Ratusan ribu tuntut Presiden Yemen letak jawatan

SEBAHAGIAN penunjuk perasaan menuntut Presiden Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh meletakkan jawatan di Sanna semalam.

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SANAA - Beratus-ratus ribu rakyat negara Yemen keluar beramai-ramai di sini bagi mengadakan demonstrasi mendesak Presiden Ali Abdullah Saleh meletakkan jawatan.

Para penunjuk perasaan itu berhimpun di setiap jalan utama di bandar ini dan mereka berterusan mendesak Ali yang telah memerintah selama 32 tahun supaya berundur.

Mereka turut menyalahkan sistem pemerintahannya yang mencetuskan kemarahan rakyat terhadap pemerintahannya.

Pihak pembangkang berharap seramai satu juta orang akan berhimpun untuk mendesak peletakan jawatan Ali. Ali sebelum ini enggan meletakkan jawatan kecuali ditewaskan dalam pilihan raya.

Pergolakan di Yemen berlaku ekoran kejayaan penunjuk perasaan di Tunisia dan Mesir yang mengakibatkan kedua-dua presiden di negara tersebut meletakkan jawatan.

Hosni Mubarak meletakkan jawatan sebagai presiden Mesir pada bulan Februari lepas selepas Zine El Abidine Ben Ali berundur pada Januari lalu ekoran tunjuk perasaan rakyat. - Agensi

http://www.kosmo.com.my/kosmo/content.asp?y=2011&dt=0402&pub=Kosmo&sec=Dunia&pg=du_01.htm

Yemen's leader drops offer to leave by year's end

AP – A Yemeni boy, wearing a helmet and a gas mask, slautes along with anti-government protestors during a …

By AHMED AL-HAJ, Associated Press Ahmed Al-haj, Associated Press – Sun Mar 27, 1:56 pm ET

SANAA, Yemen – Yemen's president, clinging to power despite weeks of protests, scrapped an offer to step down by year's end on Sunday, as Islamic militants taking advantage of the deteriorating security took control of another southern town.

Opponents of President Ali Abdullah Saleh — a group that started with university students and has expanded to include defecting military commanders, politicians, diplomats and even Saleh's own tribe — had immediately rejected his offer a week ago to leave by the end of this year. Its formal withdrawal by the president indicates an attempt by both sides to negotiate a transfer of power to end the crisis has failed.

In a sign of what is at stake in Yemen if security further unwinds, Islamic militants seized control of a small weapons factory, a strategic mountain and a nearby town in the southern province of Abyan, said a witness and security officials.

A day earlier, militants believed to belong to Yemen's active al-Qaida offshoot swept into another small town in the area called Jaar. In both cases, the militants moved in with no resistance because police had withdrawn weeks earlier — as they did in several other parts of the country — in the face of challenges by anti-government protesters.

Saleh is a key ally of the United States in battling al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, which the Obama administration considers the top terrorist threat to the U.S.

Washington is concerned that the cooperation could be imperiled if Saleh departs, and U.S. diplomats sat in on the political talks last week that failed to make progress on a possible transition of power.

"We have had a lot of counterterrorism cooperation from President Saleh and Yemeni security services. So if that government collapses or is replaced by one that is dramatically more weak, then I think we'll face some additional challenges out of Yemen," said U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on ABC TV's "This Week." "There's no question about it. It's a real problem."

Saleh himself warned that "Yemen is a ticking bomb" in a TV interview on Saturday night and said that without him in power, the country would descend into civil war.

The protesters behind weeks of demonstrations are demanding Saleh step down immediately and want a ban on future government positions for him and his family. For 32 years he has ruled over Yemen, an impoverished and deeply divided country stitched together by fragile tribal alliances.

Yemen is the poorest nation in the Arab world, is rapidly running out of water resources and oil and is buffeted by conflicts that include an on-and-off rebellion in the north and a secessionist movement in the south.

The protesters complain of corruption and the lack of jobs and political freedom. Their ranks swelled as many of the president's allies abandoned him over an escalating crackdown that has killed 92 protesters, according to the Shiqayiq Forum for Human Rights.

More than 40 of them were killed in a single day, as snipers firing from rooftops methodically picked off people in the main protest square in the capital, Sanaa, on March 18.

Increasingly isolated, Saleh convened a meeting Sunday of hundreds of members of his Congress Party's leadership committee.

A party statement released afterward said the meeting affirmed that "President Ali Abdullah Saleh should remain in his position until he finishes his constitutional term" in 2013.

The delegates also reasserted that dialogue is the only way to end the crisis and ensure a peaceful transition of power.

Just days earlier, Saleh had pledged in a meeting with senior officials, military commanders and tribal leaders that he would step down by the end of the year. But that offer was quickly rejected by opposition leaders who dismissed it as a political maneuver.

In the south, Islamic militants who have battled Saleh's government were trying to make gains on the turmoil. On Sunday, militants set up checkpoints around an old factory making bullets for Kalashnikov assault rifles and did the same in the town of al-Husn, where they patrolled the streets and searched cars, said resident Wahib Abdul-Qader.

The fighters were not from the al-Qaida offshoot, but one of the many other militant groups roaming southern Yemen called the Salafi Jihad.

They also seized control of the nearby Khanfar Mountain, where a radio station and a presidential guest house are located, said Ali Dahmash, an expert on Islamic militant groups who lives nearby.

A day earlier, residents in the nearby small town of Jaar said militants suspected of belonging to the al-Qaida offshoot seized that area.

Al-Qaida has seized control of towns in southern Yemen before, but in the past was vigorously confronted by Saleh's security forces.

In the central Marib province, suspected al-Qaida gunmen killed seven soldiers and wounded seven others in an attack on a military post on Sunday, security officials said. Marib is one of several provinces where the militant group is active and only under nominal government control.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to brief the media, said the attackers set fire to a pickup truck mounted with a machine gun and made off with an armored vehicle belonging to the post.

Slideshow:Yemenis rally against government

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110327/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_yemen

Kebangkitan rakyat masuki pusingan baru

Suhaimi Mokhtar

Revolusi kebangkitan rakyat di Bahrain memasuki pusingan baru apabila tentera Saudi Arabia berjumlah 1,000 orang anggota yang lengkap dengan kenderaan tentera termasuk kereta perisai dan lain-lain kelengkapan ketenteraan dan peralatan perang memasuki Manama, ibu kota Bahrain Isnin lalu bersama dengan 500 orang pegawai dan tentera Emariah Arab Bersatu (UEA).

Kehadiran ketumbukan tentera seramai 1,500 orang anggota itu adalah atas jemputan Raja Bahrian sebagai sebahagian dari bantuan ketenteraan dari negara anggota Majlis Negara-Negara Teluk (GCC) untuk menyelamatkan regim Bahrain yang sedang menghadapi revolusi kebangkitan rakyat.

Rakyat mendesak dilakukan reformasi politik,ekonomi dan sosial meliputi soal kebebasan, ketelusan, menentang rasuah dan akhirnya menukar regim beraja yang memerintah Bahrain beratus-ratus tahun lamanya.

Dari satu kebangkitan masyarakat sivil rakyat secara aman menyarupai kebangkitan di Tunisia dan Mesir, kebangkitan di Bahrain bertukar menjadi ganas apabila regim diraja terus mempertahankan kelangsungan regimnya.

Kebangkitan rakyat telah berlangsung sejak berminggu-minggu lalu dan konsesi yang ditawarkan oleh regim Bahrain untuk berdailog dan melakukan reformasi telah tidak disahut oleh penganjur-penganjur demonstrasi yang mahu menukar regim yang ada.

Sebaik sahaja tentera Saudi dan UEA memasuki Bahrain, regim beraja Bahrain melakukan penggelidahan dan pembersihan terhadap para demonstran dan menyuraikan mereka yang berkumpul di Bulatan Mutiara dengan kekerasan. Ramai yang terkorban dan cedera dalam kempen kekerasan yang dilakukan.

