Peninsular pain

Yemen,the poorest country in the Arab world,has had more than its ususal share of news space since the Arab Spring engulfed the country last year. The tumult still doesnt seem to let go of Yemen,although Yemenis might think their history is going round in circles. President Ali Abdullah Salehs departure for medical treatment in the US is,undoubtedly,a necessary break for the country,needed to give its politics and people breathing space. However,Yemenis are still protesting in the streets,because they have been here before.

After the assassination attempt last June that left Saleh severely wounded,he had left for treatment in Saudi Arabia and stayed there for months. But he did return. Yemenis,who had been clamouring to put him on trial for alleged crimes by his regime,are not just apprehensive about another return a possibility Saleh clearly left open in a sort of valedictory speech but actually angry that he has been allowed to go at all,under a Gulf Cooperation Council-brokered deal that made him relinquish power and leave but gave him immunity from prosecution through a law passed by MPs. That law,however,had to be amended to limit the immunity granted to his associates,also accused by the public of offences committed during the brutal suppression of the uprising.

The troubles in Yemen,for long considered the basket case of the Arabian Peninsula,didnt begin with the Arab Spring. The country had been unstable for a long time,with a Shia rebellion in the north,a separatist movement in the south and an opportunistic al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula capitalising on the current chaos to kidnap soldiers,loot weapons,make recruitments and storm towns close to the capital Sanaa. Salehs departure,despite the public outcry,is at least a half opportunity,especially in the context of the presidential election due next month,which nevertheless has the vice president as its sole candidate.