Clinton Calls on Saleh to Transfer Power

On Saturday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wished Yemenis a joyous National Unity Day, called on Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to follow through on his commitment to transfer power and declared U.S. support for  the Yemeni people.  She reiterated calls for Saleh’s departure on Sunday following reports that factions loyal to the President had encircled the UAE embassy in Sana’a and refused to allow ambassadors from the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, the Gulf Cooperation Council states and other foreign diplomats from leaving the building.

After being flown out of the embassy by Yemeni military helicopters, the ambassadors met at the presidential palace where Saleh refused to sign the GCC agreement because leaders of the political opposition, who had signed the deal the day before, had not done so in his presence.  Gregory Johnsen, a Yemen expert at Princeton University, argued that such tactics are representative of Saleh’s belief that “the longer he can draw out the transition, the better his chances of manipulating the process or subverting it. “