Yemeni President Saleh steps down after Saudi-US pressure

YEMEN's President Ali Abdullah Saleh has become the fourth Arab dictator to be forced out this year after signing a transfer deal in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh yesterday, ending his 33-year reign.
 
Under the terms of the deal, Saleh will hand power to his deputy Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and resign within 30 days, in return for immunity from prosecution. He will "retain his title and certain privileges until new elections are held", the New York Times reports. Presidential elections will take place in 90 days.
 
A Yemeni diplomat told the Chinese Xinhua News Agency that the deal was identical to one first proposed in April, but that Saleh had "backed out least three times".
 
As recently as September, he struck a defiant tone, claiming that he would not leave office while his rivals in the military remained in office. "If we transfer power and they are there, this will mean that we have given in to a coup," he told reporters at the time.
 
However, the pressure appears to have become irresistible. Yemen has been in the grip of one of the region's bloodiest uprisings, which has caused around 2,000 deaths since February. Saleh himself suffered serious injuries after a bomb blast on his compound in June.
 
Pressure from outside has also grown. Saudi King Abdullah has pushed Saleh hard to sign the deal, and, according to the New York Times, US diplomats helped structure the transfer deal, keen to fill "the power vacuum Al-Qaeda has exploited".
 
The departing president made a speech at yesterday's signing ceremony, saying he was "cooperating to move power smoothly through democratic means", and blamed "opposition coalitions" for undermining stability in Yemen.
 
King Abdullah (above, with Saleh) claimed the transfer represented a "new page of Yemeni history". But there are concerns that Saleh's abdication will not be meaningful as power will remain with the country's elite, including members of Saleh's family.

Some analysts believe the deposed president might even find a way to return to power. While protesters in Sana's ‘Change Square' said his abdication was not enough to satisfy their demands for fundamental reform. "We will stay in the square," said activist Hamzah Alkamaly.

• The other three Arab Leaders overthrown this year were Tunisia’s President Ben Ali in January, Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak in February, and Libya’s Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in August. Ben Ali is in exile in Saudi Arabia, Mubarak is imprisoned in Sharm El-Sheikh during his trial for corruption and the killing of protesters, and Gaddafi was killed by Libyan militia when he was captured in October.

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