"Yemen’s president yesterday ordered the formation of a government committee to open a dialogue with protesters who have been staging demonstrations for weeks demanding the president step down, state media reported.
Related: No Need For Yakking in Yemen
Truthfully, I always prefer talk over violence. Always.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s directive appeared to mark a significant concession in the standoff with the opposition, as well as an attempt to defuse the demonstrations that have been inspired by the successful uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.
The protesters in Yemen, an impoverished country with a weak central government and an active branch of Al Qaeda, are demanding the resignation of the US-backed Saleh, who has been in power for 32 years....
"Al-CIA-Duh," you say?
--more--"
Also see: No Longer Digging Up Dead Men
Let's just leave it at that for now, dear readers.
"Protesters march in Bahrain, Jordan, Yemen, and Egypt" by Ben Hubbard and Karin Laub, Associated Press / February 26, 2011
CAIRO — Hundreds of thousands left mosques and staged protests across the Arab world yesterday, some trying to shake off autocratic rulers and others pressuring embattled leaders to carry out sweeping reforms.
Huge crowds turned out in Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, and Jordan, but with very different goals.
In the Arab world’s poorest country, Yemen, tens of thousands marching in the capital of Sana demanded that their US-backed president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, step down. It was one of the largest crowds since protests erupted earlier this month.
A Muslim preacher who led yesterday’s prayer told protesters it was their religious duty to topple Saleh, describing him as a “devil who has driven us to the stone ages.’’
Declaration of Independence basically says the same thing:
"It is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security."
Yemen has a weak central government and an active branch of Al Qaeda. Saleh has promised to step down after elections in 2013, but the demonstrators want him out now. Activists have been digging in, setting up encampments in some public areas....
--more--"
"Egyptian panel seeks more open elections, term limits" by Sarah El Deeb, Associated Press / February 27, 2011
CAIRO — Yemen’s embattled president suffered back-to-back blows yesterday: Hundreds of thousands called for his ouster in the largest antigovernment rallies yet, and two powerful chiefs from his own tribe abandoned him.
The huge turnout across Yemen and the defections were the latest signs that President Ali Abdullah Saleh may be losing his grip on the impoverished, conflict-ridden country.
Tens of thousands of members from both the Hashid tribe and Baqil, the second-largest tribal federation in Yemen, marched in Emran to demand the ouster of the president.
Saleh appeared to be hardening his stance, after initially offering protesters to engage in dialogue and promising that the security forces would not use force against them.
Yeah, he's such a great dictator the whole country hates him. This subtle slant of support for this thug from the newspaper is sickening.
Yemeni TV quoted him yesterday as telling army commanders that the armed forces will not hesitate to “defend the security of the nation as well as the unity, freedom, and democracy.’’
Large groups of protesters were reported yesterday in Yemen’s largest cities, including about 80,000 in the capital of Sana, about 150,000 in the city of Taiz, and 30,000 in Aden, according to security officials. Big rallies were also held in six other areas, including Emran....
--more--"
"Yemen’s opposition parties said they will join young protesters in their push to bring down the country’s beleaguered president. The announcement marked the second major setback in two days for President Ali Abdullah Saleh, after two powerful chiefs from his own tribe abandoned him."
Can't this guy take a hint?
"Yemen’s president offered to form a unity government with opponents who want him out of office — provided protests against him stop. President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s offer was swiftly rejected by opposition figures.
Oh, he's crazy. That explains it.
Saleh has come under mounting pressure in recent weeks to step down, with large daily rallies calling for his ouster. Key allies, including some tribal chiefs, have abandoned him.
--more--"
"Yemeni cleric urges Islamic rule; President says US, Israel are at root of nation’s turmoil" by Globe Wire Services / March 2, 2011
SANA, Yemen — Yemen’s president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, maintained a tenuous hold on power yesterday, blaming the United States and Israel for protests across the Arab world, while a prominent radical cleric joined the growing crowds demanding his ouster and called for an Islamic state.
I will agree that they may be behind some and taking advantage of a few; however, some of them have either spun out of control or were never intended to mushroom the way they did.
US officials expressed concern about the statement of the cleric, Abdul Majid al-Zindani, a onetime mentor of Osama bin Laden, which introduced a new Islamist element to the turmoil in a country where Al Qaeda is viewed as a grave threat.
