Opposition forces have proposed a compromise where Saleh can remain as honorary president as power is transferred constitutionally, reports Nasser Arrabyee The Yemeni protesters have agreed for the first time that President Ali Abdullah Saleh can return from Saudi Arabia and continue as honorary president until the end of a transitional period, which they say should not be longer than nine months. In a press conference Tuesday, the national youth movement, a coalition of young protester groups, demanded an immediate transfer of power from Saleh to his deputy Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi. "We want President Saleh to declare the transfer of all his powers to his deputy, and then he can stay as an honorary president to the end of the transitional period," Adel Abdu Mohamed, spokesman of the movement, told the reporters in the conference in Sanaa. The young protesters distributed copies of a 10-page document to all parties including the ambassadors in Yemen as their vision for Yemen's future. "We demanded that President Saleh be honorary president to rescue our revolution from failure," said the spokesman of the young protesters. He explained that the situation is very complicated now. There is internal tension, and there is external support for Saleh. An official confirmed reports that Saleh is coming back from Saudi Arabia on 17 July, the 33rd anniversary of Saleh's presidency. The official, who asked not to be named, said a Saudi medical team will come to Yemen to complete the treatment of President Saleh who is still recovering from injuries and burns he sustained in a bomb attack on his mosque inside the Presidential Palace on 3 June. "No talks about power transfer will take place until after he returns," said the official. On 7 July, in his first public appearance since the bomb attack, President Saleh called on the opposition for dialogue and real partnership based on the constitution. On 10 July, he discussed the transfer of power with counterterrorism advisor to the US president John Brennan in the Saudi capital Riyadh. Brennan then came to Sanaa and met with Vice President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi and representatives of the opposition. One of the opposition leaders told Al-Ahram Weekly there was "nothing new in the meeting" in terms of practical steps, though Brennan did warn that "Al-Qaeda would strengthen and may take over if the protests did not stop soon." Mansour Hadi said he had reached an agreement with all parties to solve the crisis on the basis of a US-backed and Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Council deal. He has also consulted with UN envoy Jamal Omar, who is expected to visit Yemen again next week. The international community including US, EU, Saudi Arabia, Russia and China are still supporting the peaceful, orderly, and constitutional transfer of power. President Saleh's current term ends on 20 September 2013. "I would like to thank my brotherly vice president for the great efforts he is making with all parties and forces for reconciliation," Saleh said in his short televised speech. The recent appearances of President Saleh reassured his supporters and raised their confidence and spirits, at the same time increasing divisions among the opposition. The fundamentalist cleric Abdel-Majid Al-Zandani called for establishing an Islamic state in Yemen. Al-Zandani, who is accused by the US and UN of supporting terrorism, was one of the most influential religious leaders of the anti-Saleh protests from early March this year. He told Sanaa University protesters in March that their sit-in is Jihad, not the traditional one, but a new and creative one, and -- showing sheikhs have a sense of humour too -- promised to register a patent in the name of the youth for their invention. He predicted the Caliphate will be established in 2025. Downplaying the radical call for an Islamic state, one of his colleagues in Islah said, "Al-Zandani is not a politician, he has nothing to do with politics, he is just a cleric and preacher, and his views are not the views of our party." The government accused Al-Zandani and his party of being behind battles going on now in many places in Yemen between government forces and militants and armed tribesmen. In Arhab, Al-Zandani's home village some 40km north of the capital, the Islamist leader Mansour Al-Hanik leads operations against the republican guards in their areas. The tribesmen say the troops target them because they support the revolution, and the government says the tribesmen try to blockade the camps to prevent them from moving. Some relatives of Al-Hanik, including sons and brothers, were previously accused of belonging to Al-Qaeda and kidnapping foreigners. The son of the chairman of the Islah Party in Mareb province, Musab Mabkhut Al-Sherif, was killed among more than 40 Al-Qaeda operatives early this month in Zinjubar, the capital of the southern province of Abyan, where fierce battles between Al-Qaeda operatives and government troops have been going on for about two months. Rumours among Saleh supporters are rife that Islah is behind the assassination attempt on Saleh, and that it is planning to take control of the government after killing his son and commander of the republican guards, Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh, Saleh's eldest son. There is even a "top secret" document dated 6 June that somehow became "public" outlining such a conspiracy. The document says the top leaders of Islah in the military wing (general Ali Mohsen), in the tribal wing (Hamid Al-Ahmar), and the religious wing (Abdel-Majid Al-Zandan should not be in the focus during implementation of the plan; instead, second tier leaders should be in the focus. But opposition protests were based on much more than rumours of conspiracy, as Saleh was openly preparing to hand power to his son before the revolution exploded in February. They are more concerned that Saleh will yet again walk away from an agreement he has made and refuse to cede power. Where the real conspiracy lies is at this stage far from clear.
