TheCultofAbeLincoln
2nd February 2011, 15:37
SANA, Yemen — President Ali Abdullah Saleh (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/ali_abdullah_saleh/index.html?inline=nyt-per) of Yemen (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/yemen/index.html?inline=nyt-geo) said Wednesday that he would not run for re-election when his term ends in 2013. The announcement was a stunning concession to protesters and another reverberation of the popular anger that has rocked the Arab world in recent weeks.
Mr. Saleh, an American ally who has been in office for 32 years, said that his eldest son, Ahmed, who heads the elite Republican Guard, would not seek the presidency either. Opponents of the government had feared that Mr. Saleh would try to pass power to his son.
But it remained to be seen whether the authoritarian leader would follow through on his promise. In 2005, Mr. Saleh announced that he would not seek another term, only to change his mind a year later. He was elected in 2006 to a seven-year term.
Opposition lawmakers, an eclectic group dominated by Islamists, expressed skepticism. “We have heard what he said before,” said Mohamed Al Qubati, a spokesman for the Joint Meeting Parties, an umbrella group of opposition parties.
Antigovernment leaders said they would go ahead with planned protests on Thursday. Last week, the country witnessed the largest demonstrations of Mr. Saleh’s tenure.
While organizers planned for an even higher turnout, the government moved to try to stage-manage Thursday’s events by helping rural Yemenis from the outskirts of Sana and from the pro-Saleh province of Khowlan to travel to the city for counterprotests. The appearance of large numbers of Saleh loyalists raised tensions in the capital on Wednesday. About 500 pro-government people had already gathered in a central square, setting up large white tents with the intention of holding the square through the night.
The president’s announcement came a day after President Hosni Mubarak (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/hosni_mubarak/index.html?inline=nyt-per) of Egypt, in the face of a protest that gathered hundreds of thousands in downtown Cairo, declared that he would step down in September after finishing his term.
“No extension, no inheritance, no resetting the clock,” Mr. Saleh said Wednesday in a joint session of Parliament and another legislative body that was boycotted by the opposition. “I present these concessions in the interests of the country. The interests of the country come before our personal interests.”
The president urged the opposition to cancel their planned demonstrations, and he invited them to resume a dialogue that collapsed last October after the government announced plans to hold parliamentary elections in April, before opposing political camps finished their deliberations.
In another concession, Mr. Saleh said Wednesday that he would delay the parliamentary elections until better voter records could be compiled, as the opposition has demanded.
“We lost confidence in the president,” said Zaid al-Shami, a lawmaker and opposition figure. “It is not the first time he promises something that he ends up not honoring.”
Unlike the protesters in Tunisia and Egypt, who called for the immediate ouster of their countries’ presidents, Yemeni protesters are asking for reforms and a smooth transition of power through elections. Mr. Saleh’s promised concessions marked another acceleration in the momentum that has gathered across North Africa and the Middle East for deep, even radical, change in a longstanding regional order backed by the United States.
On the streets of Sana on Wednesday, many people seemed to support the president’s decision, though they were wary of his reasoning. “When the next elections come, change is necessary,” said Ahmed Shelaly, 41, who works as a taxi driver and as the media director for a local nonprofit group. The president decided not to run out of fear, Mr. Shelaly said.
“He’s scared because of Egypt, and people here have weapons, much more so than Egypt.”
Yemen, the poorest Arab country, is troubled by a rebellion in the north and a struggle for secession in the formerly independent south. In recent years, an affiliate of Al Qaeda (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/a/al_qaeda/index.html?inline=nyt-org) has turned parts of the country into a refuge beyond the state’s reach. A remarkably high proportion of citizens are armed.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/03/world/middleeast/03yemen.html?hp=&pagewanted=print
Another longstanding autoritarian regime will be coming to an end soon.
Mr. Saleh, an American ally who has been in office for 32 years, said that his eldest son, Ahmed, who heads the elite Republican Guard, would not seek the presidency either. Opponents of the government had feared that Mr. Saleh would try to pass power to his son.
But it remained to be seen whether the authoritarian leader would follow through on his promise. In 2005, Mr. Saleh announced that he would not seek another term, only to change his mind a year later. He was elected in 2006 to a seven-year term.
Opposition lawmakers, an eclectic group dominated by Islamists, expressed skepticism. “We have heard what he said before,” said Mohamed Al Qubati, a spokesman for the Joint Meeting Parties, an umbrella group of opposition parties.
Antigovernment leaders said they would go ahead with planned protests on Thursday. Last week, the country witnessed the largest demonstrations of Mr. Saleh’s tenure.
While organizers planned for an even higher turnout, the government moved to try to stage-manage Thursday’s events by helping rural Yemenis from the outskirts of Sana and from the pro-Saleh province of Khowlan to travel to the city for counterprotests. The appearance of large numbers of Saleh loyalists raised tensions in the capital on Wednesday. About 500 pro-government people had already gathered in a central square, setting up large white tents with the intention of holding the square through the night.
The president’s announcement came a day after President Hosni Mubarak (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/hosni_mubarak/index.html?inline=nyt-per) of Egypt, in the face of a protest that gathered hundreds of thousands in downtown Cairo, declared that he would step down in September after finishing his term.
“No extension, no inheritance, no resetting the clock,” Mr. Saleh said Wednesday in a joint session of Parliament and another legislative body that was boycotted by the opposition. “I present these concessions in the interests of the country. The interests of the country come before our personal interests.”
The president urged the opposition to cancel their planned demonstrations, and he invited them to resume a dialogue that collapsed last October after the government announced plans to hold parliamentary elections in April, before opposing political camps finished their deliberations.
In another concession, Mr. Saleh said Wednesday that he would delay the parliamentary elections until better voter records could be compiled, as the opposition has demanded.
“We lost confidence in the president,” said Zaid al-Shami, a lawmaker and opposition figure. “It is not the first time he promises something that he ends up not honoring.”
Unlike the protesters in Tunisia and Egypt, who called for the immediate ouster of their countries’ presidents, Yemeni protesters are asking for reforms and a smooth transition of power through elections. Mr. Saleh’s promised concessions marked another acceleration in the momentum that has gathered across North Africa and the Middle East for deep, even radical, change in a longstanding regional order backed by the United States.
On the streets of Sana on Wednesday, many people seemed to support the president’s decision, though they were wary of his reasoning. “When the next elections come, change is necessary,” said Ahmed Shelaly, 41, who works as a taxi driver and as the media director for a local nonprofit group. The president decided not to run out of fear, Mr. Shelaly said.
“He’s scared because of Egypt, and people here have weapons, much more so than Egypt.”
Yemen, the poorest Arab country, is troubled by a rebellion in the north and a struggle for secession in the formerly independent south. In recent years, an affiliate of Al Qaeda (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/a/al_qaeda/index.html?inline=nyt-org) has turned parts of the country into a refuge beyond the state’s reach. A remarkably high proportion of citizens are armed.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/03/world/middleeast/03yemen.html?hp=&pagewanted=print
Another longstanding autoritarian regime will be coming to an end soon.