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    Yemen president gives farewell speech, apologizes

    By AHMED AL-HAJ | Associated Press – Sun, Jan 22, 2012

    SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Outgoing Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh is getting ready to leave the country after delivering a farewell speech on Sunday, apologizing for mistakes and saying it is time to hand over power, Yemeni officials said.

    Aides to the president told The Associated Press that Saleh gathered top political, military and security officials and announced promotion of Yemeni Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to the rank of marshal. He is set to replace Saleh.

    "I appeal to you to forgive my past mistakes," one top ruling party official quoted Saleh as saying. "Today, I leave the country in your hands," he said, according to the official, who was among those attended the event early in the morning. In November Saleh signed a power transfer deal but has balked at actually leaving.

    Another aide who attended the meeting quoted Saleh as saying, "I am leaving this good country, today. I want to bid you farewell from this place. I thank each one of you and offer my apology to the people and ask for forgiveness."

    A third official said that Saleh declined to hold a departure ceremony and preferred to offer his farewell behind closed doors.

    The officials requested of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters.

    On Saturday, Yemeni officials said that Saleh intends to leave soon to Oman, en route to medical treatment in the United States, part of an American effort to get the embattled strongman out of the country to allow a peaceful transition from his rule.

    Washington has been trying for weeks to find a country where Saleh can live in exile, since it does not want him to settle permanently in the United States. The mercurial president, who has ruled for more than 33 years, has repeatedly vacillated over whether he would leave.

    After nearly a year of protests demanding his ouster, Saleh signed the agreement to hand his powers over to Hadi and step down. Hadi set up a unity government between his party and the opposition.

    Even so, Saleh — still formally the president — has continued to influence politics from behind the scenes through his family and loyalists in positions of power.

     

    8 comments

    • Rabid Dog
      Rabid Dog  •  4 mths ago
      Are there only IDIOTS working in the State Dept.? ie 1979.
    • freeman 44
      freeman 44  •  4 mths ago
      This criminal is escaping Yemen safely, only because he was another puppet of our government. With blood of many innocent people on his hand, he should be tried for crime against humanity and not allowed to leave his country with billions of dollars in foreign banks.
    • Jenn
      Jenn  •  4 mths ago
      Saleh, you're a #$%$ who should have been shot in he streets while your countrymen celebrated.And look who's taking in him for treatment..us. Why should we have to spend money fixing up a murderer? Let the Saudis deal with him.
    • Simone
      Simone  •  Tampa, Florida  •  4 mths ago
      About time he left!
    • Don't Believe em
      Don't Believe em  •  4 mths ago
      "How fortunate for Governments that the people they administer don't think" --- Adolph Hitler

      Are we done talking about Libya? We got their central bank? What about Iraq? Ahhh, we got all their stuff too, now yahoo does story after story about Iran - suddenly we need to go to war and they are the current pariah! Is it possible the purposes we have for going from war to war to war are nefarious? And yahoo feeds the propaganda machine, another attempt to demonize, to give a reason to keep the bombs dropping - a constant state of war, with no reasonable leaders with any good ideas, just threats, bombs and conquest! Sad!

      You have had it with Iran? What have you had?- An earfull of propaganda. The arrogance of our Government, goodness. Why do we have such high moral ground to have all the weapons, but no one else is allowed? It is called world domination, sheeple, that is all that our banks (I mean Government) cares about. Your interests were sold a long time ago.

      Warmongers; your Government has you right where they want you. Media is a powerful tool over the people....Take these words LITERALLY: BELIEVE NONE OF WHAT YOU HEAR AND HALF OF WHAT YOU SEE. Mind our own business, the rest of the world will never be like us!...You all are so manipulated..if not for your media, what would you know about Iran??? Keep being hateful towards certain countries, that is what they want from you..........
      Think about that, sheeple. Conquest and glory to the USA!! Just like every other huge empire from history!!!! This is child's play. At least recognize it!


      "The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it"
      --- George Bernard Shaw
    • Martin
      Martin  •  Henderson, Texas  •  4 mths ago
      Oops. Looks like the jihadists have gotten themselves another country to use as a base.
    • Ron
      Ron  •  4 mths ago
      Balack Oblamer should apologize, then cut his throat.....................
    • Horus Metacomet
      Horus Metacomet  •  Jenin, Palestinian Territories  •  4 mths ago
      He needs to appologize to the people of YEMEN publicly!! Not in private in Oman. if He wants to be sorry and forgiven then he needs to prove it by trying to correct his mistakes by meeting his people's demands & needs more.
     Post a comment
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