The Following piece is written by a Yemeni-based journalist who writes for Foreign Policy Association (FPA), and due to serious security concerns, remains anonymous.
After weeks of protests and many false starts, Yemen is no closer to a political solution. As Ali Abdullah Saleh continues to hold on to its presidential seat, the nation has been brought to a stand-still.
Explosion in the South
A few days ago, the President blamed Al Qaeda for the attack of an ammunition factory in Abyan, which led to multiple explosions within the premises, and the deaths of dozens of civilians. Amongst the casualties were many women and children. However and despite the government’s claims, many leading figures of the South accused Saleh of paying thugs to pose as Al Qaeda fighters, in a bid to support his theory of him being the only entity able to control the terrorist group. Witnesses claimed that the police did not intervening despite being present.
On the same day, a 13 year-old boy was brutally murdered by a police officer in Sana’a for chanting anti-government slogans.
Those latest acts of violence have led to a resurgence of anti-government sentiment and a radicalization of the pro-democracy movement.
Presidential “Compromise”
For the first time since the beginning of this crisis Ali Abdullah Saleh has agreed to meet with the head of Al Islah party, Mohamed Al-Yadoumi in the hope to find some common ground. The Yemeni President offered to transfer power to a caretaker government and to allow the opposition to nominate a Prime Minister of its choosing, as long as he was to maintain his position as President, until the organization of the next presidential elections which he said would take place within 6 months.
Some sources close to the inner circle of the President are claiming that Saleh is planning to have his son Ahmed present himself as a presidential candidate despite his earlier promises. He is said to want to use the allocated time to reassert his power and that of his family.
Ali Mohsen, the defecting General and once right hand of Saleh has warned the Opposition many times of the President’s devious ways. He is widely known in the government circles for not honoring his promises and commitments to others. Many years ago, when Saleh was trying to unite the South and North of Yemen, he used fake money to buy out southern leaders support; leaving them stranding and betrayed once his goal was reached.
The Opposition rejected the presidential offer under popular pressure. Hameed Al-Ahmar, member of Al Islah party and brother of Sadeeq Al-Ahmar, the powerful Hasheed tribe leader, is now saying that Saleh not only must leave Office but as well the country.
Opposition Stands Firm
On Tuesday anti-government protesters decided to march on towards the presidential palace on Sabain street but stopped in Seitin just a kilometer away. The government immediately released 800 republican guards and anti-riot police officers to mind the crowd. “If he thinks we’ll all go home he is sadly mistaken, we have nothing more to lose.” said one of the protesters.
After a call from the Opposition for fresh protests, hundreds of thousands of Yemeni across the nation gathered, showing the government their determination.
Demonstrators wanted to show Saleh that they were still here and their commitment to change were not diminished by the weeks of waiting.
US and Saudi Arabia political stand
Only a week ago, as Saleh appeared to be at his weakest having bore the blow of many defections and resignations he still delivered a defying speech, vowing to remain in power until 2013. Many political figures within Yemen believe that this “change” of demeanor is mostly due to the continuing support of the US and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Indeed, despite the Americans declarations of support for pro-democratic movement across the World, they are still helping Saleh keep his grasp over Yemen. Why?
Well, the US still believes that Saleh is the only man able to prevent Al Qaeda from furthering its hold in the region…… Giving that radical groups such as Al Qaeda thrive under chaos and anarchy I would say that Saleh is their best recruiter at the moment. Maybe the fact that the Yemeni government has allowed the US to use its facilities to undergo illegal torture of alleged terrorists has a lot to do with this sudden concern over Yemen’s security….
As for the Saudis, a democratic Yemen could give ideas to its citizens, and the monarchy certainly does not want that. Besides for decades now, Saudi Arabia has favored an unstable Yemen to maintain its political hegemony over the region.
Al Islah
Hameed Al-Ahmar has recently accused the Saleh government of using the terrorism card to its advantage and claimed that Saleh was not serious in his fight against Al Qaeda. He maintains that given the proper resources, Yemen could get rid of this “nuisance” within months. He also said: “They should do what they did in Egypt. We don’t need what is going on in Libya. We don’t need that much support. But support like what was done in Egypt would be enough to finish things.”
If nothing is done soon to put an end to Yemen political crisis this once united nation will fragment into many pieces. Already in many regions of the South, tribal leaders and politicians are talking of declaring self independence from the central government. Only Saleh departure could set Yemen on the track of national reconciliation.