Bahrain sebuah negara kecil bukan sahaja dari segi saiznya, tetapi juga penduduknya. Ia unik kerana raja pemerintah adalah dari kalangan sunni sementara 70 peratus penduduknya terdiri dari penduduk Syiah. Pihak Amerika Syarikat (AS) dan barat meuar-uarkan bahawa kebangkitan ini adalah kebangkitan rakyat syiah yang tidak berpuashati kerana mereka sentiasa dipinggirkan termasuk dalam penentuan dasar negara.

Bagaimana pun mereka yang berdemonstrasi terdiri dari kalangan Syiah dan Sunni. Tidak terdapat pertentangan terbuka antara kedua kalangan itu yang telah hidup saling mengerti selama ini.

Kandatipun demikian,kebangkitan di Bahrain ini berbeza sedikit dengan kebangkitan di jazerah Arab yang lain seperti di Yaman, Libya dan di wilayah-wilayah lain termasuk di Tunisia dan Mesir yang menyaksikan tumbangnya dua regim diktator Ben Ali di Tunisia dan Hosni Mubarak di Mesir.

Perbezaan nya kerana di Bahrain majoriti rakyat adalah penganut syiah walaupun dinegara-negara Arab dan Teluk yang lain penganut syiah juga ramai,tetapi Bahrain dalam konteks Saudi adalah negara penimbal bagi Saudi Arabia. Saudi tidak mahu melihat kebangkitan yang melanda jazerah Arab ini tiba di Riyadh dan kehadiran tentera Saudi adalah dalam usaha untuk membendungnya.

Di Bahrain terdapat pengkalan tentera laut AS dan di Saudi Arabia pula terdapat kem tentera AS. Kehadiran tentera AS ini adalah dalam skima lebih besar dan luas dalam percaturan dirantau Timur Tengah dan Asia Barat itu.

Negara Repablik Islam Iran selepas revolusi 1979 yang menyaksikan kejatuhan dinesti Shah Pahlavi dianggap sebagai satu ancaman kepada negara-negara serantau. Sehingga kini Iran dianggap sebagai negara musuh oleh AS dan barat.

Percaturan untuk berebut menjadi kuasa serantau antara Iran dan Saudi Arabia berterusan sejak revolusi Iran sehingga kini dan dalam konteks itulah tentera Saudi dan UEA memasuki Bahrain bagi membendung pengaruh Iran kerana majoriti rakyat Bahrain terdiri dari penganut Syiah. Jika sekiranya berlaku konflik antara Sunni dan Syiah yang memang diadu-domba oleh AS dan barat,rantau yang bergolak itu akan menyaksikan konflik yang berskala besar. Diharapkan tidak akan berlaku pertembungan sia-sia ini.

Kehadiran tentera Saudi di Bahrain telah mendapat persetujuan AS dan barat. AS mensifatkan kehadiran tentera Saudi bukanlah satu penaklukan atau penjajahan. Ia menepati kerjasama negara anggota GCC. Iran telah membantah kehadiran tentera Saudi di Bahrain yang bertujuan untuk membendung kebangkitan rakyat Bahrain. Iran menafikan penglibatan negara itu dimana-mana jua, walaupun rakyat Bahrain dan kebanyakan negara Arab lain termasuk Iraq mempunyai penduduk majoriti penganut Syiah.

Saudi dan UAE menjadi proksi AS dan barat dalam menyelamatkan regim Bahrain. AS mempunyai kepentingan yang besar dirantau itu dengan kehadiran armada keenamnya. AS tidak berupaya membiarkan kebangkitan di Bahrain berterusan,walaupun retorik AS sentiasa menyatakan rakyat dinegara-negara Arab berhak untuk berdemonstrasi secara aman; mendesak dilakukan reformasi politik dan menyokong kebangkitan pro demokrasi.

Dengan bantuan ketenteraan Saudi yang disokong oleh AS dan barat, kebangkitan rakyat di Bahrain dijangka akan dibendung dengan cara kekerasaan, tetapi rakyat yang bangkit menyatakan iltizam mereka untuk meneruskan kebangkitan. Kini kebangkitan di Bahrain telah memakan korban lebih ramai.

Bagi Saudi membendung dan sekaligus menumpaskan kebangkitan di Bahrain berkait rapat dengan menumpaskan kebangkitan yang mula mengambil tempat di timur Saudi yang juga majoriti penduduknya merupakan penganut Syiah. Setakat ini Saudi dengan kerasnya dapat membendung kebangkitan di timur negaranya,tetapi apakah ia mampu menumpaskannya sekaligus.

Pendekatan regim-regim yang dilanda kebangkitan revolusi rakyat berbeza antara satu negara dengan satu negara yang lain. Selepas kejatuhan Ben Ali dan Mubarak, regim-regim ini mengambil pendekatan untuk berdepan dan menghadapi kebangkitan dengan kekerasan dengan menggunakan tentera dan pasukan keselamatan, menyebabkan ramai rakyat yang berdemonstrasi secara aman terkorban.

Regim-regim diktator ini tidak menyerah kalah kepada tuntutan kebangkitan rakyat. Mereka tidak mahu mengikut jejak Ben Ali dan Hosni Mubarak yang dijatuhkan dengan penuh penghinaan sekali.

Pemimpin Libya, Muammar Gaddafi telah mengambil pendekatan memerangi rakyatnya sendiri dan kini dikatakan mulai memenangi semula wilayah-wilayah yang dikuasai oleh revolusi kebangkitan rakyat yang menamakan diri mereka sebagai majlis nasional Libya yang telahpun diiktiraf oleh Peranchis dan Britain.

Gaddafi telah menggunakan kekuatan udaranya untuk menyerang dan membebaskan wilayah yang dikuasai oleh kebangkitan rakyat dan kini dilaporkan sedang menuju ke Banghazi yang menjadi kubu kuat kebangkitan rakyat.

Bagi menyelamatkan Benghazi Majlis Keselamatan PBB telah meluluskan larangan penerbangan di langit Libya bagi menyelamatkan rakyat Libya dari serangan udara oleh jet-jet pejuang tentera udara yang pro Ghadafi. Resolusi majlis Keselamatan itu disokong oleh sepuluh negara sementara lima negara termasuk dua negara anggota tetap China dan Russia berkecuali. Tiga lagi negara anggota tetap, iaitu AS, Britain dan Peranchis menyokong.

Resolusi larangan penerbangan ini adalah campurtangan langsung negara kuasa AS,Britain dan Peranchis terhadap konflik perang saudara di Libya. Bagi memberikan kesan kepada larangan penerbangan, keupayaan udara yang dimiliki Gaddafi mesti disasarkan bagi melumpuhkan keupayaan udara yang dimiliki tentera udara pro Gaddafi.

Dalam konteks Libya, dimensi dari satu revolusi kebangkitan rakyat bertukar wajah menjadi perang saudara dan kini menerjah kepada satu keadaan yang akan mengheret kepada arena perang yang lebih besar, semata-mata kerana keengganan dan kedegilan Ghadafi tunduk kepada tuntutan rakyat.

Di Yaman pula,keadaan yang hampir serupa sedang mengambil tempat. Regim Ali Abdullah Salleh yang enggan tunduk kepada tuntutan kebangkitan rakyat mula menggunakan kekerasan terhadap penunjuk perasaan. Regim-regim ini mahu menggagalkan kebangkitan rakyat.

Kebangkitan rakyat di Bahrain akan digagalkan dengan bantuan Saudi yang disokong oleh AS dan barat. Di Libya larangan penerbangan memberi ruang kepada AS dan sekutunya untuk campurtangan dalam konflik perang saudara di Libya,sementara di Yaman, regim Ali Abdullah Salleh mahu berdepan dengan kekerasan terhadap para demonstran yang menggerakkan kebangkitan rakyat.

