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From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Wed Feb 02 2011 - 08:33:03 EST
Yemen's Leader Pledges Not to Seek Re-election
By LAURA KASINOS and NADA BAKRI
Published: February 2, 2011
SANA, Yemen - President
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/ali_abdullah_s
aleh/index.html?inline=nyt-per> Ali Abdullah Saleh of
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/ye
men/index.html?inline=nyt-geo> Yemen said on Wednesday that he would not run
for re-election when his term ends in 2013. The announcement was a stunning
concessions 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.
The announcement came a day before planned protests in Sana, the capital,
and other districts in Yemen. Last week, the country witnessed the largest
demonstrations of Mr. Saleh's tenure, and organizers said they expected an
even higher turnout on Thursday.
Yet even as opposition leaders met to prepare their official response to the
president's announcement, the government moved to try to stage-manage
Thursday's events by helping rural Yemenis from the outskirts of Sana, the
capital, and from the pro-Saleh province of Khowlan to travel to the city
for counter-protests. About 500 pro-government people had already gathered
in a central square in Sana on Wednesday, setting up large white tents with
the intention of holding the square through the night.
The president's announcement came a day after President
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/hosni_mubarak/
index.html?inline=nyt-per> Hosni Mubarak, 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 on
Wednesday during 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 on Wednesday that he would delay the
parliamentary elections until better voter records could be compiled, as the
opposition has demanded.
The concessions were met with skepticism by opposition lawmakers, an
eclectic group dominated by Islamists. Several opposition lawmakers said
they would go ahead with their plans for protests on Thursday and said they
were concerned that Mr. Saleh would not follow through on his promises.
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.
"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
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/a/al_qaed
a/index.html?inline=nyt-org> Al Qaeda has turned parts of the country into a
refuge beyond the state's reach. A remarkably high proportion of citizens
are armed.
In another gesture that he portrayed as an act of good will, Mr. Saleh
ordered the creation of a fund to employ university graduates and to extend
social security coverage. He also increased wages and lowered income taxes.
Though most opponents were wary of the president's statements, some called
them positive and said that if they are realized, they would allow for a
peaceful change of power.
"As long as we have started, we are on the right track for democracy," said
Sheikh Mohammed Abulahoum, a prominent tribal leader and politician. "This
way, it will be a safe, secure and permanent transition of power, without
casualties, and a low cost."
The country's stability has been of increasing concern to the United States,
which has provided $250 million in military aid in the past five years.
Secretary of State
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/c/hillary_rodham
_clinton/index.html?inline=nyt-per> Hillary Rodham Clinton, on a visit to
Sana in January, urged Mr. Saleh to establish a new dialogue with the
opposition, saying it would help to stabilize the country.
Previously, Mr. Saleh had offered some political concessions and promised to
raise salaries for civil servants and the military, in a country where many
people live on less than $2 a day.
On Tuesday, for instance, the state news agency, Saba, reported that the
president had ordered retailers to stop charging the military and security
forces for food and gasoline.
The Yemeni opposition had promised to call a demonstration every Thursday
until March, when it will evaluate whether its demands have been met.
Yemen shares a desert border with Saudi Arabia, the oil-rich United States
ally that has so far shown no sign of the popular pressures sweeping through
less prosperous lands like Yemen and Jordan, where the king dismissed the
cabinet on Tuesday in response to protests.
And in Syria, calls for a "day of rage" this weekend against the government
of President
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/a/bashar_al_assa
d/index.html?inline=nyt-per> Bashar al-Assad were spreading on
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/facebook_inc/index.ht
ml?inline=nyt-org> Facebook, which is formally banned in the country, and on
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/twitter/index.html?in
line=nyt-org> Twitter.
Related
.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/03/world/middleeast/03egypt.html?ref=middlee
ast> Clashes Erupt in Cairo Between President's Allies and Foes (February 3,
2011)
.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/02/world/middleeast/02jordan.html?ref=middle
east> King of Jordan Dismisses His Cabinet (February 2, 2011)
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