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SANAA: Yemen's opposition rejected on Thursday an offer to join Gulf-mediated talks on a transfer of power in the Arabian peninsula state, and set a two-week deadline for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down.
The opposition said the Gulf Arab mediation offer, which was to have included talks in Saudi Arabia as early as Saturday, was not clear enough on how fast a transition would take place, even after a request for clarification from Gulf ambassadors.
“We have renewed our emphasis on the need for speeding the process of (Saleh) standing down to within two weeks. Therefore we will not go to Riyadh,” said Mohammed al-Mutawakkil, a prominent opposition leader.
Gulf foreign ministers, trying to ease the threat that Yemeni instability could pose to the region, had invited Saleh and his opponents to talks on a transfer of power to end a political standoff that risks devolving into violence.
Saudi and Western allies of Yemen fear that a prolonged standoff in Yemen, where Saleh has faced two months of protests demanding his overthrow, could ignite clashes between rival military units and cause chaos that would benefit an active al Qaeda wing operating in the poor, mountainous country.
Saleh has accepted the Gulf framework for talks, but the opposition has seesawed. It first rejected the Gulf offer, citing the lack of a transition timeframe and complaining it appeared to offer Saleh a waiver from prosecution.
Opposition figures then met the ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait on Tuesday seeking clarification of the Gulf Cooperation Council's understanding of a “transfer of power”, with some hinting that talks could start as early as Saturday.
Mutawakkil, however, said the opposition could reach an agreement on granting assurances against prosecution, leaving the timing of a transfer as the major holdup.
“We didn't find in the clarifications that the ambassadors presented anything that meets our demands for an immediate removal,” Mutawakkil said.
“There was nothing new from the Gulf Cooperation Council ambassadors.”
A Saudi foreign ministry spokesman had no comment, nor did an official for the 6-member Gulf Cooperation Council.