Go GRAB a SHOVEL if you want, AmeriKan media.
Dig your own f***ing grave for this reprehesible s***.
The protests that toppled leaders in Tunisia and Egypt and that now threaten rulers in Libya, Bahrain, and Oman have been largely secular in nature.
That is the Zionist War Paper's way of saying it is a PEOPLE'S REVOLT!!
Zindani spoke on an open-air stage before several thousand antigovernment protesters, guarded by 10 men carrying AK-47s and shielded from the scorching sun by two umbrellas wielded by aides.
He has Secret Service protection, too?
“An Islamic state is coming,’’ he said, drawing cries of “God is great’’ from some in the crowd. It was not clear how much support Zindani had among the protest movement.
This is the "Al-CIA-Duh" guy?
As the opposition held what it called “a day of rage,’’ the progovernment camp mustered one of its biggest crowds in weeks of turmoil. Demonstrators replaced their opponents’ slogan — “the people want the regime to fall’’ — with the words “the people want Ali Abdullah Saleh.’’
Obama administration officials increasingly fear the power vacuum that they believe would follow if Saleh, whose son, nephews, and close allies in the Sanhan tribe control the military and intelligence agencies, departed.
Standing behind Saleh?
Zindani has long supported Saleh, and his defection, which followed that of tribal leaders and a refusal Monday by opposition parties to join a unity government, was a sign of how quickly the president’s patronage system is dissolving, a senior administration official said.
The Al-CIA-Duh has SUPPORTED the DICTATOR?
And AmeriKa wants to KEEP HIM!
Saleh, for his part, sought to distance himself from Washington with comments all the more startling given the United States’ political support and military aid to his government.
Hey, when you are trying to save your own skin....
“From Tunis to the sultanate of Oman,’’ Saleh said, the wave of protest is “managed by Tel Aviv and under the supervision of Washington.’’
Certainly could be. So many things are; however, all those people simply can not be CIA.
US officials dismissed the accusation. Privately, administration officials said they believed that Saleh was posturing to hang onto his job....
Why did my war-promoting newspaper just come to mind?
--more--"
"A coalition of Yemeni opposition groups has proposed a plan to end the country’s political crisis that would involve embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh stepping down by the end of the year, a spokesman for the group said yesterday.
Mohammed al-Sabri said the opposition sent Saleh the five-point plan, which presents an outline for a peaceful transition of power, through religious scholars Wednesday. He said the opposition is waiting for a response (AP)."
Need I even comment?
"Soldiers opened fire at antigovernment protesters yesterday in northern Yemen, killing four people and wounding seven as demonstrations against longtime President Ali Abdullah Saleh again turned deadly.
That's his RESPONSE!!
Yemen has been rocked by weeks of daily antigovernment protests, inspired by the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, and tens of thousands turned out in cities across the country calling for the ouster of Saleh, a key US ally in the campaign against the Al Qaeda terrorist network. He has promised to step down after national elections in 2013, an offer rejected by protesters.(AP)."
He also promised he wouldn't use force.
"Increasing pressure on Yemen’s president, several members of his ruling Congress Party resigned yesterday as tens of thousands again took to the streets to demand his ouster and Britain warned its citizens against all travel to the impoverished Arab nation.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a key US ally in fighting a potent Al Qaeda offshoot in his country, was refusing to budge."
And JUST IN TIME....
"Suspected Al Qaeda gunmen killed four Republican Guard soldiers yesterday in Yemen’s mountainous central province of Marib, security officials said.
Also yesterday, the US government, citing terrorism and civil unrest, advised Americans not to travel to Yemen and said Americans in the Arab nation should leave (AP)."
That does it!
Which "Al-CIA-Duh" would that be, huh?
The made-up "Al-CIA-Duh?"
Or the "Al-CIA-Duh" CREATION for the COURTROOM!?
Related:
Prop 101: Al-CIA-Duh and the OSI
Prop 101: Al-CIA-Duh's Greatest Hits
Prop 101: The "Terrorism" Business
New York Times Admits War on Terror is U.S. Creation
Oh, AmeriKa's MSM KNOWS ALL ABOUT and yet STILL PUSHES the CHARADE, huh?
