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    October 21, 2011

UN Security Council to Vote on Resolution Condemning Yemen

   VOA News
   Protestors with Yemeni and Syrian flags painted on their faces chant
   slogans during a demonstration to demand the resignation of Yemen's
   President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa, Yemen. The Arabic writing on the
   man's face at right reads "get out," October 3
   Photo: AP
   Protestors with Yemeni and Syrian flags painted on their faces chant
   slogans during a demonstration to demand the resignation of Yemen's
   President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa, Yemen. The Arabic writing on the
   man's face at right reads "get out," October 3, 2011.

   The U.N. Security Council is expected to vote on a resolution, Friday,
   that condemns the Yemeni government for its crackdown on dissent and
   urges President Ali Abdullah Saleh to transfer power.
   U.N. diplomats say the draft resolution reaffirms support for a Gulf
   Cooperation Council (GCC) initiative that calls for Saleh to transfer
   power to a deputy in exchange for immunity from prosecution. Saleh has
   voiced support for the plan several times, but each time, he has backed
   away without signing the deal.
   In a Thursday news conference, a Yemeni General People's Congress
   official, Assistant Secretary General Ahmed Bin Daghr, said the country
   expected a "balanced" resolution that preserved unity and security.
   The expected Security Council vote comes two days after Yemeni Nobel
   Peace Prize winner and opposition activist Tawakkul Karman met with
   U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York. She also urged
   diplomats in the world body to reject any plan that would give Saleh
   and his inner circle legal immunity.
   For the past ten months, opposition activists have been demanding an
   end to Saleh's 33-year autocratic rule. Dozens of people have died in
   protest-related unrest over the past few days.
   The Yemeni government has also been plagued by violence linked to
   al-Qaida militants.

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