Saleh is the ‘President of the President'

Sana'a: Yemen ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh has become a real nuisance to the new government, months after he rubberstamped a GCC peace plan in which he agreed to relinquish power in exchange for immunity from prosecution.

According to media reports, Saleh threatened this week to summon his party ministers if the prime minister Mohammed Salem Basendowa did not apologize for labeling him as an "elderly person".

Saleh's party the General People's Congress and the former opposition coalition Joint Meeting Parties equally shared the cabinet following the signature of the GCC-brokered deal. In its regular meeting on Tuesday, Saleh's party ministers refused to attend the cabinet's meeting.

The new president Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi intervened and convinced them to show up. In response to Saleh's threats and meddling into government business, Hadi considered dismissing the unity government and forming a new one. A statement by Saleh's office shrugged off media reports that Saleh ordered Hadi to arrest the prime minister or dismiss him over his recent remarks.

Saleh's office accused the JMP of fabricating stories and hiring journalists to discredit the party's image. "There was no communication between Hadi and Saleh in the last couple of days and Basendowa's remarks were not the centre of any talk between them. Basendowa has failed to provide basic services like electricity to the people."

The recent escalation of accusations between Saleh and his opponents began when the prime minister accused Saleh's ousted regime of orchestrating an attack that killed at least 60 protesters last year. Saleh responded by threatening to imprison the PM.

Meddling

In November last year, Saleh formally agreed to end his three-decade long rule and signed the GCC deal. Under the deal, Saleh would pass power to his deputy and will be immunity from prosecution.

Shortly after signing the deal in Riyadh, Saleh continued to act as a president; issuing decrees, and receiving and sending letters to international leaders. Many observers thought Saleh would stop interfering when the new elected president took his presidential oath, but he has not stopped. Saleh essentially has moved from being president of the country to president of the party that rules the country. Many people call him "President of the president" since Hadi is still Saleh's deputy in the ruling party.

Threat

The opposition's Joint Meeting Parties said that Yemen will not stabilize and no political settlement will take place in the country if Saleh remains a shadow president.

Abd Al Ghaleb Al Audaini, the spokesman of Joint Meeting Parties, told Gulf News that Saleh was given immunity from prosecution in exchange for completely leaving the political process. "His work as a president of his party shows that his is not committed to his promise. He can't have his cake and eat it too. He can't be a political figure and at the same time have immunity." Abd Al Ghaleb urged the countries that brokered the peace initiative to step in and stop the former president from jeopardizing the political order. "The sponsors of the GCC initiative have an ethical duty to say no to any party that tries to impede the implementation of the initiative. Saleh was given the immunity to prevent more bloodshed in the country. People died in the streets to get rid of his regime and will not tolerate seeing him ruling Yemen again."

Under illusion

Observers in the country think that Saleh's consistent attempts to meddle into the government's work is a threat to the political settlement. Nasser Taha Mustafa, a political analyst, told Gulf news that Saleh is determined to politically play a role through his position as head of his party. "He uses his position as head of the General Congress Party as a disguise for his new role. Saleh has labeled protesters as "thugs" and called the revolution a "conspiracy". Nasser says that Saleh has not fully recovered from the shock that his people revolted against him.

Mohammad Al Dhahiri, a professor of political science at Sana'a university agreed with Nasser and says Saleh lives under false impressions that he is still president. "Saleh can't believe he is no longer President and will continue making trouble for the new government unless the elected president carries out his duties and fills the vacuum."