Yemeni youth reject (P)GCC plan

Yemeni protesters demand the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh during an anti-government rally in Sana'a, May 7, 2011

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/178779.html

Yemeni youth groups have condemned the West for meddling in the country's domestic affairs and urged the Arab states of the Persian Gulf to withdraw their exit plan for President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

"We call on the United States, the European Union and the permanent (UN) Security Council members to assume their moral responsibility and stop meddling directed against the will of the Yemeni people to ensure freedom and democracy," the youth groups said in a statement issued on Saturday, Reuters reported.

The statement, issued under the banner Youth Revolution, also protested a plan by the (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council ([P]GCC) that offers Saleh immunity in return for his resignation.

Saleh will also retain the right to remain as head of the ruling party under the plan, which has nevertheless failed to remove him from power so far.

"We call on the leaders of the (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council to stop any initiatives that result in alienating the Yemeni people," the youth groups said in their statement.

The youth groups called the Arab plan an insult to the Yemeni people and vowed to stay in the streets until the president's resignation.

Meanwhile, Yemeni government forces are continuing their clampdown on opposition activists and anti-regime demonstrators.

On Saturday, at least two people were killed and dozens more injured after government forces opened fire on protesting students in the southern city of Taizz.