Yemen Opposition Turns Down Gulf Plan as Police Fire on Crowd

Yemen’s opposition coalition rejected a plan by six Gulf states to end unrest in the Arabian country, saying that the swift departure of Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh isn’t negotiable.

Before talks began in Riyadh yesterday, police in Yemen used live ammunition, tear gas and water cannon to disperse tens of thousands of protesters marching in the capital, Sana’a, injuring at least 100, according to Abdulmalik al-Yusufi, a doctor at a field clinic along the protest route.

Thirty more protesters were wounded in live fire attacks by armed government supporters in the city of Thamad, the online opposition publication al-Masdar reported.

“We are sticking to our position,” Mohammed Salem Basendwah, head of the Preparatory Committee for National Dialogue, told reporters in Riyadh after the meeting. Yemen’s six-party opposition coalition, the Joint Meeting Parties, wants Saleh to step down immediately.

Protests in Yemen calling for an end to Saleh’s rule are entering their third month. The Gulf Cooperation Council, which joins the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait, wants the opposition to let Saleh hand power to his Vice President Abduraboo Mansur Hadi.

An April 3 plan by the GCC called for Saleh to step down immediately. The council on April 10 scaled back its demands, asking Saleh to cede power to Hadi, a plan rejected by the opposition.

Brotherly Dialogue

“The dialogue was brotherly and constructive, reflecting both parties’ wish to bring their points of view closer together and continue working and exert greater effort to preserve the Republic of Yemen’s safety, stability and unity,” the council said in a statement distributed after the meeting.

Asked after the Riyadh meeting if the opposition will seek to put Saleh on trial, Sultan Al Atwani, Secretary-General of the opposition Nasserite Unionist People’s Organization said: “We are not aggressive. We are not who will try him. If he wishes to stay, he can stay; if he feels he is not safe, he can stay in another country.”

Yemeni men and women yesterday marched side-by-side in Sana’a and cities across the country to protest comments by Saleh, who said on March 15 that mixed-gender demonstrations violated Islamic law. Women chanted, “Hey, Yemeni woman revolt, Ali is a dictator.”

Saleh said his comment about mixed protests was prompted by “worry for our daughters, sisters and mothers from the mob and anarchists,” state-run Saba news agency reported.

Protesters were stuck inside al-Rahman mosque in Sana’a’s diplomatic zone, cleric Mohammed al-Hazmi said in a telephone interview. About 30 protesters were inside and suffered from tear-gas inhalation while troops surrounded the mosque, al-Hazmi said.

--With assistance from Mourad Haratounian in Riyadh and Vivian Salama in Abu Dhabi. Editors: Ann Hughey, Maura Reynolds.