Also see: Occupation Iraq: Israel's IEDs
Occupation Iraq: Israelis Killing U.S. Troops
Occupation Iraq: Israeli-Trained Death Squads
Plan B
Prop 101: Al-CIA-Duh and the OSI
Prop 101: Al-CIA-Duh's Greatest Hits
Prop 101: The "Terrorism" Business
Prop 102: Iraq and Government Lies
Al-CIA-Duh
Who Invented "Al-CIA-Duh?"
"Al-CIA-Duhs" Catch-and-Release Program
Asymmetrical Warfare Group
Operation Gladio
Operation Northwoods
Occupation Iraq: British Bombers
Occupation Iraq: America's Roadside Bombs
'The Salvador Option'
Special Police Commandos
Proactive, Preemptive Operations Group
Prop 201 tutorial
FRU
Islam's 9/11
Who is Bombing in Iraq? Are the bombers Al-Qaeda, the CIA or Israel?
How much more evidence do you need?
Israeli Mossad Role in Turkey Coup Plot Revealed
Israel funded "terrorist" groups through BCCI
AMIA was Mossad False-flag Operation
Mossad Agent killing Oz Tourists to steal their identity to use in fake Al-Qaeda operations
‘Mossad capable of US attack’: US Army officials
Iran hangs "terrorist" linked to Mossad
Montreal Averts Israeli Mossad Terrorist Attack
Israeli Mossad = al Qaeda?
Judiciary starts work on case of Mossad-linked terror group
Assassins caught on video reveals possible Mossad-Fatah link
Mossad funded Abu Nidal through BCCI
Mumbai: The Mossad Angle
Hamas Was Founded by Mossad
Israeli officer sells weapons to terrorists in Iraq
MOSSAD FALSE FLAG TERRORIST ATTACKS
Revealing information on Mossad terrorist acts worries Europeans
Mossad and Moving Companies: Masterminds of Global Terrorism?
Group that took credit for "Bandini Bomber" linked to Mossad.
MARRIOTT BOMB:Mossad pulls off another false-flag operation
Mossad Exposed in Phony`Palestinian Al-Qaeda' Caper
Mossad orchestrated Christmas Day bomb plot
British Broadsheet Links Mossad to 9/11
How Mossad Deceived the U.S. Military on 9/11
A Look at the Mossad's Assassination Squads
Army Captures 'Terrorist Ring' Working for Mossad
Lebanon's Army captures Israeli Mossad 'Terrorist Ring'
A bumbling Mossad hand suspected in Dubai assassination
Mossad stealing passports in Australia and NZ
Mossad supporting "Radical Muslim" groups.
Mossad-Linked Cell Arrested in South Lebanon
Mossad links to 1986 Berlin disco bombing
HUNDREDS OF MOSSAD AGENTS CAUGHT RUNNING WILD IN AMERICA!
Mossad-backed terror network in Lebanon
Mossad was found to be propping up 'Islamic terrorist' groups in mid-east.
Mossad implicated in a coup plot in Turkey, a NATO country
Mumbai Terror Attacks: The Mossad Angle
Mossad linked to "Jundollah" attacks, and kidnapping of Iranian border guards
Mossad behind Hindu terror group
Israeli Mossad Links To World Trade Center Attack
Abu Nidal - Mossad terrorist
'Terror' group in Iran linked to Mossad, CIA
Attack On US Embassy In Yemen Linked To Mossad
Mossad Black Ops and False Flags
Mossad linked to "Crotch Bomber"
Mossad linked to 9/11 attacks: Report
9-11 Mossad Agents Admit Mission: "Our Purpose Was To Document The Event"
Only people actually arrested on 9-11 were Israelis
Mossad Link Found to One of Key 9-11 Hijackers
Bush Administration Ignores Mossad-Al Qaeda Terrorist Link
Al Qaeda are really Mossad
Mossad linked to Ergenekon plot
Hezbollah infiltrated by Mossad, does Israel's bidding. Attacks when Israel needs excuse to invade Lebanon
Is Hizbullah a Mossad front?
Israel tricked the US into attacking Libya
When Israel attacked the USS Liberty they tried to frame Egypt for it.
