Aides: Yemen’s Saleh to Seek Exile in Ethiopia
By Associated Press
SANAA, Yemen—Aides to Ali Abdullah Saleh said Monday that the ousted Yemeni president plans to go into exile in Ethiopia, as pressures mounted on him to depart the country for fear of sparking new cycles of violence.
The news that the longtime Yemeni leader might leave to Ethiopia marks the latest twist in the meandering story of Mr. Saleh’s fall from grace.
Ali Abdullah Saleh hands over power to new Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi in Sanaa ceremony. (Video: Reuters/Photo: AP)
As rumors have circulated of Mr. Saleh seeking refuge in a myriad of countries including Oman and the United Arab Emirates, where some of his family is already setting up residence, the ousted president has lingered in Yemen, much to the dismay of the man who succeeded him, the international officials who facilitated the handover of power, and people on the street who want him gone.
The aides said that the former president will leave Yemen within two days along with some of his family members where he will reside in a villa in the suburb of Addis Ababa.
A diplomat in Sanaa confirmed that arrangements had been made for Mr. Saleh’s departure for Ethiopia. Aides said that visas have been issued and Mr. Saleh’s belongings already shipped to Ethiopia.
Inside the presidential palace there were signs that Mr. Saleh’s time in power was at an end.
Witnesses who went inside Monday said a whole hall that used to display precious souvenirs, antiques, golden watches, guns, hunting rifles and other paraphernalia collected under the Saleh regime, was bare on Monday.
A senior army officer and a presidency employee said the commander of the Presidential Guards, who is also Mr. Saleh’s nephew, has ordered his guards to move all the antiques to an undisclosed location. Even alcohol, which Mr. Saleh used to serve to his Western visitors, had been carted away, said another employee.
Officials said that Mr. Saleh came under heavy pressure from Western and Arab countries to leave the country, upon repeated requests by the newly elected president and transitional government to prevent Mr. Saleh from staying in Yemen.
Newly inaugurated President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi was sworn in as president on Saturday following an election aimed at ending more than a year of political turmoil. Mr. Hadi was the only candidate. A power-transfer deal backed by the Gulf and U.S. gave Mr. Saleh immunity from prosecution in exchange for stepping down.
Mr. Saleh’s permanent departure from Yemen wasn’t spelled out in the agreement but it was generally understood by all parties that he would find a new home. The fear was that if he stayed in Yemen permanently he would incite riots of those calling for his prosecution and, his opponents feared, he would be able to exert control through his powerful network of well-placed family members and allies.
Prime Minister Mohammed Basindwa told President Obama’s chief counterterrorism advisor, John O. Brennan, during a meeting in Sanaa the night before the election that “…Saleh’s return to the country means another war.”
The Yemen official said Mr. Basindwa has pleaded with the U.S. to get Mr. Saleh to leave. The U.S. sees Yemeni stability as vital to battling al Qaeda on the Saudi Arabian peninsula.
Other Yemeni officials said that members of the U.N. Security Council threatened to freeze Mr. Saleh and his family’s assets if he stayed in Yemen. They didn’t name the member states but one said, “after days of maneuvering, he accepted.”
The U.S. Embassy in Sanaa declined to comment and the Ethiopian Embassy couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Mr. Saleh’s erratic behavior has been a source of uncertainty throughout Yemen’s year of turmoil. He slipped out of signing the accord for the power handover three times before finally agreeing to it.
Mr. Saleh left Yemen in June after being injured in an explosion. He received medical treatment in neighboring Saudi Arabia for three months, and the U.S. had hoped he would remain in the Gulf.
But he returned home and violence worsened anew.
Three weeks ago Mr. Saleh flew to the U.S. for more medical treatment, and again it was hoped that he would remain abroad.
But he returned Saturday for Mr. Hadi’s inauguration.
Mr. Saleh’s aides said he was waiting for an answer from the Gulf sultanate of Oman, which borders Yemen to the east, on whether he can live there, but the sultanate hasn’t responded.
In a farewell ceremony on Monday, Messrs. Saleh and Hadi appeared for the first time together. They pledged to lay the foundation for a peaceful power transition.
“Two years from now, I will stand in the same place to transfer power to [another] newly elected president,” Mr. Hadi told the gathering. Mr. Saleh then passed a Yemeni flag to his successor.
According to the deal that saw Mr. Saleh leave office, a new president and a new parliament are to be elected within two years and a new constitution should be in place.
But the ceremony didn’t sit well with many Yemenis. Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets, calling for Mr. Saleh’s prosecution.
