Envoy says Saleh must launch plan

SANAA, Yemen – Yemen’s embattled president must speed up reforms and begin a transfer of power according to a plan backed by the international community, said a U.N. envoy on Monday.

Jamal Benomar visited Yemen for a week to promote a Gulf-backed proposal that calls for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to transfer power to his vice president in exchange for immunity from prosecution.

Saleh told a TV interviewer that he will sign, but he did not say when.

Saleh has resisted the proposal despite nearly nine months of protests against his 30-year rule. Several times he said he would sign, only to back away at the last minute. Months of international diplomacy has failed to resolve the crisis.

Benomar held meetings with opposition figures on Monday, including Maj. Gen. Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, who leads a military unit of defectors siding with the opposition and protecting protesters.

Earlier in his trip, Benomar met with Saleh and his deputy.

In a rare interview with foreign media, Saleh told the TV channel France 24 that he would sign the Gulf-backed package, but he would not say when that would happen or what was preventing him from doing so, vaguely noting that there was no time mechanism in the accord. The interview was broadcast late Monday.

“Definitely, definitely,” Saleh replied when asked if he intended to leave power. “I believe that anyone who grips on to power is crazy.” He said he would step down 90 days after the agreement goes into effect, but he did not say when that would be.

Mediators and opposition figures have become exasperated with what they see as Saleh’s stalling tactics.