A coalition of seven opposition parties generally accepted the deal. But thousands stood their ground yesterday in a permanent protest camp in part of the capital, Sana, and their leaders said they suspect Saleh is just maneuvering to buy time and cling to power.
The protesters say the established opposition political parties taking part in the talks with Arab mediators do not represent them and cannot turn off the rage on the streets.
“President Saleh has in the past agreed to initiatives, and he went back on his word,’’ said Khaled al-Ansi, one of the youth leaders organizing the street protests. “We have no reason to believe that he would not do this again.’’
So far, Saleh has outrun more than two months of protests pressing for him to immediately step down, thanks in large part to the unwavering loyalty of the country’s best military units, which are controlled by one of his sons and other close relatives.
That seems to have insulated him even as outrage over the severity of his crackdown on protesters has stripped him of many close allies in his party, his tribe, and the military.
International pressure is also bearing down on him to leave, including pressure from the United States, which had backed his rule with millions of dollars in financial assistance and military aid for fighting the active Al Qaeda branch that has taken root in the country.
A bloc of Gulf nations, including powerful Saudi Arabia, has been trying to broker an end to the crisis, fearing the potential blowback of more instability in the fragile country on the southern edge of Arabia.
But the protesters, who are from an array of different backgrounds and are not represented in the talks, reject the proposal outright and want nothing short of Saleh’s immediate resignation and his trial on charges of corruption and for the killings of unarmed protesters.
The proposal’s steps call for the established opposition parties to join Saleh in a unity government. The president would then submit his resignation to a Parliament dominated by his own party, which would have to approve or reject it. What happens if they reject it is unclear. If approved, he would transfer his power to his vice president.
