(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - President Ali Abdullah Saleh distrusts Riyadh, because “Saudi Arabia has been losing ground in different countries, so it is no longer a prime political force,” Trinity University professor Syed Ali Wasif said on Wednesday.
Saleh has refrained from signing up to a Saudi-sponsored [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council proposal that would have granted him immunity from prosecution in exchange for his stepping down and handing power over to his vice president.
Wasif pointed to Gaddafi's plan to “cling on to power” at any cost, “despite all the pressure from NATO and opposition forces,” arguing, “Saleh is trying to follow Gaddafi in this sense, waiting to see what happens next.”
Since the revolution against Colonel Gaddafi's regime began in mid-February, tens of thousands have been reported killed and injured during the upheavals.
“Saleh is getting some kind of enthusiasm from the Libyan embattled leader, Muammar Gaddafi. He's learning from Gaddafi to stand by,” Wasif reiterated.
Saleh has been in office for more than three decades, with several opposition members arguing that his long-promised political and economic reforms have not materialized.
Inspired by the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, anti-government protests began to sweep Yemen in January.
Over 300 people have been reported killed and scores of others wounded during armed attacks by Yemeni forces and Saleh loyalists since the beginning of the popular revolution in January.
/106;
