Yemen opposition to meet Gulf ministers

Yemen's opposition leaders were to meet Gulf Arab foreign ministers in Saudi Arabia yesterday to lay out their conditions before entering formal talks over the departure of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. After three months of protests demanding an end to Saleh's 32-year rule, Gulf Arab states stepped in earlier this month to offer to mediate a transition of power, but talks have dragged on over issues such as Saleh's immunity from prosecution and the timetable for a transition. The opposition, whose delegation is headed by former foreign minister Mohammed Basindwa, rejected a proposal by Gulf foreign ministers last week because it appeared to offer Saleh immunity from prosecution. Basindwa said the opposition had agreed to meet at the invitation of Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal and on condition that no Saleh representatives would be included. Saleh stepping down was "not negotiable" Basindwa said. "We hope the American and European friends as well as our brothers in the Gulf will support this initiative because there will be no solution without Saleh's departure," he said. The opposition wants Saleh gone within weeks and to keep open the option of prosecuting him. More than 116 protesters have been killed in clashes with security forces since late January, fuelling fears that violence could spiral out of control in the poor and politically fragmented country where al Qaeda has been active. Saudi Arabia, which along with the United States has backed Saleh to keep al Qaeda at bay, has been hosting talks in its capital Riyadh. Sunday's meeting is scheduled for 1300 GMT. Saleh had welcomed the Gulf plan, which suggested he would step down without providing a timetable. After initially offering to leave after his current term ends in 2013, Saleh said he would step down after holding elections, possibly this year. A political survivor who has described ruling Yemen as "dancing on the heads of snakes", Saleh has warned of civil war and the break-up of the country if he is forced out and insists on handing power over to what he calls "safe hands. Even before the start of the protests, inspired by the toppling of the Tunisian and Egyptian presidents, Saleh was struggling to quell a separatist rebellion in the south and cement a truce with Shi'ite Muslim rebels in the north. There was lingering anger on the streets after Saleh called the opposition liars and bandits on Saturday. Appealing to religious sensitivities in the conservative Muslim country, Saleh also criticised the mixing of unrelated men and women among protesters in Sanaa. Thousands of Yemeni women took to the streets to protest against his comments. On Friday, hundreds of thousands protested against Saleh in Sanaa, Aden and Taiz. Clerics and tribal leaders who once backed Saleh issued a statement calling for his immediate departure and that of his relatives in the military and security forces.