Sat May 7, 2011 7:51PM
An interview with managing news editor at antiwar.com, Jason Ditz
The situation in Yemen shows that people in the country are seeking an immediate departure of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, not a timeline for his resignation, an analyst says.
Press TV has conducted an interview with Jason Ditz, managing news editor at antiwar.com, to elaborate on the current situation in Yemen.
Press TV: How do you assess the [P]GCC proposal game being put forth. Saleh has asked for a modification of the proposal. He is saying that he will sign the agreement only as his party's leader, not as Yemen's president. How important is this? Do you think this is just another act of stalling for time?
Jason Ditz: I think he certainly is raising suspicion, because he is the party leader, but he is also the president. His signature should cover both. And to say, well I'm only signing on one side and not the other side, would raise questions as to whether he will say that his promise to leave office was made as a party leader, not the president, and therefore it doesn't apply to me.
Press TV: A lot of the people on the ground in Sana'a or across the country didn't agree with this proposal to begin with, though you know something called a joint meeting party's block, which was supposedly some sort of opposition coalition said it would sign on behalf of these people. Does this essentially mean that from day one the proposal was doomed anyhow?
Jason Ditz: Well, it probably does. And this opposition movement that is willing to sign seems to be primarily composed of the political opposition which wasn't involved in the initial protests, and sort of came on board the protests late in the game.
This all really started with student protesters. The students have been on the streets for months now. I think after all these attempts to force them off the streets, they're not really looking for some sort of deal that involves some sort of timeline for Saleh to step down, they're looking for an immediate resignation.
Press TV: Essentially we're in a stalemate situation aren't we, because the [P]GCC countries and even the US which has been fairly muted about Saleh stepping down at this point, versus the people who are demanding an immediate departure of Saleh. It seems to me that there is some miscommunication going on between these two parties, aren't there?
Jason Ditz: There certainly is, but of course if Saleh promises to step down in 30 days, which he hasn't really done yet and follows through with it, then all the protesters' demands don't really matter anymore, because he's gone anyway. So the timeline even if it's a short one, really doesn't mean all that much. The protests could continue for a few more weeks after the promise and until he actually leaves office.
Press TV: What of justice? A lot of people in Yemen and in Sana'a for example have been saying that they want justice, because according to them Saleh is responsible for many of the casualties that have occurred throughout the years and even throughout this revolution. We've seen for example, in a place like Egypt where it has been reported that Mubarak will be held accountable for. Yemen may be the first place where the people will actually hold their leader under account.
Jason Ditz: I think that will be extremely difficult to do. World leaders, almost to a man have these sort of 'blood on their hands' incidents throughout their terms in office and none of them want to see people like Mubarak being held for his actions because it calls for them to be also held accountable for the things they do as well.
So I think there is going to be a lot of international opposition to any sort of attempt to prosecute President Saleh for anything more than just a few cursory crimes. From the protesters' standpoint I really don't think there is going to be reasonably able to expect justice out of this. Probably the best they can hope for is to get rid of him and not face anymore injustices from him.
Press TV: Considering that fact, it is obviously very realistic that will not happen in being brought to justice, but doesn't that put the US in a sense in a bit of a corner considering it's been silent on the atrocities going on in countries like Bahrain and Yemen. If the leader is given a free-pass to a country like Saudi Arabia, doesn't this fuel the anti-American sentiment in the region?
Jason Ditz: It certainly does, and that's going to be a problem that the administration is going to have to deal with. The anti-American sentiment comes from years and years of military operation in the region, but not so much on the country's silence on such matters alone. Even if they went ahead and said all the right things about Bahrain and Yemen, I don't think it would repair their image in the region.
Press TV: So in the future, if these revolutions are successful to a certain extent, as far as for example Saleh leaving or stepping down or bringing in a person who actually represents the people, again doesn't that spell bad news for the US considering the people are aware of the US atrocities in the region throughout the decades?
Jason Ditz: It certainly doesn't look good for the US government, but I think as far as the American people in general are concerned, it shouldn't be that big a problem. I don't envision these countries looking for trade with the US, for example. Not liking the US government isn't really that big a problem.
Press TV: The US certainly has its interests in a country like Yemen, as it has spoken a lot about al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula specifically, you know it's being said now that bin Laden is dead, and that the next frontier of the al-Qaeda is Yemen. So certainly the US has a lot of self-interest in controlling the outcome in Yemen.
Jason Ditz: Absolutely. But then again, the overall policies in the region are what are fueling groups like al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and being on good terms with President Saleh certainly hasn't stopped the growth of the organization. And having Saleh look the other way as the US launches missiles every once in a while hasn't helped with that situation, and I really don't think that there's a good military solution to this. The solution is going to be to repair America's image in the region, which is going to require it to not intervene so much.
SZH/AGB
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