The peace pact has stalled, both sides are arming, and Bin Laden's death has just added fuel to the fire. There is only one way out and Saleh will have none of it, notes Nasser Arrabyee Yemen is on the brink of a civil war after a US-backed and Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) plan to transfer power from the defiant President Ali Abdullah Saleh stalled. Although Saudi Arabia and UAE officials said efforts are still being exerted to convince both parties to sign the deal that would see Saleh step down in one month after signing, tension has increased as all parties prepare for armed confrontation. The main point in the GCC deal that led to the deadlock was about stopping all kind of tensions including the protests and sit-ins. The opposition refused to stop the protests saying military and security deployment is the source of tension not the protests. President Saleh and his supporters say the step-down will only happen after the protests stop according to the final and non-negotiable GCC deal. "President Saleh would step down after the protests and sit- ins, military defections, secessionist activity in the south, and armed rebellion in the north end," said Abdullah Ahmed Ghanem, a senior official in Saleh's ruling party. This tension increased even more after the death of the Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. Fears of retaliatory acts against Americans by the active Yemen branch of Al-Qaeda increased as well. President Saleh's supporters were happy to see many anti- Saleh protesters express their anger and sadness over the death of Bin Laden whose pictures were held in the sit-in squares as "a hero and martyr" despite warnings from opposition leaders against any activity that would glorify Bin Laden. The tension could reach a climax if the GCC officials stop helping Yemenis who all are walking on a tightrope and could fall off it at any moment if they do not hold each other and rescue themselves. A civil was could be the only other option, and that would not only impact the already conflict-torn Yemen, but also the neighboring GCC countries. The young protesters in the street, who have been demanding the ouster of President Saleh for almost three months, absolutely refuse the GCC deal and threaten to march forward to the Presidential Palace to force Saleh out. All conflicting parties seem to be getting ready for armed confrontations President Saleh and his supporters, the Islamist-led opposition, Al-Houthi rebels in the northern province of Saada, the secessionist movement in the south, and Al-Qaeda and its sympathisers everywhere especially in the south and east. Weapons are being distributed to sincere supporters of both the largest Islamist opposition party Islah and Saleh's party in the neighborhoods of Sanaa, according to people who already received their weapons over the past few weeks. Furthermore, about 2,000 students from Al-Eman fundamentalist university, run by the extremist cleric Abdel-Majid Al-Zandani and located near the 1st armoured division of ex- general Ali Mohsen, have been issued weapons and military training by Mohsen's forces, according to some students who believe that doing this is jihad. "Yes, we joined training courses with Ali Mohsen about one month ago; now I have my gun and I volunteer as a sentry," a 20-year-old student who identified himself only as Jamil told Al-Ahram Weekly. "I'm very happy to work with a straightforward and devout man like Ali Mohsen," said Jamil who now works as a sentry close to his university Al-Eman. In a such a tense atmosphere, the US embassy in Sanaa has called on the conflicting parties in Yemen to avoid all provocative acts after about 10 Yemeni were killed in clashes between two rival demonstrations in Sanaa Wednesday. The embassy urged all Yemenis to commit to peaceful demonstrations, marches, and speeches especially now as they are on the eve of signing the "historic agreement for the peaceful transfer of power including a newly elected president next July". Furthermore, the death of Bin Laden sparked various reactions ranging between anger, joy, and shocking among Yemenis. "All of us are Osama Bin Laden, Obama," some anti- Saleh protesters wrote in their Facebook pages. "Yes, he is the martyr of the Umma, he is the most respected hero of Islam , and we will be like him if Obama continues to support Saleh," 24-year old activist Amin told the Weekly over the phone from the sit-in square in Sanaa. Those young people who established the Facebook page "All of us are Osama Bin Laden" are not necessarily religious or sympathisers of Al-Qaeda, but they are angry with the Obama administration for supporting Saleh, said Amin, who advised the Facebook protesters to be careful about declaring their support for Bin Laden. "I know Saleh and his supporters would exploit any support and sympathy for Osama Bin Laden in their own interest, but many young people look at Osama as a hero. They hate Obama who supports Saleh," said Amin, who preferred to give only his first name. Aidaros Thuraya, who is working in a clinic, does not care very much about Bin Laden, but he was very worried after he heard the news of Bin Laden's death. "The Americans killed Bin Laden, Al-Qaeda would kill the Americans here in Yemen, and we do not need any more problems, we have enough, we want to live like other people in the world," said Thuraya, who happened to be from the same village as the top leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Nasser Al-Wahayshi, in Al-Baidha province east of Yemen. "I know very well how these people think, they do not care about killing and destroying," he said. However, there are many Yemenis who were extremely happy to hear the news of the death of Osama Bin Laden, but they were not as brave as those who were sad and angry to express their feelings and views in such a conservative society where there is almost no difference between a terrorist and Jihadist or Mujahid. "I'm very happy to hear such news, it's a victory over terrorism and extremism, and it's actually a victory for Islam, because Bin Laden presented Islam in a very bad image to the world," said Essam who works as a public relations officer. "Wherever I go in the world, I cannot say I'm a Muslim or people will think I'm like Bin Laden," Essam, who has travelled to the US, told the Weekly. Abdel-Salam Mohamed, chairman of the newly- established think tank Abaad for Strategic Studies, said that should open a new page with Islamic world after the death of Osama Bin Laden. "The US should support the new democracies in the Arab world which result from popular revolts," Said Mohamed.
