He terrorized. He stole. He murdered. Then he got a deal
that simply stated, “All is forgiven, keep your money, worry not about
prosecution and lead a trouble-free life as long as you step down and let your
country be.”
After ruling Yemen for 33 years, Ali Abdulla Saleh, like his
fellow Arab dictators, faced an uprising from a nation that simply had enough,
and while he saw Tunisia chase away their leader like a rabid dog, Egypt
imprisoning theirs in a little box, and Libya slaughtering one of the most
loony personalities of the century, it would have been normal for Saleh to
believe that he was going meet a similar fate and that he should look for a
plan to escape with the least damage.
What followed shocked the Arab World but was accepted as the
best possible solution for Yemen: the political angels, in the form of six GCC
Foreign Affairs Ministers, descended from the skies and handed Saleh a gift
that criminals fantasize about in their jail cells, The GCC Agreement.
One would think that Yemen’s ex-president would be currently
relaxing in a luxury yacht drinking a nice fruit cocktail somewhere off a
tropical island wondering how he was able to stage the world’s biggest escape
and go unpunished despite the guilty verdict handed to him by over 25 million
people. A unique escape that is unprecedented for any dictator since the
beginning of mankind.
But, boy, were we wrong…
Famously describing his 33-year reign as “dancing on the
heads of snakes,” Saleh is shockingly still in Yemen facing the music for what
could be his last dance.
One month after officially handing power to his deputy Abd
Rabbo Mansour Hadi through last month’s elections, Saleh seems to be showing
withdrawal symptoms similar to those of a drug addict. So, today, we’ll explore
each of these emotional withdrawal symptoms and validate them with Saleh’s
actions ever since he ran out of his favorite drug: Power.
1) Anxiety and Restlessness:
Since losing the title of President, Saleh assumed the role
of leader of his political party, the General People’s Congress Party (Al
Motamar), a position that has been attributed to the President of the country
for the last three decades. In doing so, Saleh is not only undermining the
legitimacy of President Hadi, but is clearly sending a signal that he will not
exit the political arena and will continue meddling in the affairs of the
country.
On the 10th of March 2012, Saleh gathered a
handful of his remaining supporters at the infamous self-named Saleh Mosque and
gave a speech against the revolution, branding it a conspiracy against him, in
addition to launching a scathing attack against Qatar, which has been a key player
in brokering the GCC Agreement.
It was evident, however, that Saleh (a sucker for media
attention), wasn’t his usual charismatic self. His sentences in some occasions
were incomplete, his voice fading and shaky, his posture nervous and his
inability to say three consecutive words without stopping for breath resulted
in awkward silences filled with sporadic applause.
2) Volatile Mood Swings and Denial:
Reports surfaced in the BBC a few days ago that Saleh had
ordered President Hadi to arrest the country’s Prime Minister, Mohammad Salem
Basendowa, for referring to him as an “elderly man” and accusing his supporters
of causing last year’s unfortunate Karama Massacre. President Hadi was most
certainly not going to entertain the orders of a nuisance, who may very well be
suffering of old age, by thinking that he could order a sitting president to
take such absurd actions.
This was followed by Saleh ordering government Ministers
(loyal to his party) to boycott a weekly cabinet meeting convened by Basendowa.
This included the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Information and National
Security.
President Hadi swiftly intervened to ensure that all members
of the cabinet were present and the meeting went ahead as scheduled.
3) Hallucinations and Suicidal Thoughts:
It really does seem that Saleh, who is a self-branded master
in political chess, still hasn’t come to terms with the fact that he has
nothing but a few pawns left on his side of the table, and no longer has a
place in the governing mechanism in Yemen (despite the fact that many of his
relatives still temporarily control high military positions).
In the parallel universe his mind is living in, Saleh still truly
believes that he is the supreme leader of Yemen, a hallucination that is not
only disrupting the reconstruction of the country but also risks undoing all of
the achievements of the revolution.
For one, his presence in the country could all but kill any
chances of unity between the north and the south, the latter of which will not
be convinced of Hadi’s intentions towards their inclusion in the governing
system as long as Saleh is freely coming in and out of the presidential palace,
not to mention delaying the reconstruction of the armed forces.
But most importantly, Saleh’s current position as the party
leader raises the most critical question: Is Saleh trying to pave the way to
return to power?
If so, then he is definitely suicidal!
If Saleh has any fantasies of implementing a Putinesque plan
to return to power, then he is undoubtedly throwing away any guarantees for his
safety. The GCC Agreement which granted him protection is only valid for crimes
committed in the past. Any actions Saleh takes to inflate the threat of Al
Qaeda, or cause tribal disputes, or even attempt to cause the disunity or
failure of the existing government through his Ministers, will make the
immunity he currently holds null and void.
This would naturally open the floodgates for those who want
justice against him and would figuratively result in the upgrading of Mubarak’s hospital
bed to a queen size mattress just to make sure it’s cozy for the two of them as
they face concurrent trials.
This man’s ego may have propelled him to the top, but it
seems like his gift is also a curse as it is preventing him from walking away
with a deal of a lifetime or at least being domesticated into a regular citizen.
And so fades the music of the snake charmers, and the
dancing comes to an end…
Mohammed Khamis
