Yemeni President accuses Qatar of "conspiracy"

Protesters shout slogans during a rally calling for the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh Embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh has accused Qatar of a "conspiracy" and threatened to pull out of a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) transition deal to end the crisis in Yemen. "Contacts are under way for the signing of the agreement on Monday in Riyadh, but we have reservations about some mediators involved in a conspiracy," Saleh said in an interview with the Russia Today television channel.
He singled out Qatar among the GCC nations and accused it of inciting unrest in Yemen.
Terse warning
"The state of Qatar is funding chaos in Yemen and in Egypt and Syria and throughout the Arab world," Saleh charged. "We reserve the right not to sign if the representatives of Qatar are present" at the ceremony, he warned.
The GCC foreign ministers are to meet in Riyadh tomorrow to finalise the Yemen transition deal before presenting it to the parties for ratification.
The plan proposes the formation in Sana'a of a government of national unity, Saleh transferring power to his vice-president and an end to the deadly protests rocking the country since late January.
Presidential election
Saleh would submit his resignation to parliament within 30 days, to be followed two months later by a presidential election.
However, a defiant Saleh, who has been in power for 32 years, has publicly insisted on sticking to the constitution in any transfer of power, even though his ruling General People's Congress party has said it accepts the GCC plan.
Meanwhile, vast crowds of Yemenis took to the streets yesterday to demand the immediate departure of Saleh, instead of the phased handover of power envisaged by the GCC-mediated agreement.
At least 145 killed
Some 100,000 people flooded a 5km stretch of Sanaa's main Siteen Street to mark a ‘Friday of loyalty to the martyrs' — at least 145 people have been killed during three months of anti-Saleh unrest across Yemen.
"We will continue our revolution forcefully and we will not back down even if we have to offer a million martyrs," a cleric shouted to crowds, as they released balloons inscribed ‘Leave'.
Equally large pro-Saleh crowds also gathered in the capital to mark a "Friday of constitutional legitimacy". Waving flags, the demonstrators held pictures of the president and banners reading: "Be firm and don't back down, we are with you."
'No to coups'
Saleh, addressing the rally, said: "These crowds of our people have said their word: yes, yes to the legitimacy of the constitution, no to coups, no to chaos."
The fate of the deal to ease Saleh out of power could hang on how he handles the latest protests, with tension still high after the killing of 12 demonstrators in Sana'a on Wednesday.