UN urges power transfer in Yemen

Jamal Benomar said on Sunday that the UN is intensifying efforts to get Yemen out of the crisis in a peaceful way and to have “a transfer of power and political change,” a Press TV correspondent reported. Benomar said the United Nations will consider “the positions of the ruling party, a coalition of opposition parties and the youth protesters” in its efforts. The UN envoy also met Yemen's ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh in the capital Sana'a on Sunday to push for a transfer of power. On Sunday, tens of thousands of anti-regime protesters took to the streets in Sana'a and several other cities, demanding that Saleh stand trial for ordering the killing of civilians. “Nobody has the right to forgive those who killed peaceful protesters except their families. Protesters will continue their revolution until they achieve its goals and see Saleh prosecuted,” said a protester. Demonstrators in Sana'a rejected a power transfer deal brokered by the (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council that offers Saleh immunity from prosecution if he steps down. Meanwhile, Yemeni Deputy Information Minister Abdu al-Janadi confirmed in a press conference in Sana's on Sunday that the government is ready to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2014 that backs the power transfer deal. “The ruling party expressed its readiness to implement the Arab initiative in response to the UN resolution,” Janadi said. The Yemeni ruler has said that he will only transfer power into “safe hands.” On Friday, 17 Yemenis, including three women and four children, were killed by tank and mortar fire from forces loyal to Saleh in the southern city of Taizz. Janadi claimed in his press conference that the Yemeni opposition was behind the killings in Taizz. Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands more have been injured in Yemen since the beginning of the uprising against the Saleh regime in late January.