By Ahmed al-Jarallah
This commentary was published in Arab Times on 28/03/2011
This commentary was published in Arab Times on 28/03/2011
YEMEN’S PRESIDENT Ali Abdullah Saleh has unequivocally declared his readiness to relinquish power and hand it over to secure hands in accordance with constitutional requirements. With that declaration, he put the opposition before the reality mirror and offered them the task of preserving national unity in Yemen. It is now mandatory for those who called on him to leave power to prove that they are not tools in the hands of foreign masters who want evil to befall Yemen. This is a country already suffering from compounding economic woes and serious separation fears among its sections; therefore, this opposition must come out with something concrete to save the country from a very bleak fate.
The Yemeni President hasn’t been stripped of popular support as in the case of some Arab regimes, and he is almost at par with the opposition in terms of public support. Despite this, he has chosen the middle course to avert bloodshed like the kind we are seeing in Libya currently, especially since he knows that there are 60 million guns in Yemen as every citizen owns one! He wants to prevent the type of pandemonium Egypt has been enmeshed in since the exit of president Hosni Mubarak.
Yemen must not be allowed to become another Somalia, especially due to the presence of pro-separation blocs which had never hidden their intentions. President Saleh has been coming up with one initiative after other, all in the desire to forestall any of the aforementioned scenarios. However, the dictatorial behavior of the opposition has prevented it from listening to the voice of reason and to allow real dialogue where a national transition program could be laid. Does it want to hand over the country to al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Iran and other evil powers? Does it want to create chaos in the country?
The picture in Yemen has become clear to all observers; the extremist demands are being confronted with radical attempts to preserve national unity and stability. There are also some people who are bent on ruining Yemen by hurling accusations of killing against President Saleh. Now, there is a possibility of a counter allegation by pro-regime elements, and then the whole country might erupt in free-for-all killing spree, drowning it in chaos. The Yemeni opposition today has the obligation to save its country by listening to the voice of reason declared by President Ali Abdullah Saleh, or else it would be committing the crime of the century against its own country, and against its people and unity.
The Yemeni President hasn’t been stripped of popular support as in the case of some Arab regimes, and he is almost at par with the opposition in terms of public support. Despite this, he has chosen the middle course to avert bloodshed like the kind we are seeing in Libya currently, especially since he knows that there are 60 million guns in Yemen as every citizen owns one! He wants to prevent the type of pandemonium Egypt has been enmeshed in since the exit of president Hosni Mubarak.
Yemen must not be allowed to become another Somalia, especially due to the presence of pro-separation blocs which had never hidden their intentions. President Saleh has been coming up with one initiative after other, all in the desire to forestall any of the aforementioned scenarios. However, the dictatorial behavior of the opposition has prevented it from listening to the voice of reason and to allow real dialogue where a national transition program could be laid. Does it want to hand over the country to al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Iran and other evil powers? Does it want to create chaos in the country?
The picture in Yemen has become clear to all observers; the extremist demands are being confronted with radical attempts to preserve national unity and stability. There are also some people who are bent on ruining Yemen by hurling accusations of killing against President Saleh. Now, there is a possibility of a counter allegation by pro-regime elements, and then the whole country might erupt in free-for-all killing spree, drowning it in chaos. The Yemeni opposition today has the obligation to save its country by listening to the voice of reason declared by President Ali Abdullah Saleh, or else it would be committing the crime of the century against its own country, and against its people and unity.
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