The roadmap for elections in Yemen appears to include only deadends, says Nasser Arrabyee The US, EU and UN still support the Gulf plan which includes four main points agreed by all parties as a roadmap. They include Ali Abdullah Saleh transferring all his powers to his deputy, elections to be held at the end of this year, formation of a unity government chaired by the opposition, and the formation of a military committee to restructure the army. But no one takes Saleh's vague promise to transfer power seriously. He has made such promises before and then broken them at the last minute. So it is no surprise that the Yemeni opposition insists on his complete resignation before participating in any more talks with the ruling party about a Saudi-led Gulf plan. Earlier this month, from the Saudi capital Riyadh where he is finishing treatments from injuries he suffered in a failed assassination attempt in June, President Saleh called for electing a new president according to the Yemeni constitution. Saleh authorised his party to talk with the opposition about a mechanism to implement the Gulf plan and elect a new president. On Tuesday, the top authority of the ruling party outlined the mechanism of power transition which has the support of all local, regional and international players. Vice President Abdu Rabu Mansor Hadi, who is also the secretary general of the ruling party, briefed the top officials on the consultations he made with all parties to implement the plan. On the ground, however, tension remains high as the opposition supporters continue to express their lack of trust in the Western-backed plans for a regime change to their liking. At the same time, Saleh's supporters insist that he is the legitimate president until 20 September 2013. The rising tension because of these two conflicting views means more clashes, resulting in deaths and injuries in small battles here in the capital and many other places. One of the Islamist leaders said in Friday's rally that the protesters should move from the squares to neighbourhoods of the cities. On the same Friday, however, hundreds of thousands of Saleh's supporters also took to the streets to protest against any military action and demand dialogue. UK Ambassador to Sanaa Jonathan Wilks said in a statement to media on Tuesday that violence is not a solution. "What Yemen urgently needs now is a political solution, and violence would not solve the problems," Wilks said. Of course, his political settlement is the Western-backed Gulf plan and the road map suggested by UN Envoy to Yemen Jamal Bin Omar, and relies on Saleh actually ceding power. The British ambassador advised the young protesters to join in the international talks, as if their participation would make any difference to the agreement made by regional powers in conjunction with the US. Earlier in the week, the opposition retracted a previous call for violence and using weapons for ending the 33-year rule of President Saleh. "We refuse violence in all its forms, and any call for violence would not represent us," said an official statement issued Monday by the Islamist-led opposition coalition, which is locally known as Joint Meeting Parties (JMPs). The step came a few days after leaders of the JMPs threatened to use military force to help the opposition supporters who demand the ouster of Saleh. For instance, last week, ex-general Ali Mohsen, who supports the anti-Saleh protests, threatened to topple President Saleh by force. "We know that the revolution needs a military interference, and we will do that," said Mohsen in press statements. However, tensions remain high in the capital Sanaa as people fear the situation could explode at any time because of irresponsible and fiery statements they hear in the media. One day, the republican guards, the main forces loyal to Saleh, prevented most people from even entering the capital. They were trying to keep out tribesmen who could help opposition supporters in case war erupts inside the city. Earlier, the ruling party accused the opposition parties of preparing for a bloody military action after Mohsen threatened to repeat the Libyan scenario for ending the revolution. "There are adventurous leaders seeking to commit a massacre," the ruling party website quoted an unnamed official as saying. "Those leaders think that bloodshed will restore the vitality they lost by the withdrawal of protesters from the squares." Though the camps in squares have largely gone, in their weekly Friday rally, hundreds of thousands continue to take to the streets in the capital and other cities, to demand military action to end their eight-month long struggle to topple the defiant Saleh. They called the step "Revolutionary Escalation". Thousands of protesters known as "Assomud Youth" who belong to Al-Houthi rebels withdrew from the Sanaa "Change Square". The step was widely welcomed by the residents in 20 Street close to the old university, as they were able to reclaim their street for movement and traffic after Assomud left with their tents. Local residents were happy to have their street back to normal after more than seven months of noise and congestion. Assomud Youth, known also as Houthis, hate ex-general Ali Mohsen, who led six sporadic wars against them in the northern province of Saada from 2004 to 2010. Soldiers of ex-general Ali Mohsen replaced the Houthis in 20 Street 1 September. Though 20 Street now has traffic on the move, there is little prospect that peace for Yemen is moving forward.
