DUSHANBE, June 6, 2011, Asia-Plus — Yemen”s President Ali Abdullah Saleh is recovering from surgery in Saudi Arabia to remove shrapnel from his chest while a truce between his troops and a tribal federation appeared to be holding, international media outlets report.
According to Reuters, protesters, interpreting Saleh”s absence as a sign that his grip on power was weakening, celebrated on the streets of Sanaa where they have been staging anti-government demonstrations since January.
Saleh was wounded on Friday when a rocket was fired into his presidential palace in Sanaa, killing seven others and injuring his closest advisers. He is being treated in a Riyadh hospital.
He left as acting president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, the vice president who is seen by many as having little power. Leaving Yemen at a time of such instability, even for medical care, could make it hard for Saleh to retain power.
It remains unclear whether Mr. Saleh will return to Yemen. There were reports he would remain in Saudi Arabia for two weeks; one week to recover and another for meetings, but it was not known what he planned to do after that.
According to the BBC, Yemen”s deputy information minister, Abdu al-Janadi, said Mr. Saleh would be returning. “Saleh is in good health, and he may give up the authority one day but it has to be in a constitutional way,” he said.
The BBC says that even if President Saleh wants to return, it is unlikely Saudi Arabia will allow him. Reuters quoted Saudi analyst Abdulaziz Kasem as saying, “The kingdom (Saudi Arabia) will convince Saleh to agree to the Gulf-brokered exit so that the situation can be resolved peacefully and without bloodshed.”
Early on Monday, a truce between troops loyal to Saleh and the Ahmar group, leader of Yemen”s Hashed tribal federation, appeared to be holding, offering some respite after two weeks of fighting in the capital in which more than 200 people have been killed.
Saleh, a political survivor who has ruled the impoverished country at the tip of the Arabian Peninsula for nearly 33 years, had so far managed to remain despite the defection of his top generals and ambassadors.
Saleh”s fall could also give renewed impetus to protest movements around the region. According to Reuters, Zaki Bani Rusheid, a leading figure in Jordan”s Muslim Brotherhood, said, “The departure of Saleh is a turning point not just for the Yemeni revolution but also is a huge push for the current changes in the Arab region and is the start of the real victory.” Egyptian political scientist Hassan Nafaa agreed: “The ”Arab Spring” will continue, Arab people are in a state of total rejection of their current ruling systems.”
