Protestors to Arab League: suspend Yemen
Fully-veiled anti-government protesters shout slogans demanding the prosecution of Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh during a rally in Sanaa on November 10, 2011, as the UN envoy to Yemen returned to the capital to revive efforts aimed at resolving the country’s political turmoil.
As the Arab League meets in Morocco to formalize their decision earlier this week to suspend Syria, anti-regime protesters are urging the league to do the same in Yemen.
A massive rally was staged in Sanaa Wednesday by Yemeni protestors inspired by Syria’s suspension, chanting “"Arab League, we demand the freezing of (Yemeni) membership," the AFP reported.
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who’s held power for over 30 years, came under fire since late 2010 when protesters demanded Saleh to step down. Saleh has been accused of failing to make democractiv reforms, and committing widespread corruption and human rights abuses.
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Saleh announced in October that he would step down “in the coming days” as a result of the major national uprising, Al Jazeera reported critics are skeptical Saleh would voluntarily make such a move.
He warned protesters in March that any attempt of a coup would result in a civil war.
The large rate of defections from the military and Saleh’s government has left much of the country outside of the government’s control.