks against the officials who announced support to the peaceful popular uprising and their houses as well as the continuous attacks on and arrests of journalists and blocking news websites.
Calling for journalists and organizations to document the crimes of the regime against the people, particularly those who have been demanding the ouster of President Saleh, they claimed that the government is continuing its old ways to deceive and mislead the people as well as creating crises.
The shortage of gas and power outages must be blamed on the regime, which commits various illegal acts but accuses others of this, they said.
Source: Yemen Post

Seven Anti-Saleh Protesters Wounded in Hodeida Province

By Fatik Al-Rodaini

Sana'a, Apr 2, 2011- At least seven anti-Saleh protesters were wounded in Yemen's western port of Hodeida during an attempt by Yemen's security forces to enter a sit-in at the center of Hodeida where thousands of protesters have been demonstrating against President Ali Abdullah Saleh for two months.

Sources said that the police forces attacked the protesters using batons and firing live bullets in the air to disperse the protesters wounding seven of them.

President Saleh's regime has been facing nationwide protests in 15 provinces demanding the fall of his regime since two months.

Saudi says 5,080 convicted of terrorism crimes

Sat Apr 2, 2011

RIYADH (Reuters) - A total of 5,080 people have been convicted of terrorism crimes in Saudi Arabia, where al Qaeda launched a campaign in 2003 to overthrow the Western-allied monarchy, state media reported on Saturday.

The reports did not give a time frame for the convictions. Saudi Arabia, with the help of foreign experts, managed to quash an al Qaeda campaign from 2003 to 2006 that targeted expatriate housing compounds, embassies and oil facilities.

Riyadh destroyed the main al Qaeda cells within Saudi Arabia, but some militants slipped into neighboring Yemen and regrouped to form a Yemen-based regional wing that seeks, among other things, the fall of the U.S.-allied Saudi royal family.

The official news agency SPA said the cases of 2,215 people had been transferred to a special terrorism court, quoting a prosecution statement.

"This statement gives clear results of the progress regarding sending the detainees to justice," Interior Ministry spokesman Mansour al-Turki told state television.

Western rights groups have reported human rights violations in the treatment of alleged militants in Saudi Arabia, a charge the conservative Muslim country has rejected.