Yemen's opposition today rejected an offer to join Gulf-mediated talks in Saudi Arabia on a transfer of power in the Arabian Peninsula state and set a two-week deadline for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down.
The opposition said the Gulf Arab mediation offer, which was to have included talks in Riyadh as early as Saturday, was not clear enough on how fast a proposed transition would take place, even after a request for clarification from Gulf ambassadors.
"We have renewed our emphasis on the need for speeding the process of [Saleh] standing down to within two weeks. Therefore we will not go to Riyadh," said Mohammed al-Mutawakkil, a prominent opposition leader.
Gulf foreign ministers, seeking to ease the threat that Yemeni instability could pose to the region, had invited Saleh and his opponents to talks on a transfer of power to end a political standoff that risks devolving into violence.
Saudi and Western allies of Yemen fear that a prolonged standoff in Yemen, where Mr Saleh has faced two months of protests demanding his ouster, could ignite clashes between rival military units and cause chaos that benefits an active al-Qaeda wing operating in the poor, mountainous country.
Mr Saleh has accepted the Gulf framework for talks, but the opposition has seesawed. It first rejected the Gulf offer, citing the lack of a transition time frame and complaining it appeared to offer Saleh a waiver from prosecution.
But opposition figures then met the ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait on Tuesday seeking clarification of the Gulf Cooperation Council understanding of a "transfer of power", with some hinting that talks could start as early as Saturday.
Mr Saleh, who has already lost control of several provinces, has warned of civil war and the break-up of Yemen if he is forced to step aside before organising parliamentary and presidential polls over the next year.
More than 116 protesters have been killed in clashes with security forces since late January, and there are fears the violence could escalate in the impoverished country, half of whose 23 million people own a gun.
Reuters