JEDDAH/SANA'A: An official at the secretariat general of the GCC said Sunday that the signing of the agreement for the transfer of power in Yemen that should have taken place Sunday has been postponed to an as-yet-undecided date. The statement from Ahmad Al-Kuba'i, an official at the Secretary General's Press Office, came the same day the GCC Foreign Ministers held an exceptional meeting at Riyadh Air Base to seek new ways of halting the bloodshed in Yemen and to discuss the future of the Gulf initiative that Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh declined to sign. Diplomatic sources in the Gulf told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that Abdul Latif Al-Zayani, Secretary General of the GCC, had given foreign ministers a “detailed explanation” of the outcome of his visit to Sana'a Saturday, but the sources said they were unable to provide details on what the next moves would be. “The initiative has not failed,” they said. “The GCC will continue its efforts to prevent any more blood being spilled in Yemen.” The amended Gulf initiative proposed a solution to the crisis in Yemen through the formation of a government under the leadership of the opposition while granting President Saleh immunity after his resignation. The plan was a culmination of GCC mediation started in early April in response to popular demonstrations that began in February and cost the lives of over 130 people. The initiative proposed by the opposition requires President Saleh to step down and pass his powers to his vice president, after which a national unity government would be formed, headed by the opposition and governing for the period of transition until presidential elections are held after a new constitution has been drawn up. Ahmad Al-Soufi, Media Advisor to the Yemeni president, has said meanwhile that Saleh's refusal to sign the transfer of power agreement in Riyadh does “not annul the agreement at all”. He said, by contrast, that the opposition was “in violation of the agreement through its continuous attempts to offer criticisms of it” in order to “dodge and evade”. Speaking to Okaz/Saudi Gazette, Al-Soufi said that the Yemeni leadership still supports the Gulf initiative and is “ready to sign the agreement at any time”, but added that the “language of the initiative is open to interpretation and needs clarification”. “The insertion of the name of the Yemeni president in the agreement is not acceptable,” he said. “The Yemeni president is not party to the agreement's protocol ceremonies as he is the president of the republic and has his official status.” He noted that the initiative was drawn up and put before the two sides through two separate meetings with the GCC Foreign Ministers in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi. “Why was the name of the president inserted in that agreement?” he asked, and recognized that the initiative had before it a “stern test”. “The opposition wanted to show the public it was victorious,” he said. “The president is for a smooth transition of power within the framework of the constitution. The ball is now in the GCC's court”. Yasin Saeed Numan, head of the opposition coalition Joint Meeting Parties (JMP), told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that the opposition is committed to the Gulf agreement “in spirit and in letter” and is “fully prepared to sign an agreement for the transfer of power as soon as it is signed by President Saleh”. Numan said that the transfer of power agreement is not between the ruling party and the opposition, but “between the Yemeni president and the opposition”. “The GCC has the deciding word and we are waiting for their response,” he said. “The opposition will not enter into bargaining. The transfer of power agreement is a comprehensive and integrated package, it is indivisible.” Numan said the Yemeni president must sign it for it to be brought into effect.Yemeni parliamentarians, meanwhile, have blamed a “lack of seriousness” on the part of Yemen's leadership and opposition for the failure to sign the transfer of power agreement in Riyadh. Member of Parliament Muhammad Al-Hazami said the failure of the Gulf initiative was the fault of the “Yemeni regime”. “We hope that the GCC countries will continue to try and see through the agreement until it sees the light of day so that peace in Yemen can be achieved,” Al-Hazami said. He added that “all areas of society in Yemen value the role the Kingdom and the GCC countries have played”. “We hope they will continue their efforts to arrive at an agreeable solution to the crisis.” Ahmad Al-Adhri MP said that mud slinging in the media between the two political sides was a significant factor in “inflaming” the situation. “The war of words has revealed a lack of seriousness on the part of both sides in reaching a solution,” he said. Al-Adhri said that the Gulf initiative was a “complete formulation” and that the refusal of the opposition to “sit at the dialogue table” led to the failure of previous initiatives. “The Yemeni president did not refuse to sign the agreement,” he said. “The internal security situation requires him to stay in Yemen.” He said that both sides should proceed “wisely and rationally”. “They should sign the Gulf initiative which represents a way out of the crisis.” Al-Adhri praised the role of the Kingdom and said that Riyadh “has never stood by and watched when Yemen has gone through a crisis”. Sources from both sides in Yemen have told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that GCC Secretary General Al-Zayani “had his work cut out” to convince both parties in Sana'a to sign the agreement. An opposition source said the JMP met with Al-Zayani for two hours before they informed him of their willingness to sign, with the condition that President Saleh signed the initiative before the two delegations left for Riyadh. Sultan Al-Barakati, head of the ruling party's parliamentary block said that Saleh had not refused to sign the initiative but that he offered two choices to Al-Zayani: for the two parties to sign the agreement in Riyadh and then for the president to sign it in Sana'a, or for all the signing procedures to be conducted in Sana'a between the ruling party and the JMP and with Saleh approving it as head of state. Al-Zayani left Sana'a Saturday after President Saleh's refusal to sign the agreement for the transition of power.