“This is a provocation to the Yemeni people,” said Abdu al-Udaimi, a spokesman for the anti-Saleh protest movement. “As if Saleh claims he is stepping down voluntarily.”
9 thoughts on “US outsources Yemeni dictator to Ethiopia”
So sad to read this story. My beloved country turned into sanctuary for all sorts of criminals. We have more than enough of them already in our plate and now another layer of criminal added to our soil?. He (Saleh) may have already secured his own real estate from the international criminal network (the TPLF). Who doesn’t own estate there?. They have long turned our country to the international hub for Tugs.
US shoves dictotors in to the barn as expired race horses. The crime Of USA specialy to africans is unimaginable, and yet we are still confused by thier big mouth called human right and Democracy. US goverment has no soul in it. I guess Meles be gone when only USA think his time is up or nomore serve USA’s Interest, but not definetly for Ethiopians sake. The only few countries in Africa gets what USA and its policy mean, and they struggle every day being called Extrmists, dectators, and all kind of names as they seem to fit the west. Some day it will come we Ethiopians stop idolizing USA, it is our main weakness and reason for langushing in under Weyane thugs. Let see for what it is, for last 100 years we are friends with USA, not including DERG, but we are going from bad to worse every century.
Regards,
From the experience in Ethiopia we know US replaces one dictator by another undercover dictator which can somehow can protect the US interest , quiet down the people and get away with crimes against humanity .
Whenever US is involved in the process of replacing a dictator whoever is replaced tend to be undercover dictator which goes around the world acting like a democrat but in reality commits more crimes on it’s own people more than the one he replaced.
peace replies:
February 29th, 2012 at 3:16 AM
In today’s globalization, USA does no longer believe in friendship or ally. It is not Americans as supposed to the elite in America forcing this on American people even they are in danger. Therfore, when in your own country such as Ethiopia doesn’t have the type of leadership that protects its own people, it is easy for countries such as USA to take the advantage of the bad leadership in Ethiopia to benefit from it. Under Haile Selassie, every western respected Ethiopia today, it has become a country where there is no rule of law except if you are Mafia. Why would a person like Ala moudi bent on profit only succeeds in ethiopia because he is escorted by mafia groups such as TPLF/Meles to claim they have brought development is laughable. Is development measured by erecting shiny buidlings and by copying just like Arab and Western countries? Is development means creating slavery of Ethiopians in Arab countries? Is is development selling Ethiopian children to the highest bidder and profiting from it? Is it development creating prostitution in Ethiopia and in Arab countries? Is it development creating mass of Ethiopian refugees all over the world? Development for the TPLF/Melses means using Ethiopia just the land itself for exploiting it and getting rid of its people. That is the goal. Of course with the exception of the very few in Ethiopia.
peace replies:
February 29th, 2012 at 3:23 AM
So it is like we went another 200 centuries back. Ethiopian people for centuries have recognized outside powers that is why so many of its emperors got killed for it we were more educated about this than any other Africans and that is why Ethiopia maintained its independence for so long. With that however the outsiders had big respect for Ethiopia for so long but it doesn’t mean they won’t keep trying to control us one way of the other, as a result, they finally succeeded under TPLF and in fact it mgiht even started under Mengistu. Remember kingdoms are known for staunch sovereignty so that will not work in today’s “globalization” so Haile Selassie had to go as well. Today, we have to learn as sovereignty 101 course as if we don’t even know how to unify and protect the interests of Ethiopia and Ethiopians. That doesn’t mean being isolated but I believe we could still be develop at our own pace while implementing policies how to live in equality for all. It could have been done.
Outsourcung is good. We like the U.S. to outsource so we can have productive jobs .But not mercenary jobs to fight jihadists in Somalia or so called peacekeeping role in the Sudan on behalf of U.S. corporations.
Meles and co. do not care what kind of jobs the outsourcing creates as long as they get the cash and help extend their lives in power
SALEH WILL KEEP HIS INVESTMENT AROUND THE WORLD SAFE BECAUSE IF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TOUCHES SALEH’S INVESTMENT ,IT SENDS THE WRONG MESSAGE TO DICTATORS LIKE MELES ZENAWI THAT ARE STILL IN POWER. AS LONG AS SALEH GOT MELES ZENAWI’S PROTECTION SALEH KNOWS THE YEMENI PEOPLE WILL NOT SEE A CENT OUT OF THE MONEY HE ROBED FROM THEM .
When the time comes which won’t be long the US will toss the Ethiopian
dictator to Yemen, so it is a well thought out plan.
okay, how u like me now?