Yemeni leader to quit in 2013

YEMENI President Ali Abdullah Saleh, eyeing protests that threaten to topple Egypt’s long-time ruler, indicated yesterday he would leave office when his current term ends in 2013, after three decades in power.

Saleh, a key US ally against al-Qaida, also vowed not to pass on the reins of government to his son and appealed to opposition to call off protests as a large rally loomed.

“I present these concessions in the interests of the country. The interests of the country come before our personal interests,” Saleh told his parliament, Shoura Council and members of the military.

“No extension, no inheritance, no resetting the clock,” he said, making reference to ruling party proposals on term limits that had been seen as designed to enable him to run again.

The move was Saleh’s boldest gambit yet to stave off anti-government turmoil spreading in the Arab world as he tried to avert any showdown with the opposition that could risk drawing people into the streets.

Saleh’s remarks came a day before a planned large opposition rally, dubbed a Day of Rage, seen as a barometer of the strength of the Yemeni people’s will to follow Egyptians and Tunisians in demanding a change of government.

Yemen’s biggest opposition party welcomed the initiative but said today’s rally in the capital Sanaa would still go ahead. The rally’s size and mood will offer the first glimpse of popular reaction to Saleh’s concessions.