Pengakhiran kebangkitan rakyat dibeberapa buah negara ini berada dalam keadaan tidak menentu. Penyelesaian nya tidak lagi antara rakyat yang bangkit dengan regim masing-masing tetapi mengheret kuasa AS barat dan proksi mereka dalam kancah dan pergolakan yang dijangka akan berpanjangan.

Sewajarnya penyelesaian dari revolusi kebangkitan rakyat ini di selesaikan oleh rakyat sendiri tanpa campurtangan asing seperti yang berlaku di Tunsia dan Mesir.

http://www.harakahdaily.net/v2/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=31498:kebangkitan-rakyat-masuki-pusingan-baru-&catid=94:global2&Itemid=135

Pembunuhan orang awam tingkat kemarahan rakyat Yaman

Imran al-Malizi

Semenjak Zein al-Abideen (Tunisia) dan Hosni Mubarak (Mesir) digulingkan, Yaman adalah antara negara Arab di Timur Tengah dan Utara Afrika yang bergolak akibat kebangkitan rakyat yang menuntut perubahan politik dan kepimpinan.

Pada hari Jumaat, 18 Mac 2011 menyaksikan seluruh lapisan masyarakat berhimpun memenuhi semua masjid di ibu negara Sana'a sehingga jumlah jemaah melimpah ke jalanraya. Mereka sudah berada di jalanan semenjak lebih kurang sebulan yang lalu.

Pada hari khamis sebelum itu, Presiden Ali Saleh mengumumkan pelan untuk mengubah perlembagaan negara dan sistem parlimen.

Melalui siaran langsung itu, beliau memberitahu bahawa satu referendum akan dipertimbangkan untuk diadakan pada tahun ini berserta dengan satu peraturan pilihanraya yang baru.

Namun, kelompok pembangkang mengemukakan tuntutan yang lebih besar daripada itu iaitu presiden mesti berundur setelah 33 tahun memerintah.

Mereka tidak percaya kepada janji presiden bahawa beliau tidak akan mempertahankan jawatannya selepas 2 tahun lagi (2013). Kebimbangan tersebut sememangnya berasas apabila beliau pernah mungkir janji beberapa kali.

Pada bulan Mac 2009, beliau telah menangguhkan pilihanraya presiden sehingga dua tahun (2011). Presiden Ali Saleh berjanji akan melakukan perubahan besar sepanjang dua tahun itu untuk menghapuskan rasuah, membasmi kemiskinan, mengatasai masalah ekonomi, pengangguran dan sebagainya.

Akhirnya pada awal bulan lalu beliau mungkir janji lagi apabila mengumumkan bahawa pilihanraya akan ditangguhkan dua tahun lagi sehingga 2013.

Rakyat tidak boleh bersabar lagi dan mereka sudah muak dengan janji-janji palsu pemerintah. Akhirnya demonstrasi yang dimulakan oleh mahasiswa di Universiti Sana'a telah merebak dan disertai oleh semua lapisan masyarakat yang semakin tertekan dengan corak pemerintahan Ali Saleh.

Hampir kesemua jalan utama di Dairy, Sana'a telah ditutup kerana golongan penentang pemerintah telah berkhemah di sepanjang jalan walau pun dirempuh beberapa oleh pihak polis.

Manakala kelompok penyokong pemerintah mendominasi medan Tahrir. Mereka dibiarkan berhimpun di situ bagi memberi gambaran kepada masyarakat luar bahawa rakyat Yaman bersatu menyokong pemerintahan presiden.

Pada hari itu, angka yang menyertai perhimpunan bertambah ramai kerana mereka merancang untuk mengadakan demonstrasi terbesar selepas solat Jumaat untuk menuntut Presiden Ali Saleh meletakkan jawatan.

Sebaik sahaja selesai solat Jumaat, tiba-tiba bunyi tembakan berteriak di ruang udara menyaksikan beberapa orang yang berada dalam saf solat telah gugur syahid di tepi-tepi jalan.

Keganasan bermula apabila puak yang menyokong pemerintah (disyaki sebagai tentera yang berpakaian awam) melepaskan tembakan membuta tuli kepada para penentang dari arah jendela dan atas bangunan yang berdekatan.

Seraya itu para jemaah pun bangun meninggalkan tempat sujud mereka dan menyerbu ke arah pihak polis yang berkawal. Lalu berlakulah pertempuran sehingga pasukan keselamatan melepaskan tembakan peluru hidup secara terbuka ke arah rakyat dengan disertai gas pemedih mata dan trak meriam air.

Pertempuran semakin mengganas apabila orang awam yang kebanyakannya tidak bersenjata terpaksa berhadapan dengan pasukan keselamatan dan para penyokong pemerintah yang bersenjata lengkap.

Kejadian tersebut telah mengorbankan sekurang-kurangnya 45 nyawa dan mencederakan lebih 200 yang lain. Menurut seorang doktor yang merawat para peserta demonstrasi yang tercedera di tempat kejadian, angka yang terkorban adalah lebih besar.

Katanya, "Kejadian ini seperti pembunuhan beramai-ramai, terdapat pasukan polis yang berpakaian seragam dan ada juga perpakaian awam dan mereka menyerang orang ramai yang berdemonstrasi."

Menurut doktor tersebut, jumlah yang tercedera adalah 1,250 orang dan 250 daripadanya berada dalam keadaan kritikal. Sebahagian mereka di rawat di celah-celah bangunan.

Beberapa orang yang disyaki melepaskan tembakan dari atas bangunan telah ditangkap oleh orang awam. Mereka yang disyaki sebagai penembak curi telah diheret ke tengah jalan lalu dibelasah oleh rakyat yang hilang pertimbangan.

Dalam salah satu bilik di mana penembak tersebut dicekup, para penentang menemui pakaian seragam tentera dan tanda pengenalan milik kementerian pertahanan.

Kematian yang berlaku telah meningkatkan kemarahan para penunjuk perasaan. Walau pun sebelum itu telah berlaku kematian akibat tembakan curi yang dilakukan oleh kelompok penyokong presiden.

Dalam sidang media yang diadakan di Sana'a, Ali Saleh mendakwa pertempuran yang berlaku adalah antara orang awam dan para penunjuk perasaan. Menurutnya, polis tidak berada berada di tempat kejadian apatah lagi melepaskan tembakan.

Beliau menafikan pasukan tentera terlibat dan beliau berjanji akan menjalankan siasatan penuh bagi mencari punca pertumpahan darah tersebut.

Kenyataan Ali Saleh sangat diragui. Ini kerana beliau pernah berkata sebelum itu akan menggunakan strategi dan pendekatan seperti Gaddafi di Libya untuk menamatkan penentangan rakyat terhadapnya.

Presiden Ali Saleh mengisytiharkan perintah darurat tidak lama selepas kejadian tembak menembak itu. Tempoh darurat dijangka akan berterusan selama 30 hari semenjak hari Jumaat itu.

Presiden Barack Obama telah mengeluarkan kenyataan bahawa pentadbiran Amerika Syarikat melahirkan rasa simpati kepada warga Yaman dan berharap Presiden Ali Saleh memberi peluang kepada perhimpunan aman yang dianjurkan oleh rakyat.

Pada hakikatnya, AS merasa terancam sekiranya keadaan di Yaman menjadi tidak terkawal kerana negara tersebut dikatakan terdapat cabang gerakan al-Qaeda yang paling aktif.

Kerana itu, sekiranya Presiden Ali Saleh digulingkan, maka keadaan akan menjadi lebih parah kerana belum dapat dipastikan lagi adakah penggantinya mampu berkawan dengan pentadbiran Washington.

AS semenjak sekian lama membiayai misi menentang keganasan dan melumpuhkan golongan pro-Islam di negara itu.