The Lavon Affair: Israel has a history of faking terror attacks.
Israel creates and aids terror groups.
If HAMAS is so bad why did Israel create it? To demonize Palestinians?
Israel stages all these "terror" attacks to trick America into hating Israel's enemies.
Who are the "terrorists" again?
"Yemen’s embattled president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, called for national dialogue in an attempt to quell escalating protests against his 32-year rule, as thousands of demonstrators again took to the streets to demand his ouster....
Is Saleh stupid or what?
--more--"
"The Yemeni government escalated its efforts to stop mass protests calling for the president’s ouster yesterday, with soldiers firing rubber bullets and tear gas at students camped at a university in the capital in a raid that left at least 98 people wounded, officials said.
Are you SURE it was "tear gas," AmeriKan media?
I can only ask you, dear readers, when enough lies and obfuscations are enough.
The army stormed the Sanaa University campus hours after thousands of inmates rioted at the central prison in the capital, taking a dozen guards hostage and calling for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down. At least one prisoner was killed, and 80 people were wounded as the guards fought to control the situation, police said.
--more--"
"Thousands of unsatisfied protesters poured into the streets....
The demonstrators have set up protest camps in the capital and the cities of Aden and Taiz, saying they will not leave until President Ali Abdullah Saleh resigns.
Saleh, an ally in the Obama’s administration’s fight against Al Qaeda, has been making a series of concessions to try to head off the protests....
I can't stand this crap anymore, readers.
Shortly after Saleh finished his speech, some 4,000 people, mostly students, took to the streets and headed toward the main square in Sana, calling for his ouster....
Good kids!
--more--"
"Security forces opened fire yesterday on demonstrators trying to rip down photographs of the president, and at least six protesters were injured as the biggest rallies in a month of unrest rocked the country in a massive call for regime change.
Protesters ripped down and burned portraits of President Ali Abdullah Saleh outside the southern port city of Aden, witnesses said. Security forces hurled tear gas into crowds close to a football stadium and then opened fire, using machine guns mounted on vehicles, but apparently were mostly firing over the heads of demonstrators.
So where are the cruise missiles to prote.... oh, right, the U.S. already dumps missiles into Yemen.
Thousands of women demonstrated in Yemen’s capital, Sana, a startling move in a society where women are expected to stay out of sight.
Yup, it REALLY IS A PEOPLE'S MOVEMENT!!!
--more--"
"6 killed, hundreds hurt as Yemen cracks down on protesters" by Ahmed Al-Haj, Associated Press / March 13, 2011
SANA, Yemen — Yemeni security forces killed six people yesterday and wounded hundreds in the second day of a harsh crackdown on antigovernment protests, witnesses said. One of the dead was a 15-year-old student....
Any bleat from the Obaminator?
The violence began with a predawn raid on a central square in the capital, Sana, where thousands of prodemocracy protesters have been camped out for the past month....
--more--"
"Police fire on protesters in Yemen, injuring at least 100" by Associated Press / March 14, 2011
SANA, Yemen — Police on rooftops fired bullets and tear gas at protesters yesterday, wounding at least 100 people camping out near Sana University. The day’s violence was the latest evidence that monthlong protests demanding the resignation of Yemen’s longtime leader were spiraling out of control.
And WHO gave it a SHOVE?
Was that REALLY TEAR GAS, AmeriKan media?
Embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh has resorted to increasingly violent tactics to try to put down the burgeoning uprising against his 32-year rule, deploying dozens of armed supporters on the streets in an attempt to intimidate protesters.
Wielding clubs and knifes, police and regime supporters — described by protesters as government-sponsored thugs — attacked activists, said Mohammed al-Abahi, a doctor in charge of a makeshift hospital near the university.
Among the wounded yesterday, more than 20 suffered gas inhalation, and one was in critical condition after being struck with a bullet, the doctor said.
In the main square and in surrounding streets, eyewitnesses spoke of people being beaten up and threatened, as well as disappearing. The violence came a day after security forces killed seven demonstrators in protests around the country.
Young activists camped out in the square near the university continued to expand the area of their sit-in and threatened to march on the presidential palace about 3 miles away. Rock-throwing battles between protesters and security troops broke out on the edges of the encampment.
