Yemen: Widespread Demonstrations Protest Saleh’s Announcement

“Hundreds of thousands” of Yemeni protesters took to the streets throughout the country chanting “No deal. No maneuvering. The president should leave.”  The demonstrations came as a response to President Ali Abdullah Saleh‘s Monday announcement that he had granted his Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi the legal authority to negotiate a power transfer agreement on his behalf. The protesters deemed Saleh’s announcement yet another move to “avoid stepping down.” According to the Associated Press, Saleh retained the right to cancel any deal brokered by Hadi.

In an advance version of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights’ report on his office’s recent visit to Yemen, the Human Rights Commission warned of ”widespread fear that despite efforts by the Vice-President and others to restore calm and build bridges with all sides, a civil war was looming.”