Yemen’s President Accepts Deal to End 33 Years of Rule

Today, Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh has signed the Gulf Cooperation Council brokered agreement to “leave office in 30 days.” After numerous obfuscations by Saleh, the deal was signed today in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and would allow “Mr. Saleh to retain his title and certain privileges until new elections are held in three months and grants him immunity from prosecution.” The deal will also “transfer power to Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi within 30 days.” Despite the deal, protesters gathered in Sanaa’s central Change Square to denounce the “provision of immunity from prosecution for Mr. Saleh. Protesters blamed the country’s established opposition parties for letting the leader escape after months of bloodshed they say killed more than 1,000 people.”

Saleh will be the 4th Arab leader in the region forced from power. Despite the transfer of power, eight months of protest and revolution has left Yemen with a milieu of problems, including “not only insurgencies that have grown more entrenched during months of turmoil, but also festering tribal divisions and the likelihood of continued protests from young demonstrators unsatisfied with Wednesday’s deal.” State Department Spokesman Mark Toner stated that “the United States applauds the Yemeni government and the opposition for agreeing to a peaceful and orderly transition of power.”