Yemeni army soldiers Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Monday welcomed a Gulf mediation plan, which called on him to hand over power to his deputy. The protesters rejected the power transfer plan while the opposition alliance of political parties sought more details of the initiative."The presidency welcomes the efforts of our brothers in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to solve the crisis," said a statement from Saleh's office. "He [Saleh] has no reservations about transferring power peacefully within the framework of the constitution."
"There is a certain Yemeni desire for positive cooperation with the GCC statement," Ahmad Al Sufi, Saleh's spokesman told Gulf News, describing the plan as "a noble Gulf effort". The presidency looks at the statement as "a suitable base for dialogue," he added.
An opposition spokesperson said the alliance preferred not to take any position before receiving the statement officially. "We supported the first initiative. But we have not taken any position vis-a-vis the amendment. We are waiting to receive the plan officially before we announce our position," Mohammad Qah'tan, spokesperson of the opposition told Gulf News.
The plan which was announced late Sunday called on Saleh to hand over power to his vice-president. It also stressed the need for "the formation of a national unity government under the leadership of the opposition which will also have the right to form committees ... to draw up a constitution and hold elections".
The GCC statement said all parties should "stop all forms of revenge...and (legal) pursuance, through guarantees offered" — wording that seemed to offer Saleh assurances of no prosecutions for him or his family once he leaves office.
But Qah'tan said there is "nothing in the constitution of Yemen which says about handover of power. We need to inquire and know what this phrase means… let us not define a position before we receive the plan," he stressed.
Leading figures in the protesting groups totally rejected the plan.