Protesters reject Saleh's vow to quit
Source: Agencies |
March 23, 2011, Wednesday
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YEMEN'S embattled president pledged to step down more than a year early but refused to immediately resign yesterday, infuriating tens of thousands of demonstrators demanding his ouster.
The opposition said it would not accept President Ali Abdullah Saleh's offer to resign by year's end in response to nationwide anti-government protests, which have swelled since security forces shot and killed more than 40 demonstrators on Friday.
"The president's statements are just another political maneuver," said chief opposition spokesman Mohammed al-Sabri. "What was acceptable yesterday is not acceptable for us today."
The standoff pushed Yemen closer to open confrontation between the two sides, fueling Western fears that Saleh's 32-year-old government could be replaced by chaos, or a leadership less likely to cooperate with US military operations against the local branch of al-Qaida.
Anger at Friday's shootings splintered Saleh's remaining support among the country's most powerful institutions, and influential clerics, tribal leaders and military commanders all began calling for his departure. Several senior army officials declared their loyalty to the opposition on Monday.
Saleh responded by pledging in a meeting with senior officials, military commanders and tribal leaders on Monday evening that he would step down by the end of the year. He tried to placate demonstrators by promising not to run again, or let his son replace him, when his term ends in September 2013.
A presidential spokesman, Ahmed al-Sufi, said Salah also pledged not to hand power to the military.
The president hardened his position yesterday, saying the defection of commanders including his chief military adviser, Major General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, was a "mutiny... against constitutional legitimacy."
"Any dissent within the military institution will negatively affect the whole nation," Saleh said in a nationally televised warning to a meeting of Yemen's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. "The nation is far greater than the ambition of individuals who want to seize power."
Protesters massed by the tens of thousands yesterday afternoon in the downtown Sanaa plaza they have dubbed "Taghyeer," or "Change" square. Crowds chanted and painted each other's faces in the red, white and black colors of the national flag. Conservative tribesmen brought their wives to the protest, and the women brought their children, all basking in a carnival atmosphere.
"The revolution has crossed its most difficult period," said activist Bashir al-Sid, smiling. "All that remains is the easy part."
Demonstrators began demanding Saleh's ouster more than a month ago, inspired by the uprisings sweeping through the Middle East.
Al-Ahmar's defection was followed by a flurry of resignations by army commanders, ambassadors and lawmakers.
Calling Al-Ahmar's defection "a turning point," Edmund J. Hull, US ambassador to Yemen from 2001 to 2004, said it showed "the military overall... no longer ties its fate to that of the president."
"I'd say he's going sooner rather than later," Hull said.
The opposition said it would not accept President Ali Abdullah Saleh's offer to resign by year's end in response to nationwide anti-government protests, which have swelled since security forces shot and killed more than 40 demonstrators on Friday.
"The president's statements are just another political maneuver," said chief opposition spokesman Mohammed al-Sabri. "What was acceptable yesterday is not acceptable for us today."
The standoff pushed Yemen closer to open confrontation between the two sides, fueling Western fears that Saleh's 32-year-old government could be replaced by chaos, or a leadership less likely to cooperate with US military operations against the local branch of al-Qaida.
Anger at Friday's shootings splintered Saleh's remaining support among the country's most powerful institutions, and influential clerics, tribal leaders and military commanders all began calling for his departure. Several senior army officials declared their loyalty to the opposition on Monday.
Saleh responded by pledging in a meeting with senior officials, military commanders and tribal leaders on Monday evening that he would step down by the end of the year. He tried to placate demonstrators by promising not to run again, or let his son replace him, when his term ends in September 2013.
A presidential spokesman, Ahmed al-Sufi, said Salah also pledged not to hand power to the military.
The president hardened his position yesterday, saying the defection of commanders including his chief military adviser, Major General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, was a "mutiny... against constitutional legitimacy."
"Any dissent within the military institution will negatively affect the whole nation," Saleh said in a nationally televised warning to a meeting of Yemen's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. "The nation is far greater than the ambition of individuals who want to seize power."
Protesters massed by the tens of thousands yesterday afternoon in the downtown Sanaa plaza they have dubbed "Taghyeer," or "Change" square. Crowds chanted and painted each other's faces in the red, white and black colors of the national flag. Conservative tribesmen brought their wives to the protest, and the women brought their children, all basking in a carnival atmosphere.
"The revolution has crossed its most difficult period," said activist Bashir al-Sid, smiling. "All that remains is the easy part."
Demonstrators began demanding Saleh's ouster more than a month ago, inspired by the uprisings sweeping through the Middle East.
Al-Ahmar's defection was followed by a flurry of resignations by army commanders, ambassadors and lawmakers.
Calling Al-Ahmar's defection "a turning point," Edmund J. Hull, US ambassador to Yemen from 2001 to 2004, said it showed "the military overall... no longer ties its fate to that of the president."
"I'd say he's going sooner rather than later," Hull said.
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