US diplomat in Yemen urged to leave or apologise

Gerald Feierstein Several Yemenis, Sunday, demanded US ambassador to Sanaa, Gerald Feierstein to either apologize for his remarks on the “March for Life”, or to leave the country. Feierstein had stated that the march was not peaceful, which greatly angered Yemenis, who accused him of breaching the diplomatic norms. Meanwhile, the Yemeni parliament did not approve early presidential elections, and recommended interim Yemeni president Abd-Rabbo Mansour Hadi as a consensus candidate for presidency, with accordance to the gulf initiative and its executive mechanisms.
US ambassador said in a press conference held at the embassy on Saturday that the march of life that was approaching Sanaa, aimed to erupt chaos and violence. “It seems to have the intention not to carry out a peaceful march, but to get access to Sanaa in order to generate chaos and provoke a violent response by the security forces”, US ambassador said.
“Peace is not only not to take up arms, for example , if 2000 people decided to protest to the White House in US, we do not consider it  a peaceful  act and will not allow this,” US ambassador added.
These statements provoked controversy and anger among the youth and opposition activists that organized the march, who were calling for prosecuting Saleh and his staff. As a result, several civil organizations and activists adopted the internet campaign with the title “Leave or Apologize”, demanding the US ambassador to either apologize for his remarks or leave Yemen. The campaign stated that “he is no longer welcome,” and activists called for the US State Department to change the ambassador.
Activists described the ambassador’s statements as “rude foreboding accusations against innocent unarmed protesters.” Yemeni activist Tawakul Karman, Nobel Prize winner, wrote an article titled “US Ambassador to Sanaa is the Devil’s Advocate and a Friend of Thugs” demanding the ambassador’s apology for his “inciting statement,” adding “How did he know that the march would turn violent?” Karman stressed on her Facebook page “if the Ambassador’s public statement was that brutal, we must be in horror of what he said on the phone or in closed rooms.”
A statement issued by the Coordinating Council of Yemeni Revolution for Change in Taiz described the ambassador’s statements as “irresponsible and disappointing.” Many Yemenis believe that such statements give Saleh the green light to kill protesters in the march, where 10 were killed, including a woman, and hundreds were injured with live ammunition and teargas.
In an attempt to alleviate the impact of the “provocative” statement said by the US ambassador, a source from Washington’s embassy in Sanaa said that “the embassy spoke with senior Yemeni officials before the arrival of the procession to Sanaa, and urged them to show restraint.” The source added that his embassy encouraged Yemeni officials to meet protesters and allow them to march toward Taghyeer (change) square.
On a different note, the Yemeni parliament decided against running open early presidential elections, scheduled for February 21, and settled for recommending the acting Yemeni president Abd-Rabbo Mansour Hadi, as a consensus candidate for presidency, with accordance to the GCC initiative and its executive mechanism.
The parliament called for Hadi to attend the assembly to complete the candidacy procedures, as the sole candidate for the early presidential elections, which contradicts with the Yemeni constitution which requires that elections must be run between contestants, and that parliament must at least recommend three candidates. However, the parliament based its decision on the gulf initiative and its mechanisms where it states that “The GCC initiative and its executive mechanisms can replace any legal or constitutional arrangements in place, and shall not be appealed before state institutions.