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International News Title: Yemenis Flood Capital in Day of Protest After President Makes Concessions Feb. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Tens of thousands of Yemeni protesters, inspired by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, rallied in the capital a day after President Ali Abdullah Saleh tried to defuse tensions by agreeing to step down at the end of his term. Shops and banks closed as part of a nationwide protest the opposition dubbed a “Day of Rage.” Pro-government demonstrators also gathered in the city, chanting slogans in support of stability. The two crowds in Sanaa were of similar size and began to disperse by midday. For the past several weeks, protesters have been holding rallies against Saleh’s three-decade rule. The president yesterday told parliament that he won’t seek to extend his term when it expires in 2013 and called for the formation of a national unity government. The demonstrations threaten to loosen Saleh’s grip on power and undermine the U.S.-supported crackdown against al-Qaeda in the nation, which borders Saudi Arabia. The protests “already had an impact by having Saleh say publicly that he won’t run,” said Gregory Johnsen, a Yemen analyst at Princeton University in New Jersey. “There is a good chance that it could escalate.” In the port city of Aden, police fired tear gas and used gunfire to break up protests and two people were slightly injured, the Yemeni Congregation for Reform, the largest opposition group, said on its website. A person answering the telephone at the offices of the police said no one was available to comment. Secessionist Movement Saleh is struggling against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the group responsible for sending two parcel bombs to U.S. synagogues in October and the attempted bombing of a Detroit-bound plane on Christmas Day 2009. Yemen also faces an internal uprising in the north and a secessionist movement in the south. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a forum in Yemen on Jan. 11 that terrorists based in the country were an “urgent concern.” The U.S. has tripled non-military aid to about $130 million, with total assistance to Yemen this year at about $300 million. Protesters are seeking an end to “exclusion and marginalization,” Najib Ghanim, a senior member of the Congregation for Reform, said at the Sanaa protest. “We are not looking for conflict but we are calling for freedom, a decent life and stability.” Some of the demonstrators shouted, “The people want the fall of the president.” Those who support the government gathered in the streets of Sanaa, chanting, “With our soul and blood, we sacrifice ourselves for Ali!” ‘Tunisia or Egypt’ “We don’t want to become like Tunisia or Egypt,” said Mohammed Saleh, 20, a pro-government demonstrator. The protests follow unrest in Tunisia, where former leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled the country on Jan. 14 after public demonstrations against rising prices and unemployment turned into a revolt. Egyptians continued to protest in the streets today, clashing with pro-government demonstrators, after Egypt’s ruler of 30 years, Hosni Mubarak, said he would step down as president later this year. Jordan’s King Abdullah replaced his prime minister this week, vowing the move would “strengthen democracy” in the Arab country. Saleh became leader of North Yemen in 1978, and has ruled the Republic of Yemen since the north and south merged in 1990. His son, Brigadier General Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh, has served as an adviser to his father and it was widely believed that he was being groomed for the presidency, said Ibrahim Sharqieh, a Yemen expert and deputy director for the Brookings Doha Center in Qatar. In his parliamentary address yesterday, Saleh said that he wouldn’t have his son succeed him. Constitutional Amendment Yemen’s parliament last month gave preliminary approval to a constitutional amendment to eliminate term limits, a measure that would allow Saleh to stay in power past the end of his mandate. Following protests in the capital, Saleh last week ordered that 500,000 families be included in the country’s social security program, the official SABA news agency reported Jan. 31. Saleh also ordered the creation of a fund to support university graduates in the Arabian Peninsula nation and facilitate their employment. Growth in the $30 billion economy is expected to slow to 4.1 percent this year from 8 percent in 2010, according to the International Monetary Fund. Yemen has a per-capita output of about $1,100 a year and one of the world’s most acute water shortages, according to the World Bank.
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