Saleh ready for ‘peaceful’ power shift

Sanaa, Monday

Embattled Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said today he was ready for a “peaceful” and constitutional transfer of power, a day after Gulf states urged him to hand over power to his deputy.

Protesters have rejected the proposal made by foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council, saying they wanted the fall of Saleh’s regime altogether and insisting that Yemen’s strongman should also be tried.

“In compliance with statements (he) made several times... his excellency the president has no reservation against transferring power peacefully and smoothly within the framework of the constitution,” said a statement issued by Saleh’s office.

The statement said that the Yemeni president again “welcomes efforts exerted by brothers in the Gulf Cooperation Council to help in finding a solution for the current crisis in Yemen.”

But it fell short of saying clearly whether he accepted a direct GCC proposal calling on Saleh to ensure a peaceful transition of power to his deputy, Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi.

“The Yemeni Republic stresses that it will deal positively with the (GCC) statement as a base for dialogue,” said the statement, which came a day after a meeting of GCC foreign ministers in Riyadh.

His defiant statement came after Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani had said that the GCC member countries “hope to reach a deal with the Yemeni president to step down.”

Yemen, an impoverished neighbour of the GCC, recalled its ambassador to Doha in protest.

Thousands of protesters headed Monday from Sanaa’s University Square, dubbed as Change Square after protests, to the residence of Saleh’s deputy, Hadi, according to an AFP journalist. (AFP)