The peaceful protesters threatened, huh?
Protesters said the authorities were trying to draw them into a cycle of violence to further justify a crackdown. “This will not happen, even if they exterminate us all, our only weapon is peaceful sit-ins,’’ said activist Abdel-Karim al-Khiwani.
WOW! Yemenis SURE ARE SMART!!!
--more--"
"Yemen’s president dismisses minister as unrest expands" by Associated Press / March 15, 2011
SANA, Yemen — With no sign that his opponents will accept anything less than his ouster, President Ali Abdullah Saleh has filled the streets with armed supporters in an increasingly violent crackdown.
But he is our guy so it is okay.
The opposition gained its own support yesterday from striking workers as well as university professors and a growing number of powerful tribal chiefs turning against Saleh....
Workers, professors, women, tribal chiefs. We are now talking ALL the PEOPLE, folks!!
Yesterday, police and plainclothes security officers remained locked in a standoff with protesters camped out in a square near Sana University. Hundreds more protesters were planning to reinforce them.
:-)
In a separate development, armed Yemeni security forces raided an apartment shared by four Western journalist and deported them because of their coverage of a uprising against the country’s longtime ruler.
The journalists, two Americans and two Britons in their 20s, contribute to publications that include the Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post....
U.S. pipe up yet?
--more--"
Does Yemen have oil, readers?
Is it located in a strategic location regarding trade routes?
"In Yemen, government supporters armed with sticks, knives, and guns attacked thousands of protesters, wounding hundreds in an increasingly violent crackdown on demonstrations calling for the country’s longtime president to step down, witnesses said.
Police fired tear gas to break up yesterday’s melee in the southern al-Hudaydah port, where some 4,000 people have been camped out for weeks. Ten protesters were shot and dozens were stabbed and pounded with rocks, a medical official said. Others were injured as they were trampled by fleeing demonstrators. Hundreds suffered breathing problems because of tear gas.
And Obama says what about this murder of innocents??
Yemen has been rocked by a month of daily street demonstrations set in motion by the tumult sweeping the Arab world. Fed up with corruption, poverty and a lack of political freedom, the protesters have demanded that President Ali Abdullah Saleh leave office after 32 years in power. Thousands are sleeping in public squares in cities and towns scattered throughout Yemen, refusing to leave until Saleh resigns.
After nearly a month of protests, about 50 demonstrators have been killed by security forces or paid thugs, said Amal al-Bashi, of the Yemen Center for Human Rights.
--more--"
And it is on the rise:
"Violent day in Yemen
SANA, Yemen — Security forces and government loyalists struck protest camps across the nation, hurling rocks, beating protesters with sticks, and firing rubber and live bullets, hoping to break the will of thousands who have camped in squares for a month and demanded their longtime authoritarian leader leave power.
The violence underscored the chipping-at-the-edges tactic of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has ruled Yemen for over 30 years. He does not appear to have the will — or perhaps the capabilities — to disperse the demonstrators conclusively. In the past few weeks, he has unleashed fiery assaults on protesters in different cities using a mix of security forces and paid thugs, apparently hoping to wear them out.
It is just one of the problems this extremely poor, tribal country faces. Even before protests began in mid-February, Yemen’s government was struggling to confront one of the world’s most active Al Qaeda branches, a secessionist rebellion in the south, and a Shi’ite uprising in the north. Saleh is a key ally in the US campaign against the Al Qaeda terror network.
Time to let them split like Kosovo.
Al Qaeda militants ambushed police yesterday as they ate lunch at a checkpoint. In a gunfight, three militants and three police were killed, said a security official in the province of Marib.
--more--"
"Snipers on rooftops kill dozens in Yemen; Police block escape with burning tires" by Ahmed Al-Haj and Zeina Karam, Associated Press / March 19, 2011
SANA, Yemen — Snipers hidden on rooftops fired methodically on Yemeni protesters chanting peace slogans yesterday as police sealed off a key escape route with a wall of burning tires. The massive antigovernment demonstration ended in chaos and calls for retribution, with at least 47 people dead and scores wounded.
Saleh isn't Khadafy.
For more than 20 minutes, witnesses said, security forces and government supporters fired directly at protesters near Sana University. Most of the wounds were to the head, neck, and chest, doctors at the scene said, indicative of an intent to kill.
