Yemen protesters meet Saleh deputy

Protesters in Yemen, who are calling for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to make way for an interim council, have met with the embattled leader's deputy, they said Thursday. Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi had "expressed his understanding of our demands," said the Supreme Coordinating Committee of the Yemeni Revolution in a statement following the meeting late Wednesday. Hadi requested a period of two weeks to put "security and economic situations in order," it said. The committee said it would press ahead in talks with "revolution components" to form a transitional ruling council, and urged protesters to escalate their "peaceful revolution" until the council is declared. Protesters who have led nearly five months of demonstrations demanding the ouster of Saleh intensified their calls to replace him after he was flown to neighbouring Saudi Arabia for treatment from bomb blast wounds early June. Protesters had on Monday given Hadi 24 hours to declare his position of their call for him to join the proposed council which they said would lead the country for a maximum of nine months. The activists said the council would "appoint a nationalist and compatible figure to form a government of technocrats." They also called for the dissolution of parliament and Yemen's consultative council, for the formation of a committee to draw up a new constitution, and for dates to hold a referendum on the constitution and for elections. The official parliamentary opposition which have led the political front of the uprising met Hadi on Monday and agreed with him on calming the situation as a first step towards reviving the political process. Saleh's party and government officials insist the veteran leader is recovering and will return home soon. He has not been seen in public since the attack.