Pada hari Sabtu 19 Mac 2011, Parti Islah sebagai gerakan Islam terbesar di Yaman telah mengarahkan agar seluruh masjid mengadakan solat jenazah ghaib untuk mereka yang terkorban.

Beratus-ratus ribu rakyat keluar menghadiri masjid-masjid berdekatan. Sejurus itu, demonstrasi besar-besaran telah berlaku secara spontan. Jalan-jalan utama di Sana'a telah ditutup melumpuhkan lalu lintas.

Angka penunjuk perasaan dianggarkan meningkat sehingga 1 juta orang sehingga waktu petang.

Khabar angin mula tersebar bahawa satu pembunuhan besar-besaran yang melibatkan para pemimpin pembangkang akan berlaku. Presiden Ali Saleh telah berikrar untuk menamatkan demonstrasi secepat mungkin.

Rentetan kejadian itu, Duta Yaman di Lubnan telah meletakkan jawatan sebagai bantahan terhadap tindakan tentera membunuh orang awam.

Dalam negara, setiausaha kementerian pendidikan dan menteri di jabatan hal ehwal agama turut meletakkan jawatan sebagai tanda protes terhadap tindakan terdesak Ali Saleh mempertahankan kuasanya.

Melalui sms terakhir yang diterima, pihak pemerintah telah memutuskan bekalan elektrik di seluruh pencawang bagi menekan rakyat dan menghalang agensi berita asing membuat liputan.

Waktu maghrib telah pun tiba sedang ibu negara Sana'a diselubungi kegelapan. Di celah-celah itu, sayup-sayup kedengaran suara yang melaungkan sumpah sesungguhnya darah para syuhada akan dibela.

http://www.harakahdaily.net/v2/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=31492:pembunuhan-orang-awam-tingkat-kemarahan-rakyat-yaman&catid=94:global2&Itemid=135

Yemeni parliament gives president emergency powers

AP – Yemeni army soldiers in charge of protecting anti-government protestors, take a break after receiving …

By AHMED AL-HAJ, Associated Press Ahmed Al-haj, Associated Press – Wed Mar 23, 10:03 am ET

SANAA, Yemen – Yemen's parliament enacted sweeping emergency laws Wednesday after the country's embattled president asked for new powers of arrest, detention and censorship to quash a popular uprising demanding his ouster.

The move escalates the showdown between Ali Abdullah Saleh and the movement that has unified military commanders, religious leaders and protesting youth in demands for his immediate departure.

The state of emergency suspends the constitution, allows media censorship, bars street protests and gives security forces 30 days of far-reaching powers to arrest and detain suspects without judicial process.

Youth leaders at the Sanaa square that has become the epicenter of the protests dismissed the move.

"It is the revolution that now decides the future of the nation," said Jamal Anaam, one of the protests' leaders. We pay no attention to the measures."

The accelerating conflict has raised fears that Yemen could be pushed into even greater instability.

Rival factions of the military have deployed tanks in the capital, Sanaa — with units commanded by one of Saleh's son protecting the president's palace, and units loyal to a top dissident commander protecting the protesters.

The White House has been reluctant to weigh in on the situation in Yemen, except to urge an end to violence. The Obama administration appears to be trying to avoid choosing between an increasingly unpopular Saleh and an opposition that Washington doesn't fully understand and could be hostile to U.S. efforts in Yemen.

The adoption of the state of emergency was a virtual certainty because Saleh's ruling party dominates the 301-seat legislature. Opposition and independent legislators stayed away from Wednesday's parliamentary session along with dozens of lawmakers from Saleh's own ruling party. Parliament said more than 160 lawmakers were present Wednesday.

There was no breakdown available of the vote, which was done by a show of hands amid chaotic scenes. Some dissident lawmakers questioned whether the chamber had the necessary 151 members present when it voted, arguing that only about 130 legislators were there.

"The vote is illegitimate," said independent lawmaker Abdul-Razzak al-Hijri.

Saleh, who has worked closely with a U.S.-offensive against the Yemeni branch of al-Qaida, has already dramatically increased his crackdown on anti-government demonstrators, with his security forces shooting dead more than 40 protesters on Friday in Sanaa.

On Tuesday he offered to step down by the year's end, but the opposition rejected his offer.

He also warned that the country would slide into civil war following the defection of senior army commanders to the opposition.

Tribal leaders, diplomats, lawmakers, provincial governors and newspaper editors have also joined the opposition.

Saleh, who has ruled Yemen for 32 years, also called Tuesday for a dialogue with the leaders of the youth movements leading the protests at the central Sanaa square that has been renamed Taghyeer, or change.

The defection on Monday of that commander, Maj. Gen. Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, a powerful regime insider who commands the army's powerful 1st Armored Division, has been seen by many as a major turning point toward a potentially rapid end for Saleh's nearly 32-year rule. He is also a member of Saleh's Hashid tribe.

Clashes broke out late Monday between Saleh's Republican Guard troops and dissident army units in the far eastern corner of the country. On Tuesday, Republican Guard tanks surrounded a key air base in the western Red Sea coastal city of Hodeida after its commander — Col. Ahmed al-Sanhani, a member of Saleh's own clan — announced he was joining the opposition.

The turmoil raised alarm in Washington, which has heavily backed Saleh to wage a campaign against a major Yemen-based al-Qaida wing that plotted attacks in the United States.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, on a trip to Russia, said Tuesday that "instability and diversion of attention" from dealing with al-Qaida is a "primary concern about the situation." He refused to weigh in on whether Saleh should step down.

Slideshow:Anti-Government Demonstrations in Yemen

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110323/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_yemen

Power crumbling, Yemen leader warns of civil war

AP – Anti-government protestors gesture during a demonstration demanding the resignation of Yemeni President …

By AHMED AL-HAJ and LEE KEATH, Associated Press Ahmed Al-haj And Lee Keath, Associated Press – Tue Mar 22, 9:24 pm ET

SANAA, Yemen – Yemen's U.S.-backed president, his support crumbling among political allies and the army, warned that the country could slide into a "bloody" civil war Tuesday as the opposition rejected his offer to step down by the end of the year. Tens of thousands protested in the capital demanding his immediate ouster, emboldened by top military commanders who joined their cause.

Ali Abdullah Saleh's apparent determination to cling to power raised fears that Yemen could be pushed into even greater instability. In a potentially explosive split, rival factions of the military have deployed tanks in the capital Sanaa — with units commanded by Saleh's son protecting the president's palace, and units loyal to a top dissident commander protecting the protesters.

The defection on Monday of that commander, Maj. Gen. Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, a powerful regime insider who commands the army's 1st Armored Division, has been seen by many as a major turning point toward a potentially rapid end for Saleh's nearly 32-year rule.

The question is whether the Yemeni chapter of the uprisings sweeping the Middle East will read more like Egypt — where the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak set the country on a relatively stable, if still uncertain, move toward democracy — or like Libya, which has seen brutal fighting between armed camps.

Already, clashes broke out late Monday between Saleh's Republican Guard and dissident army units in the far eastern corner of the country. On Tuesday, Republican Guard tanks surrounded a key air base in the western Red Sea coastal city of Hodeida after its commander — Col. Ahmed al-Sanhani, a member of Saleh's own clan — announced he was joining the opposition.

The turmoil raised alarm in Washington, which has heavily backed Saleh to wage a campaign against a major Yemen-based al-Qaida wing that plotted attacks in the United States.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, on a trip to Russia, said Tuesday that "instability and diversion of attention" from dealing with al-Qaida is a "primary concern about the situation." He refused to weigh in on whether Saleh should step down.

After a month of street protests — led mainly by students and pro-democracy advocates — against his nearly 32-year rule, Saleh became dramatically more isolated after security forces opened fatally shot more than 40 demonstrators on Friday.

The killings set off an avalanche of defections by top figures in his ruling party, influential tribal leaders and, most damagingly, al-Ahmar and a string of other top generals.