Because the government had blocked access to the capital’s main hospital, protesters had to set up makeshift emergency rooms and morgues at the scene.
“Where are the human rights organizations?’’ said Alawi Hababi, a doctor at the university....
Or the AmeriKan government? Or the U.N.?
Many of the victims, including children, were left sprawled on the ground or carried off by other protesters desperately pressing scarves to wounds to try to stop the bleeding.
Saleh the Slaughterer.
The attack marked a new level of brutality in President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s crackdown on dissent. The dramatic escalation in violence suggested Saleh was growing more fearful that the unprecedented street protests over the past month, set off by unrest across the Arab world, could unravel his 32-year grip on power in this volatile, impoverished, and gun-saturated nation. Saleh declared a state of emergency after the attack.
The bloodshed, however, failed to dislodge protesters from a large traffic circle they have dubbed “Taghyir Square’’ — Arabic for “change.’’ Hours after the shooting, thousands demanding Saleh’s ouster stood their ground, many of them hurling stones at security troops and braving live fire and tear gas.
The brave Yemen people deserve a yell out!!!
They stormed buildings where the snipers had taken position, dragging out 10 people — including some the protesters said were paid thugs. They said the men would be handed over to judicial authorities.
The protest in the capital had drawn tens of thousands, the largest crowd yet in Yemen’s uprising. It began peacefully. A military helicopter flew low over the square just as protesters were arriving after the main Muslim prayer services of the week.
A short while later, gunfire rang out from rooftops and houses, sending the crowd into a panic. Dozens were hit and crumpled to the ground. One man ran for help cradling a young boy shot in the head.
Police used burning tires and gasoline to block demonstrators from fleeing down a main road leading to sensitive locations, including the president’s residence.
“It is a massacre,’’ said Mohammad al-Sabri, an opposition spokesman. “This is part of a criminal plan to kill off the protesters, and the president and his relatives are responsible for the bloodshed in Yemen today.’’
Yes, it is a WAR CRIME!!
Witnesses said the snipers wore the beige uniforms of Yemen’s elite forces and that others were plainclothes security officers.
Still calling them "security" officers?
Saleh denied at a press conference that government forces were involved, saying that residents angry over the expanding protest camp had opened fire. He ordered the formation of a committee to investigate.
That is such an outrageous lie.
Woo-hoo, he's forming a whitewash, 'er, cover-up, 'er, committee to investigate, yaaaaaay!!
A Yemeni photojournalist, Jamal al-Sharaabi, was among the dead, medical officials said. He is the first journalist killed in the unrest.
So will the AmeriKan media pick up the torch?
Opposition groups in Yemen held an emergency meeting last night and defiantly called on all Yemenis to join in their peaceful protest. They also called on the international community and UN Security Council to take “political and moral responsibility with measures to protect civilians.’’
You don't want that kind of help.
“It is a massacre,’’ said Mohammad al-Sabri, an opposition spokesman. “This is part of a criminal plan to kill off the protesters, and the president and his relatives are responsible for the bloodshed in Yemen today.’’
Yes, it is a WAR CRIME!!
Witnesses said the snipers wore the beige uniforms of Yemen’s elite forces and that others were plainclothes security officers.
Still calling them "security" officers?
Saleh denied at a press conference that government forces were involved, saying that residents angry over the expanding protest camp had opened fire. He ordered the formation of a committee to investigate.
That is such an outrageous lie.
Woo-hoo, he's forming a whitewash, 'er, cover-up, 'er, committee to investigate, yaaaaaay!!
A Yemeni photojournalist, Jamal al-Sharaabi, was among the dead, medical officials said. He is the first journalist killed in the unrest.
So will the AmeriKan media pick up the torch?
Opposition groups in Yemen held an emergency meeting last night and defiantly called on all Yemenis to join in their peaceful protest. They also called on the international community and UN Security Council to take “political and moral responsibility with measures to protect civilians.’’
You don't want that kind of help.
The United States, which supports Yemen’s government with $250 million in military aid this year to battle one of Al Qaeda’s most active franchises, condemned the attack on protesters....
