Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has sworn to step down from power for the fourth time. Whether he means it this time, only time will tell over the next thirty days.
He has promised to transfer power to his vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi in a deal hammered out with Gulf States and the United States' support.
Once again, he faced the global community in Western style, wearing a dashing pinstriped suit. All of this in contrast to the chronic squalor that has doomed the Yemeni people for years to suffer an impoverished existence under a brutal, "democracy-in-name-only" regime.
Even with the ouster of the current 33-year president-dictator sealed once again, there is little evidence on the ground that the tribal communities will receive better care, or that engaged youth and liberal elements will see their demands met for a more stable government, one more responsive to the needs of the people.
The United States is losing one more stable ally in the region against Al-Qaeda, unless Saleh merely played off Western sympathies while permitting key terrorist operatives to remain in power.
The Arab Spring is wiping out one leader after another, yet the promise of safe elections followed by limited government and liberal reforms has not panned out yet.
No comments:
Post a Comment