| Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced Sunday that he will step down after his second presidential term expires in 2013, following eight days of popular protests demanded his ouster from power.
In remarks aired by the official Yemeni satellite TV channel, Saleh said, "Some parliamentary members of the opposition parties might misunderstand the meaning of the proposed constitutional amendments, but I declare that I will step down after my second presidential term expires in 2013."
Inspired by Tunisian revolution, thousands of Yemeni protesters have stormed the streets of the capital Sanaa and other major cities for successive eight days, outraging at potential constitutional amendments, which could make President Saleh the country's president for life.
In his speech to the nation, Saleh called on the opposition to engage in a national dialogue with the ruling party.
"Yemen will not become another Tunisia," Saleh said. "We are a democratic republic, we have peacefully changed rulers and we are against the succession. We call on opposition parties to take part in the dialogue with the ruling party before chaos takes place," he added.
The 68-year-old President Saleh has been in power since 1978, whose current tenure will end in 2013.
Earlier Sunday, a security official told Xinhua that security authorities arrested Tawakul Karman, a member of opposition Islamist Islah Party and a leading figure in the anti-government protests, after inciting protesters in Sanaa to call for the peaceful ousting of President Saleh.
Tensions escalated in Yemen after parliamentary members of the ruling party approved "unilateral" constitutional amendments on Jan. 1, which angered the opposition coalition who carried out protests and pledged to boycott any future elections.
The would-be amendments, which will be finally approved on March 1, would eliminate the limited two consecutive presidential terms, and put the new presidential term for five years, in which president has the constitutional right to candidate himself for unlimited future terms, according the ruling party's website. |
