Another beleaguered president is trying to reverse the tide of history, says Nasser Arrabyee "The president has decided to open his office in the presidential palace to listen closely to all groups for the interest of the nation," said an official statement from Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh Tuesday. The step came after youthful demonstrators chanting "After Mubarak, oh Ali, after Mubarak, oh Ali" continued to pour into the streets of Sanaa, day after day. The tribesmen were the first groups to come to the presidential palace. Since Saturday, President Saleh has been receiving tribal leaders from the areas around the capital, mainly from his own tribe, the Hashed, the most influential tribe in Yemen. The opposition coalition cancelled plans to talk with the government on Monday only one day after accepting an initiative by President Saleh to resume dialogue and stop protests. This surprising development came after young people intensified their anti-regime demonstrations both in Sanaa and in other cities, especially in the most educated and populous province of Taiz, where rival demonstrations turned to violence injuring at least eight people on Monday. "We started day-and-night peaceful sit-ins in Freedom Square [Saffer Station] on Sunday, and we will stay there until our demands are met," said Ghazi Al-Samee, one the leaders of the demonstrations in Taiz. "We are not representing any party, we are from all segments of the society, our slogan is: no partisanship, it's a youth revolution." An opposition leader said Monday they also refused President Saleh's initiative for resuming dialogue. "We see it [Saleh's initiative] as an attempt to rescue the regime not to rescue the nation," said Yassin Said Noman, the secretary- general of the Socialist Party, the second largest opposition party after the Islamist party Islah, which leads the coalition. "There is a deep national and political crisis produced by this regime. We should not conduct a dialogue outside this crisis, the dialogue should be about changing the political and social regime." The opposition and President Saleh's party failed to conclude an agreement over political and electoral reforms, reaching a deadlock last October, when the ruling party said it would go to the polls in April 2011 even without the opposition. The opposition refused elections without reforms and said it would boycott and take to streets. Anti- elections demonstrations have been ongoing since then. These demonstrations intensified after the toppling of the two regimes in Tunisia and Egypt. Although the opposition coalition has not yet officially demanded that Saleh's regime should be toppled, groups mainly from frustrated young people, inspired and emboldened by what happened in Tunisia and Egypt, now say that Saleh must step down in both their demonstrations and in the bigger demonstrations called for and organised by the opposition coalition. The opposition officially still call for only serious political and electoral reforms. The opposition's refusal to undertake dialogue means they will go back to the streets with the young people. They said in statement the initiative was only to rescue the regime from the crisis not to rescue the whole nation from collapsing into chaos. A leader from the opposition coalition, which includes Islamist, Socialists, and Nasserites, said the reason behind such a recantation was "provocations" from the ruling party. "On the same day we accepted the initiative, the ruling party issued a provocative statement with Quran verses that can be understood that those who oppose the ruling party are Qafer [infidels]," said the opposition leader, who preferred not to be named, hoping that reconciliation is still possible. "The other issue is the violence done by the thugs of the ruling party against the young demonstrators." On 2 February, the president offered concessions including not to run for office when his current term ends in 2013 and not to promote his son as his successor. He said the constitutional amendments, proposed by his party, would be frozen, and April parliamentary elections would be delayed. On 5 February 2011, United States President Barack Obama urged the Yemeni opposition parties to avoid provocative actions and to positively respond to President Saleh's initiative for reconciliation. In an exceptional meeting with the two chambers of the Parliament, Saleh called on the opposition parties to stop demonstrations and return to dialogue. Saleh's call comes only one day before big demonstrations called for by both young people and opposition parties. "I would present concession after concession for the interest of the homeland which comes before my personal interests," Saleh said, accusing the opposition parties of obstruction. "No extension, no inheritance, no resetting of the clock," he said. The dialogue would resume with the 4-member committee, which includes two top officials from his party and two top officials from the coalition of the opposition parties: Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi and Abdel-Karim Al-Iryani from the ruling party, and Abdel-Wahab Al-Ansi, from the Islamist Party (Islah) and Yassin Said Noman from the Socialist Party. "I would approve what this committee decides without stubbornness," Saleh said. But in return, "We call on the opposition to freeze their protests, rallies and sit-ins." He warned of violence, sabotage, riots and chaos. "Every citizen has the right to have weapons to defend his properties, his house, and his family," Saleh added. "We do not want to destroy what we built over 49 years," Saleh said in a reference to the age of the republic which was proclaimed in 1962 after a revolution which overthrew the religious monarchy.
