SANA'A: Claims from officials in Saudi Arabia and the admission on Wednesday by a ruling party senior member that President Saleh was contemplating staying in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia permanently once the power-transfer completed are now being denied by Yemeni Foreign minister al-Qirby. The FM told the press on Saturday that Saleh would of course remain in Yemen and that he would continue to play an important role within the GPC (General People's Congress). “Saleh will not leave. He will remain a Yemeni national having the right to stay in the country,” al-Qirbi was quoted by the pan-Arab newspaper Al-Hayat as saying. Even with the power-transfer signed and sworn promises that all sides will respect the terms of the agreement; things are turning sour in Yemen with protesters continuing to condemn the immunity clause, renouncing the JMP, and with an increasing political tension in between the Opposition and the regime. If Saleh has indeed agreed to ink the GCC brokered proposal he still has yet to honor its first amendment by transferring his powers to VP Hadi and his family members, most essentially his son Ahmed, the Head of the Republican Guards, have yet to step down from their positions. One of Basendwa's bodyguards (the man set to become Yemen's next Prime Minister) who was attending a private meeting of the JMP, announced under cover of anonymity that the members of the Opposition were quite nervous since the ruling party was determined to keep in its control Yemen's main ministries (Finance, Defense, Oil and Mineral, Communication and Foreign Affairs); many warning that an armed conflict was becoming an increasing possibility. He added that most were adamant that Ahmed Saleh and his cousins would never hand out peacefully their authorities. Interestingly, Abdu Rabbo Mansoor Hadi, the man supposedly in charge of transitioning Yemen through this difficult time is nowhere to be seen. BM