--more--"
"A crackdown that killed dozens failed to stop massive demonstrations against Yemen’s US-backed president, as crowds of thousands clashed yesterday with security forces smashing their protest camps and even seized control of one southern city.
The U.S. silence is deafening.
In the capital, the government had to bring out tank units and other military forces to protect key buildings as crowds swelled. Protesters also stood their ground in the southern port of Mukalla, surging out of their destroyed encampment and encircling a police station.
More than a month of daily protests calling for political freedoms and an end to corruption have presented President Ali Abdullah Saleh with the most dire challenge to his 32 years of running Yemen. In the bloodiest day of the uprising, Yemeni forces killed at least 46 people and injured hundreds in the capital on Friday, including with snipers firing on demonstrators from rooftops.
--more--"
"Weakened Yemen president’s own tribe calls for him to step down" by Associated Press / March 21, 2011
The US-backed president of Yemen took a devastating political blow yesterday when his own powerful tribe demanded his resignation, joining religious leaders, young people, and the country’s traditional opposition in calls for an end to his three decades in power.
I think the MASS-MURDERING SNIPERS finally did it.
Massive crowds flooded cities and towns around the impoverished and volatile nation, screaming in grief and anger as they mourned dozens of protesters killed Friday when President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s security forces opened fire from rooftops on a demonstration in the capital....
Analysts said Saleh, who has cooperated closely with US military operations against his country’s branch of Al Qaeda, had lost the support of every major power base in Yemen except the military.
Don't worry; they are next if they know what is good for them.
Many said he would now be forced to choose between stepping down and confronting demonstrators with even deadlier force.
Yeah, he's being forced to stay in power and murder his own people.
(Blog editor just shaking his head at the "journalism")
--more--"
And about that steadfast military:
"Key military leaders join Yemen opposition" by Ahmed Al-Haj, Associated Press / March 22, 2011
SANA, Yemen — A top military officer and at least 18 other senior commanders defected yesterday to the opposition movement demanding the immediate ouster of Yemen’s embattled president, depriving the US-allied ruler of most of his fast-dwindling power base.
Whose left?
The looming collapse of President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s regime throws into doubt the American campaign against a major Al Qaeda wing that plotted attacks in the United States.
I'm exhausted by the bulls***, sorry.
The defections led to rival tanks being deployed in the streets of Yemen’s capital, Sana, creating a potentially explosive situation and prompting Saleh’s defense minister, Mohammed Nasser Ahmed, to announce the military remained loyal to the longtime leader.
Well, some of 'em anyway.
The armed forces will counter any plots against the government, Ahmed declared on state television, after a meeting of the National Defense Council, which is led by Saleh and includes Ahmed, the prime minister and the intelligence chief.
Did he mention half the chairs were empty?
The defection of Major General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, a longtime Saleh confidante and commander of the army’s First Armored Division, was seen by some as a turning point. It followed a major escalation in the regime’s crackdown on demonstrators, when more than 40 people were killed in bloody clashes Friday.
The straw that broke the camel's back.
The French foreign minister, Alain Juppe, called Saleh’s resignation unavoidable and pledged “support to all those that fight for democracy.’’
Where you been, Frenchy, and why no jets over Yemen?
Tanks, armored vehicles, and soldiers directed by Ahmar fanned out around the Sana square that has become the epicenter of the opposition movement, moving in for the first time to protect demonstrators.
Related: Egypt's Political Earthquake
I'm offended by the word choice considering what the real things do.
Ahmar also sent tanks to the state television building, the Central Bank and the Defense Ministry.
:-)
In response, at least a dozen tanks and armored personnel carriers belonging to the Republican Guards, an elite force led by Saleh’s son, were deployed outside the presidential palace on Sana’s southern outskirts.
The deployment of Ahmar’s troops in Sana was greeted by wild jubilation from protesters, many of whom posed with soldiers for photographs, greeted them with military style salutes or offered them roses.
You know, the SAME THING that happened in EGYPT before Mubarak resigned!
--more--"
And ever hear of the expression too little, too late?
"Yemen’s embattled president offers to step down early; Opposition rejects deal it once sought; Saleh dismisses Cabinet members" by Laura Kasinof, New York Times / March 23, 2011
SANA, Yemen — President Ali Abdullah Saleh, increasingly isolated amid defections and resignations, clung to power yesterday, at one point indicating he would accept an opposition deal for his early departure — proposed weeks ago — to head off the country’s deepening crisis.
