A Yemeni opposition leader was called on to form a caretaker government yesterday after President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced a pardon to those who “committed errors during the crisis.”
A general amnesty has been decreed for all those who have committed errors during crisis
The announcement that Yemen opposition chief Mohammed Basindawa, a former member of Mr Saleh’s ruling party, would form a unity Cabinet set to rule until early elections in February, was the clearest sign yet that Mr Saleh had accepted a deal to cede power he agreed in Riyadh last week.
“Mohammed Salem Basindawa was charged to form a national reconciliation government,” the decree said, which according to state-run Saba news agency was issued by Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, to whom Mr Saleh transferred power in accordance with the Gulf-brokered deal signed on Wednesday.
Earlier, Mr Saleh, who had showed signs this week that his hands still gripped the wheel of power, pardoned those who “committed errors during the crisis” that has rocked the country since January and killed hundreds of people.
“The President of the republic has decreed a general amnesty for all those who have committed errors during the crisis,” said a statement flashed on state television.
But the announcement immediately drew the ire of opposition groups who said Mr Saleh could no longer take such decisions, having transferred his powers to his deputy under the deal to step down in return for immunity from prosecution.
The reported pardon came as tensions remained high in Yemen, where Mr Saleh returned overnight from Riyadh.
“This is in violation of the Gulf initiative by which the president delegated his powers to the vice-president,” opposition spokesman Hurriya Mashhud said.
“He no longer has the right, nor the prerogative or the capacity to take such decisions,” she added.
The state broadcaster said that the amnesty decided on by Mr Saleh “does not include those involved in crime and in the attack against the mosque at the presidential palace compound.”
Suspects who are “members of (political) parties, groups or individuals will be brought to trial,” the report added. Mr Saleh was wounded in the June 3 bomb attack and had to seek treatment in neighbouring Saudi Arabia.
State-run Saba news agency later clarified that the sweeping pardon was made at a meeting of the ruling party devoted to preparing the ground for the implementation of the Gulf deal.
At the congress Mr Saleh assured that the agreement “scored a victory for the people” and would be put into effect without “equivocation.”
Mr Basindawa, a former member of Mr Saleh’s ruling party, had been picked on Friday by the opposition to head an eventual unity government, in accordance with the deal signed in Riyadh.