GCC refuses Yemen’s offer on initiative; protesters urge U.N. to put Saleh on trial

The Yemeni authorities failed to convince the Gulf Cooperation Council to approve a number of proposed amendments on the Gulf initiative, according to media reports on Friday.

The amendments propose that Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh would remain in power until early presidential polls are held.

According to Yemeni political sources, Moscow and Beijing have invited the opposition leaders in Yemen to visit Russia and China next week.

Demonstrators on Friday called for the United Nations to intervene to put Saleh on trial in the wake of a crackdown on anti-regime protests that has cost hundreds of lives.

“We want the world to pass a resolution which defends the blood of the revolutionaries,” protesters chanted at a huge gathering near “Change Square” in central Sana’a that has become the epicenter of a campaign to oust Saleh, according to AFP.

The demonstrators, who protest organizers said numbered in the hundreds of thousands, called for the veteran leader to go on trial.

“There will be no immunity... Saleh and his cronies must face trial,” chanted the protesters, gathered after weekly Muslim prayers as on every Friday since the outbreak of their campaign in late January.

Troops of dissident General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, who switched sides in March, were out in force to protect the demonstrators.

At a rival protest, tens of thousands of pro-regime demonstrators gathered near the presidential palace in southern Sana’a swearing to stand by Saleh who has been in power for the past three decades.

“The people want Ali Abdullah Saleh... With our souls, with our blood, we will sacrifice ourselves for you, Saleh,” they chanted, in images broadcast by state television.

Protesters demanding the ouster of Saleh are hoping to see decisive action by the U.N. Security Council.

According to a letter from Yemen’s youth movement to the United Nations earlier this month, at least 861 people have been killed and 25,000 wounded since mass protests erupted across the country.

The government, for its part, has urged the Security Council to avoid a resolution targeting the embattled president, calling on it instead to back a political solution.

Organizers of the youth protests have called for a march on Saturday from Change Square to al-Zubeiri Street which marks the demarcation line between the rival camps.

In south Yemen, which on Friday marked the 48th anniversary of independence before its unification with the north in May 1990, activists at rallies in several towns called for the restoration of the region’s independence.

According to a letter from Yemen’s youth movement to the United Nations earlier this month at least 861 people have been killed and 25,000 wounded since mass protests against Saleh erupted in late January.

Tens of thousands of pro-democracy activists remain camped out in the capital, empowered by the Nobel Peace Prize win of Tawakkul Karman, a fellow protester.

However, with the deadly street clashes between rival fighters and the intermittent but harsh government crackdowns on demonstrators, peaceful calls for democracy are at risk of being overshadowed.

Yemen, a desperately poor nation, is home to more than half the population of the Arabian Peninsula and sits on its southwestern corner, sharing a massive land border with Saudi Arabia, the world’s leading oil exporter.

It is also the home-base of al-Qaeda’s most active global branch and where the United States is heavily invested in a battle to wipe out the group.

Al-Qaeda has benefited from the chaos that has ensued since widespread anti-government demonstrations began in January calling for Saleh’s resignation, and since May, they have taken control of several cities in the southern province of Abyan.