President Saleh Returns to Yemen After Three Month Absence
September 23, 2011 TheFreshOutlook  |
The Yemeni President has returned to the country after spending three months in Saudi Arabia recovering from an assassination attempt.
The president of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, has made a surprise return to the gulf state after three months in Saudi Arabia. The president, who has ruled Yemen for 33 years, left in June to receive treatment for injuries sustained in a rocket-attack on his presidential compound.
His return was announced by Yemeni state TV, and confirmed by the Yemeni Embassy in Washington.
Violence in the capital of Sana’a has intensified in recent days following a crackdown by security forces on anti-government protesters. There have been heavy clashes between the Republican Guard, an elite unit commanded by the president’s son, and forces loyal to a defected general, Ali Mohsen. More than 80 people have been killed since the latest unrest began on Sunday. The president’s return is likely to inflame an already volatile situation.
“We’re definitely going to have an escalation of violence, but let him come back,” said protest leader Mohammed al-Asl. “We want him to come back and be tried for his crimes.”
There had been hopes of a settlement after a ceasefire was brokered between western diplomats and Yemeni authorities earlier this week; a ceasefire which collapsed almost immediately. Protestors in the Arab world’s poorest state want the president to give up his grip on power. The upheaval is part of the wider movement of popular uprisings which have taken place in the Arab world since the beginning of the year; a phenomenon which has been termed the ‘Arab Spring’.
Before the latest violence began, diplomats had contended that agreement for an orderly transition of power was near. But according to his opponents, the president’s return means such an agreement will not be forthcoming.
“His people will feel that they are in a stronger position and they will refuse to compromise. Basically this means the political process is dead in the water,” said Abdulghani al-Iryani, a political analyst and co-founder of the Democratic Awakening Movement.
Yet in a statement, the Yemeni government denied that it had abandoned its commitment to reform. “The return of President will not affect his giving the VP the authority to negotiate over the operational mechanism and signing the Gulf initiative and conducting elections,” deputy information minister Abdo al-Janadi told Al Jazeera television.
By Dermot Tobin
[Image courtesy of AJTalkEnglish]