In a meeting Tuesday with his still-loyalist military commanders, Saleh railed against the dissidents, calling them "weak" and saying they "dropped away like autumn leaves."

"Those who want to climb to power through a coup should know that things won't stabilize. The nation won't be stable, it will turn into a civil war, to a bloody war, so they should think carefully," he said.

At the same time, he issued a softer statement, saying he "sympathizes with the youth" and calling on protesters to enter a dialogue. He said he believed their movement could "renew the democratic energy" in the country."

Monday night, Saleh pledged in a meeting with senior officials, military commanders and tribal leaders that he would step down by the end of the year, according to a presidential spokesman, Ahmed al-Sufi. Saleh had earlier rejected such a proposal, making a more limited concession of promising not to run for re-election when his term ends in 2013.

But the opposition said the new offer was too little, too late.

"The president's statements are just another political maneuver," said chief opposition spokesman Mohammed al-Sabri. "What was acceptable yesterday is not acceptable for us today."

"There is only one option, that the president announces his resignation and hands over power. Only then can we meet with the president to agree on transferring power," he said.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Saleh's resignation at year-end would be positive "if this is something that many people respond to and it meets their aspirations."

"What we're looking for is dialogue that leads to a peaceful solution," Toner told reporters.

Protesters massed by the tens of thousands Tuesday afternoon in the downtown Sanaa plaza they have dubbed "Taghyeer," or "Change" square. Crowds ululated, chanted and painted each other's faces in the red, white and black colors of the national flag. Conservative tribesmen bought their wives to the protest, and the women bought their children, all basking in a carnival atmosphere.

The wave of defections and resignations since Friday have included army commanders, ambassadors, members of Saleh's ruling party, lawmakers, provincial governors and some managers of the state-run media. With most pillars of his rule knocked away, Saleh's strongest card remains his family and the loyalist military units they command.

Throughout his rule, Saleh has stayed in power through manipulation and patronage. He has used money to keep the loyalty of powerful tribes, seeded the military with close family members and courted Islamic fundamentalists, using militants as pro-regime fighters against opponents.

Even while his hold on power in Sanaa seemed entrenched, the deeply impoverished nation has been crumbling around him for several years. A powerful secessionist movement has torn apart the south, which was once an independent nation. In the north, Shiite rebels rose up against his military. In many parts of the mountainous nation, which has little infrastructure, discontented tribes all but shook off his authority.

The defections, however, throw the protest movement into the thick of Yemen's deeply complicated politics. The new factions joining in are hardly a unified force.

Al-Ahmar is mistrusted by some. He had a complex relationship with Saleh, seen as both a key ally and a potential rival. He also has close ties to Yemen's Salafis, an ultraconservative Islamic movement that in some ways mirrors al-Qaida's ideology. Yemen's most influential Salafi, Sheik Abdul-Majid al-Zindani, already announced his support for the protesters.

Al-Ahmar is also unpopular in the south, where secessionists have largely backed the protests against Saleh. Al-Ahmar is a veteran of the 1994 civil war that saw Saleh's army suppress an attempt by southern Yemen to secede.

Some protesters expressed fears their movement, which has focused on establishing democratic rule, could be hijacked.

"There are worries, especially after some extremist Salafi and military elements joined," said Bushra al-Maqtari, a leading activist among the protesters. "But we are watchful ... We don't refuse anyone who supports the revolutionaries, even those once linked to the regime. But we are all in agreement that they don't have the right to speak in the name of the revolution."

Also joining the protesters have been top figures from Yemen's most powerful tribe, the Hashid, to which Saleh himself and al-Ahmar belong. Among them are the tribe's leader Sheik Sadeq al-Ahmar and his brothers — Hamid, an influential businessman who has long been a critic of the president, and Himyar, formerly the deputy parliament speaker.

Sheik Sadeq spoke to protesters in Change Square on Tuesday, trying to reassure them. "Don't be afraid or listen to rumors that say that the tribes or military will hijack the revolution," he said. "We are with you. We will support your demands. We will not be an alternative. Don't listen to rumors."

But the Hashid support also raised worries the tribe is seeking to maintain its status by backing Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar as a successor to Saleh.

A top American concern is that al-Qaida or other Islamic militants could fill any power vacuum. Several hundred al-Qaida militants are believed to be operating in the country, taking refuge in remote areas.

Late Tuesday, Yemen's Interior Ministry said in a statement that 12 al-Qaida fighters had been killed in clashes with the army in the town of Lawder in the southern province of Abyan.

The country has a strong Islamic radical movement, not directly belonging to al-Qaida, including thousands of veterans of "jihad" in other countries.

Ironically, those radicals could also be a card in Saleh's hand. In the south in particular, his regime has used militants to put down seccessionists.

For the past two days, armed Islamic militants have been on a rampage in the southern city of Aden, breaking into nightclubs, throwing out patrons and setting fire to buildings. They spraypainted graffiti on buildings around the city, reading "The people want the rule of God."

Slideshow:Yemenis rally against government

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Keath reported from Cairo.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110323/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_yemen

Yemen leader loses more of his eroding power base

AP – A Yemeni army officer reacts holding up his AK-47 as he and other officers join anti-government protestors …

• Slideshow:Yemenis rally against government

By AHMED AL-HAJ and HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press Ahmed Al-haj And Hamza Hendawi, Associated Press – Mon Mar 21, 6:08 pm ET

SANAA, Yemen – A top military commander and at least 18 other senior officers defected Monday to the opposition movement demanding the ouster of Yemen's embattled president, depriving the U.S.-allied ruler of most of his power base.

The looming collapse of President Ali Abdullah Saleh's regime throws into doubt the American campaign against a major al-Qaida wing that plotted attacks in the United States.

Monday's defections led to rival tanks being deployed in the streets of Yemen's capital, Sanaa, creating a potentially explosive situation and prompting Saleh's defense minister, Mohammed Nasser Ahmed, to announce the military remained loyal to the longtime leader.

The armed forces will counter any plots against the government, Ahmed declared on state television, following a meeting of the National Defense Council, which is led by Saleh and includes Ahmed, the prime minister and the intelligence chief.

The defection of Maj. Gen. Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, a longtime Saleh confidante and commander of the army's powerful 1st Armored Division, was seen by many as a turning point. It followed a major escalation in the regime's crackdown on demonstrators, when more than 40 people were killed in bloody clashes Friday.

Speaking in Paris, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe called Saleh's resignation "unavoidable" and pledged "support to all those that fight for democracy."

Tanks, armored vehicles and soldiers directed by al-Ahmar fanned out around the Sanaa square that has become the epicenter of the opposition movement, moving in for the first time to protect demonstrators.

Al-Ahmar also sent tanks to the state television building, the Central Bank and the Defense Ministry. Just miles away, at least a dozen tanks and armored personnel carriers belonging to the Republican Guards, an elite force led by Saleh's son and one-time heir apparent, Ahmed, were deployed outside the presidential palace.

The deployment of al-Ahmar's troops in Sanaa was greeted by wild jubilation from protesters, many of whom posed with soldiers for photographs, greeted them with military style salutes or offered them roses.

Calling Al-Ahmar's defection "a turning point," Edmund J. Hull, U.S. ambassador to Yemen from 2001 to 2004, said it showed "the military overall ... no longer ties its fate to that of the president."

"I'd say he's going sooner rather than later," Hull said.

In a sign of the Obama administration's growing alarm over the regime's crackdown on demonstrators, State Department spokesman Mark Toner called on the Yemeni leader to refrain from violence.

"We abhor the violence. We want a cessation of all violence against demonstrators," Toner said, calling on Saleh to "take the necessary steps to promote a meaningful dialogue that addresses the concerns of his people."

The 65-year-old president and his government have faced down many serious challenges in the past, often forging fragile alliances with restive tribes to extend power beyond the capital. Most recently, he has battled a seven-year armed rebellion in the north, a secessionist movement in the south and an al-Qaida offshoot that is of great concern to the U.S.

Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, formed in 2009, has moved beyond regional aims and attacked the West, including sending a suicide bomber who tried to down a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day with a bomb sewn into his underwear. The device failed to detonate properly.

Yemen is also home to U.S.-born radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who is believed to have offered inspiration to those attacking the U.S., including Army Maj. Nidal Hasan, who is accused of killing 13 people and wounding dozens in a 2009 shootout at Fort Hood, Texas.

Saleh has been a key, though not entirely reliable, U.S. ally in the fight against al-Qaida, frustrating his Washington backers with the delicate balancing act he has undertaken to maintain the goodwill of powerful tribes providing refuge to operatives from the terror network.

He has also earned a reputation for milking the "al-Qaida card," demanding millions of dollars in military aid that he has used to bolster the capabilities of units loyal to him rather than take on al-Qaida.

A Saleh successor would not be much different since Yemen's complex tribal system would stay intact after he is gone.

Al-Ahmar and two other senior army officers who defected Monday belong to Saleh's Hashid tribe and a tribal leader said it was rallying behind al-Ahmar as a possible replacement for Saleh, eager to keep the president's job for one of its own. The leader spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.

A key Hashid leader, Sadeq al-Ahmar, said he and his supporters were also joining the protest movement. Speaking to Al-Jazeera television from Sanaa, he said the death of scores of protesters on Friday made him decide to back the opposition after weeks of trying to mediate between Saleh and the protesters.

"The demands of the protesters are the demands of the Yemeni people," he said. "I can no longer fool myself, it is not the custom of men or tribes to do so."

Monday's defections included at least 15 other top military figures. Among them were Sanaa's military commander, a former defense minister who served as a presidential adviser and a military police brigadier who is a member of the president's personal security detail.

Several top diplomats also said they were joining the opposition, including Yemen's ambassadors to Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Japan and the Arab League. Lawmakers, editors of state-owned newspapers, parliament's deputy speaker and the governor of the southern province of Aden also quit their jobs to join the opposition and urge Saleh to step down.

Meanwhile, in a sign of the deepening divisions in the armed forces, gunfire broke out late Monday between the central security force protecting the presidential compound in the port city of Mukalla and the Yemeni army outside, security officials said. The compound, where Saleh stays when he is in town, is about a half-mile (kilometer) from where hundreds of protesters have been camping out to call for is ouster.

Maj. Gen. al-Ahmar has been close to Saleh for most of the Yemeni president's 32 years in power. He has close associations with Islamist groups in Yemen that are likely to raise suspicions in the West about his willingness to effectively fight al-Qaida operatives active in the country.

He is a veteran of the 1994 civil war that saw Saleh's army suppress an attempt by southern Yemen to secede. Al-Ahmar also fought in recent years against Shiite rebels in northern Yemen.

His support for the opposition was welcomed by protesters, but the warm reception may not guarantee him a political career in a post-Saleh Yemen given his close links to the president.

"He comes from the very heart of Saleh's ruling dynasty," Yemeni analyst Mansour Haiel said of al-Ahmar, who has sometimes been seen as a rival to the president and his son, Ahmed.

"He could easily become the head of the next ruling dynasty."

In the southern port city of Aden, Muslim militants set fire to a jazz club and a bar, objecting to their serving alcohol, a security official said. The men were part of an Islamist group taking advantage of the city's security void, as police were busy dealing with demonstrations, the official said.

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Hendawi reported from Cairo.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110321/ap_on_bi_ge/ml_yemen

Yemen's US-backed leader fails to stop uprising

AP – Yemenis clear the rubble in front of a damaged house following clashes with Yemeni security forces on …

• Slideshow:Anti-Government Demonstrations in Yemen

By AHMED AL-HAJ, Associated Press Ahmed Al-haj, Associated Press – Sat Mar 19, 4:23 pm ET

SANAA, Yemen – A crackdown that killed dozens failed to stop massive demonstrations against Yemen's U.S.-backed president, as crowds of thousands clashed Saturday with security forces smashing their protest camps and even seized control of one southern city.

In the capital, the government had to bring out tank units and other military forces to protect key buildings as crowds swelled. Protesters also stood their ground in the southern city of Mualla, surging out of their destroyed encampment and encircling a police station.

More than a month of daily protests calling for political freedoms and an end to corruption have presented President Ali Abdullah Saleh with the most dire challenge to his 32 years of running Yemen, a deeply impoverished land of restive tribes and numerous conflicts on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula.

In the bloodiest single day of the uprising, Yemeni forces killed at least 46 people and injured hundreds in the capital on Friday, including with snipers firing on demonstrators from rooftops. That prompted condemnation from the U.N. and the United States, which backs his government with hundreds of millions in military aid to battle a potent al-Qaida offshoot based in Yemen's mountainous hinterlands.

The intensifying crackdown followed failed attempts by Saleh early on to end the revolt, including by pledging not to run for re-election in 2013 or to hand power to his son. The opposition has also spurned his calls for dialogue on a possible unity government. All the while, allies have abandoned him to join the protesters, including two Cabinet ministers, powerful tribal leaders and members of his Congress Party.

On Saturday, police fired live ammunition, rubber bullets and tear gas at protesters at a makeshift camp in Mualla, a city in the southern province of Aden. At least 13 people were wounded, including three hit by the live rounds, demonstrators told The Associated Press by telephone.

Thousands surged out of the camp and surrounded a nearby police station in an attempt to seize it. Police fired in the air to hold them back, protesters told the AP. They said security troops managed to uproot their encampment there but confrontations continued.

In the same province, witnesses said protesters chased security authorities out of the city of Dar Saad and were now in control. Dar Saad, with a population of around 150,000, has witnessed some of the deadliest clashes in the past few days — seven people have been killed. It is considered the gateway to the key port of Aden.

If their hold lasts, it would be the first city where protesters have gained control over security forces.

During confrontations there over the past few days, protesters set fire to the main police station, torched several police cars and blocked roads to stop security troops from bringing in reinforcements.

Residents said were now forming popular committees to administer their own affairs.

Even before the uprising, many parts of Yemen were effectively beyond the weak government's direct control, as well-armed tribes run affairs in their areas.

Protests also continued Saturday in the capital, Sanaa, as soldiers in tanks and armored personnel carriers took up positions at intersections and key buildings, including the presidential palace, the state TV building and other government institutions. Soldiers searched motorists and passers-by.

Security and judicial officials told AP that orders to implement a large-scale military operation aimed at emptying main squares from protesters within the next 48 hours had been issued at a meeting of the higher defense council that was headed by Saleh Friday. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the decisions taken. They said authorities were also planning to arrest opposition leaders in the next days.

Many of the victims in Friday's violence in Sanaa were shot in the head and neck, their bodies left sprawled on the ground. They included a Yemeni news photographer, Jamal al-Sharaabi, who was the first journalist killed in the unrest.

The violence was condemned by the United States, which has long relied on Saleh for help fighting the al-Qaida branch based in the country and is sending Yemen's government $250 million in military aid this year.

Saleh blamed the opposition for "incitement and chaos" that led to violent confrontations and deaths and declared Sunday a national day of mourning for the "martyrs of democracy."

Several more prominent members of Saleh's ruling Congress Party announced their resignations Saturday. Among them were two former culture ministers, the head of the state-run Saba news agency, Nasr Taha Moustafa, who has close ties to Saleh, as well as the Yemeni ambassador to Beirut.

A group of Yemeni private sector businessmen, traditionally supporters of the regime because of shared business interests, also said in a statement Saturday that they were siding with the opposition in support of their "rightful and legitimate call for change."

Saba also reported that the Information Ministry deported two Al-Jazeera TV correspondents Saturday for the network's coverage of protests.

