Stubborn Saleh Tuesday, 27 September 2011 02:54

There is one person singularly responsible for the continuing stalemate in Yemen: President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Saleh has shown no interest in solving the crisis triggered by a popular uprising against his rule and has even thwarted attempts at reconciliation. The country once came close to ending the stalemate when a Gulf Cooperation Council-sponsored peace plan was found agreeable to both sides, but that initiative is in cold storage as Saleh developed cold feet.

In his first public address since returning from Riyadh where he received treatment for injuries sustained in a June attack on his presidential compound, Saleh made no pledge to step down immediately but called for early elections and declared that he was still committed to an internationally backed plan to transfer power. His speech will not appease hundreds of thousands protestors who have waged an eight-month-long uprising to bring his 33-year rule to an end. “Let’s all move towards dialogue, understanding and peaceful exchange of power through election boxes and early presidential elections,” he said in the 20-minute-long broadcast speech, which was both defiant and conciliatory. The president had made similar calls for early elections earlier this year too, but that doesn’t address the central issue – the demand for his resignation.

The GCC power transfer plan remains the best formula to solve the Yemeni crisis and in the absence of talks between the government and opposition, it remains the only way out of the crisis. Under the plan, Saleh would have to step down first before the country could stage elections. In his speech, Saleh said “we are committed to the GCC initiative as it is,” and that Vice President Abdu Raboo Mansour Al Hadi was still authorized to hold talks with the opposition to implement the plan.

There was speculation that Saleh would not be allowed to return to Sanaa after his recovery, but that hope was thrashed with his abrupt return. Yemen’s neighbours and the international community must now exert pressure on the president to choose peace. Yemenis have suffered enough, and as the poorest Arab country, it needs to return to business at the earliest. Poverty and violence are threatening to tear the country apart. Yemen is now divided into two camps: pro-Saleh and anti-Saleh. Both the sides clash regularly on the streets, often spilling blood. Saleh’s speech came as a sixth day of violence broke out in the capital, as government forces opened fire on protesters, wounding at least 18. The death toll over the past week has risen to more than 150, escalating tensions between Saleh and his influential rivals who command their own armies and militias.