Saleh agrees to step down, activists to continue protests

SANAA, Apr 24 (Reuters): Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has agreed to step down within weeks in return for immunity from prosecution, but protesters said they would keep up their demonstrations until he went. Protesters, who have taken to the streets in the tens of thousands demanding an end to Saleh's nearly 33-year rule, are worried the plan could be a maneuver between the president and official opposition parties to share power. The handover plan was drawn up by the Gulf Cooperation Council and endorsed by the official opposition coalition known as the Joint Meeting Parties. In the square in Sanaa where protesters have camped out for weeks, protesters shouted: "No negotiation, no dialogue-resign or flee." "There is still one month until the president resigns and we expect him at any moment to change his mind," said activist Mohammed Sharafi. "We will not leave ... until Saleh goes and we achieve our goals of setting up a modern, federal state." Scores of demonstrators demanding Saleh's overthrow have been killed in months of unrest inspired by the wave of rebellion across North Africa and the Middle East that brought down the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt. Some worry the 30-day period Saleh has until resignation-and it is not yet clear when that period starts-offers a window of opportunity to spark clashes that could derail the transition plan. Ibrahim al-Ba'adani, an opposition activist in the city of Ibb, said he was "surprised" that the formal opposition had accepted the principle of immunity for Saleh. After years of backing Saleh as a bulwark against instability and the activities of al Qaeda's active Yemeni branch, powerful neighbor Saudi Arabia and the United States had begun pressing him to negotiate to hand over power. The plan drawn up the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) grouping of Gulf Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, proposed that Saleh hand over power to his vice-president a month after an agreement was signed with the opposition. He would be granted immunity from prosecution for himself, family and aides. The opposition coalition said on Saturday it had agreed to the main elements of the plan, although opposition leaders had rejected a proposal to join a national unity government.