Yemen has largely stopped issuing journalist visas as it tries to control coverage of the protests and has been cracking down on reporters already in the country. On Monday, armed Yemeni security forces raided an apartment shared by four Western journalists — two Americans and two Britons — and deported them because of their coverage.

(This version CORRECTS name of city to Mualla).)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110319/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_yemen

Yemeni snipers open fire on protesters, kill 40

AP – Anti-government protestors carry a boy shot in the head during clashes in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, March …

• Slideshow:Yemenis rally against government

By AHMED AL-HAJ and ZEINA KARAM, Associated Press Ahmed Al-haj And Zeina Karam, Associated Press – 12 mins ago

SANAA, Yemen – Yemeni government snipers firing from rooftops and houses shot into a crowd of tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators on Friday, killing at least 40 people and injuring hundreds demanding the ouster of the autocratic president.

The protest in the central square was the largest yet in the popular uprising that began a month ago — and the harsh government response marked a new level of brutality from the security forces of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a key — if uneasy — ally in the U.S. campaign against al-Qaida who has ruled Yemen for 30 years.

Saleh declared a nationwide state of emergency hours after the shootings in the capital, formally giving the security forces a freer hand to confront the demonstrators. There was no word on how long the emergency laws would remain in place.

Dozens of enraged protesters stormed several buildings that were the source of the gunfire, detaining 10 people including paid thugs who they said would be handed over to judicial authorities.

Demonstrators have camped out in squares across Yemen for over a month to demand that Saleh leave office. Security forces and pro-government thugs have used live fire, rubber bullets, tear gas, sticks, knives and rocks to suppress them. The protesters say they won't go until Saleh does.

"They want to scare and terrorize us. They want to drag us into a cycle of violence — to make the revolution meaningless," said Jamal Anaam, a 40-year-old activist camping out in the square that the protesters call "Taghyir Square" — Arabic for "Change."

"They want to repeat the Libyan experiment, but we refuse to be dragged into violence no matter what the price," he said.

Before the shooting Friday in Sanaa, a military helicopter flew low over the square as protesters arrived from prayers. Gunfire soon erupted from rooftops and houses above the demonstrators, where witnesses said beige-clad elite forces and plainclothes security officials took aim.

A state TV report denied government forces were behind the gunfire.

Police used burning tires and gasoline to make a wall of fire that blocked demonstrators from fleeing down a main road leading to sensitive locations, including the president's residence.

Panic and chaos swept the square, where dozens of dead and wounded sprawled on the ground. Witnesses said the snipers aimed at heads, chests and necks. Protesters carried their friends, scarves pressed over bleeding wounds.

"It is a massacre," said Mohammad al-Sabri, an opposition spokesman. "This is part of a criminal plan to kill off the protesters, and the president and his relatives are responsible for the bloodshed in Yemen today."

Saleh announced a press conference later Friday. Opposition groups also planned an emergency meeting to discuss their next steps.

Before the protests, Yemeni elite forces fortified the president's residence, the Interior Ministry, the Defense Ministry and the building housing the ruling party, apparently fearing demonstrators would storm those areas, as they have done elsewhere in uprisings across the Middle East.

Doctors at the makeshift field hospital near the protest camp at Sanaa University confirmed at least 40 dead, three of them children. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Interior Minister Gen. Mouthar al-Masri, who is in charge of internal security forces, put the number of dead at 25 and the injured at 200.

Medical officials and witnesses say hundreds were wounded in Friday's violence, which marks a dramatic escalation of the crisis that has engulfed Yemen.

The protests are just one of the problems in this extremely poor, tribal country. Saleh's weak central government also faces one of the world's most active al-Qaida branches, a secessionist rebellion in the south and a Shiite uprising in the north.

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Karam reported from Cairo.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110318/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_yemen

Yemen police fire on protests, 6 killed

AP – Anti-government protestors carry a wounded protestor to be taken for a nearby field hospital following …

• Slideshow:Yemenis rally against government

By AHMED AL-HAJ, Associated Press Ahmed Al-haj, Associated Press – Sat Mar 12, 2:59 pm ET

SANAA, Yemen – Yemeni security forces killed six people Saturday and wounded hundreds in the second day of a harsh crackdown on anti-government protests, witnesses said. One of the dead was a 15-year-old student.

The assault with gunfire and tear gas was the toughest yet by the Yemeni government in a month of protests aimed at unseating President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in power for 32 years.

The violence began with a pre-dawn raid on a central square in the capital, Sanaa, where thousands of pro-democracy protesters have been camped out.

Doctors and eyewitnesses said security troops surrounded the square with police cars and armored personnel carriers shortly after midnight and began calling on protesters through loudspeakers to go home. At 5 a.m., security forces stormed in, firing live and ammunition tear gas.

One protester died from a bullet to the head, which may have come from a sniper on the rooftop of a nearby building, witnesses said. Abdelwahed al-Juneid, a volunteer doctor working with the protesters, said around 250 people were wounded.

"We were performing dawn prayers when we were surprised by a sudden hail of bullets and tear gas," said Walid Hassan, a 25-year-old activist. "The protesters began throwing rocks at security ... it was total mayhem, a real battlefield."

A few hours later, another protester was shot dead in a nearby street. Eyewitnesses said he was also killed by a sniper, but that could not be independently confirmed. Security officials did not have any immediate comment.

In the city of Dar Saad in the southern province of Aden, police used live fire and tear gas to disperse a crowd of several thousand, killing three demonstrators, a local activist and a hospital official said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the tense situation.

The hospital official said all the dead were all shot in the head. Eleven other protesters were wounded, he said.

The activist said the protesters later marched to the local police station, demanding that the shooter be handed over. Then they burned down the police station, the witness said.

In the port city of Mukalla in the southeastern province of Hadramout, a 15-year-old student was shot dead when security troops opened fire on protesters. Twelve people were wounded in similar violence in Yemen's southern province of Taiz.

Saleh, an ally in the Obama administration's fight against al-Qaida, appeared to be one of the Arab leaders most threatened by the regional unrest inspired by pro-democracy revolts in Egypt and Tunisia. Demonstrators are demanding jobs and greater political freedoms. Saleh has tried to calm protesters by proposing that the government create a new constitution guaranteeing the independence of parliament and the judiciary — but protesters have said it's too little, too late.

Saturday's raid on the Sanaa square came after Yemen's largest demonstrations in a month Friday were met by police gunfire that injured at least six protesters.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in Yemen's four largest provinces, ripping down and burning Saleh's portraits in Sheikh Othman, the most populated district in the southern port city of Aden, witnesses said. In the capital, thousands of women participated in demonstrations — a startling move in a deeply tribal society where women are expected to stay out of sight.

By Friday evening, protesters in Sanaa had expanded the area of their sit-in encampment, further angering authorities and leading to clashes with plainclothes security men. Protesters said the men were carrying sticks, knives and iron rods. Four protesters were injured, witnesses said.

Yemen was chaotic even before the demonstrations began, with a resurgent al-Qaida, a separatist movement in the south and a sporadic Shiite rebellion in the north vexing the government, which has little control outside major urban areas.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110312/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_yemen

Yemen police fire on protests; 3 killed

AP – A Yemeni girl gestures during a demonstration demanding the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah …

• Slideshow:Yemenis rally against government

By AHMED AL-HAJ, Associated Press Ahmed Al-haj, Associated Press – 37 mins ago

SANAA, Yemen – Yemeni security forces fired live bullets and tear gas on two pro-democracy demonstrations Saturday, killing three people — including a 15-year-old student — as the government clamps down on a growing protest movement, witnesses said.

The violence began with a pre-dawn raid on a central square in the capital, Sanaa, where thousands of pro-democracy protesters have been camped out for the past month to demand the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. An ally in the Obama's administration's fight against al-Qaida, Saleh has been in power for 32 years.

