By DPA,
Sana’a: Anti-government protests in Yemen swelled Friday despite President Ali Abdullah Saleh saying he would step aside if power is transferred to a “safe pair of hands”.
Facing growing calls for his ouster, the embattled president told thousands of his supporters that the opposition was a “small minority” of “drug dealers”.
“Yes for stability, no for chaos,” Saleh told the cheering crowd, admitting he does not trust his opposition.
Large numbers of pro-government tribesmen flocked to the capital of Sana’a to support Saleh outside his presidential palace, derailing protesters’ plans to march towards his residence.
However, witnesses said that thousands gathered elsewhere in the capital for the largest anti-Saleh protest since the uprising began six weeks ago.
The protesters turned out in the tens of thousands, even after last Friday’s sniper attacks, which killed 53 people and injured 240 others.
Many of those killed were shot in the chest and in the back of their heads in what witnesses described as an attack by state security.
Within days of the attack, members of the ruling party passed an emergency law, which suspends the constitution, bans protests, and allows for arbitrary arrests and censorship.
“After the horrific killing of dozens of protesters last Friday, it is incredibly disturbing that Yemen’s leaders have given the security forces more powers through a new emergency law instead of reining them in,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East.
An influential Yemeni cleric used his Friday sermon to urge protesters to defy the 30-day state of emergency and continue calls for an end to Saleh’s 32-year rule.
“We heard about the state of emergency in Egypt before, and the people there defeated the state of emergency,” Abdel-Raqib Abad said as he addressed tens of thousands praying in Taghyeer, or Change Square, near Sana’a University.
A number of army generals have defected and pledged their support to the protesters.
Earlier Friday, Saleh proposed an amnesty for the soldiers who had defected to the opposition.
“We are concerned about the integrity and tenacity of the military institution and, therefore, we announce a public pardon for those who committed this mistake,” Saleh said.
He also suggested anti-government protesters form their own political party.
Speaking with interior and defence leaders Thursday, Saleh blamed the opposition for price hikes and the scarcity of fuel after an attack on a power plant in Marib province and the storming of branches of the Central Bank of Yemen in Marib, Saada and Amran provinces.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it was “deeply concerned about the threat to people’s lives, well-being and dignity.”
Moreover, access to water, health care and food is of concern throughout Yemen, said the ICRC.