that threaten to topple Egypt's long-serving president, indicated on
Wednesday he would leave office when his term ends in 2013, after
three decades in power.
Saleh, an important U.S. ally against al Qaeda, pledged not to hand
the reins of government on to his son and appealed to the opposition
to call off protests as a big rally loomed.
"I present these concessions in the interest of the country. The
interests of the country come before our personal interests," Saleh
told parliament and members of the military.
"No extension, no inheritance, no resetting the clock," he said,
referring to ruling party proposals on term limits seen as designed to
enable him to run again.
The move was Saleh's boldest gambit yet to stave off anti-government
turmoil spreading in the Arab world as he tried to avert a showdown
with the opposition which might risk drawing people on to the streets
in the poverty-stricken state.
He spoke a day before a planned rally by the opposition, dubbed a "Day
of Rage" and seen as a barometer of the size and strength of the
Yemeni people's will to follow Egyptians and Tunisians in demanding a
change of government.
"I call on the opposition to freeze all planned protests, rallies and
sit-ins," Saleh said. "I call on the opposition after this initiative
to come and form a national unity government in spite of the ruling
party majority. We will not allow chaos. We will not allow
destruction."
About 5,000 government supporters held a rally in a sports stadium in
a suburb of the capital Sanaa on Wednesday, some carrying signs that
read "No to sabotage, yes to security and stability" and "Yes to
unity, no to separatism."
Yemen, at risk of becoming a failed state, is trying to fight a
resurgent al Qaeda wing, quell southern separatism, cement peace with
Shi'ite rebels in the north, all in the face of crushing poverty. One
third of Yemenis face chronic hunger.
"I think it is very significant," Dubai-based security analyst
Theodore Karasik said of the move. "What they are doing in Yemen is
trying to not have what happened in Egypt."
"I don't know if it will be enough to satisfy people. It may try to
heal some of the cleavages between for example the southern
secessionist movement and Sanaa, but is it going to be enough for
everyone?"
RALLY TO GO ON
The United States relies heavily on Saleh to help combat al Qaeda's
regional Yemen-based arm which also targets neighboring Saudi Arabia,
the world's biggest oil exporter.
President Barack Obama telephoned Saleh to express support for his
initiative, the state news agency Saba said. "You have handled the
situation well, and I look forward to working with you in a good
partnership between the two countries," it quoted Obama as saying.
Yemen's biggest opposition party welcomed the initiative but said
Thursday's rally in Sanaa would still go ahead. The rally's size and
mood will offer the first glimpse of popular reaction to Saleh's
concessions.
"We consider this initiative positive and we await the next concrete
steps. As for our plan for a rally tomorrow, the plan stands and it
will be organized and orderly," said Mohammed al-Saadi, undersecretary
of the Islamist party Islah (reform).
"This is a peaceful struggle through which the people can make their
voices heard and express their aspirations."
Saleh had already offered lesser concessions on presidential term
limits and pledged to raise civil servants' and military salaries by
around $47 a month, no small move in a country where about 40 percent
of the population lives on less than $2 a day.
However, the pledges on Wednesday went much further.
Saleh promised to delay parliamentary elections due in April to
conduct reforms to persuade the opposition the vote will be fair. The
delay was not expected to more than several months.
He pledged to re-open voter registration after opposition complaints
that around 1.5 million had been unable to sign up, and renewed an
offer for a unity cabinet with the opposition.
Saleh also promised direct election of provincial and local governors,
which would give Yemenis more say over local affairs, and put on hold
all proposed constitutional changes, including on presidential term
limits, pending talks with the opposition.