But the opposition said it was too late: They said the proposal to create a plan this year for his early exit from power before 2013 was no longer sufficient and that only his immediate departure would appease the rising tide of protesters.
Peaceful protesters need to be "appeased," huh?
What a disgusting piece of Zionist drivel.
“He has one option and it is to leave now, right now, without delaying, without conditions,’’ said Mohammed Qahtan of the Joint Meetings Parties, a coalition of opposition parties.
Throughout much of the day yesterday, spokesmen for the government and opposition groups traded barbs, and there were conflicting reports about the nature of the proposal that Saleh had endorsed....
The United States again expressed concern yesterday that a power vacuum in Yemen could provide an opening for terrorist groups, including Al Qaeda’s local affiliate, called Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which since 2009 has mounted multiple terrorist plots against the United States.
PFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!
“We are obviously concerned about the instability in Yemen,’’ Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, traveling in Russia, said yesterday. “We consider Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which is largely located in Yemen, to perhaps be the most dangerous of all of the franchises of Al Qaeda right now.’’
Didn't Gates work for CIA-Duh in the 1980s?
--more--"
"SANA, Yemen — Struggling to hold power after many of his allies abandoned him, Yemen’s longtime leader escalated his confrontation with a rapidly expanding uprising yesterday and took on emergency powers that give him a freer hand to quell protests.
He thinks that is going to save his sorry ass?
He thinks that is going to save his sorry ass?
A legislature full of his supporters granted President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s request for a 30-day state of emergency, which suspends the constitution, bars protests, and gives security forces far-reaching powers of arrest.
An AmeriKan ally all right!!
The opposition called the vote illegal and vowed to press on with its campaign to topple Saleh’s regime.
The move underlined Saleh’s desperation in the face of month-old protests that have attracted tens of thousands across his impoverished nation in the southern corner of the Arabian Peninsula.
This week, Saleh’s regime was hit by a wave of defections by military commanders, ruling party members, and others, swelling the ranks of the opposition and leaving the president isolated.
Saleh has repeatedly sought to appease the protesters, to no avail.
Maybe the snipers and thugs had something to do it.
Over the past month, he has offered not to run again when his current term ends in 2013, then offered this week to step down by the end of this year and open a dialogue with the leaders of the demonstrators.
Yeah, what a great guy! Who could say no to that?
At the same time, he has stepped up the use of violence. His security forces shot dead more than 40 demonstrators in Sana on Friday, but the bloodshed only escalated the defections and hardened the protesters’ rejection of anything but his immediate departure.
It's called a BACKFIRE!!!
The state of emergency declaration appeared to signal that Saleh intends to dig in and try to crush his opponents.
With AmeriKan support!!
The decree allows media censorship, gives wide powers to censor mail, tap phone lines, search homes, and arrest and detain suspects without judicial process.
The only difference between Yemen and AmeriKa seems to be the mail and the self-censoring Amerikan media.
Al-Jazeera said Yemeni authorities closed its office in Sana yesterday after 20 men ransacked the bureau the day before.
I will bet that made the U.S. happy.
Maybe the snipers and thugs had something to do it.
Over the past month, he has offered not to run again when his current term ends in 2013, then offered this week to step down by the end of this year and open a dialogue with the leaders of the demonstrators.
Yeah, what a great guy! Who could say no to that?
At the same time, he has stepped up the use of violence. His security forces shot dead more than 40 demonstrators in Sana on Friday, but the bloodshed only escalated the defections and hardened the protesters’ rejection of anything but his immediate departure.
It's called a BACKFIRE!!!
The state of emergency declaration appeared to signal that Saleh intends to dig in and try to crush his opponents.
With AmeriKan support!!
The decree allows media censorship, gives wide powers to censor mail, tap phone lines, search homes, and arrest and detain suspects without judicial process.
The only difference between Yemen and AmeriKa seems to be the mail and the self-censoring Amerikan media.
Al-Jazeera said Yemeni authorities closed its office in Sana yesterday after 20 men ransacked the bureau the day before.
I will bet that made the U.S. happy.
