Top Yemen officials quit over killing of protesters

[News_Editor]

Top Yemen officials quit over killing of protesters

2011-03-20 23:46:22 GMT+7 (ICT)

SANAA (BNO NEWS) -- Yemen's ambassador to the United Nations resigned on Sunday in protest against the killing of 52 protesters who were calling for the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a foreign ministry official told CNN.

The resignation of Abdullah Al-Said comes after Human Rights Minister Huda al-Bann also quit over violence to protesters. Other high-ranking government members have also resigned in protest, including the head of the state-run Saba news agency.

Members of Saleh's own tribe are calling for him to step down. Senior ruling party member Mohammed Abulahoum said Sunday that Saleh "should seriously consider a good, safe exit strategy" to "prepare the foundation in Yemen for a good transfer of power from him to the next authority or president."

Tens of thousands of people protested Sunday outside Sanaa University in the capital, eyewitnesses said. CNN was not able to independently confirm the size of the protests.

Funerals were held for some of the people killed in attacks on Friday, with bodies of the victims carried through the streets. President Saleh has declared Sunday a national day of mourning for the "martyrs of democracy," who have fallen at the University of Sanaa or in other provinces of the country.

Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters gathered on Friday as a sit-in outside Sanaa University has been ongoing for the past weeks to demand the ouster of President Saleh, who has ruled the country for 32 years.

However, during the latest incidents, shots were fired by pro-government forces, many of them dressed in regular civilian clothes. The gunmen surrounded the protesters shortly after their Muslim Friday prayers, which usually bring together more people than other days. Shots were also fired from surrounding buildings.

Following the incident, Saleh declared a nationwide state of emergency. He also stated that the shootings were carried out among citizens and demonstrators, underlining that government forces did not open fire.

Yemeni protesters, mostly young, are fighting against soaring unemployment rates, poverty, widespread corruption and patronage. The demonstrations were initially inspired by the Tunisian revolt, but they gathered momentum with the success of Egypt's revolution. Protests, which began in January, have resulted in dozens of deaths and hundreds of injured.

President Saleh has pledged not to seek his reelection in 2013 or hand over power to his son.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-03-20

[LaoPo]

FYI: Yemen has 24 Million people!

21 March 2011 Last updated at 14:44 GMT

Top Yemeni general, Ali Mohsen, backs opposition

Thousands have been attending the funerals of those killed in Friday's protests

Key Yemeni General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, who is close to President Ali Abdullah Saleh, says he is backing the protest movement against the regime.

Two other senior army commanders are also reported to have resigned.

President Saleh said he was "holding out" and the majority of Yemenis still supported him, Al Arabiya TV reported.

Tanks have been deployed at strategic points in the capital, Sanaa, but it was not immediately clear who was commanding them.

Some tanks took up positions outside the presidential palace, and others were seen at the central bank and the ministry of defence.

A BBC correspondent says that one by one, the pillars of President Saleh's power are being knocked away.

Continues:

http://www.bbc.co.uk...e-east-12804552

LaoPo

Edited March 21, 2011 by LaoPo

[LaoPo]

Yemen - Background

Glen Carey/Bloomberg News Updated: Mar. 21, 2011

Yemen is a poor, violent, deeply divided country that has been in turmoil since January 2011, when the example of the Tunisian revolution set off mass demonstrations against President <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/ali_abdullah_saleh/index.html?inline=nyt-per">Ali Abdullah Saleh. Mr. Saleh, who has been in power since 1978, responded alternately with conciliatory measures, including a promise not to seek reelection, and violent crackdowns.

On March 18, as the protest in the capital swelled to tens of thousands, security forces and government supporters opened fire on demonstrators as they rose from their noon prayers. The crackdown failed to disperse the protest, the largest seen so far in the center of Sana, but at least 40 people were killed and more than 100 injured, dwarfing the level of violence in previous clashes. Mr. Saleh declared a state of emergency shortly after the violence, and denied that security forces had been involved in any shooting.

On March 20, Mr. Saleh fired his cabinet as demonstrations against him grew. On March 21, five army commanders and one of the country's most important tribal leaders threw their support behind the protesters, calling for Mr. Saleh's immediate ouster. A stream of Yemeni officials resigned from the government, including the mayor of the restive southern city of Aden, a provincial governor and at least one of the country's ambassadors.

Continues:

http://topics.nytime...emen/index.html

LaoPo