Doctors and eyewitnesses said security troops surrounded the square with police cars and armored personnel carriers shortly after midnight and began calling on protesters through loudspeakers to go home. At 5 a.m., security forces stormed in, firing tear gas and live ammunition.

One protester died from a bullet to the head, which may have come from a sniper on the rooftop of a nearby building, witnesses said. Abdelwahed al-Juneid, a volunteer doctor working with the protesters, said around 250 people were wounded.

"We were performing dawn prayers when we were surprised by a sudden hail of bullets and tear gas," said Walid Hassan, a 25-year-old activist. "The protesters began throwing rocks at security ... it was total mayhem, a real battlefield."

A few hours later, another protester was shot dead in a nearby street. Eyewitnesses said he was also shot by a sniper, but that could not be independently confirmed. Security officials did not have any immediate comment.

In the port city of Mukalla in the southeastern province of Hadramout, a 15-year-old was shot dead when security troops opened fire on protesters. Twelve people were wounded in similar violence in Yemen's southern province of Taiz.

Yemen's president of 32 years appeared to be one of the Arab leaders most threatened by the regional unrest inspired by pro-democracy revolts in Egypt and Tunisia. Demonstrators are demanding jobs and greater political freedoms. Saleh has tried to calm protesters by proposing that the government create a new constitution guaranteeing the independence of parliament and the judiciary — but protesters have said it's too little, too late.

Saturday's raid on the Sanaa square came after Yemen's largest demonstrations in a month Friday were met by police gunfire that injured at least six protesters and seemed certain to fuel more anger against the deeply unpopular president.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in Yemen's four largest provinces, ripping down and burning Saleh's portraits in Sheikh Othman, the most populated district in the southern port city of Aden, witnesses said. In the capital, thousands of women participated in demonstrations — a startling move in a deeply tribal society where women are expected to stay out of sight.

By Friday evening, protesters in Sanaa had expanded the area of their sit-in encampment, further angering authorities and leading to clashes with plainclothes security men. Protesters said the men were carrying sticks, knives and iron rods. Four protesters were injured, witnesses said.

Yemen was chaotic even before the demonstrations began, with a resurgent al-Qaida, a separatist movement in the south and a sporadic Shiite rebellion in the north vexing the government, which has little control outside major urban areas.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110312/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_yemen

As protests roil neighbors, Saudis quash rallies

AP – An anti-government protestor reacts during a demonstration demanding the resignation of Yemeni President …

• Slideshow:Saudi Arabia

By HASSAN AMMAR and AHMED AL-HAJ, Associated Press Hassan Ammar And Ahmed Al-haj, Associated Press – Fri Mar 11, 4:35 pm ET

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – A massive show of force by Saudi Arabia's government snuffed out a Facebook-based effort to stage unprecedented pro-democracy protests in the capital on Friday, but political unrest and sectarian tensions roiled neighboring Yemen and Bahrain.

Yemen's largest demonstrations in a month were met by police gunfire that left at least six protesters injured and seemed certain to fuel more anger against the deeply unpopular U.S.-allied president.

In Bahrain, a conflict deepened between the island kingdom's Shiite majority and its Sunni Muslim royal family, whose security forces and pro-government mobs attacked demonstrators with tear gas, rocks and swords. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates visited the tiny country, the home of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, to reassure its rulers of unwavering U.S. support, officials said.

With uprisings threatening allies on its eastern and southern flanks, the Sunni Saudi monarchy appeared to be taking no chances in its effort to keep the popular push for democracy in the Arab world from spreading to the world's largest crude oil exporter.

In the heavily Shiite eastern Saudi province, hundreds of protesters marched in at least four different locations, calling for the release of political prisoners and demanding reform.

In the city of Qatif, not far from Bahrain, armored personnel carriers and dozens of officers in riot gear surrounded several hundred demonstrators shouting calls for reforms and equality between the sects. Police opened fire in the city to disperse a protest late Thursday in an incident that left three protesters and one officer wounded, but there was no repeat of that violence.

In a video posted on social networking websites, a helicopter hovered over a few hundreds male protesters in a small street in the town of al-Ahsa in the Eastern Province. Protesters chanted: "The people want justice and equality." It was not possible to independently confirm the footage.

Yemen's president of 32 years appeared to be one of the Arab leaders most threatened by the regional unrest inspired by pro-democracy revolts in Egypt and Tunisia.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in Yemen's four largest provinces, ripping down and burning President Ali Abdullah Saleh's portraits in Sheikh Othman, the most populated district in the southern port city of Aden, witnesses said.

Security forces hurled tear gas into crowds close to a stadium and then opened fire, using machine guns mounted on vehicles, said eyewitness Sind Abdullah, 25.

In the conservative capital, Sanaa, thousands of women participated in demonstrations — a startling move in a deeply tribal society where women are expected to stay out of sight.

Demonstrators demanded jobs and greater political freedom and decried Saleh's proposal Thursday that the government create a new constitution guaranteeing the independence of parliament and the judiciary, calling it too little and too late.

The autocratic leader is also an ally in the Obama adminstration's push to eliminate the local branch of al-Qaida, which has attempted to attack the United States. He has also worked closely with the Saudis to quash his own Shiite uprising in the north.

In the Saudi capital, security forces who took up positions on corners and intersections as at least one helicopter buzzed overhead. Police blocked roads and set up random checkpoints, searching residents and vehicles around a central mosque as large numbers of people gathered for Friday prayers.

Government minders escorted journalists around the city, where they were shown a man, who gave his name as Khaled al-Juhni, standing outside a government building, shouting calls for more freedoms.

Police and journalists watched as the man criticized the regime as a "police state" and "a big prison" before he got in his car and left.

A government official said security measures around state-run oil giant Saudi Aramco and its oil facilities in the east were beefed up protectively in case of any violence. The company is based in the Dhahran district on the kingdom's eastern coast.

Investors are sensitive to any sign of upheaval in Saudi Arabia because the OPEC leader has been using its spare capacity to make up for output lost amid the violent uprising against Libya's government. When news broke that Saudi Arabian police fired shots to break up the protest Thursday, prices soared $3 in just 12 minutes.

Shiites make up 10 percent of the kingdom's 23 million citizens and have long complained of discrimination, saying they are barred from key positions in the military and government and are not given an equal share of the country's wealth.

Last month, the ultraconservative Saudi government announced an unprecedented economic package worth an estimated $36 billion that will give Saudis interest-free home loans, unemployment assistance and debt forgiveness.

At the same time, it reiterated that demonstrations are forbidden in the kingdom.

So far, any demonstrations have been small, concentrated in the east among Shiites demanding the release of detainees. But activists set up Facebook groups calling for protests in Riyadh and one group garnered more than 30,000 supporters of its demands for free elections.

___

Al-Haj reported from Sanaa, Yemen. Diaa Hadid, Zeina Karam and Michael Weissenstein in Cairo contributed to this report.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110311/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_saudi_protests

Yemeni security forces open fire on protesters

AP – Anti-government protestors carry the body of Abduallah Ali, center, wrapped with his national flag, who …

• Slideshow:Anti-Government Demonstrations in Yemen

By AHMED AL-HAJ, Associated Press Ahmed Al-haj, Associated Press – 1 hr 27 mins ago

SANAA, Yemen – Eyewitnesses say Yemeni security forces opened fire on demonstrators taking part in protests throughout Yemen in what appears to be the biggest turnout in a month of unrest to demand regime change.

In the southern port city of Aden, the witnesses say security forces shot at demonstrators trying rip down photographs of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Six protesters were wounded, one seriously, said one medic.

Many demonstrators say their turnout of hundreds of thousands on Friday is to tell their leader of 32 years that they reject his latest compromise offer and want him to go.

Saleh proposed creating a new constitution guaranteeing the independence of parliament and the judiciary on Thursday night.

Thousands of women also participated in demonstrations in Yemen's conservative capital, Sanaa.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110311/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_yemen