Opposition leaders in Yemen will meet in Riyadh on Sunday with the foreign ministers of the Arabian Gulf and unveil their conditions before starting formal negotiations for the departure of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. After three months of protests to demand the end of the term 32-year-Saleh, earlier this month the Gulf States offered to mediate a transition of power, but talks were delayed by issues such as immunity to stand trial Saleh and timing of the transfer.
The opposition, whose delegation is headed by former Foreign Minister Mohammed Basindwa rejected a proposal by the ministers of the Gulf last week because it seemed to offer immunity from prosecution Saleh. Basindwa told Reuters that the opposition had agreed to accept an invitation from the Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, on condition that it does not include representatives of Saleh.
Saleh's resignation to the presidency is "not negotiable" said Basindwa. The opposition want the president leaves office within weeks and that the option remains open to process. More than 116 demonstrators have been killed in clashes with security forces since late January, raising fears that violence is out of control in the impoverished and fragmented nation where the Al Qaeda has been active.
Saudi Arabia, which along with the United States has supported Saleh to keep at bay to Al Qaeda, has been conducting the negotiations in the capital, Riyadh. Saleh has already accepted the plan for the Gulf States, suggesting he could retire without a specific timetable. After initially offering to leave his post at the end of his current term in 2013, the Yemeni president said he would resign after the election, possibly this year.
Saleh has warned about the risks of civil war and a division of the country if forced to leave his job and insists on handing over power to what he calls "safe hands". 
The opposition, whose delegation is headed by former Foreign Minister Mohammed Basindwa rejected a proposal by the ministers of the Gulf last week because it seemed to offer immunity from prosecution Saleh. Basindwa told Reuters that the opposition had agreed to accept an invitation from the Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, on condition that it does not include representatives of Saleh.
Saleh's resignation to the presidency is "not negotiable" said Basindwa. The opposition want the president leaves office within weeks and that the option remains open to process. More than 116 demonstrators have been killed in clashes with security forces since late January, raising fears that violence is out of control in the impoverished and fragmented nation where the Al Qaeda has been active.
Saudi Arabia, which along with the United States has supported Saleh to keep at bay to Al Qaeda, has been conducting the negotiations in the capital, Riyadh. Saleh has already accepted the plan for the Gulf States, suggesting he could retire without a specific timetable. After initially offering to leave his post at the end of his current term in 2013, the Yemeni president said he would resign after the election, possibly this year.
Saleh has warned about the risks of civil war and a division of the country if forced to leave his job and insists on handing over power to what he calls "safe hands".
- Yemeni women: President is degrading us (16/04/2011)
- Yemeni women: President is degrading us - CNN (16/04/2011)
- Yemen women march against president (16/04/2011)
- Yemeni women protest against Saleh's remarks for second day - CNN (17/04/2011)
- Analysis: Yemen's Saleh hangs on, still hopes to outwit foes - Reuters (14/04/2011)
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