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Soldiers block the way of anti-government protestors attending a demonstration demanding the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh Photo: REUTERS
(Source:_Yemen: protesters reject Gulf Arab peace plan _11 Apr 2011)
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Saleh agrees to quit in 30 days but protests continue
04:46 AM Apr 25, 2011
SANAA - Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has agreed to step down within 30 days in return for immunity from prosecution but protesters said they would keep up their demonstrations until he went.
A coalition of seven opposition parties had said on Saturday that they also accepted the deal, but with reservations.
Protesters, who have taken to the streets in the tens of thousands demanding an end to Mr Saleh's nearly 33-year rule, are worried the plan could be a manoeuvre between the president and official opposition parties to share power.
The handover plan was drawn up by the Gulf Cooperation Council and endorsed by the official opposition coalition known as the Joint Meeting Parties.
"We won't stop protesting and we will continue to escalate. This initiative doesn't have anything to do with us," said Mr Mohammed Sultan, a protester in the capital Sanaa.
"It has to do with the Joint Meeting Parties that accepted the offer," he said.
In the square in Sanaa where protesters have camped out for weeks, protesters shouted: "No negotiation, no dialogue - resign or flee."
After years of backing Mr Saleh as a bulwark against instability and the activities of Al Qaeda's active Yemeni branch, powerful neighbour Saudi Arabia and the United States had begun pressing him to negotiate to hand over power.
"We encourage all parties to move swiftly to implement the terms of the agreement so that the Yemeni people can soon realise the security, unity and prosperity that they have so courageously sought and so richly deserve," White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement.
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