According to officials familiar with the negotiations, Saleh has lied three times after agreeing to leave power in favor of the people. With the presence of high ranking officials from the ruling party, opposition and western ambassadors, Saleh first agreed to hand over powers to his vice president and step down. He then changed his stance and agreed to form a presidency council, which included his vice president, the head of the Shoura Council and a senior opposition figure. Then, he agreed to handover powers to his prime minister, however, that as well ended in Saleh changing his mind.
President Saleh was also worried that his sons and nephews would fall after him, negotiators agreed to keep them in their posts for at least five months to ensure that security stays stable in Yemen.
Saleh wanted guarantees that he would leave power with dignity and ensure that he will not be trialed or held accountable for his previous mistakes or the billions of dollars he looted from the people. He was given those guarantees and negotiators agreed to make a republican decree forgiving him for past mistakes, not for the love of Saleh, but of fear that Yemen would enter a civil war.
Anti regime youth have for more than 50 days protested peacefully under the hot sun demanding Saleh to step down. These youth come from families that own millions of arms pieces, but have decided to continue keeping their protests peaceful to show the world that peaceful transition of power is possible and that Yemenis are not as brutal as international media pictures them to be.
President Saleh has said hundreds of times that he does not want the seat of power and is willing to step down, but his actions show that he would kill to stay in power. Willing to enter a civil war for the sake of presidency, Saleh is losing his chances of leaving rule in Yemen with honor. This could open doors of forcing Saleh to leave office with shame, disgrace, and hatred, and destroy any chances of him having a prosperous life after he steps down. He should do the calculations. His dignity and honor is on the line!

ABOUT Yemen Post Publisher & Chief Editor:

Hakim Almasmari is an American journalist and Middle East expert based in Sana'a, Yemen. His work has appeared for many of the worlds top media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Washington Post, AlJazeera, Fox News, The Guardian, The National, USA Today among numerous others. He has also worked with some of the world’s top organizations. Reporting out of Yemen for nearly eight years, he is the current editor in chief for the Yemen Post. He is a university lecturer in the field of international media and also studied business and law. Considered one of the top experts on Yemen, Almasmari has closely worked with international strategic centers and think tanks helping them better understand Yemen. He is a frequent guest on many international TV outlets discussing current local and international affairs. Almasmari's ancestors are from Yemen, and was born in Detroit, Michigan, USA. His mother tongue is English and is fluent in Arabic.