Yemen — Protests (2011)

Yemen — Protests (2011)


Glen Carey/Bloomberg News

Updated: April 21, 2011


Yemen is a poor, deeply divided country that has been in turmoil since January 2011, when the example of the Tunisian revolution set off mass demonstrations against President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Mr. Saleh, who has been in power since 1978, responded alternately with conciliatory measures, including a promise including an offer not to seek reelection, and violent crackdowns.


YEMEN UPRISING


As demonstrations continued, Mr. Saleh's support began to crumble, as some army commanders and tribal leaders called for his ouster. The United States, which had long supported Mr. Saleh, even in the face of the protests, quietly shifted positions after concluding that he is unlikely to bring about the required reforms and must be eased out of office. On April 7, an organization of oil-rich Persian Gulf states joined the increasing number of international voices calling for a transfer of presidential powers in which Mr. Saleh would hand power to a government of national unity.

The turning point appears to have come on March 18 in a bloody but failed attempt to break the back of the protest. As tens of thousands of demonstrators rose from their noon prayers, security forces and government supporters opened fire. At least 50 people were killed and more than 100 injured, dwarfing the level of violence in previous clashes, but it failed to disperse the crowd. Mr. Saleh declared a state of emergency shortly after the violence, and denied that security forces had been involved in any shooting.

As the demonstrations continued, Mr. Saleh fired his cabinet. On March 21, five army commanders and one of the country's most important tribal leaders threw their support behind the protesters, calling for Mr. Saleh's immediate ouster. A stream of Yemeni officials resigned from the government, including the mayor of the restive southern city of Aden, a provincial governor and at least one of the country’s ambassadors.

Yemen's opposition coalition, the Joint Meetings Parties, proposed a plan under which Mr. Saleh would leave at the end of 2011, and he agreed. But protesters then rejected the plan and called for Mr. Saleh’s immediate ouster. Opposition leaders said they would travel to Riyadh, the Saudi capital, at the end of April to meet with Gulf Cooperation Council officials about an initiative discussed earlier in the month. It calls for Mr. Saleh to transfer presidential powers to his deputy and leave office. The draft agreement also gives the president and his family immunity from prosecution, presumably to head off a situation similar to that in Egypt, where the military has detained former President Hosni Mubarak and his two sons.

Meanwhile, protests and deadly clashes with security forces continue, and rival military factions allied with the government and the rebels fought in Sana on April 13. More than 100 protesters have died since the turmoil began.

Later in April, the secretary general of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council traveled to Sana to offer Mr. Saleh a deal that called for him to hand over power immediately and step down in 30 days. The arrangement would set up new presidential elections 60 days later. It also calls for an immediate end to protests.

Overview

Home to one of the world's oldest civilizations, Yemen is the poorest country in the Arab world as well as a haven for Islamic jihadists and the site of what amounts to a secret American war against leaders of a branch that Al Qaeda has established there.