Yemen Transfer Talks Stall as Army, Militants Clash

SANAA (Reuters) - Talks to end a standoff over Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh's rule have stopped without a plan to resume, opposition figures said on Sunday, as clashes erupted between the army and militants in the south.

Saleh, who has been alternately conciliatory and defiant, vowed there would be no more concessions to the opposition, who are demanding he step down after 32 years of authoritarian power in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula state.

But in a sign that the political back-and-forth on a transfer of power may not be completely dead, the ruling party's governing committee recommended forming a new government to draft a new constitution on the basis of a parliamentary system.

A spokesman for Yemen's main opposition coalition also said the talks had been halted, a development that if it continues would likely raise fears that violence between rival military units could replace the political process.

There was no immediate comment from the government.

Saleh has said he was prepared for a dignified departure but that opposition parties were hijacking the protests to demand he quit without organising a democratic handover.

"I could leave power ... even in a few hours, on condition of maintaining respect and prestige," Saleh told Al Arabiya television. "I have to take the country to safe shores ... I'm holding on to power in order to hand it over peaceably."

But he has seemed to suggest he would stay at least for the short term, sprinkling the interview with warnings that Yemen would slide into civil war and fragment along regional and tribal lines if he left power immediately.

Militants clashed with the Yemeni army in a southern town, feeding Western and Saudi fears the country could slide into chaos that would benefit a resurgent Yemen-based regional arm of al Qaeda if Saleh is forced out.

One soldier was killed on Sunday and jets flew over the town. But residents said militants appeared to have taken control and the army was withdrawing to Abyan's provincial capital, Zinjibar, where witnesses said security measures had been tightened after militants fired rockets at state buildings.

Analysis: "Whether or not President Saleh is using the potential for a widespread armed struggle to delay his stepping down, he is spot-on with his statements of concern. As we have outlined in our past posts, Yemen is a powder keg of militant and separatist groups and, for better or worse, Saleh has been the only person in Yemen's recent history able to stabilize the country. A peaceful and orderly transition would be best for Yemen and the international community."

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Syria to Lift Emergency Law

DAMASCUS, Syria (Al Arabiya News) - The decision to lift emergency rule in Syria, which has been in place since 1963, has "already been made," a presidential adviser said Sunday as dissent against government developed into a spiral of violence that left scores of people dead since March 15.

"The decision to lift the emergency law has already been made. But I do not know about the time frame," Buthaina Shaaban told AFP in an interview at her office.

Syria's emergency law, put in place when the ruling Baath party rose to power in March 1963, imposes restrictions on public gatherings and movement and authorizes the arrest of "suspects or persons who threaten security." The law also authorizes interrogation of any individual and the surveillance of personal communication as well as official control of the content of newspapers and other media before publication.

More than 30 people have been confirmed killed in a spiral of violence that has gripped Syria since a wave of protest broke out on March 15, with demonstrators demanding major reforms.

In a previous attempt to appease increasingly angry protesters, authorities freed 260 political detainees on Saturday. But the reports from Latakia by reformist activists living abroad suggested unrest was still spreading.

Syrian rights activist Ammar Qurabi told Reuters in Cairo: "There have been at least two killed (in Latakia) today after security forces opened fire on protesters trying to torch the Baath party building."

"I have been in touch with people in Syria since last night, using three cell phones and constantly sitting online. Events are moving at an extremely fast pace," he said.

Officials have confirmed 27 deaths in clashes between demonstrators and security forces -- 20 of them protesters -- in cities including Homs, Sanamen, Daraa and Latakia since the rallies began on March 15. Activists have put the death toll at more than 126, with upwards of 100 killed on Wednesday alone in a bloody crackdown on protests in Daraa, the southern tribal town that has become the symbol of the protests.

Analysis: "The Syrian government appears to be employing a mixture of tactics in the attempt to slow spreading unrest throughout the country. Offers of substantial concessions in the past few days follow weeks of unrest and violent clashes that have left scores of protesters dead. Following these offers, the Syrian people must now decide what they want to achieve from protests. If they want reforms and freedoms, President Assad appears to be signaling the possibility of changing long-standing policies and practices in return for peace. However, if the people's demands include the collapse of the Assad regime, do not expect the ruling Baathists to relinquish power easily."
 

Read the Full Article here: http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/03/27/143167.html