JEDDAH/SANA'A: A reliable source close to Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh Tuesday confirmed that the ruling General People's Congress (GPC) has received an invitation from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to sign power transfer deal in Riyadh Saturday. The source welcomed the invitation and stressed that the presidency appreciates the GCC foreign ministers' efforts to establish peace and security in Yemen. Muhammad Qahtani, spokesman for the Yemeni opposition, said the opposition has not yet received an invitation from the GCC states. The opposition will respond once it receives an invitation. He said the opposition has received assurances from the GCC that the agreement will be enforced in its entirety. “We have accepted the Gulf initiative without reservation. We have received confirmation of the strict enforcement of the agreement in letter and spirit by all parties.” Sultan Al-Barkani, Deputy Secretary General of the ruling party, confirmed that he had received an invitation for the signing of the agreement in Riyadh. Similarly, Muhammad Salem Basindowa, head of the opposition National Dialogue Council, stressed the opposition's readiness to sign the agreement. The agreement stipulates that a unity government be formed and that President Saleh leaves the office within a month after signing of the deal. The agreement also stipulates that Saleh and his family would receive immunity from prosecution. Meanwhile, reports from Sana'a said the GCC proposal appears to have opened a serious rift between opposition parties and the hundreds of thousands of protesters who have taken to the streets daily since February to demand Saleh's immediate resignation. In another twist, Mohammed Al-Sabri, spokesman of the opposition parties, criticized the acceptance of the GCC initiative. He noted that he was speaking for himself and not in his capacity as the movement's spokesman. “The opposition has betrayed its members and the Yemen street,” he said. “How can we speak about the corruption of the government and at the same time share a national unity government with it?” Tawakul Karman, a senior member of the main opposition party, Islah, also rejected the proposals. “We will not accept them and will continue our protests harder,” she said at Change Square near Sana'a University where thousands of protesters have camped for weeks. The coalition of youth groups behind the two-month-old uprising rejected the deal, and in a statement called for nationwide civil disobedience between 8 A.M. and noon Wednesday. The groups vowed to repeat this action every Saturday and Wednesday until Saleh steps down. “We will march to the presidential palaces, the government headquarters and parliament and occupy them peacefully,” said Abdul-Malek Al-Youssefi, an activist and protest organizer. “Our demands are that the regime leave along with the opposition leaders who are old and no longer reflect the aspirations of the street.” In the country's second largest city, Taiz, security forces opened fire on tens of thousands of protesters, killing one demonstrator and wounding at least 14 were wounded, activist Nouh Al-Wafi said. Security forces also wounded at least eight protesters in the western city of Hodeida, and three in the southern port city of Aden.– Okaz/Saudi Gazette and Agencies Caption: Making a point A Yemeni boy lifted by anti-government protesters shouts slogans during a demonstration demanding the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sana'a, Tuesday. (AP) __
